Heljan reveal Class 56 decorated samples

As is often the case with pre-production samples, a few tweaks and corrections are required, but so far Heljan says they look very promising.

The firm expects the most popular livery in the first batch to be BR Large Logo Blue. This will be offered in unnumbered form and as 56099 with the full Tinsley TMD decorative flourishes.

The '56' depicts the later Doncaster and Crewe-built locomotives (56056-135). It is being produced in 10 different versions, ranging from original BR blue to mid-1990s Loadhaul black/orange. An 11th version, in Transrail grey, is exclusive to Tower Models.

Standard features include LED lighting, powered roof fans, heavy duty chassis with twin motors and brass flywheels, DCC Friendly PCB with screw terminals, etched grilles, a choice of cab door handrail designs, optional cab ventilation grilles and protection grids for mounting under the bufferbeams, sprung buffers and couplings and a wealth of separately fitted detail parts.

Class 56 liveries for the first production run:

#5600 BR Blue unnumbered
#5601 BR Large Logo Blue unnumbered
#5602 Railfreight Large Logo Grey unnumbered
#5603 Railfreight Red Stripe Grey unnumbered
#5604 Railfreight 3-tone Grey unbranded/unnumbered
#5605 Railfreight Coal 56101 Mutual Improvement WEATHERED
#5606 Railfreight Construction 56110 Croft
#5607 Loadhaul black/orange unnumbered
#5608 BR Large Logo Blue 56099 (Tinsley embellishments)
#5609 BR Blue 56071
#5610 Transrail Grey unnumbered TOWER MODELS EXCLUSIVE

For more details, contact your local Heljan supplier.