Hornby R3823 LB&SCR 45 Merton Centenary Year Limited Edition 1998.
One of the ‘new’ 1998 models was the SR 0-6-0T Terrier locomotive, ‘Freshwater’. This model was the first of many variants of the Terrier that were produced by Hornby over the subsequent years and because of its diminutive appearance and subsequent charm proved a great favourite with modellers and collectors alike.
Eventually it became necessary to replace the ageing tooling and in 2019 a totally new ‘Terrier’ model was introduced into the range, incorporating many of the tooling changes that would allow Hornby to produce the numerous detail variations that the full size locomotives had evolved during their many years in service.
Without the influx in 1998 of the ‘new’ tooling it could be argued that Hornby’s revival may have taken much longer to achieve.
The ‘Terrier’ was instrumental in that recovery which is why the LBSC Terrier ‘Merton’ has been included as part of the Hornby Centenary Collection and symbolises the great changes that occurred to Hornby in the 1990s.
To commemorate this particular period in Hornby’s history the box artwork accompanying ‘Merton’ replicates elements of the packaging style from that period.
This very special and enhanced collectable model of ‘Merton’, using the 2019 tooling is supplied with a numbered certificate confirming that it is one from a limited edition of 1000.