Cavalex Models continues to expand its Brush Type 5 offering in 4mm with our next locomotive project, the Class 60 in OO scale.

With the type 5 loco hauling our released, and forthcoming wagon projects, it was a logical next step for us after our Class 56. The model is already significantly advanced and at the tooling stage, having been in the works for the past few years. All variants of the 60 are being tooled, to accurately cover all 100 locomotives produced between first delivery of 60001 in June 1989 and the present day operations of the fleet. This will of course see the release of Class 60s in configurations and liveries that haven’t been available before in 1:76.2 scale.

GBRF Class 56 Farewell Railtour limited edition twin pack

Photo courtesy Alan Padley

In 2018 GB Railfreight acquired 16 Class 56 locomotives from UK Rail Leasing to meet the increased demand for motive power as the company continued its growth in the sector.

The plan was to rebuild the Class 56s based on the need to improve emissions, save costs through improved fuel economy and standardisation amongst the fleet. Classified as Class 69, the newly converted locomotives would incorporate various new parts including new engine and cooler group with the bogies and traction motors being retained but overhauled.

In April 2019, GB Railfreight announced that ten locomotives had been ordered, with the option for an addition six more, which would be rebuilt by Progress Rail at its Longport facility.

The first of the Class, 69001, was released from Longport in February 2021 and moved to the Severn Valley Railway for testing. 69002 followed in March of the same year and as of January 2023, the fleet currently stands at seven operational locomotives.

To mark the end of Class 56 operations by GB Railfreight, UK Railtours in association with GBRf, arranged a final mainline railtour with two of GBRf’s Class 56 locomotives before the last of the fleet prepared for conversion to Class 69.

Ahead of the Railtour, 56081 and 56098 were painted by local staff as a one-off before withdrawal, in B.R. Blue and Large Logo respectively. The locomotives looked resplendent in their retrospective British Rail liveries and are a credit to the staff involved.

On the 14th of January 2023, 56081 and 56098 worked the GBRF Class 56 Farewell Tour from Wembley Central to Barrow Hill and return.

To commemorate this event and due to the growing number of requests received for Cavalex to produce a limited number of models of these fine locomotives, we are delighted to announce that we will be offering 56081 and 56098 as a limited edition pair thanks to GB Railfreight.

The GBRF Class 56 Farewell Railtour twin pack is available exclusively from our retailers listed below. Price for the double pack will be £379.90 for the DCC ready version, sound fitted price TBA.

We hope to provide an update on the sound fitted version of our Class 56 at Model Rail Scotland later this month

● Collett’s Models - https://www.collettsmodelshop.co.uk

● C&M Models - https://candmmodels.co.uk

● John Dutfield - https://www.johndutfieldmodelrailways.co.uk

● KMS Railtech - https://www.kmsrailtech.co.uk

● Rails of Sheffield - https://railsofsheffield.com

● Rainbow Railways - https://rainbowrailways.co.uk

● Trains4U - http://www.trains4u.com

● Ultimate Model Railways - https://ultimatemodelrailways.com

We would like to pass on our thanks to GBRF, Bob Tiller and Tony Middleton for their help and support with producing these models.

Photo courtesy Richard Watson, Hornby Magazine

We wanted to extend our thanks to the Hornby Magazine team for a nice afternoon talking and playing trains yesterday at their office. 56008 was given a nice run out on HAAs and 56049 an easy turn on TEAs.

Photo courtesy Richard Watson, Hornby Magazine

Photo courtesy Richard Watson, Hornby Magazine

Look out for videos and more content from Hornby Magazine coming next week.

Thanks to Richard Watson for these excellent photos.

The first and the last Merry Go Round set - 350000 and 368459

It was a very special moment for us when we were approached by Locomotion Models to produce the first and the last of the iconic MGR wagons, and we are delighted to announce that the first batch of these models have been delivered to Locomotion Models.

The first prototype Merry Go Round Wagon (HAA) No. 350000 was built in Darlington in 1964 and the last (HDA) No. 368459 was built at Shildon Works. Both wagons have been authentically replicated in this exclusive set for modellers and collectors.

The Merry Go Round concept proved an innovation which revolutionised the movement of coal from colliery to power station using automated loading and unloading at slow speeds to allow a continuous cycle between the collieries and power stations.

The first and the last Merry Go Round set is a great way to celebrate a significant and influential period in British Rail’s history which saw over 10,000 wagons built working throughout the network across Wales, England and Scotland. The last of the Merry Go Round wagons were withdrawn in the late 2000s bringing an end to decades of valuable service, covering millions of miles, moving coal around the country.

The first and the last Merry Go Round set - 350000 and 368459

Locomotion Models will be contacting customers that have pre-ordered the models in due course.

The first and the last Merry Go Round set can be purchased through the Locomotion Models website, please see the below link:

https://www.locomotionmodels.com/exclusive-models/future-releases/first-and-last-mgr-set/the-first-and-the-last-merry-go-round-set

The first four Cavalex Models’ Class 56 painted samples

As the year ends and we approach 2023 our Class 56 project is moving closer to the final production stage. This is a perfect opportunity to showcase some of the features and details included on our model for people that were unable to visit The Great Electric Train Show or The Warley Show.

Cavalex Models’ 56049 in Colas Railfreight livery, Series 2 Cab at the No 1 end

Those that came to see us on our stand at Warley have had the chance to examine the impressive painted samples that we had on show and had a chance to discuss the locomotives in detail with the Cavalex Team. However, for those that weren’t able to visit, we want to showcase some of the features that we have incorporated into the model for you to enjoy.

• To start us off, as per the prototype, we have tooled all 4 different cab designs to match the real locomotive design (labelled by us as series 1, 2, 3 and 4), this allows the Cavalex 56 to reproduce all cabs in all combinations. As a result this gives us the ability to model crash damaged locomotives (such as 56049 shown below), which have acquired different cab designs at each end during their lives.

Cavalex Models’ 56049 in Colas Railfreight livery, Series 3 Cab at the No 2 end

• 21 pin DCC interface to allow for easy DCC chip installation and access to the comprehensive dip switch control for DC users, which allows access to all of the DCC functions for lighting etc, without the need to remove the model from the track.

• Custom sound project recorded and programmed by ESU, which interacts with independently driven roof fans, each with its own quiet coreless motor, to authentically replicate the way that the real locomotive operates, under various loads and conditions. This combined with a custom selected bass and sugar cube dual speaker set-up will provide an authentic replication of the class 56 nostalgia.

• Full independently controlled lighting, allowing for parked, yard, light engine, and ‘on train’ modes, with realistic levels of brightness and colour representative of the prototype being modelled.

Tread on cab kick plate and bogie step tread detail on Cavalex Models’ Class 56008

• Realistically bright (or dim depending how you look at it) cab lighting, driver’s desk with individually printed dials and decorated full depth cab interior in differing colour schemes to represent the particular prototype being modelled.

• Hall sensors for fully adjustable automated flange squeal on sound fitted models which was first demonstrated to customers at the Rails of Sheffield open day in August 2022. This feature automatically provides the characteristic screech as the wheels enter sharp curves. Not having to activate the sound manually only adds to the immersive effect whilst driving the locomotive.

• Power bank providing smooth uninterrupted running, which combined with floating centre axles, allows trouble free road holding and power.

• 5 pole motor with twin flywheel and low ratio gearbox for prototypical running speeds typical of the class, allowing modellers to replicate the slow speed loading and unloading of the iconic MGR hoppers (also available in our range) in model form.

Cavalex Models’ 56008 in B.R. Blue livery. Removeable roof panel showing the 21 pin DCC interface, dip switch control for access to features for DC users.

• All axle pickup with centre floating axle to improve the model’s road holding and performance over traditional pick up wipers .

• Provision to order drop in wheelsets to easily convert the loco to EM and P4 gauges for those modellers that wish to showcase the unparalleled levels of detail and accuracy of the model with equally accurate trackwork.

• NEM pocket blanking plates representing the 'grid' under the buffer beam. This not only hides the coupling box but also provides very secure fixing of the ‘grid’ which can then be removed later should the use of the coupling box need to be re-instated.

• Etched Roof fan (sat slightly proud of the roof as per the prototype with a clear gap beneath) and body side grille types represented by correct woven square mesh on the Romanian locos, and finer diamond mesh for British built locos. (Final etches not represented on photos as these are currently undergoing final finesse tweaks)

Fully detailed cab interior of Cavalex Models’ Class 56

• Completely ‘see through’ moulded cantrail roof grilles running the full length of the body. A first in 4mm RTR, the cantrail grilles are moulded in full relief, providing depth to these details that hasn’t been seen in 4mm scale before.

• 3D effect horn grills showing hints of the horns behind as per the real loco.

• Highly detailed and accurate underframe with numerous separately fitted parts.

• Full relief bogies with over 36 separately fitted detail parts per bogie. We are particularly proud of the detail and depth that has been achieved on these and are a masterpiece of modelling in their own right. For the first time in 4mm scale we have a class 56 bogie that is built just like the real thing, and accurately represents the bulk and heavy nature of an important feature of the locomotive. We are looking forward to seeing the models receive a nice layer of weathering to really highlight this feature!

• Individual details and finish that has been rigorously researched and applied to each model to represent the individual prototype as accurately as possible.

Cavalex Models’ 56008 in B.R. Blue livery, Series 1 Cab at the No 1 end

Below are further photographs of the sample models of the all new Cavalex class 56. We’re really proud of the samples so far and they truly represent the pride and effort that goes into our models from conception, through to design and into manufacture. With all of the latest electronics currently available packed into the Cavalex class 56, it is one of, if not the, most technologically capable locomotives available in 4mm scale to date. Not only does it faithfully recreate the shape of and features of the prototype across the four main variations, but it also provides the modeller with the very latest in lighting and control, which helps to make this model one of the all round leaders in the 4mm scale market.

Cavalex Models’ 56093 in B.R. Large Logo livery, Series 4 Cab at the No 2 end

With 14 versions currently announced, these locomotives are available to pre-order from our retailers, please click the button below to view these retailers at the bottom of the original class 56 announcement.

The Cavalex Class 56 range

Further updates on the progress and delivery of this project will be provided in due course.

Happy new year from the Cavalex team.

Cav & Alex

We would like to wish all of our customers and followers a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Thank you to everyone that has supported us over the past year. We are looking forward to 2023 in which we hope to deliver numerous projects to modellers, both announced and unannounced.

Merry Christmas!

Livery samples of 56008 in B.R. Blue and 56049 in Colas Railfreight were given a chance to stretch their legs at last month’s Warley Show. We wanted to share some video clips of both locomotives in action.

56049 running on Deadmans Lane thanks to Mick Bryan.

56008 working on Redbridge Wharf thanks to Richard Sulzmann and The Winchester Railway Modellers.

More video clips can be found on our YouTube channel, click the button below to view the clips.

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Our post Warley update is now available containing the latest news on each of our projects.

Please click the below button to view the update:

Photo courtesy Jack Taylor

Last weekend at the Warley Show, 56049 was given a run out on the excellent Deadmans Lane thanks to Mick Bryan. The decent length engineers train provided a nice load to test the haulage capacity of the locomotive.

Photo courtesy Jack Taylor

Thank you also to Jack Taylor for the superb photos capturing 56049 working on Deadmans Lane.

Our thanks to Warley Model Railway Club & Exhibition for a very enjoyable weekend at The NEC.

It was great to display our Class 56 painted samples at the show and talk about the details and features included on the forthcoming models.

Thank you to everyone that took the time to visit our stand over the weekend.

Thanks also to Richard Sulzmann and The Winchester Railway Modellers, 56008 was allocated to a local freight working on Redbridge Wharf.