Hornby R4143A OO Gauge Pullman 1st Class Parlour Car "Niobe" with Working Table Lights – Pre-Owned, Excellent Boxed Condition

Name: Hornby R4143A OO Gauge Pullman 1st Class Parlour Car "Niobe" with Working Table Lights – Pre-Owned, Excellent Boxed Condition
Brand: Pezza's Trains
Price: 34.95 GBP
Availability: InStock

£34.95 GBP

Taxes included. Shipping calculated at checkout.

Experience True Luxury with Working Table Lamps

Elevate your model railway layout with the breathtaking realism of this pre-owned Hornby R4143A OO Gauge Pullman 1st Class Parlour Car "Niobe". This is not your standard model railway carriage—this release features Hornby's advanced, highly-detailed tooling complete with a factory-fitted, fully operational internal table lighting system.

As the train glides along your track, each individual, intricately moulded table lamp glows softly, perfectly recreating the warm, inviting, ultra-premium atmosphere of a mid-century luxury express at dusk or night. The coach is finished in the exquisite, traditional Pullman Umber and Cream livery with crisp, flush-fitting glazing, individual handrails, and beautifully defined matchboard wood-slat side panels.

🔍 Condition Report & Box Details

Rolling Stock Condition: Excellent / Near Mint. The bodywork is pristine with flawless cream and umber paint, immaculate gold lining, and perfectly sharp lettering displaying the name "Niobe". The electrical track pickups and all internal table lights are fully tested and working perfectly. Wheels, bogies, and couplings show next to no signs of track use.
Box Condition: Excellent Boxed Condition. The original Hornby window box is structurally sound and completely intact. It displays only some very minor, superficial age-related shelf wear on the corners and edges, making it a wonderful piece for collectors and active modellers alike.

🚂 Prototype History: The Legacy of "Niobe"

The History of the Coach

Built in the late 1920s, "Niobe" was a wood-sided, 8-wheel First Class Parlour Car. In the strict hierarchy of the elite Pullman Car Company (PCC), while second and third-class carriages were assigned mere numbers, the prestigious First Class coaches were designated with classical or elegant female names. Named after the figure from Greek mythology, Niobe stood for the pinnacle of luxury, featuring deeply cushioned armchairs, custom wood marquetry, and individual attendant call buttons. As a Parlour Car, it was dedicated entirely to passenger seating, typically paired right next to a Kitchen Car to receive at-seat silver service dining.

Famous Routes & Areas of Operation

Niobe and her sister first-class parlour cars operated on the absolute crown jewels of the British railway network from the 1920s through to the late 1950s:

The Golden Arrow (Fleche d’Or): The legendary Southern Railway boat train connecting London Victoria to Dover, transporting international passengers in style toward Paris.
The Bournemouth Belle: The Southern Region's all-Pullman express, running a high-speed service from London Waterloo down to the South Coast holiday resorts.
The Queen of Scots & Tees-Tyne Pullmans: Occasionally deployed north of London onto the East Coast Main Line (ECML) to serve high-society travellers heading to Yorkshire, Newcastle, and Scotland.

Suitable Locomotives to Haul This Coach

To form an authentic, prototypical rake of carriages for Niobe, pair this coach with the premier express locomotives of the Southern Railway (SR), LNER, or British Railways (BR) Western/Southern regions:

Southern Region: SR Lord Nelson Class, Schools Class, King Arthur Class, or the iconic Bullid "West Country" and "Battle of Britain" Light Pacifics.
LNER / Eastern Region: Class A1/A3 (such as Flying Scotsman) or the streamlined Class A4 Pacifics.
BR Steam Era: BR Standard Class 7 "Britannia" Pacifics or heavy-duty express steam icons in BR Green.

📊 Technical Specifications

Brand: Hornby
Product Code: R4143A
Scale/Gauge: OO Gauge (1:76 Scale)
Coach Type: 1st Class Parlour Car (Matchboard Wood-Sided)
Lighting: Factory-fitted operational track-powered table lamps
Era: Era 3 (Big Four 1923-1947) / Era 4 (BR Steam 1948-1956)
Couplings: Standard Hook-and-Bar
Power Requirement: Operates on standard 12V DC layouts (and compatible with DCC layouts)

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