Available Items

 

April 29, 2008 - In the years before World War II, Londoners had at least two ways to get to Scotland in style. From Kings Cross, one could speed up the East Coast main to Edinburgh on the LNER's Flying Scotsman, behind one of Nigel Gresley's handsome Pacifics - perhaps a streamlined A4 or maybe an older, apple-green A3. Or one could depart instead from Euston station on the LMS and fly northward to Glasgow on the Coronation Scot or the Royal Scot behind the most powerful steam locomotives in the land, William Stanier's Princess Coronation Class 4-6-2's.

While the London, Midland & Scottish was the largest of England's four major railways, its motive power department had been hobbled by internal rivalries, a legacy from the several railways that combined in 1923 to form the LMS. Locomotive designer William Stanier, with a direct line to the president of the railroad, was hired in 1932 to resolve those problems. He brought the LMS from an also-ran to a leader in British engine design. Stanier's crowning achievement was the four-cylinder Princess Coronation Class Pacifics, built from 1937-1948. In contrast with American designers, who generally shunned engines with more than two cylinders as being too hard to maintain, Europeans often used three or four cylinders to produce a more balanced engine that was easier on the track. In Stanier's design, the Walschaert's valve gear on the outside cylinders also drove the valves on the inside cylinders, located within the frame, through a set of rocker arms.

To Stanier's chagrin, the first examples of the class wore a streamlined shroud to match the Coronation Scot train they were designed to haul. Variously described as an upside-down bathtub or a sausage, the streamlining was omitted on later engines in the class, revealing muscular lines that looked particularly handsome in LMS crimson lake livery with gilt lining. In the British tradition, all of these passenger engines were named. No. 6234, Duchess of Abercorn, set an all-time record for British steam when she recorded 3,300 horsepower in February 1939.

Relive the glory days of LMS express passenger service with our superbly detailed Princess Coronation Class Pacific, complete with sounds recorded from the prototype Duchess of Sutherland, synchronized puffing smoke with a correct eight chuffs per driver revolution, and station sounds for the Royal Scot.

Learn more about it: search on the item number for this model on the M.T.H. Web site for links to additional information on this locomotive and prototype British railroading.

Did You Know?

The Railways Act of 1921 mandated the merger of Britain's myriad railways into four companies in 1923: the London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS), the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER), the Great Western Railway (GWR), and the Southern Railway (SR). In 1948, these four companies were nationalized to form British Railways.

Learn More About It!

Check out the following links for additional information on this engine and British railways in general:

  • The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust, home to the restored, operational Princess Coronation Class "Duchess of Sutherland"
  • Mike's Railway History, a great collection of articles on "railways as they were in the years until 1935", including many articles on British railways such as the London, Midland & Scottish

The London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) Encyclopedia: info on a chief competitor to the LMS, with articles on locomotive designers including Sir William Stanier, designer of the Princess Coronation Class 4-6-2

Available In

London, Midland and Scottish Railway Princess Coronation Steam Engine w/Proto-Sound 2.0

20-3367-1 Hi-Rail Wheels

20-3367-2 Scale Wheels

 

London, Midland and Scottish Railway Princess Coronation Steam Engine w/Proto-Sound 2.0

20-3368-1 Hi-Rail Wheels

20-3368-2 Scale Wheels

 

British Railways Princess Coronation Steam Engine w/Proto-Sound 2.0

20-3369-1 Hi-Rail Wheels

20-3369-2 Scale Wheels

 

British Railways Princess Coronation Steam Engine w/Proto-Sound 2.0

20-3370-1 Hi-Rail Wheels

20-3370-2 Scale Wheels

 

British Railways Princess Coronation Steam Engine w/Proto-Sound 2.0


20-3371-1 Hi-Rail Wheels

20-3371-2 Scale Wheels

Features

  • Die-Cast Boiler and Tender Body
  • 1:43.5 Scale Proportions
  • Die-Cast Metal Chassis
  • Authentic Paint Scheme
  • Metal Wheels and Axles
  • Constant Voltage Headlight
  • Die-Cast Truck Sides
  • Real Coal Load
  • Precision Flywheel Equipped Motor
  • Remote-controlled Proto-Coupler (American-style knuckle coupler) on tender; European-style coupler also included
  • Sprung buffers
  • Engineer and Fireman Figures
  • Operating Firebox Glow
  • Metal Handrails and Decorative Bell
  • Decorative Metal Whistle
  • Lighted Cab Interior
  • Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments
  • Proto-Scale 3-2ル 3-Rail/2-Rail Conversion Capable
  • Synchronized Puffing ProtoSmokeル System
  • Wireless Drawbar
  • Proto-Sound 2.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring: Quillable Whistle With Passenger Station Proto-Effects
  • Unit Measures:23 7/16ヤ x 2 11/16ヤ x 4 5/16ヤ
  • Hi-Rail Version Operates On O-54 Curves, Scale Wheeled Version Operates On 42" Radius Curves

    Who Is M.T.H.?

    While our name may be new to European model railroaders, M.T.H. Electric Trains is a seasoned American model train manufacturer with a long history of innovation. In a little more than a quarter century, M.T.H. has grown from a tiny business operated out of a spare bedroom to an 80+ employee company headquartered in its own sprawling building in a suburb of Washington, D.C.

    Over the past 28 years, we have cataloged over 10,000 different items in four scales: O gauge, One Gauge, HO gauge, and tinplate Standard Gauge. We are co-owners of two overseas facilities that make nothing but M.T.H. trains, and we use three other factories that are dedicated solely to our product line. This gives us more control of our manufacturing process and quality than many other train companies, whose products are often made in the same factories used by their competitors.

    Our research and development team has received more than 10 patents on innovations in model railroading. We believe the Proto-Sound sound and control system found in every M.T.H. locomotive, in combination with our optional Digital Command System (DCS), makes our trains more realistic and more fun to operate than any other trains in model railroading.

    About Our Technology

    Thanks to our Proto-Soundᆴ sound and control system and our Proto-Scale 3-2TM conversion capability, the M.T.H. Chapelon Pacific can run in virtually any O gauge environment: 3-rail or 2-rail, AC or DC, 50 or 60 hz. With a conventional AC or DC transformer, Proto-Soundᆴ offers chuff sounds synchronized with the driver revolutions and squealing brakes when the engine slows down or stops. In addition, the engineメs Proto-Speed control acts like the cruise control on an automobile, helping your engine maintain a constant speed regardless of hills, curves, or heavy loads at any throttle setting from a crawl to full throttle.

    Add an M.T.H. AC transformer equipped with whistle and bell buttons, and you can experience a much larger range of locomotive sounds, including whistle, passenger station announcements, crew conversations, coupler opening sounds, and typical steam engine sounds such as steam letoff.

    To experience the full capabilities of our European locomotives, add the M.T.H. Digital Command System (DCS) for full command control and an even larger range of sound and control features. Like our AC transformers, our DCS system is fully compatible with European household current, when used with a standard 120 volt AC adapter.