Hornby Pre-Owned R3518 Class A3 4-6-2 108 "Gay Crusader" LNER Apple Green Steam Locomotive

A modification of Sir Nigel Gresley’s original A1 design, the LNER’s A3 locomotives were the stalwarts of the East Coast Main Line Express services from the mid-1920s, right up until 1961, when they were replaced by English Electric Deltics. Gresley’s first designs for a large express passenger locomotive were put into practice in 1915 and although the First World War delayed development, in April 1922, 1470 Great Northern became the first A1 to enter service. Following exchange trials with the Great Western Railway, a range of modifications were brought to the A1 Class, eventually resulting in all of the A1s being rebuilt as Class A3 locomotives, with the exception of Great Northern, which was rebuilt by Thompson in 1945 as a Class A1/1.