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18000

18100

GT3

18000 was ordered by the Great Western Railway in 1946 from Brown-Boveri, although it didn't arrive until after nationalisation and carried the BR Black and Silver livery from new, later being painted in BR lined green. The turbine drove a generator that powered the four traction motors in an A1A-A1A configuration. Not the success that was hoped for it was eventually withdrawn in 1960 having spent most of its life at Swindon Works. That wasn't the end though, for the locomotive was acquired by the UIC for adhesion testing. The locomotive, although stripped of the power unit and transmission, was displayed in Vienna until the early 1990's when it was preserved and shipped back to England.

I have the Silver Fox version mounted on a Bachmann Class 37 chassis. Work has been slow and the model is yet to be completed.

A few kits of this locomotive have been produced over the years. MTK produced a white metal kit. This passed on to NNK and finally Phoenix-Precision. A resin body kit was produced by Silver Fox Models.

In November 2019, Rails of Sheffield announced they were producing a RTR version in all three liveries.