Hornby – L&MR No. 58, ‘Tiger’ Train Pack (R30233) OO Gauge

Number 58 ‘Tiger’ was the sister engine to ‘Lion’, one of a plethora of locomotives named after animals as became the norm for the fledgling L&MR. Like its sister engine, ‘Tiger’ was designed as a luggage engine and was delivered from Todd, Kitson and Laird alongside ‘Lion’, having been constructed at the same time as part of the same order, the first two locomotives to be built at the Railway Foundry in Leeds.

Information regarding ‘Tiger’ is scant, built to the same specifications it is a reasonable assumption that the engine would have served the same duties as its more notable sister, and also likely that the engine was also rebuilt at Edge Hill in 1841.

Likely still in service when the L&MR was absorbed into Grand Junction Railway and then the London and North Western Railway, ‘Tiger’ would gave also been renumbered under its new operator. Not in preservation, it is assumed that at the time ‘Lion’ was withdrawn and converted into a stationary pump ‘Tiger’ was also withdrawn and scrapped.

In this pack, ‘Tiger’ is paired with coal wagons of the kind that would often be found in the early days of the L&MR. Coal traffic was reasonably common in the early days of the railway, with the substance required for the running of locomotives.

Coal wagons were constructed in response to failings in the then current system of coal haulage, where separate coal containers would be loaded onto flat wagons and unloaded at the destination, a system which led to heavy wear on both the wagon and container and one that was phased out by 1833.

Tiger is a newly tooled locomotive, a Next18 decoder socket for DCC operation with a pre-fitted speaker allows this model to be enhanced on a digital layout. The locomotive itself features separately fitted brass details, a plethora of diecast and etched parts as well as a stunning electroplated boiler.