BR Castle Class 5071 Spitfire 90th Anniversary Steam Loco

BR Castle Class 5071 Spitfire 90th Anniversary Steam Loco

1:76 scale model produced by Hornby. This model is ready-to-run straight out of the box and would make a excellent addition to any model railway collection.

Features:

• Analogue DC Model
• This model mainly operates in Britain
• Decorated in BR company markings
• Best suited to 438mm radius curves

Details

The GWR 4073 Class, better known as the Castle Class, is one of the most iconic steam locomotive designs in British railway history. Designed by Charles Collett for the Great Western Railway, these elegant 4-6-0 express locomotives were built between 1923 and 1950 at Swindon Works and totalled 171 engines across a long production run. They were developed from earlier GWR designs to handle the heaviest and fastest passenger services to the west and south-west of England.

Castles quickly earned a reputation for powerful and efficient express performance, regularly hauling flagship trains such as the Cornish Riviera Express at sustained speeds up to 100 mph. The locomotives were renowned for their strong steam-raising ability, distinctive GWR styling and beautiful liveries, becoming a mainstay of Great Western and later British Railways Western Region express duties for over four decades.

As steam on Britain’s railways declined in the 1950s and 1960s, the Castle Class were gradually withdrawn, but eight locomotives survive in preservation. Examples like 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and 7027 Thornbury Castle operate on heritage railways and at special events, continuing the Castle legacy into the 21st century.