LNER A H Peppercorn Pacific

[tac]

Hi there - having a lot of problems here in yUK trying to find an LNER Peppercorn loco - nobody seems to have a single one in stock.

Any of you from over THIS side got a good dealer who might help?

Graders

tac
www.ovgrs.org

[Bigboy]

Your difficulty in sourcing a Peppercorn A3 Pacific seems to be caused by some confusion in your requirements.

There is no such thing as a Peppercorn A3 locomotive. The A3 Pacifics were designed by Sir Nigel Gresley who was the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LNER. A. H. Peppercorn was a later CME who designed, among other things other Pacific locomotives. (Class A1)

There was also a pacific locomotive named after A. H. Peppercorn

Gresley A3 models, of which the "Flying Scotsman" is the most famous are VERY common on the British market and have been produced in 4mm scale in various forms mainly by Hornby for many years. Other models in other scales are also fairly common as this is one of the most popular British locomotives.
Any model shop which stocks Hornby should be able to supply as well as all the usual second hand sources.

A possible source of confusion is that under the LNER classification, the Gresley Pacifics were originally classed as A1 when built. They were later modified, mainly by being superheated and reclassified as A3. Near the end of the LNER's existance there was a major renumbering and reclassification . Under this the few unmodified A1 s were reclassed as A10 until such time as they could be upgraded to A3 specification which had been hindered by WWII conditions. Two new classes of Pacifics were then introduced as A1 and A2.
BTW none of Peppercorn's A1 locomotives were preserved and a special group has been formed to build a new one to modern standards. This locomotive is nearing completion and has been named "Tornado" and is currently undergoing testing. See http://www.a1steam.com/

Hope this helps,
Alex

[Hamish K]

Bachmann Branchlines (Bachmann's UK OO scale range) does make a Peppercorn A1 class model. A new version (different number, name) is listed for release this year, previous versions are probobly still around but may be a bit thin on the ground.

Hamish

[tac]

Thanks, guys - brainfart is what it's all about this end.  As for 'Tornado' I have been a supporter of the trust since day 1, and have the check stubs to prove it!!!

I also have in the case looking at me, a H*rnby A1, NMR version A3, and four A4s of various liveries and the very old Lilliput A H Peppercorn [I like the chunky look of the Peppercorns, and have no other British stuff in my collection except LNER].

Put the mistake down to getting old...

Best wishes

tac
www.ovgrs.org