TT1004M Hornby Intercity 125 High Speed Train Set

No. E43062 was built by British Rail Engineering Limited at Crewe in September 1977 and was outshopped in a BR Blue and Grey livery. The locomotive was first allocated to the Bounds Green (BN) depot and 43062 was initially part of the 254004 set. It was repainted into an InterCity Swallow livery after a few years in service. As British railways were preparing to be privatised, British Rail sold its HSTs to Virgin in 1997, of which 43062 was part of. The Class 43 locomotive was repainted into a Virgin red and black livery for use on CrossCountry services. Virgin handed over ten HST power cars in 2002. 43062 was handed over to Network Rail for use as part of the New Measurement Train (NMT). The locomotive was outshopped in a bright Network Rail Yellow livery and due to this, the train was often referred to as the ‘Flying Banana’. The NMT travels at a speed of 125mph to monitor and record any faults on the track up until present day. 43062 was named ‘John Armitt’ after the chairman of the UK’s National Infrastructure Commission and had a red nameplate fitted. Loram UK won a Network Rail £8 million five-year contract to maintain the NMT in 2020. 43062 was recently overhauled at Loram Derby and returned to traffic in January 2024 with No. 43257 at the rear.

No. E43063 was built by British Rail Engineering Limited at Crewe in September 1977 and was outshopped in a BR Blue and Grey livery. The locomotive was first allocated to the Bounds Green (BN) depot and 43063 was initially part of the 254004 set. On 18 May 1991, 43063 could be seen at the Laira depot in a repainted InterCity Swallow livery and continued in service with this livery until 1997. As British railways were preparing to be privatised, British Rail sold its HSTs to Virgin in 1997. 43063 was the first locomotive to be repainted in a Virgin CrossCountry red and black livery. Hon. Lord James Douglas-Hamilton QC & MP named the locomotive ‘Maiden Voyager’ to mark the launch of Virgin CrossCountry services. This was the same name that was given to Virgin’s first Jumbo Jet. Nameplates were fitted at Edinburgh station on 6 January 1997. 43063 ran in service with this name until the nameplates were removed in October 1999. In 2002, Virgin handed over 43063 to FGW who repainted it into a FGW blue and purple livery. Between 2006 and 2007, the locomotive faced an overhaul at Brush Traction, and was fitted with an MTU 16V4000 R41 engine. FGW was renamed Great Western Railway in September 2015 and 43063 continued in service under the new name. Six GWR Class 43 HST power cars were stored at the Laira depot in 2020 and 43063 was among them. It was decided that 43063 would be a spares donor.

This train set features the following: a Class 43 HST power car numbered E43063, a Class 43 HST dummy car numbered E43062, two Mk3 TS coaches numbered E42064 and E42065, a transformer, a train controller, a buffer stop, a full curve, a power straight, a standard straight, a 3^rd full curve, a left-hand point and a re-railer.