Presenting our latest OO Gauge project with Bachmann! ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏

EXCLUSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT
BACHMANN OO GAUGE CR 439 CLASS 0-4-4T
We're delighted to announce our latest exclusive project in partnership with our friends at Bachmann - the exquisite Caledonian Railway 439 Class 0-4-4T steam locomotive! This lovely class is to be produced in OO Gauge for the first time ever - with six variations available to pre-order now in Caledonian Railway, LMS, British Railways and Preservation era liveries. Design work is now underway with CADs completed and engineering samples expected to arrive. The final models are set to arrive in stock during 2027 and you can keep up to date with the project here at Rails of Sheffield!
Find Out More & Pre-Order Now →
PRE-ORDER YOUR 439 CLASS NOW:
Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 439 CR Lined Blue Steam Locomotive
£184.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 439 CR Lined Blue Steam Locomotive - DCC Sound
£294.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 439 CR Lined Blue Steam Locomotive - DCC Sound Deluxe
£324.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 419 CR Lined Blue (As Preserved) Steam Locomotive
£184.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 419 CR Lined Blue (As Preserved) Steam Locomotive - DCC Sound
£294.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 419 CR Lined Blue (As Preserved) Steam Locomotive - DCC Sound Deluxe
£324.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 15189 LMS Lined Crimson (As Preserved) Steam Locomotive
£184.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 15189 LMS Lined Crimson (As Preserved) Steam Locomotive - DCC Sound
£294.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 15189 LMS Lined Crimson (As Preserved) Steam Locomotive - DCC Sound Deluxe
£324.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 15216 LMS Lined Black Steam Locomotive
£184.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 15216 LMS Lined Black Steam Locomotive - DCC Sound
£294.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 15216 LMS Lined Black Steam Locomotive - DCC Sound Deluxe
£324.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 55224 BR Lined Black Late Crest Steam Locomotive
£184.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 55224 BR Lined Black Late Crest Steam Locomotive - DCC Sound
£294.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 55224 BR Lined Black Late Crest Steam Locomotive - DCC Sound Deluxe
£324.95
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RAILWAY ICONS SPECIAL EDITION:
As part of this release we have also joined up with our friends at the National Railway Museum to bring you a special new Railway Icons release (also available at Locomotion Models) depicting No.419 in its 1975 Cavalcade Condition CR lined blue colour scheme.
Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 419 CR Lined Blue (1975 Cavalcade Condition) Steam Locomotive
£184.95
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Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 419 CR Lined Blue (1975 Cavalcade Condition) Steam Locomotive - DCC Sound
£294.95
Shop now
Class 439 Caledonian 0-4-4T 419 CR Lined Blue (1975 Cavalcade Condition) Steam Locomotive - DCC Sound Deluxe
£324.95
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Features Include: MECHANISM: Coreless motor Electrical pickup from all wheels Separate metal bearings fitted to each driving axle Diecast metal chassis block Diecast metal gearbox, with gearing arranged for prototypical running speeds and haulage capabilities Pivoting and sprung rear pony truck 16.5mm (OO gauge) wheels to NEM310 & NEM311 standards with authentic profile and detailing Detachable coupling pockets to NEM362 standards fitted at each end Auto-Release Couplings fitted at both ends – DCC operated, hands-free uncoupling with the press of a function button (SOUND FITTED DELUXE models only) Designed to operate on curves of second radius (438mm) or greater DETAILING: Diecast metal running plate with integral side tank weights Precision moulded plastic boiler, side tanks and cab Separately applied details including lamp irons, Westinghouse pump, handrails, whistle, vacuum pipes, oil pots and turned brass safety valves Highly detailed and decorated cab interior including separately fitted regulator, reverser, handbrake and valve wheels Running gear detailing includes springs, brakes and separately fitted brake gear, and sandpipes Glazed cab spectacles Sprung metal buffers Each model supplied with an accessory pack including air tanks, additional bufferbeam pipework, cab steps and screwlink couplings LIGHTING: Firebox Glow (on analogue) / Firebox Glow & Flicker (on DCC or when SOUND FITTED models are used on analogue) DCC: Next18 DCC decoder interface Bach-Up Stay Alive System providing uninterrupted power to prevent stalling, light flicker and sound cut-outs (operates on DCC only) SOUND: Speaker installed in all models for optimum sound reproduction Zimo MS591N18 DCC Sound Decoder pre-installed in SOUND FITTED and SOUND FITTED DELUXE versions Sound files produced specifically for the Bachmann Branchline Caledonian Class 439 Tank using recordings from real locomotives SOUND FITTED and SOUND FITTED DELUXE models operate on DCC and Analogue control as supplied LIVERY APPLICATION: Authentic liveries applied to all models Multiple paint applications employed on each model Logos, numerals and text added as appropriate using multi-stage tampo printing process, incorporating authentic typefaces, logos and colours
📸 All images kindly supplied by Jonathan Gourlay
PROTOTYPE INFORMATION:
The Caledonian Railway had a long history of using tank engines with an 0-4-4 wheel arrangement, with locomotives of a broadly similar design being built from the mid 1880s until the early years of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1925. Initially a Drummond design, the 0-4-4s were subsequently developed by later engineers as locomotives that covered a wide variety of roles across the Caledonian network. The most numerous Class of 0-4-4Ts was the 439, designed by John F. McIntosh and introduced from 1900. Designated the ‘Standard Passenger’ class, the 439s could be found on branchline traffic in rural areas, as well as suburban passenger duties around Glasgow, Edinburgh and the Scottish Central belt. This was down to several elements of their design, with a short wheelbase allowing for operation on tighter curves, and the 5ft 9in driving wheels allowing for good acceleration in more urban habitats.
By 1925, a grand total of ninety-two Class 439s (68 to the original Macintosh specification, and 24 to slightly modified designs by William Pickersgill and the LMS) had entered traffic. The locomotives, originally delivered in the Caledonian Railway’s stunning fully lined blue, were repainted into the LMS’ Crimson lake and black colour-schemes. The locomotives were fitted with the more typical vacuum brake system at this time which allowed their wings to spread further, including banking duties over the notorious Beattock summit on the mainline from Glasgow to Carlisle and some even heading onto former Highland Railway territory north of Inverness. It is testament to the design (and its usefulness) that despite larger and more modern tank engines delivered during the 1930s and 1940s, seventy four of the 439 Class became part of Britain’s nationalised railway network in 1948. The Class, now sporting the new BR livery of lined black, could still be found on short passenger trains on the outer edges of the former Caledonian network (destinations such as Ballachulish, Killin (for Loch Tay) and Oban) as well as on banking, station pilot, and empty coaching stock turns in cities and towns along the central belt.
The 439s hold a special place in being one of the few pre-grouping tank engine designs to survive into the final decade of steam on British Railways, and with the majority withdrawn at the end of 1962, it was only fitting that one should be saved. Thanks to the efforts of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society, No.419 was saved for preservation and following a full overhaul into its original blue colours (following a generous donation at the time) has become the flagship loco of the SRPS, featuring in the Stockton & Darlington 150th anniversary cavalcade in 1975 and acting as an ambassador for Scottish Railways across the UK ever since, as well as finding its new home at the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway. We are proud to have worked alongside the SRPS on this project, who have today unveiled 419 in its new guise as No.15189 in LMS Crimson Lake, the first time a ‘439’ has carried this livery for over three quarters of a century.
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