Hornby R2551

Great Western Railway 4073 Class 5077 "Fairy Battle" British Railways (Lined Green with Early Emblem)

Class & Prototype

Class: Great Western Railway 4073 Class

• Traction: Steam
• Built: 1923-1950
• Total Built: 171

The GWR 4073 Castle Class represents the pinnacle of Great Western Railway express passenger design, introduced by Charles Collett in 1923. These legendary 4-6-0 locomotives famously outperformed LNER Pacifics in the 1925 exchange trials, proving their superior fuel economy and performance. With 171 built between 1923-1950, they handled premier services like the "Cornish Riviera Express" for over four decades. Eight survive in preservation, with excellent model representations available from Hornby, Graham Farish, and specialist manufacturers. Essential for any authentic GWR layout.

Prototype: 5077

• Ordered By: -
• Built By: -
• Built At: -
• Built: -
• Withdrawn: -
• Length of Service: -
• Running Numbers: -
• Names: -

Operator & Livery

Operator: British Railways

British Railways transformed Britain's fragmented rail network into a unified national system following nationalisation on 1st January 1948. Created from the "Big Four" companies under the Transport Act 1947, BR operated most of Great Britain's railways until rebranding as British Rail in 1965, managing over 20,000 route miles and inheriting nearly 20,000 locomotives of diverse designs.

The organisation pioneered standardisation through its revolutionary BR Standard locomotive programme (1951-1960), producing 999 advanced steam engines under Robert Riddles' direction. These included the versatile Britannia Pacifics, mighty 9F freight engines, and mixed-traffic classes that incorporated the best features from all predecessor companies. The 1955 Modernisation Plan accelerated diesel and electric traction development, creating fascinating mixed-traction operations.

Notable achievements included establishing unified locomotive classification systems, introducing distinctive corporate liveries, and managing the complex transition from steam to modern traction. BR's six regional structure preserved operational diversity whilst enabling standardisation of practices, signalling, and rolling stock that had eluded private enterprise for over a century.

The BR era represents steam traction's final flowering alongside emerging diesel technology, creating unparalleled locomotive variety. Today, this heritage remains highly popular with railway enthusiasts through extensive preserved fleets, heritage railway operations, and comprehensive model ranges from manufacturers like Hornby, Bachmann, and Dapol, making BR subjects essential for authentic post-war British railway modelling across all scales.

Livery: Lined Green with Early Emblem

British Railways' lined green livery was designated for express passenger locomotives from 1949, painted in BS224 Deep Bronze Green (also known as Land Rover Deep Bronze Green) with orange and black lining, contrary to popular misconceptions about it being GWR Brunswick Green. Official BR documentation described this as "Dark Green lined Black and Orange" for selected express passenger steam locomotives, with the lining following GWR-style patterns but with distinct BR specifications. The "Lion and Wheel" emblem (nicknamed the "Cycling Lion") adorned these prestigious locomotives from early 1949, showing a lion standing over a spoked wheel with "British Railways" lettering across the centre.

Only the most powerful passenger classes received this elaborate livery—on the Western Region, this included Kings, Castles, and Stars, whilst other regions applied it to their premier express types like Coronations, A4s, A3s, A1s, and Merchant Navy Pacifics. Initially, the most prestigious locomotives of each region were actually painted in Sky Blue with black and white lining, but this proved unpopular and was quickly superseded by the green scheme. The emblem was positioned centrally on tender sides above the middle axle box, with regional variations in size preference—the Western Region favoured larger emblems whilst other regions typically used smaller versions. Lettering and numbering appeared in golden yellow Gill Sans Medium, normally outlined in black where the background wasn't black. This prestigious livery represented BR's finest locomotives until the corporate identity changed in 1956, making it essential for authentic early BR express passenger operations in model form.