The LNER was well known for its Pacific steam locomotives and when Arthur Peppercorn became Chief Mechanical Engineer in 1946, he took the 4-6-2 designs of his forebears and amended them to produce express locomotives fit for the East Coast mainline and beyond. The A1 Class was arguably his most famous engine, but none survived after BR phased out steam traction in the 1960s so instead a 50th member of the Class was built, No. 60163 ‘Tornado’ which was completed in 2008, kick-starting a new era of standard gauge steam locomotive construction.
The Branchline model of Tornado is as elegant as its prototype and is built around a diecast metal running plate and chassis. The smokebox, boiler and cab are reproduced using precision injection moulding techniques with numerous details then added including the smoke deflectors for that characteristic front-end appearance. The model is adorned with metal handrails throughout, plus etched lamp irons in front of which mouldings depicting the LNER’s electric lamps have been added. Sandboxes and lubricators complete the running plate, meanwhile the chassis boasts suspension and brake detail and is finished with separate brake rigging.
The cab interior boasts an authentic boiler backhead, complete with controls, dials, gauges and pipework each decorated individually and with a set of crew seats, glazed cab windows and a hinged cab fallplate. The locomotive to tender drawbar has two settings permitting close coupling where operating conditions allow. The tender itself displays the same level of detail as the locomotive and comes complete with a removable coal load, below which the coal space modelled. The design of Tornado’s tender deviates from the original locomotives slightly, with raise platework around the water filler and this has been replaced on the Branchline model too.
Tornado’s distinctive Apple Green paintwork is replicated to full effect to complete the model, with a rich and accurate rendition of the base colour which is then enhanced by the white, black and red lining, and cream numerals on the cab sides and ‘British Railway’s lettering on the tender. The unique nameplates are printed onto the smoke deflectors and etched versions are supplied as accessories for those who like to add that finishing touch.
With a powerful 5 pole motor, 21 Pin DCC Decoder interface and the option of SOUND FITTED, the Branchline ‘Tornado’ is a Pacific worthy of any OO scale collection.
MODEL FEATURES:
- Bachmann Branchline OO Scale
- Era 9
- Pristine BR Apple Green (British Railways) livery
- Running No. 60163
- Named ‘Tornado’
- Etched Nameplates included
- Powerful 5 Pole Motor
- Adjustable Tender Drawbar
- NEM Coupling Pockets
- Sprung Buffers
- Accessory Pack
- Locomotive Ready to Accept a Speaker
- Equipped with a 21 Pin DCC Decoder Socket – Recommend Decoder item No. 36-557A
- Length 302mm (over couplings)
PEPPERCORN A1 CLASS HISTORY
The Peppercorn A1 Class locomotives were first conceived by Edward Thompson, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER), however the design was still being worked upon when Thompson retired in 1946, and so the type is widely credited to his successor Arthur Peppercorn under whom the drawings and technical details were finalised. Whilst the design work was completed by the LNER and construction of the initial locomotives had commenced at its Doncaster Works, the first was not outshopped until August 1948, by which time the LNER had been Nationalised and the new locomotives entered traffic with British Railways (BR).
The Class totalled 49 examples built between 1948 and 1949, and in time all were named – a common practice for top link locomotives. An eclectic mix of names were applied including those of racehorses, birds, places, and some relating to the work of the Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott. Several locomotives were named after notable railwaymen, and others carried the names of the railway companies that preceded the LNER, like ‘North Eastern’ and ‘Great Central’.
The new locomotives were quickly put to work on heavy express passenger trains and proved themselves to be very capable machines. By 1966 however the use of steam on the Eastern Region was in rapid decline, and that summer saw the last A1 sent for scrap, marking the loss of all 49 examples.
In 1990 the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust launched a project to build a 50th member of the Class as an evolution of the LNER design and based on the original Peppercorn patterns, but with adaptations to suit the operational requirements of the modern railway. No. 60163 ‘Tornado’ was complete in 2008, becoming the first new build steam locomotive for the British mainline since No. 92220 ‘Evening Star’ was outshopped by BR in 1960. Today, ‘Tornado’ can now be found working on the mainline and heritage railways across the UK.
