Another model to transfer to the RailRoad series is the GWR Class 2721 pannier tank. This first arrived in 1981 as a replacement for the Class 57xx pannier tank which had been taken over by the Thomas & Friends series to be the character Duck. The new subject was chosen by Hornby as it would not require a new chassis and the new body tool cost £38,000. The model of the Class 2721 was much better detailed than the model it replaced and, with its open cab, had a certain amount of charm that added to its popularity. Arriving after 1980 meant that throughout the model’s life it has had a paint finish. Also, from the start, it had wire handrails along the tanks and around the front but elsewhere they were moulded until the model was upgraded in 2002.

The real locomotive were the final development of the 1854 class saddle tanks and came into use on the GWR in 1897. Designed by Dean, 80 of them were built at Swindon between 1897 and 1901. They were built as saddle tanks, but most were converted to pannier tanks soon after the First World War. 44 just made it into BR ownership, the last being decommissioned in 1950, but none of them carried a BR livery, nor was fitted with a number plate on its smokebox. The locomotives were widely used on the GWR network principally for shunting and hauling light goods trains but they were also used on branch line passenger services