‘N’ gauge ‘Clayton’ Type 1

ONCE regarded as BR’s standard Type 1 loco with a single cab, the 'Clayton' Class 17 proved to be a disastrous and costly purchase by BR, with many being withdrawn after as little as five years of service.

Whilst the class was built in moderately large numbers and survived long enough to see rail blue livery, models have been a long time coming, with Heljan being the first to produce an off-the-shelf ‘OO’ gauge model in 2009. The short life span probably was a deterrent for the major manufacturers and only when the era of producing short run models of minority classes arrived has the Class 17 been seen as a subject for a viable model.

Loco details

A total of 117 locomotives were built straight from Clayton Equipment Company works drawings without any pilot scheme batch to test the design. It was born of the desire to find an alternative to the Class 20 which was seen to be an awkward design with its long tall bonnet and single end cab which only