We are excited to announce a new addition to the Railway Icons range, exclusive to Rails & Locomotion Models, the iconic LMS ‘Black 5’ 4-6-0 in OO gauge!
This model replicates No. 5428 ‘Eric Treacy’ in LMS lined black and will be produced in strictly limited quantities. Produced exclusively for us by Hornby, you can choose from either digital ready or sound-fitted variations.
Due November 2024
Product Features:
Beautifully detailed model with many separately fitted parts
Digital & Sound capability – 21-pin socket
Powerful motor with flywheel, 6-wheel drive & all-wheel pickups
Provision for a steam generator
Flickering firebox glow effect
Working headlamps
Metal sprung buffers
NEM tension lock couplings
Prototype Information
The “Black Five” was arguably one of the most successful mixed traffic steam locomotives. Designed by Stanier, they were described as the “go-anywhere, do-anything” locomotive and a whopping 842 were built between 1934 and 1951.
Used widely across the network, the class saw usage by the LMS, in World War II and then by British Railways, with some remaining in service until the very end of BR steam in 1968. 18 Black Fives survived into preservation.
About ‘5428’
No.5428, later 45428 under the BR numbering system, was built in 1937 by Sir W.G Armstrong Whitworth & Co in Newcastle upon Tyne as part of an order for 227 locomotives, the largest order ever placed with a private firm by a British railway company. 5428, which was part of Stanier’s ‘Black Five’ Class, entered service in 1937 at Leeds Holbeck depot, which provided such types of locomotives for both main line operations and special services, primarily from West Riding to Whitby.After 30 years of service, 45428 hauled the final steam-worked London-bound express service from Bradford to Leeds in October 1967, before being withdrawn from service a week later as steam traction was no longer used in Leeds.
Following withdrawal from service, 5428 was selected for preservation and travelled light engine to Birmingham Railway Museum at Tyseley in August 1968. Having been named ‘Eric Treacy’ after the renowned railway photographer, the engine then moved to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) in the 1970s and ran there until the late 1990s before being withdrawn for a complete overhaul.
Having completed a £600,000 restoration programme, 45428 returned to service on the NYMR in 2010 after an eleven-year absence.
About Eric Treacy
Eric Treacy, Bishop of Wakefield, an esteemed railway photographer began taking his photographs in 1932, shortly after joining the clergy. He became part of the Railway Photographic Society in 1935 and would often befriend drivers and firemen in his congregation who would subsequently often help to create smoke effects in his images.
Treacy would plan his photography days in advance, taking into account the weather, position of the sun at the time of the train’s arrival and in-depth knowledge of the locations. Sadly, Treacy died suddenly in 1978 on Appleby Station while photographing the locomotive ‘Evening Star’, but his legacy lives on through his collection of railway photography which is now housed at the National Railway Museum in York.
