Rapido 948106 Class 45 45123 “The Lancashire Fusilier” BR Blue With Headcode Blinds

Description

Rapido 948106 Class 45 45123 “The Lancashire Fusilier” BR Blue With Headcode Blinds

With the success of the first Type 4 diesels, Derby Works began the development of the next generation of even more powerful locomotives, the Class 45 and Class 46. These would go on to form the bulk of the Midland mainline fleet for many years.

Despite the 45s and 46s not being named after mountains as their Class 44 counterparts had been, many were honoured with the names of famed British Army Regiments, however they still retained the nickname ‘Peaks’.

The Class 45 and 46s were pretty much identical to the 44s, also weighing in at around 135 tonnes and powered by a diesel power unit produced by Swiss engineering company Sulzer. However, the newer power units produced 2500 horsepower, 200 more than their predecessors.

This led to BR placing a more substantial order of 127 locos for Class 45s, this was so many in fact, that Crewe Works were also drafted in to assist Derby with their construction. The first BR Class 45 entered service in late 1960, with the class soon becoming the main loco to work out of St Pancras on the Midland mainline services, demoting the dwindling number of steam locos to cover local services or freight. The 45s were intended to be allocated to multiple regions during their construction and this was initially the case with locomotives allocated to London Midland and Western Region sheds as well as other regions for short stints of training. They soon settle down to more regular work on Midland mainline and Western Region services.

With the introduction of the HSTs on the Midland and Cross Country routes, as well as the introduction of Class 56s to coal traffic, the 45s were moved to the Trans-Pennine route to work passenger services across the North of the country.

Model

1:148 Scale model of a Class 45 Diesel Locomotive decorated in BR livery. This model features lots of expertly applied details as based on the prototype, a high level of body detail and excellent running characteristics.

45123 “The Lancashire Fusilier”
BR blue with headcode blinds
Split headcode panel
Bodyside steps removed
Bodyside lower panel
Outer bogie sandboxes only
Directional lighting
Next18 decoder socket
High quality motor and drive mechanism for smooth running
Factory-fitted speakers in all models
DCC sound option (with ESU LokSound 5 decoder)
NEM coupler pockets
Separately fitted wipers
Separately fitted radiator fan grill
Optional buffer beam hoses to fit as required