Hornby R2585 Ottery St.Mary Rebuilt West Country Class

Description

Hornby R2585 Ottery St Mary 34045 Rebuilt West Country Class DCC Ready

Model Specification

OO Gauge 1:76 Scale Rebuilt West Country Class 4-6-2 34045 “Ottery St. Mary” in BR Green DCC Ready. 8-pin socket Era 5 BR steam Late Crest: 1957-1966.

Length: 272 mm Running Number: 34045 Period: Late 1950’s Finish: Pristine Special Features: Motor: 5 pole skew wound. Loco drive Curved track: Hornby 2nd radius + (438mm +) Designer: O.V. Bullied Entered Service: 1949 Number Built: 54 Purpose: Express Passenger Suitable Rolling Stock: Pullman Cars, BR carmine & cream coaches, BR olive green coaches

History

The Southern Region West Country and Battle of Britain classes, collectively known as Light Pacifics or informally as Spam Cans, are air-smoothed 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotives designed for the Southern Railway by its Chief Mechanical Engineer Oliver Bulleid. Incorporating a number of new developments in British steam locomotive technology, they were amongst the first British designs to use welding in the construction process and to use steel fireboxes, which meant that components could be more easily constructed under wartime austerity and post-war economy.

They were designed to be lighter in weight than their sister locomotives, the Merchant Navy class, to permit use on a wider variety of routes, including in the south-west of England and the Kent coast. They were a mixed-traffic design, being equally adept at hauling passenger and freight trains, and were used on all types of services, frequently far below their capabilities. A total of 110 locomotives were constructed between 1945 and 1950, named after West Country resorts or Royal Air Force (RAF) and other subjects associated with the Battle of Britain.

Due to problems with some of the new features, such as the Bulleid chain-driven valve gear, sixty locomotives were rebuilt by British Railways during the late 1950s. The results were similar to the rebuilt Merchant Navy class. The classes operated until July 1967, when the last steam locomotives on the Southern Region were withdrawn. Although most were scrapped, twenty locomotives are preserved on heritage railways in Britain.

Design

The detailed design work for the new mixed-traffic locomotives was undertaken at Brighton railway works where they were scheduled to be constructed. The earliest drawings were for a moderately sized 2-6-0 with similarities to the London and North Eastern Railway K4 class, which Bulleid had helped design for the West Highland Line when he was Nigel Gresley’s assistant. However, such a design would have been inadequate for the Kent Coast lines, which required a powerful 2-6-2 or 4-6-0 class. It is not clear why the design was subsequently enlarged to become a smaller version of the Merchant Navy class 4-6-2 as the likely traffic requirement did not warrant such lavish provision, but the incorporation of components from that class enabled standardisation during wartime production difficulties.