LNER Railway 200 Train to be Released in Miniature

The real-life train was unveiled in January and is named “Darlington” to mark the town’s vital role in the creation of the modern railway. The Azuma train’s striking livery features the national Railway 200 logo, as well as the logo for the S&DR200 Festival, a nine-month extravaganza taking place across County Durham and the Tees Valley.

The livery also includes pictures of Locomotion No.1, the first locomotive to haul passengers on the S&DR, the first edition of the Northern Echo, published in Darlington and the UK’s first truly national newspaper. Hopetown, the Darlington railway museum located on the grounds of the former S&DR works is also featured, and it is capped off with an LNER Azuma train and the design of the new entrance to the station.

Hornby’s model will be available later this year, as will the already announced LNER Azuma train set - the first time the modern Azuma train has been available as part of an entry level set including track and a controller.

Stuart Thomas, Communications Director at LNER, said: “We’re so proud of our Railway 200 Azuma train named “Darlington” as it showcases numerous innovations that came out of the region. It’s really exciting that the livery will now also be available in miniature for model rail enthusiasts and collectors.”