Class 46 D140 1961 All Over Green livery Diesel Locomotive

In much the same way as the locos were produced in real-life, the development of our N Gauge Class 45 and 46 has progressed as a continuation from the Class 44. To streamline the process and save time in production, we included the research, development, and tooling for all three classes when we began development of the Class 44s. This gave us the freedom to announce the arrival of these locos somewhat sooner than we would have done for other models in our range.

With the success of the first Type 4 diesels, Derby Works began thedevelopment of the next generation of even more powerful locomotives,the Class 45 and Class 46. These would go on to form the bulk of theMidland 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, alsoweighing in at around 135 tonnes and powered by a diesel power unitproduced by Swiss engineering company, Sulzer. However, the newerpower units produced 2500 horsepower, 200 more than theirpredecessor.

This led to BR placing a more substantial order of 127 locos for Class45s, this was so many in fact, that Crewe Works were also drafted in toassist Derby with their construction.The first BR Class 45 entered service in late 1960, with the class soonbecoming the main loco to work out of St Pancras on the Midland Line
services, demoting the dwindling number of steam locos to cover localservices or freight.

The final variant of the Peak began production in 1961, now with BrushElectrical Equipment fitted after re-tendering for the next batch oflocomotives. This tweaked peak would be known as the BR Class 46.

Externally it looked almost identical, as it had the same engine andbody, however, its electrical equipment had received an upgradedgenerator and different traction motors. Developed by the BrushCompany of Loughborough these upgrades replaced the previouslyused Crompton-Parkinson electrical equipment of the Class 44 and 45.

The 45s were intended to be allocated to multiple regions during theirconstruction and this was initially the case with locomotives allocated toLondon Midland and Western Region sheds as well as other regions forshort stints of training. They soon settle down to more regular work onMidland Mainline and Western Region services. The 46s were used formore varied work, being seen on NE-SW cross-country services, longdistance freights from the West Country and some Trans-Pennineservices.

With Class 45s and 46s often being seen working trains to destinationsacross the Southwest and alongside the iconic trainspotting location ofDawlish it’s no wonder the loco has a soft spot in many dieselenthusiasts’ hearts.

With the introduction of the HSTs on the Midland Mainline and CrossCountry routes, as well as the introduction of Class 56s to Coal traffic,the 45s were moved to the Trans-Pennine route to work passengerservices across the north of the country.

The aging fleet of well-travelled Peaks started to be withdrawnthroughout the 1980s. The last of the 44s were withdrawn in 1980, the46s in 1984, and the final 2 Class 45s soldiered on until 1989. The lastPeak, No.45106, was painted into an approximation of the original BRGreen livery and regularly worked the 17:50 St Pancras Derby serviceas well as a number of railtours. It sealed the fate of the class with anonboard fire after it failed at Wellingborough with a fuel leak, the ignitionpresumed to be from brake sparks while being towed dead, which sadly
resulted in its inevitable retirement.

Prior to retirement, the class did have one final claim to fame. Class 46No.46009 was acquired by the BR Research department, to be used inan upcoming crash test. This famous and very publicexperiment would see BR test, under crash conditions, the integrity of itssupposedly impenetrable Nuclear Flasks.

On July the 17 th 1984, the loco and its train were allowed to run out ofcontrol along the old Derby Test Track. With the train approaching its topspeed, it crashed into a waiting nuclear flask wagon that had beenpositioned across the track. Unsurprisingly, the loco swiftly expired in thename of science, exploding in an impressive ball of flames and debris.

The infamous footage taken on that day would be lapped up by railwayenthusiasts across the world for many years to come.Not all of the remaining Peaks were used as test subjects, and we canbe thankful that a number of these locos would sit waiting to bescrapped until 1994, giving budding enthusiasts the perfect opportunity to preserve them. Incredibly 2 44s, 12 class 45s, and 3 class 46s weresaved for preservation.

The Rapido Trains UK N Gauge BR 1Co-Co1 Class 45 and Class 46models have been designed using a combination of archival materialsand drawings.

They will be available in a variety of liveries covering the loco’s almost 30-year mainline tenure, and several as preserved examples too. Inaddition to a high-quality motor and drive mechanism for smoothrunning, a Next18 Decoder Socket, and NEM Coupler pockets, modelerscan look forward to directional lighting, an etched radiator fan grill andlots of other separately fitted parts including wipers.

• Directional lighting.
• Next18 decoder socket.
• High-quality motor and drive mechanism for smooth running.
• NEM coupler pockets.
• Numerous separately fitted parts including handrails and wipers.
• Etched radiator fan grill.
• High quality speaker pre-fitted