New from Hornby is this eagerly awaited ‘OO’ gauge Great Western Railway (GWR) 25ton ‘Loriot Y’ two-axle machinery truck.
Built in the late 1930s at the GWR’s Swindon Works, just two ‘Loriot Y’ vehicles were completed, intended for use carrying heavy engineers’ machinery. A development of previous similar wagon designs, these particular Diagram G39 vehicles differed in that they were constructed from I-beam girders and were slightly longer than the earlier ‘Loriot’ examples. They featured a deep well with low slung platform to ease loading and unloading at just above rail height.
Hornby’s newly-tooled ‘OO’ gauge models reflect both prototypes finished as 41989 in GWR grey (Cat No. R60100) and DW41990 in BR grey (R60101) – this latter model representing the sole surviving prototype that lasted in BR use until 1990 and which is now preserved at the Severn Valley Railway.
Above: Hornby’s eagerly-awaited ‘OO’ gauge GWR ‘Loriot Y’ is now available.
Straight from the box, the model is a weighty affair tipping the scales at 58g thanks to its mainly die-cast metal construction. The central ‘wooden’ decking is a plastic component, while the axlebox, spring and distinctive brake gear detail at each end is also a separate plastic section…
