The C58LG review of the HELJAN Class 58 OO gauge models

The eagerly awaited Class 58 from Heljan has now been on general sale for a few months and with the second batch of locos due later this year, we are pleased to be able to post this review online.

The model is in two versions, these being based on the early batch of locomotives from 58001-014 and the last batch from 58036–050. These versions are intended to take account of the various modifications applied to the locomotives during the 5 year construction phase.

At this point a note of explanation is probably due to detail the main changes occurring to the locomotives during the construction phase, changes which have had quite an impact on the look of the locomotives. The first major change from the original design was the fitting of locking handles to the bodyside doors from 58015 onwards. 58001-014 were built without these handles to lock and unlock the bodyside doors. On these locomotives locking of bodyside doors was achieved by the insertion of a carriage key into a simple locking mechanism via a hole located on the relevant locking bodyside doors. The second major design change was to the exhaust silencer, this occurring from 58027 onwards. This new silencer was much larger than the previous rectangular version originally fitted to the first twenty six locos and these were all slowly replaced in favour of the larger version by the end of the Railfreight sector era. This modification was quickly followed by a change to the cab entry handrails which meant the innermost sets were given blanking screens which were fitted to the inside the large open hoop of the rails. A blanking screen was also added on top of them. This screen extended to just above cantrail level and covered the full width of the top of these handrails following the tapering profile of the cab rear before gently turning to return to the bodyside. This change was incorporated from 58030 onwards and was designed to discourage train crew from walking between the locomotive cabs along the top of the underframe, an act outlawed on Health and Safety grounds. These three main modifications were all eventually phased in to a greater or lesser extent on the earlier built locomotives and all of them eventually received the revised exhaust silencer modification and most the handrail modification. 58001-014 had additional door handles fitted to the bodyside doors but this was on a rather sporadic basis resulting in many different combinations of fitted and unfitted bodyside doors on individual locomotives.

Other more minor changes occurred during the construction phase including the softening of the primary suspension springs on the centre wheel set of each bogie, in an attempt to reduce wheel slip on uneven colliery sidings. The first of what would eventually be two other modifications was also made to the troublesome cab ventilation system of the 58001-035 batch. This resulted in ducting being fitted underneath the skirting at the bottom of the cab front and produced the little triangular ducting ‘ears’ located on the bottom outside corners of the cab fronts. Again not all locomotives received this modification however.

Big changes came with the additional second batch of locomotives ordered by BR, namely 58036-58050. These locomotives had modified bogies designated CP3a. These differed from the original CP3 design significantly. The original CP3 bogie had only two sandboxes on the leading wheelset of each bogie. These were fitted to the inside of the bogie frames and were not visible except from the front of the locomotive. The fillers for these sandboxes sat on top of bogie side frames being a simple flap-covered hole with a metal edging around it. This design made it notoriously difficult for fitters to fill the sandboxes, one reason for the design changes incorporated on the CP3a. The CP3 had Westinghouse brake equipment and this was changed to SAB equipment on the CP3a. This brake equipment had a totally different look to it than that of the Westinghouse equipment and was much smaller to allow for redesigned sandboxes. The new bogie had four of these redesigned sandboxes on it with sanding equipment being fitted to the leading and trailing wheelsets to further improve adhesion. These sandboxes were placed underneath the bogie frame on its outermost corners. They were clearly visible as a result of this positioning and the fact that they had Perspex see-through windows enabling the amount of sand in them to be clearly seen. Redesigned sandbox fillers also accompanied this design change and these also became visible as these were positioned on the outside of the bogie frames. The combined result of these changes meant a very different looking bogie was created.

Another visible difference to this last batch of locomotives is the small grill fitted below each cabside window towards the front of the locomotive. This came about by a further redesign of the cab ventilation system. This last batch of locomotives also incorporated from new the previous physical changes made to the 58001-035 batch, excepting the previously mentioned first cab ventilation modification which produced the triangular ‘ears’ mentioned earlier. As a result they are probably the most standard looking of all 58s and their physical appearance is distinct from the earlier locomotives. Bogie swaps have occurred over the years however and some of the original batch of locos now ride on CP3a bogies whilst some of the latter batch now ride on the original CP3 bogies though these exceptions are few.

The Model

Moving back to the model locomotives again, on view at Warley were pre-production models representing version one and version two models. Version one was catered for by 58001 and 58014 based on the first batch of locomotives with 58037 and 58050 representing the version two model based on the last batch of locomotives. Missing were the proposed version one model 58004 and the version two model 58047. These locomotives have since appeared in the production batch sporting Mainline grey livery and EWS livery respectively. 58001 and 58037 were carrying the Railfreight grey and red livery with 58037 correctly sporting the orange cantrail safety stripe. 58014 was in Railfreight triple grey with coal sector logos although this was inaccurately reproduced and 58050 carried the Mainline blue and silver livery again inaccurately produced. Also of note was the fact that 58037 and 58050 were both on the incorrect CP3 bogie with no sign of the CP3a they should have been on. All six locomotives are now available in the shops and the version two production models all happily have the correct CP3a bogie.

Cabs

Moving on to the detail now on the production models starting with the cabs. The view of the front elevation nicely captures the look of the 58 with its large front windows and slab front ends. Of some concern is the roof profile which appears a little too angular where it meets the cab sides, the roof curve being constant on the model unlike that of the prototype. A slightly more rounded profile at the intersection with the cab sides would match the real thing a little better as the roof curve tends to sharpen at this point on the real locomotives. The taper of the cab side window area gives rise to some concern too as it appears to be slightly too upright and ought to be a little more angled. The result of this gives the cab a very slight square look from the front and rear elevations.

The horn grill above the cab front windscreens is very well produced with extremely fine grill and screw detail. Moving down, the windscreen wipers are also nicely reproduced and are a factory fitted separate moulding as are the multiple working jumpers and sockets which look nicely to scale and are again nicely produced.

The cab front handrail which was very heavy on the pre-production models has been replaced by a finer metal wire and looks much the better for it.

The marker and tail light clusters whilst acceptable would have benefited by the addition of hinges as per the prototype. These are fitted at the top of each cluster and the fact that they are missing makes them look a bit basic. The models feature directional working head, marker and tail lights. However, more light leakage is evident than you would like to see which detracts a little from what is basically a fairly good representation of the front of the cabs. Lighting of the marker lights is uneven with the right side lights being much dimmer than the left. Leakage of the red from the tail lights is evident in the marker lights at full power and this issue does need improvement.

On a more positive note however is the welcome sight of the little ‘ears’ on the front bottom corners of the cab produced by the cab ventilation duct modification I referred to earlier. Whilst not all locomotives had this modification many did and it is easier by far to remove them than to try and add them. Unfortunately because no version two body has been produced the ‘ears’ are represented on this version of the model which is incorrect. Lastly of note on the cab front is the fact that the bracket for an emergency tail lamp is moulded flat against the body which is disappointing. Moving on to the cab roof, the little detail there is in this area on the prototype is faithfully reproduced on the model with the radio roof pod well produced but perhaps looking just a little small. A nice touch is the inclusion of the tiny cab lifting socket sealing bolts forward of the radio roof pod, this detail being missing on the Hornby model. The channel at the rear of each cab which runs up from the bottom rear corners and over the top of the cab roof is accurately represented by Heljan on their version of the locomotive again this being missing on the Hornby model. The Heljan model does not have separate cabs like its predecessor which may have helped to make creating this important detail much easier.

On the cab sides a most obvious error however is that of the rain strip above the cab side windows. This is incorrectly positioned and is far too high above the windows. A look at the prototype shows clearly that it should sit almost on top of the cab side window. On certain livery applications this means the orange cantrail warning stripe sits directly over it, which is incorrect. The cab side windows themselves are also a little concerning as they seem slightly too tall and the corner profiles are much too square. The prototype has much more rounded corners than those depicted on the model and appear less tall than those modelled. They are also tinted brown on the real locomotives and this would have been a nice touch to add to the model.

The cab side windows on the driver’s side are depicted half open on each cab. However there is no driver, sadly. The cab side windows also lack the depth of the rear sliding section evident on the prototype and this gives the unopened windows a very flat look not typical of the prototype. This sliding window pane area also lacks the smaller glazed area of the prototype. Heljan have however captured the angles out of the recessed front windscreen area very well, improving the accuracy of the side elevation of the cabs. This is a major improvement over the Hornby model which was squared off at the top and bottom. Finally the handrail fitted to the rear of the cab is correctly modelled with its characteristic slight slope in towards the bodyside.

Central Body Section

The central body section is well reproduced and captures nicely the compartmental nature typical of the real locomotive. Bodyside doors are reproduced with the correct difference between the door layout and corresponding door hinge positions on each side of the locomotive. The frame from which the bodyside doors are hung is also nicely represented between the major compartments of the locomotive. This is a big improvement over the Hornby model which had got all of this wrong. The doors are of the correct height, almost meeting the roof sections as they do on the real thing, a feature which was also notably wrong on Hornby’s old model.

Indeed the height of the model is exactly to scale and as a result depicts the tall look of these locomotives as well as giving the model much more bulk than the predecessor. The roof sections over the various compartments of the locomotive also have the lifting eyes subtly represented. They are correctly missing on the radiator section as this is a solid unit on the real locomotives. Rain strips are also nicely reproduced and positioned well. The five strips located between the exhaust silencer and the roof radiator fan grills are also well produced and again are a big improvement over the Hornby model which once again was entirely incorrect.

Without doubt the main feature which draws your attention on the roof is the exhaust silencer which Heljan have produced very well both in terms of shape and profile. It correctly stands proud of the rest of the roof area accurately depicting the prototype. The exhaust ports themselves are also very nicely done and various joins on the silencer casing are accurately reproduced. The addition of black inside the exhaust ports themselves would benefit the model no end and perhaps tone down a little the silver used to reproduce the metal effect of the real thing. Heljan have decided to reproduce the modified version of exhaust silencer as fitted from 58027 onwards and it is fitted to both versions of the model. It should be noted that this is not entirely correct for the version one models as none were built with this type of silencer. As a result any version one locomotives carrying Railfreight grey and red with this silencer are technically incorrect. Heljan have been able to get around this however by cleverly producing 58001 as it does have the modified silencer in its retro repainted Railfreight livery. The new design silencer started being phased in on the earlier locomotives however when repaints started into the triple grey sector livery, 58002 being the first, but many still carried the original design through much of this livery’s life time. All locos eventually received the modification by the time the Mainline branding had appeared however so it is perhaps understandable why Heljan made this decision.

Radiator roof grills on the model are a factory added separate moulding and are see through. However the radiator fans below are part of the body moulding and do not therefore revolve which would have been a nice feature. Moving to the sides of the central body section again, the radiator section’s large double grill is sadly not see-through although the ‘X’ of the cross section supports is portrayed. The moulding of the grill mesh is however very fine which goes some way to making up for this. Finer still is the moulding of the mesh on the 3 smaller grills below the main radiator grill, this accurately portraying that of the prototype. This is a challenging area to represent with any level of accuracy. If the mesh were too fine it would look solid whereas if it were to coarse it would not look like that of the real locomotive. Heljan have just about pitched this right on the model and should be justifiably proud of this area which even reproduces the strips midway beneath the mesh of each of these three grills. This whole area of the locomotive is reproduced very well with grill hinges, mesh and the general level of detail in this complex area being well produced.

The engine compartment bodyside door nearest the radiator grills also depicts accurately the small air intake situated within it on each side of the loco. For the version one model the carriage key locking holes on the bodyside doors are also nicely produced and correctly positioned on the locking doors. Version two models are sadly let down by the fact that Heljan has failed to reproduce the bodyside door handles later fitted on the class and have simply used the version one body and underframe moulding. This is compounded by the fact that owner add-on door handle mouldings are not supplied. The grilled doors at number two end of both versions of the model are again very well produced, accurately reflecting the fine nature of the grills on the prototype and again praise is due to the fineness of the moulding reproduced here.

Both version one and two models are produced with the unmodified version inner cab entry handrails. These may, however, be removed and replaced with plastic mouldings which are provided reflecting the latter modification of the later screened version. Cab entry doors do come in for some criticism however as the window situated in the door is positioned too high as is the door entry handle. On the plus side is the fact that the recessed area around the door entry handle is correctly portrayed, a feature again missing on Hornby’s locomotive. Lastly the bodyside handrails at cantrail level are very finely moulded plastic with the correct number of breaks and sections. Each section is also of the correct length. Close examination from the top looking down shows the fixings to the body correctly positioned on each section. Again the level of detail here is commendably fine, so fine in fact that you can only just get a very thin knife blade in down behind the handrails, not to be recommended unless you have a very steady hand though! They are correctly painted body colour except for the Mainline and EWS liveries where they should be painted white.

Buffer Beam and Underframe

Starting with the buffer beam, the pipe work is moulded and seems finer on the production model as does the buffer beam step which looked very chunky on the preproduction models. The pipe work correctly goes off towards the right hand side at number one end of the locomotive and to the left hand side at number two end. The model comes with a very fine screw coupling factory fitted at both ends as are the plastic air control pipes for the brakes. These again are a very fine detail though the main reservoir and train brake pipe could do with being marginally thicker than the outer pipes. Buffers on the loco are sprung. One minor niggle perhaps is that the step fitted to the buffer beam has the side upright sections moulded horizontally from front to back, but this is actually wrong as it is angled from front to back getting deeper the further back it goes towards the buffer beam.

Moving on to the underframe, this correctly shows the pipe work which follows through from the buffer beam under the cabs on the right hand side of the locomotive. Again this is finely moulded and also correctly displays the different layout at each end of the loco. Angular kick plates are correctly represented behind the handrails above the bogie steps and this is followed by the underframe lifting sockets as you move towards the centre of the locomotive. The different forms and lengths of plating on each side of the underframe are portrayed with the right side of the locomotive having the full length riveted sections whilst the left side sports the shorter length smooth plating. There are a number of inaccuracies around this area however. The biggest single flaw has to be where the plating crosses the lowered sump area on both sides of the underframe. Heljan have continued the lower lip of the underframe across the lowered sump area and this is not true to prototype. On the shorter left hand side plate there is a very small area of mounting visible above and below the plate but it is nowhere near as prominent as the continued lip Heljan have incorrectly carried across this area.

Additionally this mounting on the real locomotives disappears as it passes under the radiator section giving a deeper channel between the plate and underframe. Two mounting lugs are all that is visible on this section below the plate. This feature is not reproduced by Heljan and the net result is that the whole of the plated area on the left hand side looks overly simple and is incorrect. This is a shame considering some of the detail mentioned earlier on the body.

Further problems are encountered on the left side of the underframe as the angled bulge in the underframe above the centre axle of the bogie at number two end is not reproduced. This is the housing for the secondary suspension and is only visible on the number two end of the left hand side of the locomotives as the other three housings are covered by plating. This sadly gives this section a very flat look.

Turning to the right side of the model we have the same problem of the underframe lip crossing the sump area repeated which is again incorrect. It is however made worse on this side of the locomotive as the prototype does not have any of the plate mounting visible on this side, the plating appearing to float across the lowered sump section of the underframe. The five sections of plating are depicted nicely with the characteristic bolts, though the gap between the plating sections is far too wide and deep, being barely visible on the real locomotive. Again this lets down the right hand side of the underframe quite badly. All in all the side sections of the underframe leave a lot to be desired in comparison to the rest of the locomotive which is disappointing in terms of accuracy and detail.

Bogies

Bogies for the Heljan 58 are produced in two versions reflecting both the CP3 and the latter CP3a type which were fitted to the last batch of 58s from 58036 onwards. Those of you who saw the pre-production version two models at Warley incorrectly sitting on CP3s can breathe a sigh of relief at this point. The production version two model is actually produced on the correct CP3a bogies. Starting with the original CP3 bogie however, it’s fair to say Heljan has made a good attempt at reproducing the overall look of this bogie. The Westinghouse brake equipment is well represented as is the detail towards the front snow plough bracket which is quite complex on the real thing. The brake cylinders in this area are boxed in between the bogie frame, snow plough bracket, and other metal support struts, yet they are not enclosed making it possible to see through the whole area. This is excellently captured on the model. Brake shoes are out of alignment with the wheels on the model however. The hidden sand box on the inside front of the bogie frame is reproduced though looks to be slightly under scale and on top of the bogie frame is the associated filler for the sandbox, this again being slightly under scale. As per the prototype this sanding equipment is only represented on the front wheelset of each bogie. The bogie steps are an accurate reproduction of the original, catching the unusual shape and contour changes of the real thing as well as its open see- through nature. The brake equipment which is located behind it is quite clearly visible through the step, again typical of the prototype. If any criticism was to be levelled it would be that the tops of the steps appear too smooth as the real bogies have a chequer plate type of effect on the step tops for better grip. The circular central axle box cover plate is modelled with a smaller raised circle within it, this being incorrect as the plate is a flat on the real thing. Bogie pipe work is represented as you would expect on this model, its model predecessor having this detail missing, though it is not separately moulded and looks far too fine and flat which does tend to let the bogie down a bit.

Also missing are the circular plates covering the bogie frame lifting sockets. The biggest error on the bogie front is that the housings for the primary suspension springs are flat. They should be rounded to reflect the real thing with any accuracy. This gives the bogie a much flatter appearance than that of the prototype and was also wrong on Hornby’s model. To compensate a little however the softer springs of the centre axle of each bogie have been picked up on by Heljan and incorporated nicely into the bogie detail. Wheels on the Heljan model are a nice size and gone are the dreadful tiny under-scale wheels of the model’s previous incarnation. Lastly the curved nature of the bogie frame at its rear end is reproduced, contrasting well with the square finish at the front end. It should be noted here however that the bogie details on the model are merely side mouldings which detach from the bogie and do not constitute a frame encompassing the wheels and drive gear. As a result of this approach the rear of the bogie frame is not reproduced in model version and when the bogie is turned to its maximum the lack of this detail is a little obvious.

With regard to the CP3a bogie for the version two model this again captures nicely the look of the bogie. It correctly carries the four clearly visible sandboxes per bogie complete with modified fillers for each of the sandboxes. The SAB brake equipment is reproduced well, this being much smaller than the Westinghouse equipment of the CP3 and also being of a totally different design. Snow plough brackets, primary suspension springs and housings and the bogie steps are all unchanged from the CP3 moulding and the same comments apply. Bogie pipe work on this version is reconfigured to that of the correct CP3a layout and Heljan have taken the opportunity to improve it in that it is heavier and not nearly as flat looking as that produced on their CP3 representation. They have also recreated the two round cover plates on the side of the bogie frames which were missed on the CP3 mouldings. All in all theses simple enhancements have further improved the look of the bogie and it would be nice to see them added to the CP3 versions. The sandboxes themselves represent those of the prototype fairly well with the Perspex plates covering the outside of them depicting the screws around their edges nicely. However as the plates were originally clear on the prototype the touch of a brush and some paint will need to be employed on the model to depict the sand contained within them as they are represented by solid black plastic. To be fair to Heljan it would be very difficult indeed to accurately represent the Perspex detail on the mass produced model. Greater attention does however need to be drawn to the sandboxes for the rear wheelset of each bogie as they look smaller on the model than they ought to be. Whilst they are slightly smaller on the prototype, this difference does seem to have been over- exaggerated on the model. Additionally they fail to jut out slightly from the rear of the bogie frame as those on the real thing do. This is made worse on the model as the curve at the rear of the bogie frame which was mentioned on the CP3 version has strangely disappeared from this version of the bogie. Both the CP3 and CP3a are exactly the same on the prototype, though with curved profiles at the rear of the bogie. The combined impact of these two factors makes this area of the model CP3a bogie look incorrect and sadly lets it down a touch.

Battery Box & Fuel Tank Area

This again is a complex area on the real locomotives with differences between the left and right sides. The area has lots of cylinders, drainage and filling points as well as fire system equipment and the fuel pump. In general this area is catered for pretty well on the model with immediate attention going to the correctly sized battery box complete with correct vents, securing bolts and hinges. This is the same on both sides of the locomotive and is a huge improvement over the Hornby model. Behind this is the fuel tank with its round fuel filler gauges, one on each side.

From here on the similarity between each side of the locomotive ends. Starting with the left hand side from the number one end of the locomotive we first have the various drainage and filling pipes for fuel, radiator coolant and oil of which there are six in all. These are all portrayed in a cluster and reflect the different sizes as per prototype. Some pipe work is missing from this area, though to be fair it would be very small and difficult to reproduce. The cylinder below this section is split in two on the model, but on the real thing it is one object running underneath the locomotive. The cylinder correctly portrays a bolt in the centre of it but moulding lines are clearly visible running from top to bottom which should be removed.

Moving on towards number two end and beyond the battery box we come to the battery isolating switch which juts out from a recessed area almost as far back as the fuel tank. The recess as modelled is far too deep as that of the prototype is almost flush with the battery box. The battery isolation switch as modelled is also completely wrong as a result of this. It also fails to portray the turning handle evident on the prototype. Moving around to the right hand side and starting at number one end again we have the various drainage and filling pipes for fuel, radiator coolant and oil. Once again six are present and are correctly reconfigured on this side.

On the number two end beyond the battery box we come to the fuel pump which has to be the main feature in this area with Heljan capturing the look of this tricky-to-reproduce item well and correctly reproducing the mesh grill at the bottom of it. This area is once again devoid of some of the pipe work but once again this would have been very difficult to reproduce. One obvious item on both the right and left hand sides of the real locomotives is the Fire Pull switch boxes located near the fuel pump and battery isolating switch on each respective side. It is fitted to the bottom of the underframe near its outer edge and being red and white in colour clearly stands out when it is clean. This was missed on the Hornby locomotive and was something just aching to be added but sadly Heljan too have missed this little trick and it is not represented.

General Finishing

As stated earlier the first six models produced in numerical order are 58001, 58004, and 58014 representing the version one model and 58037, 58047 and 58050 represent the version two model.

In grey and red Railfreight livery are 58001 and 58037, the latter carrying the correct and later applied orange cantrail stripe around the locomotive. 58001 should have a white cantrail stripe over the central body section only as applied from new to 58001-58034. However this is missing. Paint colours accurately reflect those of the prototype except for the yellow which could do with looking slightly more orange. The printing of the locomotive numbers on the models viewed could do with improvement as the numbers vary in thickness. The orange cantrail stripe in comparison is nicely continuous however. Handrails on the locomotive front are reproduced in white which is incorrect for this livery with the exception of 58004. 58001 does however feature white handrails in its retro repaint livery only and never ran in the original application of the livery with white handrails. Railfreight logos are nicely reproduced as are the BR double arrow and locomotive data panels which are readable with magnification.

58004 and 58014 carry the triple grey Railfreight colour scheme with 58004 having the later applied Mainline branding whilst 58014 carries the original coal sector markings of Railfreight. Again colours are not bad representations of the originals. Where both these models fail badly is in the application of the scheme. The black of the cab window surrounds should extend onto the angled section below the front cab windscreens and the bottom of this marks the line at which the splits in colours should occur around the whole of the locomotive. This means the whole of the lower rail grey section is slightly too high up the body. The cab entrance doors should also be painted black but on the model they are incorrectly painted in the two shades of grey. The second and most noticeable mistake is that the large radiator grills at number one end and the ventilation grills of the bodyside doors at number two end should be painted in the same executive dark grey which is applied to the roof area. Sadly they are not which is another serious error. The underframe is correctly painted black. Numbers again give cause for concern, suffering from the same problem as the grey and red liveried locos. The Mainline logos applied to 58004 are very nicely produced with the correct letter font though the whole logo is slightly too small. 58014 carries the yellow and black coal sector markings again nicely produced but the repeater strip on the rear end of the cabs is missing. It correctly carries a representation on the cast diamond depot plaque on the bodyside doors, one of the few to do so, though the Stewarts Lane plaque is depicted and not the correct Toton plaque. The nameplate representation is the correct position for this locomotive but it does look to be on the bulky side in terms of its height.

Next up we have 58047 in the modified EWS “three beasties” livery. Colours are once again accurately produced with the yellow bodyside band having a nice intensity to it. EWS lettering and numbers are well produced and do not suffer the same problems with the printing of the numbers mentioned before, though the three beasties logo and locomotive data panel do lack intensity and looked quite jaded. The only problem with this application is the fact that the large radiator grills are painted EWS maroon when they should be painted black to represent the prototype correctly. The high level bodyside handrails should be white on this livery application but have incorrectly been left bodyside colour.

Lastly but by no means least 58050 is reproduced in Mainline Blue livery. Once again colour representation is good and the silver numbers, stripe and mainline logo have a nice intensity against the blue. Application wise, the silver stripe is a little on the heavy side and is ragged where it meets the yellow of the front ends. The model carries the correct Toton diamond plaque this time and in its correct placing on the cab sides under the loco numbers. The blue 58050 numbers on the loco front are also correctly positioned for this loco. The nameplate shares the same problem of the bulky appearance as that of 58014 however and as with 58047 the high level bodyside handrails should be represented in white and not the body colour.

Performance

The model is nicely weighted and features a cast chassis block with centrally placed motor and drive shafts. Four axles are powered, these being the outer- and innermost wheelsets of each bogie with the central wheelset being none-powered. Performance is vastly superior to the Hornby locomotive. An eight pin dcc socket is provided. Directional head and tails lights are also a feature but as mentioned earlier do need some refinement.

Summary

On the whole this model is a good representation of the class being correctly taller and slightly longer than its Hornby counterpart. The model benefits enormously from much bigger wheels and a chunkier and much more accurate bogie. The front windscreens are also far more convincing and overall the model has some very fine detail work in places. It is vastly superior in all ways to its Hornby predecessor, although to be fair to Hornby their model is now 25 years old and unmodified apart from livery applications. The Heljan model should sell well because of its superior nature compared to that of its predecessor however there are a number of tooling errors, underframe plating and arguably the cabs being foremost in mind, which detract from model somewhat. This takes the edge off the new locomotives.

The livery applications on the first batches of the model have been poor this however is easily correctable in following batches. Some of the choices made by Heljan at tooling stage are arguably debateable, for example the lack of provision of a version two bodyshell as originally publicised with its bodyside door handles and cabside grills is a major let down. This leads to a halfway house version two model which only has correct bogies. Quite why this dubious decision came about is something of a mystery but the decision does severely compromise the model.

Given the compromise Heljan ought to have considered owner add on door handles at least. The models come with owner add on moulded cab entry handrail guards so surely the addition of 18 door handles could not of been too great a problem. This provision would also allow locomotives in the 58015-035 number series to be modeled by the addition of the handles to the version one body shell. Accurate models of the various locomotives between 58001 and 58014 would also be attainable as the handles could be added in the sporadic nature to accurately portray the individual prototype differences typical of this group of locos, a further positive advantage for those who wish to have accurate models.

This unsatisfactory position is further highlighted when you contrast this situation to what Hornby have recently done with new class 56, especially when you bare in mind the recommended retail prices of both types of locomotive is not that far apart. For a small extra amount of money you get a choice of 3 differently tooled but accurate class 56 models, no more or no less than would be required to produce the 3 reasonably accurate versions of the class 58’s. It is a great pity Heljan could not deliver on this and it is a missed opportunity. Having said all that however for those of you out there who have a detailing leaning bear in mind this model is a good starting place and for the time being at least we must look to the detailing part providers to come up with the goods, so come on guys get your thinking caps on!

Photos of the Helajn Class 58 models can be found on our fotopic site