Rapido's new batch of OO Gauge GNR 'Stirling Single' 4-2-2 steam locomotives has now arrived in stock here at Rails of Sheffield!
Available either DCC Ready or DCC Sound fitted, this new model focuses on this iconic locomotive in its 1938 condition - complete with a newly tooled Sturrock tender. GNR and Pre-grouping fans are finally be able to get their hands on a ready-to-run model of No.1 in the same condition as it was restored to in the 1930s.
Paired with a small tender, No.1 had remained in this condition for most of its life in preservation. Despite it being discovered in the 1970s that this tender wasn’t meant to be coupled to this railway icon, it wasn’t until many years later, in 2014, that the Stirling Tender Project actually returned it to its prototypical and current preserved condition that we know it as today.
In Stock Now
Product Features
Highly detailed model with many separately fitted parts
New tooling for the smaller 'Sturrock' style tender (1909 to 2012)
Smooth running mechanism
Suitable for operation on 2nd Radius curves (438mm or greater)
Accurate, fine scale precision livery application
Working firebox flicker
21-pin DCC decoder socket
Factory fitted speaker in all models
Accurate sounds obtained from archival footage
Laser 3D scanned for accuracy
Prototype Information
The Great Northern Railway (GNR) No. 1 class Stirling Single steam locomotives were designed in the late 1800’s for express passenger work. Designed by Patrick Stirling, they are characterised by a single pair of large (8 ft 1 in) driving wheels which have become iconic in and of themselves. A total of 53 were built at Doncaster Works between 1870 and 1895.
These locomotives were able to haul 279 ton trains at an average of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), with a top speed on lighter trains of 85 miles per hour (137 km/h). They were unusual in that they used an outside cylinder configuration, a break from the British norm at the time, which in general was to use inside cylinders. With the arrival of more modern steam locomotives, the class started being displaced from the most prestigious express services. Several examples were rebuilt by Henry Ivatt after 1898 with a domed boiler, but withdrawals began in 1899. The last examples of the class were in use on secondary services until 1916.
The first of the class, No. 1, is the only engine to be preserved, and is exhibited in MAIN HALL at the Railway Museum in York. It was restored to running order during the 1930s, and steamed again briefly during the 1980s. The locomotive went through ‘The Stirling Tender Project’ in 2014 returning it to its prototypical condition, which is how it can be seen today.