Newsdesk: Heljan 'ED'
Heljan approves liveries for its new ‘O’ gauge Class 26 and 56 models and reveals details of the new ‘O’ gauge Class 73/1.
Heljan Class 73/1 revealed
ELECTRO-DIESEL fans were delighted with news of progress on the Heljan ‘O' gauge Class 73/1 when the company revealed the CAD images of the new model. It is undergoing tweaks before tooling is authorised, including the body side grilles which were found to be at the wrong height.
No less than 16 models are listed, including a special edition for Tower Models covering operation of the class from introduction to privatisation with GBRf and EWS. Seven of the models will not be numbered, while the remainder are of celebrity locomotives from the fleet including Network SouthEast No. 73126 Kent & East Sussex Railway; InterCity Executive No. 73102 Airtour Suisse; GBRf blue and orange No. 73107 Tracy and BR ‘Dutch' engineers yellow and grey No. 73108.
Tooling will incorporate locomotive-specific details such as headlights and radio aerials on the appropriate locomotives. Additional customer-fit parts include the bogie arc flash guards fitted to locomotives in the 1980s.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the design will be retractable conductor rail shoes.
Power and electronics follows the usual format for Heljan ‘O' gauge locomotives, including twin bogie drives with five-pole motors and flywheels. Electronics incorporates a plug-and-play decoder interface, directional lighting and switched cab lighting. Collector shoe arcing is an added function in the model, and the cooling fan will be powered too.
The models will be available in limited quantities and advance ordering is recommended. No pricing is available at the current time, but is likely to be in the usual price band for Heljan locomotives of this size. For more details, visit the new Heljan website at www.heljan.co.uk
‘O’ Class 26 liveries approved
Nine different versions of the Class 26/1 are in preparation, models which have fired up Scottish Region modellers into reaching for their wallets, with strong advanced ordering being reported. The livery designs have been approved for samples while final tweaking of the model's design has been completed.
The range of models will cover the class from early condition with tablet catcher apparatus through to the iconic twin headlight Inverness allocation, culminating with 1980s and early 1990s air-braked locomotives which saw service with Trainload Freight.
Interestingly enough, a Trainload Coal version of the model is not included in what is an impressive lineup with BR blue, civil engineers yellow and grey, together with Railfreight red stripe examples, some numbered and some left to the modeller to decide.
Add-on packs will include optional parts to allow further customisation of individual models to suit a preferred number and where parts were changed between locomotives.
Locomotive-specific details are incorporated in the various models alongside standard features including twin bogie drives, powered cooling fan and an array of lighting features.
Models are slated for an early 2022 delivery, assuming all goes well.
Ten ‘O’ gauge Class 56s
Heljan has approved 10 different liveries for its forthcoming ‘O' gauge Class 56. Based on the Crewe-built locomotives which made up the bulk of the fleet, the liveries cover the life of the locomotive, from rail blue through to the end of BR and its Trainload Freight sectors, with both LoadHaul and Transrail (Tower Models special edition model) represented in the collection.
Four of the models will be numbered: Rail blue No. 56071; BR ‘Large Logo' blue No. 56099; Trainload Coal No. 56101; and Trainload Construction No. 56110 Croft. The remainder – including Trainload Freight, Railfreight grey and red stripe versions – are supplied without numbers, allowing modellers to select their own favourites.
Specification for what will be a large model is impressive, with a twin bogie drive providing the power in a heavy chassis to achieve the traction performance one will expect.
Each bogie will be fitted with a five-pole motor and flywheels, while the electronics include switched cab and directional running lights, together with screw terminals for a large scale decoder. Room is also available for a smoke unit for simulated exhaust alongside digital sound. Powered cooling fans are installed in a locomotive model, that has been successfully tested on a large ‘O' gauge layout using full-length trains.
It will be the perfect power for a train of the Dapol ‘O' gauge MGR which is still available from time to time, even though it does not currently appear in the Dapol 2021 catalogue. Class 56s will be popular, making advance ordering essential to secure a model, which are priced at £699.