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Hornby R3828

British Railways, 60163 Tornado 'The Aberdonian' Train Pack - Era 11

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

Prototype Eras
Era 9 (1995 to 2004) Initial Privatisation
Era 11 (2016 to 2026) The Last Days of Privatisation

Manufacturer description

On 1 January 1927 the London & North Eastern Railway decided to officially adopt the name 'Aberdonian' for its sleeping car express between King's Cross and Aberdeen. It was timed to depart King's Cross at 7:40pm with a journey time to Aberdeen of a little over 11 hours.

By 1939 the train was departing King's Cross at 7:30pm. A restaurant car was provided as far as York. At Edinburgh, sections of train were disconnected to form services to Fort William and Mallaig, and Perth and Inverness. The Aberdeen section of the train called at Dundee, Arbroath, Montrose and Stonehaven, arriving in Aberdeen at 7:30am, a journey time of exactly 12 hours. The return journey left Aberdeen at 7:35pm, and arrived in King's Cross 11 hours 50 minutes later. 'The Aberdonian' continued during the Second World War with extended journey times, and improvements were only achieved with the introduction of the Deltic diesel locomotives, which reduced the journey time to 11 hours 10 minutes.

In 1971, British Rail withdrew the name 'Aberdonian' from the early evening departure from King's Cross, then timed at 7:55pm. The name 'Night Aberdonian' was then used on the 10:15pm King's Cross to Aberdeen sleeper service. 'The Aberdonian' name was revived in 2019 by The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust for its series of main line steam excursions from Edinburgh to Aberdeen hauled by its 2008 completed Peppercorn class A1 No. 60163 Tornado. The original Peppercorn class A1s frequently hauled "The Aberdonian" during the 1950s and No. 60158 was named Aberdonian.

This trainpack features Tornado in its distinctive Apple Green livery with three maroon liveried BR mark 1 carriages.

Details of how to travel on 'The Aberdonian' can be found at www.a1steam.com/railtours.

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 British Railways present the Era 11 train pack featuring locomotive 60163 Tornado, named ‘The Aberdonian’. The set is modelled in OO gauge and is DCC ready with an 8‑pin socket. It represents the Peppercorn class A1 locomotive in Apple Green livery and includes three British Railways Mark 1 carriages in plain green.

The Tornado locomotive measures 293 mm in length, has a 4‑6‑2 wheel arrangement and is powered by a 3‑pole motor with a flywheel. It runs on both driving wheels and tender wheels, and can negotiate a minimum curve of the second radius (438 mm). The model is supplied in a pristine finish and carries the running number 60163.

The accompanying carriages are a Brake Standard Corridor (BSK), a Tourist Standard Open (TSO) and a First Open (FO), each 265 mm long. They are fitted with NEM / tension‑lock couplings and bear the running numbers 35185, 4856 and 3096 respectively. All three are finished in a pristine condition and carry the British Railways plain green colour scheme.

The name ‘The Aberdonian’ was originally adopted on 01/01/1927 for the LNER sleeping‑car express between King’s Cross and Aberdeen. The service operated with various timings through the 1930s and 1940s, was altered during the Second World War, and the name was withdrawn in 1971 before being revived in 2019 by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust for main‑line excursions hauled by Tornado. The train pack allows model railway owners to recreate this historic service.