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Locomotive: Thompson ‘A2/3’ 4-6-2 Gauge: ‘OO’ Proposed by: Keith Bryant

What is it? One of the joys of my trainspotting days in the late 1950s/early 1960s was the sight of a Thompson ‘A2/3’ wending its way into King’s Cross, or hammering through Wood Green with an express. Visually, these were rugged, impressive and powerful machines, if lacking some of the prettiness of their Gresley or Peppercorn compatriots. Many described them as having an ungainly appearance but, as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder; certainly any model railway purporting to reflect the ECML’S glory days is deficient by their absence. They were of their time and very fine performers on both freight and passenger turns. The 15 ‘A2/3s’ were all built new by the LNER in 1946/47. All were named in the LNER tradition after racehorses. The exception was the pioneer, No. 500, which was named after its designer. During my linesiding days, five ‘A2/3s’ were located at the southern end of the East Coast Main Line, with nine in the North East and one shedded in Scotland. Sadly, there is a prejudice among some Eastern Region modellers towards Edward Thompson, whom they believe desecrated the work of Sir Nigel Gresley. Many claim that Thompson rebuilt some of the great man’s locomotives out of spite, which Thompson always denied. This prejudice has, in my view, been reflected in the modellers’ wish lists. What would make it viable? With 15 locomotives serving the LNER and BR for nearly 20 years, there’s certainly plenty of scope for a significant variety of representations. As mentioned above, the class served along the length of the ECML on a variety of duties. As big locomotives with tenders, there is ample space available for the installation of DCC sound and a speaker. For me, this class is a must as an ECML modeller and I am sure many others feel likewise. Can I see a real one? Regrettably, no. Three survived until as late as 1965, with No. 60524 Herringbone being withdrawn in February. Nos. 60512 Steady Aim and 60522 Straight Deal went for scrap in June of that year.