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Hornby R40500

LNER - Mk4 TSOD - 12303 - F coach

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

Prototype Era
Era 11 (2016 to 2026) The Last Days of Privatisation

Manufacturer description

Following on from the Mk3 coach, the Mk4s were built between 1989 and 1992 at Metro-Cammell’s Washwood Heath facility for the newly-electrified InterCity 225 services on the East Coast Main Line.

A total of 282 carriages were built, to maintain a fleet of 30 fixed formations. Each one comprised of nine vehicles, operating with a Class 91 locomotive and a Driving Van Trailer on the other end to allow trains to operate in both directions without needing to turn the locomotive.

The Mk4 is an all-steel design which incorporates a number of improvements over the previous Mk3s. Most notably, the inclusion of automatic push-button operated plug-type doors in place of the manually-operated slam doors. The body shells, which were built by BREL and Breda in Milan, also have fully sealed gangways and controlled emission toilets (CETs).

The coaches were used by successive ECML train operators that followed on from BR InterCity, including GNER, East Coast, and LNER, though they were largely replaced with the arrival of the first Class 801 ‘Azumas’ from 2019/20, with large numbers going to scrap. Following refurbishment, 12 Mk4s were acquired by Transport for Wales for its Holyhead-Cardiff ‘premier’ service, and these were joined by further examples that had been refurbished for a planned London Euston-Blackpool service by Grand Central that never materialised, bringing the TFW fleet up to 37 vehicles.

This highly detailed OO gauge model coach is based on ‘TSD’, a Tourist Standard Disabled coach which is fully accessible for wheelchair users.

Catalogue listing

Model details

Prototype information

Hornby LNER Mk4 TSOD 12303 – F coach is a ready‑to‑run OO gauge model of a Tourist Standard Disabled (TSD) carriage. The model carries the Hornby part number R40500 and represents a coach from the current era of British rail.

The real Mk4 coaches were produced by Metro‑Cammell at Washwood Heath between 1989 and 1992 for the InterCity 225 services on the East Coast Main Line. A total of 282 carriages were built to form nine‑vehicle fixed formations, each unit operating with a Class 91 locomotive and a Driving Van Trailer. The design introduced all‑steel bodies, automatic plug‑type doors, fully sealed gangways and controlled emission toilets, replacing the earlier Mk3 slam‑door stock.

In service the Mk4s were used by BR InterCity and later by GNER, East Coast and LNER, before many were withdrawn with the introduction of Class 801 ‘Azuma’ units from 2019/20. Some refurbished examples were taken by Transport for Wales for its Holyhead‑Cardiff premier service and by Grand Central for a planned London Euston‑Blackpool service that never materialised. The Hornby model faithfully reproduces the exterior of the TSD coach, including its wheelchair‑accessible features.