The 3,300hp Class 56s brought new power to Britain’s freight traffic and a distinctive engine note with their turbo charged Ruston Paxman engine. MIKE WILD inspects Heljan’s eagerly awaited first ready-to-run model of the Type 5 for ‘O’ gauge.
The Class 56s are synonymous with heavy freight traffic – and a firm favourite amongst enthusiasts.
The first arrived in 1976 to provide new traction for the movement of coal to power stations and featured a turbo charged Ruston Paxman 16RK3CT engine which delivered a maximum power output of 3,300hp.
These distinctive locomotives didn’t have the easiest start in life. The first 30 were built by Electroputere in Romania, but their build quality and reliability meant they required remedial work to make them suitable for service. Numbered 56001-56030 their most obvious, but not defining feature, was the half depth horn grille on the cab front, although this was carried over to the first part (up to 56056) of the Doncaster built batch numbered 56031-56115.
There were further design changes during construction of the Class 56 at Doncaster while the final batch, 56116-56135, was built at BR Engineering’s Crewe Works. The last rolled off the production line in 1984 bringing the class total to 135.
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