R30183 Hornby Railroad Plus Warship D834 Pathfinder

New release - pre-orders invited - expected 2025/2026. preauthkernow

The Class 43 is a diesel locomotive often referred to as the Warship. The class is often just called by the Warship name as the Class 43 name is more commonly associated with the power cars for the HST sets in use in the UK. The Warships were introduced in 1960 with examples being built for the next two years, 33 were built numbered D833 to D865. The class are identical in design to the Class 42 with the only difference between the two being the location of their construction, all Class 43s were built by the North British Locomotive Company.

The locomotives were tasked with hauling long distance passenger trains mainly in the South West, often painted in various bright LMS style colours. The class would be doomed by two factors, the cheap materials used in parts of their construction and the later decision to standardise UK diesel traction, a decision that brough an early end to many ground-breaking diesel classes.

First withdrawals began in 1969, less than 10 years after construction with no examples surviving in service by the end of 1971. All examples of the class were scrapped. Due to their short service lives, none of the class would gain TOPS numbers in what would gave been a 43xxx format.

D834 Pathfinder was built in July 1960, the second of the class built. In service for just over 11 years, the locomotive would go on to be withdrawn in October 1971, part of the last batch to be withdrawn before being cut up at Swindon.

This Railroad model fitted with a 3 pole motor and simple gearing, proving to be a reliable runner on any layout. The 8 pin DCC socket allows the model to be used on a digital layout where required and its railroad specification makes it ideal as a starter model.