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Australia - Store Pick up available in Rockingham, WA
This is the Hornby R30272 OO Scale GWR Castle Class 4-6-0 4074 Caldicot Castle: Big Four Centenary Collection - Era 3
The Castle Class was designed by Charles Collett, the successor to legendary GWR engineer George Jackson Churchward. In truth, Castle Class is nothing more than a nickname owing to most examples of the class being named after western castles with the official GWR designation being the 4073 class.
This name comes from the first example of the Class 4073 Caerphilly Castle, as was common with GWR classes. Charles Collet improved on the work of Churchward with the Castle Class, with the class proving to be among the most powerful on the GWR network. In a tragic twist of fate, Churchward would go on to be killed when struck by one of the succeeding engineers locomotives 4085 Berkeley Castle.
The first of the class would feature at the British Empire Exhibition in 1924 alongside an equivalent engine from the LNER, one 4472 Flying Scotsman. Over the course of the exhibition the GWR claimed their Castle to be more powerful than the LNER contingent, leading to exchange trials between the GWR and image conscious LNER. In April 1925 4079 Pendennis Castle and 4474 Victor Wild would be exchanged between the two companies.
The Castle Class was lighter than the LNER pacific which proved to be an unexpected positive as the LNER found it still capable of hauling their express services doing so faster and more efficiently than their locomotives of the time. Conversely, the GWR found the LNER locomotive to have too long a wheelbase for their rails, hampering is performance on the twisting and winding curves of the western region.
The Castle Class was lighter than the LNER pacific which proved to be an unexpected positive as the LNER found it still capable of hauling their express services doing so faster and more efficiently than their locomotives of the time. Conversely, the GWR found the LNER locomotive to have too long a wheelbase for their rails, hampering is performance on the twisting and winding curves of the western region.
4074 'Caldicot Castle' was the second of the class to be built, again as a bespoke example following on from 4073 'Caerphilly Castle' some four months later. The locomotive would play a part in the LNER exchange trials, when the A1 Pacific 4474 'Victor Wild' was compared to it on GWR rails. The locomotive would pass into BR service while retaining its 4074 running number before being withdrawn in May of 1963. The locomotive would not become one of the eight preserved.
The Hornby Castle class is fitted with a five pole motor and simple mechanism resulting in fantastic performance. DCC users are catered for via an 8 pin socket inside the tender with space for a speaker to be fitted. This model features special packaging as part of its position in the celebration of the centenary of the Grouping Act coming into affect, resulting in the start of the 'Big Four' era.
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Returns
If you are having problems with your purchase, please contact us as soon as you notice an issue. You can email or call us, photos and details of your order are necessary.
Please do not return the item before you contact us and get a return confirmation from us. Please do not send your purchase back to the manufacturer.
We will try to resolve issues of warranty/faulty items with you.
Our products are covered by the manufacturer's warranty, so you do not have to worry.
If the item we shipped is not the item you ordered we will take action accordingly.
To be eligible for a return, your item must be unused and in the same condition that you received it. It must also be in the original packaging.
Gift cards are exempt from being returned.
Refunds
Once your return is received and inspected, we will send you an email to notify you that we have received your returned item. We will also let you know of the approval or rejection of your refund.
If you are approved, then your refund will be processed, and a credit will automatically be applied to your credit card or original method of payment, within a certain amount of days.
Late or missing refunds
If you haven’t received a refund yet, first check your bank account again.
Then contact your credit card company, it may take some time before your refund is officially posted.
Next contact your bank. There is often some processing time before a refund is posted.
If you’ve done all of this and you still have not received your refund yet, please contact us at sales@sikhobbies.com.au.
Sale items
Only regular priced items may be refunded, unfortunately sale items cannot be refunded.
Exchanges
We only replace items if they are defective or damaged. If you need to exchange it for the same item, send us an email at sales@sikhobbies.com.au and send your item to: SIK Hobbies Rockingham, 10-12 Goddard Street, Rockingham WA 6168, Australia.
Gifts
If the item was marked as a gift when purchased and shipped directly to you, you’ll receive a gift credit for the value of your return. Once the returned item is received, a gift certificate will be mailed to you.
If the item wasn’t marked as a gift when purchased, or the gift giver had the order shipped to themselves to give to you later, we will send a refund to the gift giver and he will find out about your return.
Shipping
To return your product, you should mail your product to: SIK Hobbies Rockingham, 10-12 Goddard Street, Rockingham WA 6168, Australia
You will be responsible for paying for your own shipping costs for returning your item for any reason. Shipping costs are non-refundable. If you receive a refund, the cost of return shipping will be deducted from your refund.
Depending on where you live, the time it may take for your exchanged product to reach you, may vary.
If you are shipping an item over $75, you should consider using a trackable shipping service or purchasing shipping insurance. We don’t guarantee that we will receive your returned item.