The original air-smoothed Bulleid ‘Merchant Navy’ class ‘Pacific’ has long been sought after as a ready-to-run model and now the wait is over. MIKE WILD takes a detailed look at this exciting new release.
Bulleid’s air-smoothed ‘Merchant Navy’ was unlike any other British steam locomotive. From the casing to the wheel design, oil encased valve gear and advanced footplate design, they were different to the rest – and delivered at a time when Britain was in the midst of the Second World War. That Bulleid achieved their introduction at all in 1941 is nothing short of extraordinary.
But these outstanding locomotives have until now never been produced as a ready-to-run ‘OO’ gauge model in their original form. Fraught with variations and pitfalls, this relatively small class of 30 hasn’t been selected for production – that is until 2015 when Hornby revealed in the March that it would be making the sought-after ‘Pacific’ in its 2016 range.
The original ‘Merchant’ is a missing link which sits perfectly in Hornby’s portfolio alongside the manufacturer’s ‘OO’ gauge models of the Bulleid air-smoothed and rebuilt ‘Light Pacifics’ as well as its rebuilt ‘Merchant Navy’ – the latter arguably being the start of modern model design and the fi…
