Steve Johnson Modelmaker
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BRCW Class
26 Bo-Bo Diesel-Electric
Heljan 2006 realease Class 26/0 The Class 26 locomotives were built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company at their Smethwick works between 1958 and 1959. These were initially part of the Modernisation Plan Type 2 locomotives with 20 ordered. Powered by a Sulzer 6LDA-28A type engine (the same as BR's own Class 24) and driving a Crompton-Parkinson generator and traction motors. A further 27 locomotives were ordered of a slightly modified design bringing the total built up to 47. Under TOPS they became Class 26/0 and Class 26/1. Initially allocated to the London area of the Eastern Region, they were moved to Scotland in the early 1960's, where they remained until eventual withdrawal between 1975 and 1994. Some locomotives were fitted with recesses under the cab side window for tablet catchers. Later in their careers, the cab door windows were plated over as the glass often got broken by the tablets hitting them. Thirteen survive in preservation. My model of a Class 26 is the Heljan Class 26/0 version in original BR Green with small yellow warning panels. It is a reasonable representation of a Class 26 and certainly an improvement on the Lima version, especially the running qualities. There are a few issues with the shape of the cab roof dome. Another issue is that despite being in early livery, the cab front connecting doors are plated over. As one of Heljans earlier models, it has a moulded roof grille rather than an etched grille. The first RTR model of a Class 26 was released by Lima in 1989. Heljan released their first versions in 2006 with both the class 26/0 and Class 26/1. Heljan released a number of variants including tablet catcher recesses and plated over cab door windows. Heljan are releasing a re-tooled version in 2023 which will feature a revised body and etched grilles.
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