Cavalex Models and Ultimate Model Railways to release 56301 and 56045 in OO Gauge

Cavalex and Ultimate Model Railways are pleased to announce exclusive models of 56301 and 56045 in OO scale.

Built at Doncaster works, 56045 entered service allocated to Toton depot in June 1978, wearing the corporate British Rail blue livery. Following a brief spell allocated to the London Midland Region (LMR), 045 was soon transferred to the Western Region (WR) before a move to the Eastern Region (ER) in 1980. 1982 saw a return to the WR with allocation to Bristol Bath Road depot, seeing use on the heavy Port Talbot to Llanwern iron ore workings. The following years saw the locomotive move around the regions seeing use on Merry-Go-Round, steel, oil and aggregates workings. As privatisation loomed, 56045 moved to the Northeast in 1993, with allocation to Thornaby depot and part of the Metals sector before joining the shadow freight company Loadhaul in 1994. Following privatisation, the loco moved south to Humberside and Immingham depot where it remained until it was stored in 1999 wearing Loadhaul livery.

56301 – ex-56045 was the first of three Class 56s that were overhauled at Brush Traction for Fastline for use on intermodal traffic between Doncaster and Thamesport on the Isle of Grain. This traffic ceased in March 2009 with two of the Fastline Class 56s – 56301 and 56302 being stored at the disused Hitchin diesel depot before being put up for sale after Fastline Ltd ceased trading due to Jarvis entering administration.

In 2011, The Class 56 Group purchased 56301 and once the sale was concluded in February of that year, the loco was moved to Nemesis Rail’s Burton on Trent facility before a move to Washwood Heath for assessment with a view to returning the Type 5 to mainline working. December 2012 saw a return to mainline operation with DCRail at Willesden and whilst en route to collect a planned coaching stock move, it was sent to rescue 56312 which had failed at Claydon on the 6Z91 10:55 Calvert-Willesden service. Following this working, 56301 saw regular weekly use by DCR on the Calvert-Willesden trips moving spoil from the Crossrail project.

During the next few years 56301 could be seen out on the network including the movement of coal between Butterwell, Kellingley and Thoresby – a return to duties it was designed to do, albeit under different circumstances and more than thirty years later. However, the end of 2015 started a period out of service due to maintenance and repair at UKRL’s Leicester depot.

The loco then returned to traffic in 2016 and saw operation on hire for use on a variety of traffic which included:

- 2017 - movement of spoil from Wembley to Foxton in South Cambridgeshire

- 2018 and 2019 - shunting duties with Victa Railfreight at Dove Holes terminal,

- 2023 – the start of a period on hire to DCRail for use on aggregates traffic.

In March 2025 the ownership of 56301 transferred from The Class 56 Group to DC Rail (part of Cappagh Group). Ahead of The Greatest Gathering at Derby in August 2025, DCRail reregistered the locomotive back to its original 56045, number and repainted into BR blue livery by Bowden Rail Engineering at their Colwick depot.

56045 joined the company’s operational fleet of Class 56s, which includes 56103, both of which can still be seen working aggregates traffic out on the network into 2026.

Ultimate Model Railways - 56301 and 56045

Over the past couple of years at shows, on social media and via our website, we have received a significant number of requests for 56301. The number of customers asking for 56301 only increased as 301 was seen out on the mainline, and more recently when the loco was renumbered back to its original BR number of 56045 for The Greatest Gathering last August.

Ultimate Model Railways expressed an initial interest in producing 56301 and following the renumbering back to 56045, as well as the fitting of the original horn grille and repainting into BR blue, it was agreed to develop the model.

The models will encompass the same specification and features incorporated in the second production run, with the models including the unique tooling required to replicate 56301 and 56045:

• Cut-away bufferbeam

• Different horn grille types for 56301 and 56045 respectively

• The lighting has been tailored to each loco to include incandescent bulbs and modern LED specific to the individual model as per the prototype.

Livery specific to the locomotive:

• 56301 in the unbranded Ex-Fastline livery.

• 56045 in its current BR blue livery operating with DCRail.

Due to the additional bespoke tooling required specifically for these two models, the RRP of 56301/56045 has been increased to incorporate this additional cost to represent the unique tooling variations of the locomotive:

• RRP – DCC Ready - £199.95

• RRP – DCC Sound - £299.95

Both 56301 and 56045 are available to pre-order now from Ultimate Model Railways website below:

These models are due to arrive in the UK next month as part of the second production run of our Class 56 project. This model is exclusive to Ultimate Model Railways and cannot be ordered through any other retailer.

We would like to extend our thanks to DCRail for all of their help with this project.

Please note:- The body shell for 56045 have been sat on a chassis for 56301, meaning that the specific tooling and cosmetic elements are not correct for the forthcoming model. This is for illustration purposes only.