Hornby‑dublo LNER ‘A4’ 4‑6‑2

◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL Hornby‑dublo R30263 BR ‘A4’ 4‑6‑2 No. 60009 Union of South Africa, The Great Gathering 10th Anniversary Collection ◆ PRICE £320.99 ◆ AVAILABILITY Hornby stockists Web www.hornby.com

Many readers will recall The Great Gathering of 2013, the once‑in‑a‑ lifetime reunion of all six remaining Gresley ‘A4s’ at the National Railway Museum, orchestrated to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Mallard breaking the world speed record for steam traction.

As well as the four preserved ‘A4s’ residing in Britain – Mallard, Sir Nigel Gresley, Union of South Africa and Bittern – The Great Gathering also saw Dwight D. Eisenhower and Dominion of Canada temporarily repatriated from North America.

To mark the 10th anniversary of this landmark event, Hornby announced a commemorative set of ‘A4s’ under the Hornby‑dublo banner, presented in special packaging, depicting all six of the preserved locomotives as they appeared in 2013. Produced in association with the National Railway

Museum, each version is limited to 510 pieces.

SPECIAL PACKAGE

Hornby kindly supplied a sample of No. 60009 Union of South Africa for review, presented in BR lined green livery, complete with the South African coat of arms applied to the cab sides. ‘No. 9’ was main line registered in 2013, so the model duly reflects this, with modern

overhead line warning flashes applied to the locomotive and tender.

The packaging is worthy of note, with the model packed snugly within a foam‑lined card box with leatherette‑style covering, embossed in gold with

The Great Gathering logo. All this slips inside a card outer sleeve, carrying the retro Hornby‑dublo branding. Along with the model, the box also contains a numbered certificate.

Relaunched in 2020, models in the Hornby‑dublo range are based on Hornby’s existing steam locomotive tooling, enhanced by the addition of a die‑cast metal bodyshell and a higher level of finish. This model certainly packs some ‘wow’ factor, as the overall build quality and paintwork are superb.

The locomotive’s metal bodyshell is cast as a single unit, incorporating the cab, so there are no unsightly joins and there’s a pleasing amount of surface relief to the various panel seams, wash‑out plugs and equipment covers. Separately fitted parts include the double chimney, turned brass whistle and safety valves, lamp brackets, numberplate and superfine wire handrails and metal knobs. An unexpected bonus is the four sliding vents in the metal cab roof, which operate well.

The cab glazing is flawless, with a mock timber frame to the side panels, and cab doors are pre-installed. The interior is well detailed, with pipework, valves and gauges moulded into the plastic backhead, but picked out extremely neatly with suitable paint colours. A realistic firebox glow unit is installed.

The metal underframe also looks great, being similarly well appointed as Hornby’s regular Class A4 ‘Pacifics’. The coupling rods and motion are blackened to just the right degree and the various links to the mechanical lubricators and speedometer drive look the part. There’s also an additional drive unit from the rear-coupled axle on the right-hand side, complete with mounting bracket and cable heading under the cab, as per the real ‘No. 9’ in 2013.

METAL MATTERS

Along with the additional weight – around 30g heavier than a regular Hornby ‘A4’ – the die-cast metal body gives the model a greater sense of purpose. There’s also something that little more convincing about painted metal, rather than plastic, when portraying a model steam locomotive. It’s one of those tiny details that may be more about perception than anything overtly tangible. Indeed, the tender body is plastic, which is apparent when viewed in isolation. But put the two together, and there’s no obvious disparity.

The paint application and lining are top-notch throughout, with authentic shades and crisply printed numbers, logos and markings. The printed nameplates are separately applied fittings, but the Springbok motif on the left-hand side of the boiler (donated to BR in 1954 by a South African newspaper proprietor) is printed. An etched overlay is provided for the Springbok, but not for the nameplates, although an attractive Great Gathering headboard is included.

Also in the detail bag is a set of flanged wheels for the trailing axle (a flangeless set is pre-installed to cope with typical layout curves), plus brake rigging, cylinder drain pipes, cosmetic screw couplings, AWS shields and

Hornby has clearly put the work into ensuring all six versions feature prototype-specific details and livery quirks to suit their condition at that moment in time

a nicely painted footplate crew.

A definite improvement over many of Hornby’s steam locomotives is the provision of a push-fit, conductive connection between the

locomotive and tender. With the 21pin DCC socket located in the tender, the two vehicles need to be connected to complete the circuitry before the model will run, with extra power collected from three of the tender axles. There is ample space within the tender to fit a speaker, although no mounting points are provided.

On the rails, the ‘A4’ ran beautifully from the get-go, the increased mass helping with adhesion and all-round poise.

The five-pole, skew wound motor is equipped with a flywheel and provides plenty of power, my 12-coach test train providing no problems.

GATHERING MY THOUGHTS

The 10th anniversary of The Great Gathering wasn’t on my radar last year, I must admit, but it has clearly provided Hornby with a perfect reason to produce six special ‘A4s’, which will clearly appeal to collectors and to those who attended the event at York in 2013.

It’s not the first time that Gresley’s streamlined masterpiece has been available in the Dublo range, but Hornby has clearly put the work into ensuring all six versions feature prototype-specific details and livery quirks to suit their condition at that moment in time. Indeed, across the half-dozen ‘A4’s, there’s a choice of Garter blue, BR express passenger blue and BR green liveries, while Dominion of

Canada also sports its Canadian Pacific bell on the smokebox.

The overall package presents a feel of quality and the collectability factor justifies the premium price. It certainly looks and performs better than the existing ‘A4s’ in my collection. (GD)