📢 Please take a minute to read this personal message from the creator of RailwayModels.uk

Accurascale ACC2972-DCC

5700 Class - 5741 - GWR Green - DCC Sound Fitted

Manufacturer catalogue image - please note that pre-release images may be CAD renders or CGI images rather than photographs

Prototype Era
Era 3 (1923 to 1947) The Big Four (LNER, LMS, GWR and SR)

Manufacturer description

5741. GWR Livery

From the initial order of 50 locomotives from the North British Locomotive Works, 5741 emerged from Queens Park works, Glasgow in 1929. Initially allocated to Aberbeeg but transferred to Ebbw Junction whilst in the condition represented here. A relatively early withdrawal came in 1957 from Newport Pill Shed. It is reputed that 5741 was the inspiration for (and number carried by) “Duck” in the Awdry’s Railway Series. 

Features: No top feed, late cab style handrails, Bunker steps fitted, Injector overflow routed through running plate

Catalogue listing

Model details

Prototype information

^* Class names often change over the lifespan of a locomotive, so this is not necessarily the class name used by the operator in the period modelled.

The Accurascale 5700 Class 57xx Pannier Tank is a 00 gauge model of a GWR 0-6-0 tank locomotive. The model is available in GWR green livery and features a highly detailed 00 gauge design with a coreless motor and flywheel for maximum performance and slow speed running. It has a minimum radius of 438mm and RP25-110 profile 00 gauge wheels. The model is DCC sound fitted and has a powerPack capacitor for uninterrupted power.

The model is based on the real-life GWR 5700 Class, which was a standard pannier tank locomotive built by various manufacturers between 1929 and 1950. The class was designed to be a lightweight, powerful, and easy-to-maintain locomotive that could handle a variety of tasks, from local pick-up freight trains to shunting yards and branch line passenger services. The class was widely used throughout the Great Western and later British Railways western region network, with over 800 members of the class in service at one time.

The 5700 Class was built in various batches, with the first 100 locomotives being built by the North British Locomotive Company and the Great Western's own workshops at Swindon. Later batches were built by other manufacturers, including Armstrong Whitworth, Bagnall, Beyer-Peacock, Kerr-Stuart, and Yorkshire Engine Co. The class was eventually replaced by the 9700 Class, which had a larger and more comfortable cab, and the 8750 Class, which was a further development of the pannier tank design.

The 5700 Class was widely used in various roles, including shunting, freight, and passenger services, and was classified as a 'blue' locomotive under the GWR's route restriction policy. This allowed it to be used on most of the Great Western and later British Railways western region network. The class was eventually withdrawn from service between 1956 and 1966, but some locomotives found new life with London Transport and the National Coal Board. Today, 16 locomotives of the class have been preserved and are still in service, with four of them re-certified for mainline use.