- Builder
- Hornby
- Catalogue Number
- R2848X
- Category
- Steam Locomotives
- Scale
- OO
- Finish
- Pristine
- Year
- 2009
- Pages
-
- Hornby 2009 (63)
- Hornby 2010 (42)
- Hornby 2011 (45)
- Era
- 3 - The big four – LMS, GWR, LNER and SR
- DCC
- On Board
- Decoders
- -
- Motor
- 5 pole skew wound
- Coupling
- -
- Curve
- 2nd Radius (438mm) +
- Length
- 265 mm
- Based on Preserved
- No
- Directional Lighting
- No
- Interior Lighting
- No
- Pickup in Tender
- No
- Sound Decoder Ready
- No
- Passenger Figures
- No
Hornby R2848X
Great Western Railway 4073 Class 5011 "Tintagel Castle" Great Western Railway (Green)
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: 5011
- Ordered By: Great Western Railway
- Built By: Great Western Railway
- Built At: Swindon
- Built: 07/1927
- Withdrawn: 09/1962
- Length of Service: 35.2 years
- Running Numbers: GWR 5011
- Names: Tintagel Castle
Operator & Livery
Operator: Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (1835-1947) was Britain's most innovative railway company, engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel with his revolutionary 7ft ¼in broad gauge system. Known affectionately as "God's Wonderful Railway" and the "Holiday Line," the GWR connected London Paddington with the West Country, Wales, and Birmingham through 3,800 miles of superbly engineered routes.
Renowned for its Brunswick green locomotives, chocolate and cream carriages, and engineering excellence centred at Swindon Works, the GWR pioneered advanced steam technology under chief mechanical engineers Daniel Gooch, George Jackson Churchward, and Charles Collett. The company's legendary locomotive classes—including Castle, King, Hall, and Manor—established performance standards that influenced British locomotive design for decades.
The only "Big Four" railway to retain its original identity through the 1921 grouping, the GWR maintained its distinctive corporate culture until nationalisation in 1947. Today, the company's engineering legacy lives on through extensive preservation efforts, heritage railways, and detailed model railway recreations that celebrate the finest traditions of British steam railway operation.