Perhaps unsurprisingly, the first Class 58 to appear in model form was Hornby’s Railfreight-liveried 58001, which reached the shelves between 1984 and 1989 — while the real locomotives were still being constructed at Doncaster Works.

Since then, Hornby has issued a broad spread of further versions, covering different numbers and several of the principal liveries carried by the class during its working life in Britain. Although the original tooling no longer matches modern expectations for fine detail, it played an important role in giving the Class 58 an early presence in the model market and helped many modellers build convincing contemporary freight layouts.

As standards have moved on, the classic Hornby model has inevitably shown its age, even if detailing kits and repainting projects have kept it popular with enthusiasts. With the recent announcement of a new RailRoad Plus version, Hornby’s Class 58 story has now entered a fresh phase.