R30130 LNER, P2 Class, 2-8-2, 2005 'Thane of Fife' - Era 3

The LNER P2 was a beast of a locomotive, one of the most powerful steam locomotive ever seen on British rails. Sir Nigel Gresley designed these locomotives with a main purpose in mind, to haul large passenger trains in excess of 600 tonnes between Edinburgh and Aberdeen, a route that would previously be entrusted to smaller double headed engines.

6 P2 locomotives were built between 1934 and 1934, being numbered 2001 to 2006. The P2 locomotives were rather short-lived and modified numerous times over their lives with the introduction of standard Walschaerts valve gear and the addition of extra streamlining on the noses of the locomotives making them resemble the LNER A4s. Such modifications only just avoided having the locomotives reclassified, unlike the earlier LNER A1s that were classified A3s after their rebuilding.

After what were quite minor modifications the locomotives were entirely rebuilt as the controversial LNER A2 Class by Edward Thompson in 1943. Various reasons are given for this rebuilding scheme however it has been claimed by various informed sources that many of the reasons given for these were superficial and that an alternative route or set of routes would see these locomotives fulfill their potential.

2005 Thane of Fife was the penultimate example of the class, outshopped in August of 1936. Unlike the first two examples, the locomotive was built with the streamlined Bugatti nose fitted 2005 was the first locomotive to be rebuilt to the Thompson A2/2 in January 1943. Renumbered to 505 and then 60505 under BR, the locomotive was withdrawn in 1959 and cut up along side the rest of the class.

The Hornby P2 model was a new tooling announced in 2022. A diecast chassis and running plate provide excellent pulling power when coupled with the five-pole motor and flywheel fitted inside the body. The P2 is also amongst the first set of models to be fitted with the new flickering firebox feature operable on DC and DCC layouts. The P2 is ready to be fitted with DCC via a 21-pin decoder socket housed inside the tender.