Hornby Thompson Class B1 4-6-0
Edward Thompson designed the B1 as a mixed traffic locomotive and building started in
1942. Construction of the class went on for a number of years, ending with a final batch
in 1950. Some of the work was contracted out to the Vulcan Foundry and the North British
Locomotive Co. The rest were built at Darlington, except for 10 at Gorton. The last was
withdrawn in 1967 and two have been preserved.
The B1 is similar in many ways to Gresley's B17 'Sandringham' Class, also modelled by
Hornby, but with slightly smaller wheels, two cylinders and a higher pressure boiler. 410
were built, making it the largest class of LNER designed locomotives. They were used
throughout the LNER network and had good route availability. In BR days they were also
found on the LMR and some used in Scotland were fitted with tablet-catchers on their
tenders. 59 of the class received names - consisting of types of Antelope and directors of
the LNER.
Controversy surrounded the choice of this subject by Hornby because of the existence of a B1 in Bachmann's range. However duplication was not new and earlier controversy over Bachmann's introduction of a super-detailed BR Class 9F in competition with Hornby's recently upgraded model, had soon blown over. The Bachmann B1 had been developed by Palitoy and Replica Railways and was consequently 25 years old. Hornby had compatible tooling from the Thompson Class L1 2-6-4 tank they had tooled up and the B17 that they were retooling, so the choice was seen as a wise one. The superb model arrived at the end of 2011 and three versions of it are in the shops. These are R2998 No.1040 Roedeer in LNER lined black, R2999 No.61138 in early BR lined black and R3000 61243 Sir Harold Mitchell in late BR lined black. They have a 5-pole skew-wound motor and all three are available as either 'DCC ready' or 'DCC fitted'. Loco and tender come joined as one, with a permanent DCC connection to the decoder socket in the tender.