R30388 S&DR - 1925 - Locomotion No.1 (Railway 200)

Hornby’s R30388 S&DR 200th Anniversary 0-4-0 Locomotion No.1 is a finely detailed 00 gauge model that honours the pioneering spirit of early British steam. 

The model represents 'Locomotion' as it appeared at Stockton for the Centenary celebrations in 1925. This model comes fitted with magnetic NEM couplings for easy connections and a Next 18 pin socket, but due to the locomotive's size limitation, sadly it cannot take a HM7000 Next 18 pin decoder.

History

‘Locomotion No. 1’ earned its place in history as the world’s first steam locomotive to haul a passenger train on a public railway, when it ‘opened’ the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1825.

Its importance was recognised at an early stage, and it became one of the first locomotives to be preserved when it was rescued from scrap in 1856 by Joseph Pease and his family. It was steamed again for the S&DR’s Golden Jubilee in 1875, but for most of the time between 1892 and 1975, ‘Locomotion No. 1’ was on static display at Darlington Bank Top station.

During 1924, however, it received a full cosmetic restoration in readiness for the centenary celebrations of the S&DR in 1925, and during the celebratory cavalcade, it hauled ten replica chaldron waggons and the ‘company coach’ propelled by a petrol engine hidden in a specially built tender.