Description
The British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU), built specifically for British Rail’s Provincial Services sector between 1989 and 1992 by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) at Derby Litchurch Lane Works and outshopped in Regional Railways Provincial livery. They were built to replace many locomotive-hauled passenger trains, thereby reducing cost of operation, and to allow cascading of existing Sprinter units to replace elderly ‘heritage’ DMUs. The majority of the 182-strong fleet of Class 158 units were built as two-car sets, with 17 three-car units constructed specifically for use on Trans-Pennine services. Similar three-car units were built for use by Network SouthEast but these were converted to Class 159 specification before introduced into service, with toilet retention tanks and other modifications to operate over the third-rail network.
All the Class 158s remain in service today, with operators including ScotRail, Northern, Great Western (GWR), East Midlands Trains (now EMR), and Transport for Wales (formerly Arriva). Former operators include Central Trains. The Class has worked extensively across the UK network, even into East Anglia as far as Stansted Airport and Norwich. Some 158s have been converted to additional Class 159s and now operate for South Western alongside their original classmates.
MODEL FEATURES:
- Bachmann Branchline OO Scale
- Era 9
- Pristine ScotRail Saltire livery
- Running No. 158729
- Two-Car Unit comprising car Nos. 52729 & 57729
- Destination blinds for Dundee
- Equipped with a Plux22 DCC Decoder Socket
- Length 610mm
MECHANISM:
- EACH TWO-CAR UNIT COMPRISES TWO POWERED VEHICLES WITH THE FOLLOWING FEATURES:
- Three pole motor with flywheel providing drive to the inner bogie
- Twin axle drive
- Separate metal bearings fitted to each driven axle
- Trailing axles run in metal pinpoint bearings
- Electrical pickup from all wheels
- Diecast metal, multi-stage gearbox, with gearing arranged for prototypical running speeds and haulage capabilities
- 16.5mm (OO gauge) wheels to NEM310 & NEM311 standards with authentic profile and detailing
- Working miniature BSI Couplings at the cab end
- Conductive couplings with integral close coupling mechanism at the inner end
- Designed to operate on curves of second radius (438mm) or greater
DETAILING:
- Separately applied metal detail parts, including exhaust guards and interior luggage racks
- Bogies constructed from multiple components featuring brake and suspension detail
- Separately fitted underframe components
- Each model is supplied with an accessory pack comprising exhaust pipes, frame extensions and coupling tool
LIGHTING:
- Directional lighting, including illuminated destination panels, with Day/Night mode – selectable via the chassis-mounted switches or via a dedicated DCC function
- Directional lights can be turned on/off at each end independently via the chassis-mounted switches or via separate DCC functions
- Passenger saloon lighting – switchable on/off via the chassis-mounted switches or via a dedicated DCC function
- Cab lighting at the trailing end*
- Door interlock lights* (*when used on DCC)
- Authentic light colours and temperatures selected for each lighting application
DCC:
- Plux22 DCC decoder interface – one decoder required per unit
- Easy-access DCC decoder socket located behind removable panel on underside of Car A
