Heljan 8942

British Rail Class 128 M55995 British Rail Blue

Contents

Class & Prototype

  • Running Number: M55995

The British Rail Class 128 comprised ten purpose-built single-car parcels DMUs constructed by Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company in 1959-1960. Featuring twin Leyland Albion 238 hp diesel engines enabling 64-ton tail load hauling, the fleet split between four non-gangwayed London Midland Region vehicles and six gangwayed Western Region variants. Operating intensive parcels services from Paddington-Oxford, Manchester-Mayfield depot, and Chester-Cambrian Coast routes, these distinctive units served three decades until final withdrawal in November 1990. Tragically none survived preservation, making Heljan's OO/O gauge models and Revolution Trains' N gauge representations the only way to recreate these unique parcels workhorses on layouts.

Operator & Livery

British Rail (1965-1997) transformed Britain's railways through revolutionary modernisation, introducing the iconic double arrow logo, Rail Blue livery, and business sectorisation. BR pioneered high-speed rail with the InterCity 125 and Advanced Passenger Train, electrified major routes, and created profitable divisions like InterCity and Network SouthEast. From steam succession through diesel and electric development to privatisation preparation, British Rail's diverse locomotive fleet, multiple livery schemes, and operational scenarios provide unparalleled variety for railway modellers across all scales and periods.

BR Blue, also known as Rail Blue or Monastral Blue, was introduced in 1965 as part of British Rail's comprehensive corporate identity overhaul that accompanied the rebranding from British Railways to British Rail. The colour was officially defined by British Standards BR28/6001 (airless spray finish) and BR28/5321 (brush finish), representing a dark, greyish blue tone specifically chosen to hide dirt and weathering effects well.

The livery was prototyped on the experimental XP64 train in 1964 before becoming the standard scheme from 1 January 1965. Rail Blue was applied to all diesel and electric locomotives with yellow warning panels (initially small, then extending to full yellow ends from 1966). The standardised application included the iconic double arrow logo and Rail Alphabet typeface, creating one of the most successful transport corporate identities of the 20th century.

The livery dominated British Rail operations for over two decades until sectorisation in the 1980s began fragmenting the unified appearance. Despite initial colour fading problems in early applications, these were resolved by the late 1970s when the Large Logo variant was introduced featuring extended yellow areas and full-height double arrow symbols. Rail Blue's enduring appeal among railway enthusiasts reflects its role as the definitive British Rail image during the organisation's most unified period.