R30562 Hornby Railroad GWR County Class County of Oxford 1023

New release - pre-orders invited - expected during 4th Quarter 2026. preauthkernow

Hornby say "The ‘County’ Class was the last of the GWR-designed two-cylinder 4-6-0s, with 30 built at Swindon between 1945 and 1947 to the design of Chief Mechanical Engineer, Frederick Hawksworth. This latest RailRoad County Class model depicts No. 1023 ‘County of Oxford’ in Great Western lined green.

Model specification:
- RailRoad specification model of County Class
- Moulded details
- Working running gear
- NEM coupling sockets
- Accessory Pack
- Minimum 2nd Radius

Electronics:
- 21-pin DCC Decoder socket compatible with HM7000

Livery:
- Great Western lined green with GW tender crest
- Accurate colours and font
- Era 3

History
The ‘County’ Class was the final development of the GWR two-cylinder 4-6-0, designed by Frederick Hawksworth for mixed traffic work, 30 locomotives emerged from Swindon between 1945 and 1947. No. 1023 ‘County of Oxford’ entered service in January 1947 and was based in the West Country, including allocations to Truro, Exeter, Plymouth Laira and Penzance. Within a year it had become part of British Railways during nationalisation, under which it served for a further 15 years, its last shed being Shrewsbury from October 1962, where it was withdrawn in March the following year and scrapped. None of the Hawksworth ‘Counties’ made it into preservation.