The much awaited Southern Railway liveried version
of the new Class N15 has arrived and what a splendid sight! This is 736 'Excalibur'
(R2580) which was the first of the class. Built by the LSWR in the Eastleigh Works in 1918
and, as such, is referred to as one of the 'Urie Arthurs'. It was not named until 1925 by
which time the LSWR had become part of the Southern Railway. The model carries the SR
olive green livery known as 'Maunsell Green' which it received in July 1924 but does not
carry the 'E' prefix to the number applied at that time to denote an LSWR locomotive. Like
the previous versions of the model produced this year, it has the 8-wheel tender and, in
this case, the early cab.
Released shortly before 'Excalibur' was a model of 30803 'Sir Harry Le Fise Lake' (R2582). This is in early BR green livery with small decals on the tender. Most importantly, this is the first version of the model to be produced with the Ashford-pattern 6-wheel tender which the last batch of locomotives were paired with. It also has the later cab design. These late King Arthurs worked the Central Section and are sometimes referred to as 'Brighton Arthurs'.
Model Railway Express
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