HORNBY REBUILT W1
Eagerly-anticipated, especially after the release of the original W1 from Hornby, I’ve now been given the opportunity to assess this pair of manifestations of the rebuilt locomotive. Not having been able to examine the model of the original W1, it’s wonderful to get to close quarters with 10000 in blue and 60700 in green. Wonderful, because these are outstanding models!
The original high-pressure compound W1, complete with Yarrow water-tube boiler, was a brave experiment by Gresley. Built at Darlington in 1929 under a shroud of secrecy (hence the epithet ‘Hush-Hush’), though not a complete failure (unlike some one-offs, it actually earned revenue), it failed to live up to hopes, and was rebuilt into a conventional locomotive at Doncaster in 1937. Retaining its 4-6-4 wheel arrangement (though 4-6-2-2 to some purists), it looked like an elongated A4 in its stylish garter blue livery. As 10000,
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