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Hornby R30463

Virgin - Class 43 HST - Lady in Red - Train Pack

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

Prototype Era
Era 9 (1995 to 2004) Initial Privatisation

Manufacturer description

This Virgin Class 43 HST 'Lady in Red' train pack brings the vibrant red and black livery to your model railway layout, creating quite an impression as it moves around the tracks. This OO gauge locomotive model has NEM tension lock couplings and a 21-pin socket, so you can upgrade to HM7000 control when you are ready. 

Virgin Trains won both the InterCity West Coast and InterCity CrossCountry franchises following privatisation of BR, commencing services under its Virgin branding in 1997. It inherited a variety of locomotives and rolling stock from BR, including InterCity 125 HST sets. 

Class 43 power car 43093 had been named ‘York Festival 88’ under BR, but was renamed ‘Lady in Red’ in 1997, which it carried until 2003, while 43097 had been called ‘The Light Infantry’ until 1990, but entered service with Virgin CrossCountry without a name. Painted in the company’s red and black livery, with white markings, both later became part of First Great Western’s HST fleet.

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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.

Hornby Virgin – Class 43 HST – “Lady in Red” Train Pack (Part number R30463) is an OO‑scale model locomotive that represents the early period of Virgin Trains’ privatisation of British Rail. The model carries the distinctive Virgin red and black livery with white markings.

The locomotive is fitted with NEM tension‑lock couplings and a 21‑pin socket, allowing it to be upgraded to HM7000 digital control at a later stage. It moves on standard OO gauge track and is intended for use on model railway layouts.

The pack depicts Class 43 power car 43093, which was renamed “Lady in Red” in 1997 when Virgin Trains took over the InterCity West Coast and InterCity CrossCountry franchises. The same livery was later applied to power car 43097, previously known as “The Light Infantry”, before both units entered Virgin service and subsequently transferred to First Great Western’s HST fleet.