This Thursday’s random train is the one of the iconic Terrier’s, the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) Stroudley Terrier 0-6-0T Number 4 in OO gauge from Hornby.
I love these diminutive character-filled locos. Along with GWR tank engines and Class 08’s, they’re amongst my favourite engines. They are known Terriers because of the ‘bark’ of the exhaust beat.
A video of a full-size Terrier shows this wonderful loco in action on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.
The model I’ve chosen for this Tiny Train Thursday is the Hornby OO gauge version of LB&SCR No 4 which I like of all model Terriers because of its travels.
It was originally built at LB&SCR Brighton works in 1875 as No 53 Ashted. Initially, number 53 was allocated to New Cross where it remained until the start of the 20th century under Southern Railway.
It was still in use in 1916 on the Crystal Palace motor-train service having been reboilered to A1X class in May 1912.
By April 1937, and now numbered 2653, it had found itself way to Littlehampton where it was working on the wharfs. It was then sold to Colonel Stevens for use on the Weston Clevedon & Portishead Light Railway for £800!
Here it worked until the line was closed in 1940, being the last train to work that railway. It was then sold to GWR as No.6 Portishead and even survived into BR ownership before being finally scrapped in 1948.
This Hornby model is no longer available from Hornby but can still be found on eBay here.
Do you have one on your layout? Have you ever seen a Terrier or even this one? (I’d love to see your photos if you have any).
> A final, personal, note: I spend a huge amount of time testing, photographing, writing and researching techniques for these articles and pay for all the running costs of MRE out of my own pocket. If you found this article useful you can support me by making a donation on my fund-raising page. Thanks and happy modelling, Andy.
Andy is a lifelong modeler, writer, and founder of modelrailwayengineer.com. He has been building model railways, dioramas, and miniatures for over 20 years. His passion for model making and railways began when he was a child, building his first layout at the age of seven.
Andy’s particular passion is making scenery and structures in 4mm scale, which he sells commercially. He is particularly interested in modelling the railways of South West England during the late Victorian/early Edwardian era, although he also enjoys making sci-fi and fantasy figures and dioramas. His website has won several awards, and he is a member of MERG (Model Railway Electronics Group) and the 009 Society.
When not making models, Andy lives in Surrey with his wife and teenage son. Other interests include history, science fiction, photography, and programming. Read more about Andy.