We somehow managed to take gold in ALL the OO gauge categories!
Not only that, but we were also named as both the OO Gauge Manufacturer of The Year, and the Overall Manufacturer of The Year!
We are absolutely blown away buy these results, and cannot thank you enough for your support, custom and votes! You make it all possible for us to bring our fresh approach to model railways. It is great recognition for our team who put everything they've got into each model we produce.
Let's have a look at the models you voted for as your models of the year...
Our first steam locomotive has gone down a treat since it arrived last year, and has proven to be a big hit with modellers as it takes its first "Locomotive of The Year" crown.
We're delighted with the love our Manor has received, and have been asked about what locos will be starring in run 2 already, as modellers look to add to their fleet! We will have news on that soon, but in the meantime we still have some locos from the first run you can pick up, either from your local stockist or directly from us too.
Another locomotive which impressed has been our hugely successful and much loved Class 37. A locomotive that was massively anticipated since we first announced it all the way back in late 2019, it was a pleasure to deliver the simply massive production run in 2023 in several batches.
Pretty much sold out at all retailers, we have a handful of two running numbers left in stock.
Our technical marvel, the Class 92 with its DCC raising and lowering pantographs was also in the running, picking up the bronze award!
We are now down to the very last of these beautiful Dysons, including the Limited Edition "Bart The Engine" in unique Stobart Rail livery.
Our Caledonian Sleeper and TPE Mark 5 coaches arrived with us just over a year ago, and took top spot in the "OO Coach of the Year" category, much to our delight!
We have been persistently asked for a second production run of these, particularly the Sleeper sets. Would you like to see another production run of them?
Our FNA-D nuclear flask wagons picked up their second award in the OO Gauge Wagon of the Year category, after previously winning the Hornby Magazine award last October. We still have some available, but packs A and B are long sold out, with C about the go the same way.
Grab yours via your stockist or direct via our website!
We actually showed these in our cabinet at the recent Model Rail Scotland but have since returned to our desks and taken some proper photographs of these handsome little tank engines for you to enjoy.
Firstly, we can confirm that the shade for the SECR green is incorrect, and was a mistake by the factory. Naturally, we will ensure that the correct shade of green will be used on the final models modellers will receive when production is complete.
There are some other small corrections required, such as lining and crests, but nothing huge, which means we can green light production!
Let's have a look at each loco below.
With all the hard work already put into these models by the Hattons Originals team, and checking over by ourselves in recent weeks, it means that we can now go full steam ahead into production!
Delivery of these models is slated for Q4 of 2024. If you had a pre-order with Hattons, but are yet to hear from us, then please contact us via the chat function on the website. If you fancy one, we have a limited amount of stock available to pre-order which can be done so via the link below. As production quantities were agreed with the factory previously by Hattons, we cannot increase production quantities at this time, so pre-ordering for no money down, or via our partially service over 6 months at no additional cost, is advised.
So, it gives us great pleasure to present the maroon livery on our BR Mark 1 Subs!
Prototype History
British Railways’ second livery epoch heralded a number of significant milestones in the story of the United Kingdom’s ‘modern’ era; changes that extended beyond a mere change in coaching stock livery.
Coaching stock in the initial period of railway nationalisation still reflected a strong regional livery bias and British Railways’ own ‘Crimson and Cream’ livery added to the mix, particularly where corridor stock was concerned. The desire for a unified ‘national’ livery by the British Railways Board coincided with the difficulties experienced in keeping the upper cream panels of passenger stock clean and despite the continued regional autonomy within British Railways, in 1956, Mk.1 corridor stock began to appear in an LMS inspired lined Maroon livery on the Midland, Scottish and Eastern regions.
The change in appearance for the 57’ Mk.1 non-gangway stock was less marked, as the existing plain all-over Carmine Red weathered down to a shade not dissimilar to BR Maroon, but by 1959 the majority of the fleet was painted in the new livery. Regional preferences did still have an influence on the appearance of the stock, with the Eastern Region opting for a plain maroon livery, whereas Midland and Western Region stock appeared with the same lining as the gangway stock, The Scottish Region, which served both Eastern and Midland Regions, had a mixture of plain and unlined stock.
Again though, a difference existed within the lining specifications, with the Midland Region opting for a high waist lining, to match existing Stanier non-gangway stock, whereas the Western Region used a lower waist lining, applied to the BR specification by the Swindon drawing offices. In time, as stock cascaded, the boundaries blurred and eventually all three styles could be observed on the Midland and Eastern Regions.
Unlike the Eastern Region’s inner and outer suburban diagrams, which were formed into purely 57’ Mk.1 non-gangway sets by this period, suburban diagrams in the Midland and Scottish Regions were formed from a combination of pre-nationalisation and Mk.1 types, with Stanier, Thompson and even Reid non-gangway stock being marshalled into diagrams with the 57’ stock. The Mk.1 57’ Brake Thirds were especially useful, particularly in mixed freight trains, and some wonderful images were captured of Gresley V2 60813 on the Waverley Line, with a Brake Third being used to get railway employee’s children from Riccarton Junction to school in Hawick.
The ‘Maroon’ period also coincided with the abolition of Third Class, which led to the vehicle designation legends being changed on the exteriors of all 57’ non-gangway stock, as well as the removal of the ‘3’ from the former Third Class compartments, however like the application of the maroon livery, this change was not instantaneous, with some stock still being in Carmine Red and designated as Third into 1964.
The adoption of broad coloured cantrail bands to denote First Class and Dining accommodation began to be adopted on BR coaching stock from 1960 and while there was no provision of dining areas, and thus no need for the red dining bands, on non-gangway stock, the yellow First Class bands had been broadly adopted on non-gangway stock by 1963. During 1964 and 1965, livery application also changed, initiated by Eastleigh Works, with vehicle painting being undertaken by airless brushing, allowing the bodyside colour to be carried round onto the ends of the carriages.
The final change to the appearance of the 57’ non-gangway stock applied to the Brake Seconds, as in August 1963 the requirement for Guard’s to observe signals was withdrawn and thus the periscopes could be removed from the roofs, especially useful for vehicles operating in and around London.
The Model
Initially launched in the summer of 2022 after a long development period behind the scenes, our tooling suite of Mark 1 suburban coaches allow modellers to recreate an authentic rake of these workhorses for the first time in ready-to-run format and offered a 21st century rendition of these essential vehicles. Featuring an exquisite level of detail and an unbeatable specification including full interior lighting, fully detailed interior and a museum quality finish, they were offered in BR all-over carmine and BR all-over rail blue.
Only one thing was missing from our launch range; maroon!
Thankfully, with the first batch of carmine and blue coaches nearing completion at the factory and are due in stock with us in Q2 of this year, we can turn our attention to the maroon coaches almost straight away.
First up, we have the Midland Region BS, C, S and SO in Maroon, without and without lining. The lined Midland vehicles typically carried their lining lower than the BR spec, to match against the lined Stanier stock.
We will also be covering the Scottish Region, with a BS, C and S in Maroon, all lined, but in BR and Stanier positions. Being based on circa 1962 photos, the First Class yellow stripe has now appeared.
Production of these coaches begins shortly, with the decorated samples above provided when we first received samples from the blue and carmine production run (explaining the wobbly foot boards, which will be corrected on production models to be arrow straight!) and delivery will be in Q1 2025. Price will be the same as the first production run at £64.95 each.
Pre-order via your local stockist, or direct via the Accurascale website below, where you can get 10% off when you order two or more coaches!
Announced just over a year ago our NER hoppers were going great guns until a factory closure derailed (pardon the pun!) progress on these wagons. But, now that the upheaval of swapping factories is passed us, we can now back on track (again, apologies for the pun!) and we now bring you decorated samples of this rather vast range of detail differing wagons.
So, onto the images!
Production on these hoppers is now underway and making swift progress following the factory closure and move to another of our factories. Current timeline for delivery is now Q4 2024. We apologise for this slight delay but we were undone by this issue that was completely beyond our control.
Pre-order your NER 20t hopper family today, whether it be NER, LNER, BR or a multitude of industrial liveries via your local stockist or below direct from our website!
These arrived with the Hanson and Hall and BR Large Logo with black roof we previewed before Christmas but we've only got around to photographing them now!
As ever, some fit and finish issues are apparent on these samples, such as the headcode glass on D423 and the body to chassis fit on some examples, but these will be corrected on production models that you receive.
Enough talking, more pics!
As per our previous update, production is now underway with a delivery date of Q4 of 2024 envisaged.
Order via your local stockist, or direct below. Please note that there is limited stock remaining across all running numbers as production is now in full swing!
The mighty Deltic was of course our first Accurascale locomotive, and one that proved to be unwaveringly popular among modellers, with models selling out in record time and a huge demand in place for a second production run.
While feedback on the locomotives was resoundingly positive, there was some excellent constructive feedback too relating to some fit and finish problems some modellers had encountered with their models. This centred around some extra detailing parts around the fuel tanks becoming dislodged in transit, the end had rails sticking too far out, our large "Accurathrash" speaker hitting the roof of the locomotive as it powered up on some models and of course, those infamous brake chains on each bogie.
Of course, always wanting to do better, we announced that we would go back to the drawing board with this feedback, and try to do better.
All these small issues have now been addressed, with parts being more securely attached with bigger recesses for these parts, the brake chains will now have a new attachment arrangement which makes them more simple to attach and take off for locomotive maintenance, the speaker is now mounted in a lower position in the chassis frame and the handles have been adjusted.
On these decorated samples, the handrails are still too far out, which we have fed back to the factory who will correct them.
Overall, these new decorated samples, featuring these small tweaks are looking very impressive indeed! They have once again been hugely popular on pre-order, with many who missed out first time round coming back and bagging a mighty Deltic for themselves, as well as those looking to increase their fleet of these mighty beasts.
We are delighted to share these decorated samples with you of the six running numbers that make up run two, including a much demanded return for Porterbook Purple 9016! Yes, we know plenty hate it, but plenty of others love it too judging by the sales of this stand out member of the class!
The Deltics had been originally penciled in to arrive next month, but with the demand for this production run (far beyond what we originally envisaged) and all the production team currently finishing the Class 66 and 37 production runs, they have been delayed slightly. Production is well underway and delivery will now be in Q3 of 2024. We apologise for this delay, but we wanted to make sure that everyone who wanted a Deltic in this production run gets one!
Some Deltics are still available to pre-order, but are close to selling out. Pre-order yours today via the link below, or from your local stockist for the four main range locomotives!
Following on from our colourful reveal last week of our O gauge Ruston 88DS decorated samples, we're thinking of selling sunglasses so you can cope with this kaleidoscope of colour!
Overall, they're excellent and will certainly be up to the very best standards that the Hattons Originals errr... original (!) releases were. However, there are some minor corrections that need implementing to get them to those high standards once again.
We noted on the NCB locomotive that the buffer shanks need to be black instead of red, and the handbrake centre section should be blue, not black. On the Caledonia Works locomotive, the lining on the cylinders does not extend to the full length of the cylinder, so this will be corrected too. "Efficient" also has some lining quirks which need correcting, including placement on the tank sides, the thickness and again around the cylinder ends.
On "Victory", the factory have created a sample with the wrong cab windows, the motion bracket is incorrectly painted black and the base of the buffer shanks should be black. We will also be tweaking the shade.
One further change we are looking to make is adjusting the three link chain couplings to give them a slightly more realistic appearance.
Overall, these are very minor tweaks required to ready these locomotives for full production, which will now kick off in the coming weeks! This means that the delivery date to customers will be late Q4 of 2024.
We are locked into the production run size that Hattons specified with the factory, so there is only a finite amount still available to pre-order.
Anyone who has previously placed a pre-order for these locomotives with Hattons can rest assured that their pre-order is safe and has been transferred to us, unless they requested otherwise.
Pre-order yours today, with no money down, directly via the Accurascale website below, for £99.95 per loco.
]]>
We will have news of the Wainwright P Class and Andrew Barclay tanks in the coming weeks, but first let's look at the production samples of the Warwell wagons in OO gauge!
As reported in our announcement blog last week, production of these models is already complete and the models had already been signed off by the Hattons team. We are now responsible for the delivery of these models to market, with any Hattons pre-orders having been transferred over to us and is now logged on our system.
If you have not heard from Hattons, or from us and you do have a Warwell pre-order, please get in touch with us immediately so we can safeguard it for you.
We can report that the fit and finish, along with the decoration on these wagons is excellent, and a credit to the Hattons Originals team, making these distinctive wagons really stand out.
We can now confirm that these wagons will leave the factory next week for their trip from the Far East to our warehouse in the UK. We envisage them landing with us in April, depending on the continued unrest and shipping disruption in the Middle East.
Although some of the running numbers are now sold out, we still have a selection which you can pre-order via our website for £25 per wagon. Click on the link below if you fancy adding some to your fleet, and be sure to check out Trains4u who have also commissioned two Warwell Wagons in this production run.
(Please note that this production run is only available direct only from Accurascale to safeguard Hattons Pre-Orders and maintain their original price point of £25, apart from the Trains4u commissioned run)
The Prototype
Ruston Works No. 518494 was the last 88DS to be built by the firm, leaving Boultham Works on November 29th 1967 bound for Tarmac Roadstone Holdings Ltd’s Southern Division Plant at Hayes, where it was allocated the number 655/29/38 and painted into Tarmac’s in-house livery of Olive, with the Tarmac legend and Seven Ts logo being added. There, it joined a 4wDM Hibberd ‘Planet’, FH3765, which had been at the site since 1956.
When the layout at Hayes was revised in June 1967 due to a need to handle increased stone traffic, the 88DS was purchased as FH3765 was not powerful enough for the increased loadings. During the late 1980's, stone began to be delivered in large block trains and the need to shunt wagons ceased. Laid up for a period, 655/29/38 went to the Swanage Railway for preservation on June 29th 1990.
The Tarmac numbering scheme is interesting, as the first three digits show the Depot Number, followed by a two digit ‘type’ number (29 for locomotive in this case) and then the final two digits are the Fleet number. Tarmac’s Olive livery remained unchanged between 1966 and 1996 and has been reproduced on the model with help from Tarmac Roadstone Ltd’s own Andy Howdle.
The Model
As outlined in our recent update on the Ruston 88DS range, we are delighted with how our first O gauge locomotive is progressing so far. Naturally, there are a few improvements to be made at this point, including Of course, there are areas we can further improve such as the yellow that has been applied across the Wasp Stripes and Warning panels is a bit ‘thin’ on these samples, so the density needs to be increased. The buffers, drawhooks and wheels have not received their chemical blackening, which is normal for this stage and will be done on the finished models.
Sound recording for our digital sound fitted models will commence in the coming weeks and we will look forward to bringing you some footage of the finished sound files once we have them prepared. Delivery is anticipated for Q1 2025, with this Tarmac model available direct only through the Accurascale website in both DC/DCC Ready and DCC Sound Fitted formats, each coming in the now famous special presentation packaging.
Click on the link below to pre-order yours for no money down today!
We may only be around for 6 years now, so we only had the pleasure of working for Hattons in their very final years. But, what a pleasure that has been, and a relationship that has educated us as well as helped us to preach the gospel that is Accurascale to even more modellers. From top to bottom, they have been fantastic to deal with and we hope that their staff and management go on to have great success in new roles and careers.
But, some of Hattons will live on, and we are delighted and privileged to be able to play a small role in securing their legacy.
As you may already know, acquired the tooling of the Hattons Originals Class 66 locomotives and announced a whole new run with some added Accurascale ingredients at Model Rail Scotland 2023. The production is now almost complete on those locomotives and they ship in mid February.
Utilising that existing relationship with Hattons, we have also been able to secure the future of other "Hattons Originals" toolings, beginning with the OO gauge Warwell wagons, The P Class 0-6-0 tank engine and the Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 tank locomotive. These three models will now join the Accurascale range forevermore! All three models are currently in different stages of production, with Hattons taken pre-orders on all three projects before they closed.
We will update you on each project separately in future, but for now the current status of each project is below;
OO Warwells
The Warwells are complete and will leave the factory in China just after Chinese New Year in late February, landing in stock with us in April 2024. The price of these will be maintained the same as the Hattons price of £25 each. Free UK Postage and Packaging and 3% cashback (When in our Free Rewards Club) on all orders applies. Our new "Accuracare" lifetime warranty will apply to these wagons too!
Trains4u will receive their special limited edition commission as planned. Please contact them for further details on those.
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 ST
We're delighted to report that these locomotives are at decoration stage which we will reveal in the coming weeks. Production is slated to begin after the Chinese New Year break and delivery will be in Q4 2024.
Unfortunately, with rising costs, the original price of £85 was impossible to maintain, so these locomotives are now priced at £99.95 each. However, with free postage and packaging and 3% cashback on all orders we can still soften the increase with some added value. They will also be covered by our new lifetime "Accuracare" warranty.
P Class
These locomotives are also at the decoration stage which we will also reveal very soon. Production is also slated to begin post Chinese New Year with delivery also in Q4 of 2024. These are likely to arrive after the Andrew Barclay tanks.
As per the Andrew Barclay tanks, the P will also see an increase in price to £99.95, but with free postage and packaging and 3% cashback on all orders we can still soften that increase, along with covering them with our new lifetime "Accuracare" warranty.
Your Hattons Pre-Orders
So, if you have pre-ordered Warwells, P or Andrew Barclay, what happens next?
Hattons will contact you asking if you have any objections with them moving your pre-orders to us. If you do not, then we will need you to register an account on our website and log your payment details for your pre-order. This is so we can safeguard your pre-order so you do not miss out.
If you do not register after 2 weeks, we will consider your pre-order cancelled and we will offer the model for sale to other customers.
Next Steps And Placing Pre-Orders
As we are so deep into the production process on the P Class and the Andrew Barclay tank locos we cannot add any further locomotives to the production run, or make any further changes such as offering DCC Sound Fitted options. The specification will remain the same as Hattons originally specified when they first announced this new production run of locomotives. These models will be for sale exclusively on our website only in order to protect historic pre-orders and keep prices as low as we can in line with Hattons.
As mentioned earlier, the commission of Warwells by Trains4u will remain in place and will be delivered to Trains4u in April as planned. Please see them for more information about those models.
And finally, the question many of you may be asking; what other Hattons Originals models have joined our line up? Well, you will have to keep an eye on us for future announcements later this year and beyond to find out!
Pre-Order Your OO Gauge Warwell Here: https://www.accurascale.com/collections/50t-kwa-warwell
Pre-Order Your Andrew Barclay Tank Here: https://www.accurascale.com/collections/andrew-barclay-14-16-0-4-0st-industrial
Pre-Order Your P Class Tank Here: https://www.accurascale.com/collections/secr-p-class-locomotive
]]>"Accurascale not doing a large mainline diesel? Good heavens!"
Indeed!
The large diesel sector of the O gauge market is very well catered for, and as a small market, the 7mm side is likely to not withstand two companies competing on the same class of loco. It's also quite new to us, so we said we would go small, cater for layouts large and small, from the sidings of the large empires to the fun shunting planks in the spare rooms around the country and go small, cute and colourful.
Our little Ruston 88DS gives us just that.
We're delighted to say that our first decorated samples have arrived for assessment, with one complete model for further testing, and a collection of fully decorated bodyshells to give you a flavour of what's coming soon!
As with any product development process, there is a lot to like, and some changes that are required!
So, what do we like so far?
Tampo and overall body paint colours across all liveries are very pleasing.
Some of the highlights include W.M.J.E.A No.1 with its lining and Ruston crest on the cab sides.
Our BR Green, and two tone Rowntree Mackintosh lined green and shadowed lettering are also pretty highlights!
Sticking with our green theme, the Bowaters Northfleet 88DS in its Opaline Green and running gear in red, which really stands out and looks very striking.
The cab interiors are very pleasing, with nice, detailed cab desks. We're also delighted with the weight! They are very, very solid and have a real quality feel to them, with excellent haulage capacity for a locomotive of their size as you will see when we demonstrate them in the coming weeks!
Of course, there are areas we can further improve on and correct too. For instance, the yellow that has been applied across the Wasp Stripes and Warning panels is a bit ‘thin’ on these samples, so the density needs to be increased.
Masking also needs to be improved, but both these issues are normal at this stage and something we have encountered on our OO locomotives at this stage of the process, being fully corrected on the production models customers receive.
In places, the excellent fit of the parts has led to that fit being adversely affected by the paint layers; notably on the removable engine panel that covers the PCB which is now too tight and the Donkey Engine panels, which do not sit as flush as they should. Again, this is easily remedied.
The glazing panels also suffer from not being cleaned up diligently, which is a common problem on EPs/Deco Samples. Again, this will be corrected for production models. Buffers, Drawhooks and Wheels have not received their chemical blackening, which is normal for this stage, but which does look odd even so. The Panhard Red used on the Tottenham Gas Works 88DS is wrong, but a definitive colour swatch has now been sent, and the red will be adjusted accordingly.
Overall, our little rustons are progressing very well indeed through the design process and are bang on schedule. Sound recording for our digital sound fitted models will commence in the coming weeks and we will look forward to bringing you some footage of the finished sound files once we have them prepared. Delivery is anticipated for Q1 2025.
Pre-order your O Gauge Ruston and Hornsby 88DS today via your local retailer, or direct for no money down via our website by clicking below!
Back in the UK, we've seen our pre-production samples go through vigorous testing and even entertaining the crowds at exhibitions like Making Tracks, where our samples have clocked up almost 40 real miles of running. We can't help ourselves, Playing trains is what it's all about!
There is a serious side to all this testing. It allows our Class 66 Project Manager Steve Purves to find anything that's been missed or needs a tweak before the final assembly. With his feedback fed to the factory, they go on to produce the final production samples for us to evaluate, these models should be of the same quality as the models you'll receive.
Boy, they didn't disappoint! At the beginning of January, the final production samples arrived and as you can see from the images, we're extremely pleased with how these models have turned out. It really makes all the hard work worthwhile.
So, now we're happy, what's next? Great news on that front, as the final production samples have been tested and approved we expect them to ship just after CNY by sea. This will mean an expected arrival bang on time for the end of Q1 2024.
With many variants now sold out to pre-order, only a few remain available to order. However, you can click the 'Notify me if item becomes available' button on the locomotive you'd like in case spares become available once landed.
Browse the range here and don't forget, all models now have a Lifetime Warranty at no extra charge: https://www.accurascale.com/collections/class-66
But, what about the Accurascale models you already own? Well, we have not forgotten about you either!
So, how about this? We are EXTENDING our lifetime manufacturer’s warranty to all models ever sold new by us, or new by our retailers in the past, too!
This covers;
We really believe in our models, so we will stand over them for life!
Should you be considering your next model purchase, you can check out our range, safe in the knowledge that we will have you covered, for life!
See all terms and conditions by clicking here
Need to contact us about a warranty issue? Contact us now now by clicking the chat icon (If you purchased direct from our website, have your order number ready. If you purchased from a retailer please include either a photo of your receipt or order confirmation email in the email)
]]>So, pour yourself a drink, sit back and join us as we look back on 2023!
Just missing out on our 2022 arrival update as they arrived at our warehouse just before Christmas last year, our Caledonian Sleeper and TPE Mark 5 coach sets went into squadron service on layouts in January of this year. Another massive milestone reached for us, our first coach model landed on the market to great acclaim among modellers and the modelling media alike.
Despite a very large production run, both sets of coaches sold out very quickly, with the sleeper coaches in particular now selling for a premium. We will most certainly produce another run in the future, so keep an eye out for updates. They also look great with our lovely Class 92s, especially running in full 16 coach formation on Making Tracks 3!
April saw the arrival that many, many of you had been waiting for, as our Class 37s began to arrive in stock. Probably one of the most hotly anticipated locomotive releases in recent years, The first arrivals of our modernised Class 37/4s and then Scottish 'Car' headlight locos arrived in April and May to a sea of froth and approval.
Such was the success of our Class 37, we literally had to stop selling them on pre-order as the production order for the factory swelled ever bigger. It is certainly by far the biggest production run of a locomotive we have ever undertaken and such as the demand it took over 12 months to finish them all. We were delighted by the backing that you, the British modelling public gave us, that we placed the rather substantial production order with confidence.
Now, a few months later we are sold out of all but two running numbers, both of which are in single digits availability. Grab them to see what the fuss is about below, or check out our retail partners who have also indicated that they're practically sold out too!
Due to the popularity of our first run of Chaldron waggons, we announced a second run of the genesis of our "Powering Britain" range in January. Delivered in Q2, four new packs made up the second main range run, with extra special edition packs announced for Locomotion Models.
We still have some in stock too, so check them out via the link below for the same great price as run one, just £44.99 per triple pack with 10% off when you buy two packs or more!
Also announced in January was our second run of MDO and MDV wagons, this time joined by the MDW variant for the first time. Acting on feedback from finescale modellers, we made tooling alterations to the chassis of both wagons to ensure that regauging to EM and P4 was a more straightforward process than our first batch.
These wagons arrived in stock in the Autumn and have gone down particularly well among modellers, especially now those MDW scrap trains can be re-created in miniature. We still have stock remaining of all types, which you can order via your local stockist or below direct.
Order Your 21 Ton Mineral Wagons Here
Joining our ranks for a second run in 2023 was our lovely little Coil A wagons, covering the SFV and the SFW TOPS codes of these interesting pioneers of British Rail steel coil carrying wagons. As per the MDO and MDV wagons, they received suitable chassis tweaks to improve the conversion process to finescale EM and P4 gauges. These wagons also arrived in the Autumn and we still have some stock left on our website. Check out your local Accurascale stockist too for availability.
Our first Great Western model of 2023 arrived in mid May, as our hotly anticipated Siphon G Non Passenger Coaching Stock landed at our warehouse. As ever, we took our 'Accurascale Attitude' to this model and covered an extensive variety of detail variations which the Syphons saw during their long and varied career from the 1930s to the 1980s in order to create the ultimate model of these interesting prototypes and take steam era rolling stock to a new level. Following the feedback we have received on these that goal was achieved, with the high level of detail but robust construction going down particularly well with modellers.
We are getting close to sell out on some running numbers already, but still have some stock left if you fancy adding some to your fleet. Click on the link below to browse the range!
Our first all new tooled wagon for 2024, the FNA-D nuclear flask wagons arriving into stock in early July. Produced with the vital assistance of WH Davis, who built the real wagons, our FNA's were announced at the 2022 GETS show and scooped the "Best OO Gauge Wagon of The Year" at the Hornby Mag awards at GETS 2023!
Proving to be a very popular twin pack for our plethora of DRS Class 37s, and will continue to with our forthcoming DRS Class 66 as well as other current DRS traction, we have a limited supply left with packs A and B completely sold out. Check out the other packs below!
August saw the arrival of our second all-new locomotive in 2023 and one that was hotly anticipated by many corners of the hobby. It was of course, the much heralded arrival of our first steam locomotive, the 78xx Manor Class locomotives.
Keen to see what we would do with steam following our initial focus of diesel and electric locomotives, many were impressed by our approach to steam, with the high use of diecast for construction of the loco along with our attention to detail, with a wide range of detail variation in both locomotive and tenders available to comprehensively cover the long career of these attractive and charismatic locomotives.
Our Manors arrived across three batches stretching from Autumn into Winter, and most running numbers are now sold out, with just 5% of the full production run now left in stock. Check out your local retailer, or below for final stocks while you still can!
During our "take-over" of World of Railways during late January we announced a second run of our ever popular Deltics. Five new identities/livery combinations have been devised and the ever popular Porterbrook purple (no, seriously, the demand for it is incredible!) 9016 "Gordon Highlander" make up run two, with four of the six locomotives being stocked by retailers for the first time.
Currently in production, the Deltics are envisaged to be with us in Q2 of 2024. Pre-order via your local stockist, or browse the range, including Accurascale Exclusives 9016 and D9000 in as-preserved mainline condition when it operated for Virgin XC in the late 1990s below
Following on from our announced Mark 2b coaches (currently on a ship and heading our way!) we decided to plug another gap in British Rail coaching stock and announce our range of Mark 2c coaches. Again, never produced as a high quality model in Ready-to-Run format previously, it proved to be a very popular choice among modellers, who have been crying out for this variant of the Mark 2 family for many years, especially the TSOT! Currently in manufacture, these coaches are due in Q2 2024.
These coaches are currently sold out direct from our website, but check your local stockist for availability and keep an eye on our website once the coaches arrive for any additional availability.
Our first new locomotive announcement of 2023 came at Model Rail Scotland. Keen to make a big splash at the show which we sponsored for the first time, we unveiled the news of our 'Genetically Modified' sheds, revealing that we had taken over the tooling of these models from our friends at Hattons and widened the tooling suite to account for new variants and bring them in line with our other locomotives.
The reception to our 66 evolution has been spectacular, with modellers looking forward to what we do with the most numerous locomotives currently operating on the network today. We are even using the model to give back to some worthy causes, which you can read about a little later on...
Pre-order your Class 66, currently in production and due in late Q1 via the link below!
Our second locomotive announcement for 2023 came at the London Festival Of Railway Modelling at Alexandra Palace as we unveiled our second steam locomotive; the J67/J68/J69 "Buckjumper family in 00 gauge!
Also our first tank loco, these cute little tank engines feature all the detail differences you could possibly imagine on a British steam locomotive with a rather long career network, so gains a tooling suite to match. It probably explains why they have never been done to this extent by a Ready-to-Run manufacturer before, but like to put it on the line and cover as much as we can for variations and details craved by today's railway modellers.
We're currently awaiting decorated samples which we will be keen to show off in the new year! In the meantime, you can browse the range, including two Accurascale Exclusives via the link below ahead of a Q2 2024 release
Pre-order Your Buckjumper Here
Demand for our Class 37s proved to be so colossal this year that we had to announce our second production run before the first batch had even arrived into stock. Thankfully, we were fully prepared for such eventualities that we had a nice, diverse range of locos across several eras from the 1960s to present to cover a wealth of modelling interests.
From the much in-demand WR Class 37s with their unique lamp brackets to some modern colour with HN Rail and Colas, not to mention some 80s/90s splendour, our second run is already sold out direct but retailers will still have some availability.
Production is almost complete too, so look forward to these bad boys towards the end of Q1 2024!
Our big wagon range announcement of the Autumn was the Accurascale take on the humble but critical 16 ton mineral wagons in OO/4mm. Covering new ground as well as offering a new generation on what has gone before, the ubiquitous 16 tonner was an essential component in our "Powering Britain" range of coal wagons throughout eras.
We went on to reveal decorated samples, including various colourful packs for industrial railway usage towards the end of this year, as they shape up nicely ahead of release in 2024!
In the meantime, you can get your pre-orders in for these beauties via the link below, or via your local stockists!
Pre-order the 16 ton mineral wagon range
In October we announced our very first O gauge locomotive, the Ruston and Hornsby 88DS diesel mechanical shunter at the Great Electric Train Show at Milton Keynes.
While many in the 7mm end of the hobby expected us to go big with our first announcement, we were keen to produce a locomotive that is affordable, long lasting and of use to small layout operations as well as large set ups. Our Ruston can even create the inspiration for a whole layout idea on its own, with their multitude of livery applications allowing you to create a whole new layout idea.
We are currently awaiting decorated samples of these little stunners, which once again cover a multitude of detail variants as per the real thing. Pre-order via your local stockist, or below!
Pre-order your O Gauge Ruston 88DS Here!
Following the success of our first run of CDA wagons in later EWS and DB guises, we have been inundated with requests to produce these wagons in their iconic original livery of ECC quarries, complete with blue cradle, tarp and of course the famous branding on each side. We finally answered these requests in November and unveiled a line up of packs with various running numbers, launching with decorated samples.
Pre-orders for these packs have been rather high to say the least, and production has begun, so make sure you get your pre-order in soon via your local stockist or direct below to avoid disappointment. Perfect for our Class 50s like 50 149 and of course some of our future Class 37s!
We always reserve a big announcement around the annual Warley show at the NEC, and this November was no different as we dropped our second steam locomotive announcement of 2023; the Panniers!
Revealed with first samples already in hand, our take on one of the most numerous locomotive classes ever to run in Britain went down a storm, with demand being sky high for these beautiful tank engines. Once again, we take "The Accurascale Way" in our approach, covering a wealth of differing detail variants across the life of these locos in GWR, BR, and of course being us, post BR careers in industrial and preservation.
We are still on the testing and fettling phase with these locos, but we do suggest that you get your pre-order in very soon to avoid disappointment via your local stockist, or direct via our website.
Browse the AccuraPannier Range
Of course, some of our projects announced in 2022 were not delivered in 2023, but we have progressed all of them to further stages of completeness, and shared progress reports about them over the past 12 months. They include:
Class 31 - In production with first batch due in Q1 2024
SR Banana Vans - Currently on high seas and due in our warehouse in the coming weeks!
BR Mark 2b Coaches - Currently on high seas and due in our warehouse in the coming weeks!
Class 50 - Decorated samples recently received with more on the way for assessment.
Class 89 - Decorated samples received, production now underway
Mark 1 Suburban Coaches - Production underway
NER 20T Hoppers - Decorated Samples due early 2024.
You can keep up to date on all further updates on these projects by following our Project Status tracker, and of course subscribing to our email newsletter and social media channels such as Facebook. Whenever we have a new update, each is updated along with our "What's New" section under the "News" tab on our website.
Check Out The Project Status Page Here
Joining our ranks in late February, Richard joined the accurascale family as our digital and events manager, focusing on content for our social media channels, website and our catalogues, plus representing us at shows across the country.
Having spent several years as the Associate Editor at Hornby Magazine, Richard has been at the heart of the model railway industry, and of course, is well known on YouTube for his "New Junction" channel.'
Our Accurascale family grew ever stronger in May as Alex Carpenter joined us in the role of Project Manager.
Alex will be familiar to many within the hobby through "ABC Workshops", features with Rail Express Modeller or from his time at Bachmann Europe.
He has also taken the plunge into real train ownership, realising a life long ambition with the purchase of HST powercar '43025', which has been gaining some TLC in his spare time and will have some exciting updates in its own right in 2024, so keep an eye out for that.
Over the past 7 months Alex has already put his stamp on several Accurascale models and we look forward to seeing more of his handiwork in 2024 and beyond!
We have always looked to work with worthy causes as part of our Corporate-Social Responsibility and in the past we have been working with many great preservation groups as they aid us in the development of our models. This year we have taken it further, with the opportunity of producing our new Class 66 locomotive to support two brilliant charities who also carry an important message to us all.
The first fundraiser was launched when we staged our "Take Over" of Pete Waterman's "Making Tracks 3" at Chester Cathedral back in early August, as we revealed an Accurascale Exclusive model of 66 769 in Prostate Cancer UK livery as currently operated by GBRf, with a view to raise £10,000 for this brilliant cause.
Of course, this donation does not happen without you, the British outline model buying public digging deep and putting your hands in your pockets, which we were delighted to see you doing so. As a result, the loco is long sold out and once the models arrive in stock in the new year we will be presenting a cheque to Prostate Cancer UK for £10,000!
TThe eagle-eyed among you were quick to spot that the current Freightliner livery did not make up the launch line-up of our Class 66s when we unveiled them back in February.
That's because we had a very special release in mind, which turned out to be our last launch of 2023!
66415 "You Are Never Alone" was so named by Freightliner to heighten awareness to the services provided by Samaritans to help prevent suicide, particularly among railway staff. We thought it was only fitting that we should reproduce this loco in OO gauge and again look again for your help to raise another £10,000 for a very worthy cause. Launched once again at Making Tracks 3, this time at Blackmere Village in December, it has proved to be a resounding hit with over 65% of the locos pre-sold at the time of writing.
Without your help these donations would not be possible, so thank you very much for digging deep and ordering these locos.
Pre-order Your Class 66 415 "You Are Never Alone" Here
In October 2023, a crack team of Accurascale officials (and Fran, who just sweated a lot in the heat) were dispatched to China to visit some of the factory facilities we use and to negotiate the next chapter of our business by securing additional capacity, along with improving our workflows to reduce waiting times for customers. Thankfully this proved very successful indeed, with even more production capacity coming our way over the next few years as we look to grow further and deliver lots more exciting new models to market.
We also got to see several of our projects underway and at various stages of production, including our Class 66s and the second run of Class 37s. Naturally, this afforded a photo opportunity which demonstrated Fran not having a clue what he was looking at, and Steve, our Production Manager, very much knowing what he was looking at.
We also got to review the rigorous processes and precision methods our factories work to too, viewing all stages of designing one of our models. From receiving our CAD files and project packs, to tooling, injection moulding, to painting and assembly, we were able to see all the processes occur over several of our models. It really brought home the huge amount of talent, skill and capabilities that our factories have in other to create our models. As we have said, numerous times in the past; they are the very best railway modellers around!
This has been something we had been planning to do for several years, but for the COVID disruption to world travel. We will certainly be back on a regular basis in the future to continue to produce the very best models on the market.
It was bl***y hot though!
After our early years of receiving fantastic support from shows and magazines to help get the Accurascale message to the masses, we have now grown sufficiently in size as a business where we can repay that support by sponsoring some of the larger shows that we now attend. We kicked off with our sponsorship of Model Rail Scotland in February along with the Great Electric Train Show at Milton Keynes in October. We also did our first sponsorship of the Warley Show in November, sponsoring the transport of the centrepiece locomotive to the show.
We also support the Dublin and Wexford Model Railway shows along with our sister brand IRM in Ireland.
As well as that, we were honoured to sponsor and support Pete Waterman's "Making Tracks" project this year and we will continue to support these projects in 2024, while also supporting other shows too that we attend.
We are genuinely lost for words here, and certainly for those that won't make us sound big-headed in any way. All we can say is thank you so much to every single one of you who gave us your vote in 2023. It was our most successful year for awards ever, winning Manufacturer of the Year across all three major bodies, and some from our specialist fields too like our Scottish modelling friends.
We've listed below the awards we picked up in 2023
Gold Medals
Deltic - Diesel/Electric Locomotive of The Year
Chaldrons - Wagon of The Year
Class 92 Pantograph - Innovation of The Year
OO Gauge Manufacturer of The Year
Overall Manufacturer of The Year
Silver Medals
Class 92 - 2nd Place Diesel and Electric Locomotive of The Year
HYA/IIA Hoppers - 2nd Place Wagon of The Year
Bronze Medal
HAA Range of MGR Hoppers - 3rd Place Wagon of The Year
Overall Manufacturer of The Year
OO Manufacturer of The Year
Deltic OO Diesel/Electric Loco of The Year
Wagon of the Year - HAA Family
OO Locomotive Of The Year
1st - Class 37
2nd - 78xx Manor
3rd - Class 92
OO Wagon of The Year
1st - FNA-D Wagons
2nd - PFA Wagons With Nuclear Loads
3rd - Chaldron Wagons
Manufacturer of The Year - Accurascale!
Once again, thank you so much for your support and votes. We know we can always do better, further improve and strive to take the next step forward too, and we will continue to do so. However, to get recognition in this way from you, the modelling public means so much to a small company like ours (yes, we are still the definition of a small company, we just have some big ideas and goals we want to achieve by building a range of models to be the best out there).
These awards mean we work even harder, as after all, getting to the top is one thing, staying there is even harder to do. With this in mind, wait till you see what we have in store for 2024, and even 2025 as we are currently working on behind the scenes.
If you made it this far into the blog, then well done! You must be due another drink, so stick the kettle on, pour a pint, or whatever your tipple of choice may be, as we raise a glass/cup and wish you all a very happy new year! We hope 2024 brings you all the good fortune in railway modelling and life, and keep your eye on what we have in store for you!
We would like to thank you all for your support during the past 12 months, digging deep and purchasing our models, spreading the accurascale word to others who may not know about us yet, and your feedback on what we have produced to date. We would also like to thank our retailers, who have promoted us to their customers this year, with special mention to AGR Models, Great Eastern Models, Kernow Model Railway Centre, Rails of Sheffield and the Severn Valley Railway who hosted us throughout the year too at their open days and events!
Wishing you all a very happy and peaceful new year from the Accurascale Team, and here's to 2024. There's some really nice models to look forward to in the new year...
]]>Production of these coaches has been ongoing, but unfortunately during this process a flaw was discovered on the bodies that had been moulded, with a random pattern of holes appearing. This was due to the moulds not being cleaned sufficiently, with dirt creating these crevices. This was spotted during the painting process.
Unfortunately, we had to reject these bodies and have them remanufactured due to this issue. While it means the finished models that modellers receive will be perfect, it does mean that there has been a delay in production.
Final assembly is about to get underway, with the corrected bodies finished the injection moulding process and are being painted currently. It was our aim to have these finished ahead of the Chinese New Year break in late January, but this will now not be the case. Instead they will now be delivered in Q2 of 2024. We apologise for this delay, but large holes in the bodies is obviously something we could not tolerate and we have put guidelines into the factory to ensure that this does not occur again.
To pre-order your Mark 1 sub coaches, contact your local stockist, or pre-order direct below!
We have already seen tremendous support for our Prostate Cancer UK Class 66 locomotive (which is now sold out!) so we have decided to try to raise another £10,000 for another special cause with your help. We wish to raise these funds and awareness using another one of our forthcoming Class 66 locomotives for a very worthy cause, this time focusing on mental health with Samaritans.
The locomotive in question is Class 66 no 66 415 in Freightliner orange livery with black striping. Named ‘You Are Never Alone’ at Ipswich Station in November 2019, the real 66 415 was dedicated through a collaborative effort between Freightliner, Greater Anglia and Samaritans to pay tribute and to raise awareness of the invaluable work the Samaritans do to help prevent suicide across the UK and Republic of Ireland.
The nameplate was unveiled by train drivers Steve Read and Dave Bray and Branch Director of Samaritans, Ipswich & East Suffolk, Judy Wright. The locomotive is plying its trade across the UK today proudly carrying its nameplate in the distinctive Genesee and Wyoming inspired Orange Freightliner livery.
We've unveiled this very special model was announced at the latest “Accurascale Take-Over” of Pete Waterman’s “Making Tracks” event at Cheshire Outdoors, Blakemere Village, where the model railway feast runs from December 16th until January 7th 2024. A pre-production sample of the locomotive will be put to the test hauling the heaviest trains on the layout.
According to the Office for National Statistics, around 5000 suicides are registered in England each year, with many more lives impacted. Males are around three times more likely to die by suicide than women, and men in their late 40s and early 50s are among those most at risk. Males of this age group make up a significant slice of Accurascale’s customer base, so the company approached Samaritans to raise awareness of their services in this novel and unique way.
With suicide rates as high now as they were 20 years ago, we feel that it is vitally important to raise awareness of the services of Samaritans for anyone who is struggling to cope and who needs someone to listen without judgement or pressure. Creating this exclusive locomotive means that not only can funds be generated to support vital services, but also will be a reminder of such services that will live long on modellers layouts or in their collections.
Speaking about the fundraising initiative, Richard Amos, Head of Corporate Partnerships at Samaritans, stated - "I'd like to say a massive thank you to Accurascale, for raising awareness and donating £10,000 from sales of their latest miniature locomotive model to Samaritans. This time of year can be an especially challenging time for many, and the special name of the locomotive 'You Are Not Alone', is a poignant reminder that Samaritans are there 24/7 every day of the year, to listen to anyone who is going through a difficult period in their lives or is struggling to cope. Their generous donation means that we can continue to be there for those who need us."
Fran Burke, Accurascale Director of Marketing, Sales and Public Relations added – “We’re delighted that our forthcoming model of the Class 66 can once again impress modellers, but also do good by helping others. Samaritans is a cause very much close to our hearts and we thank them and Freightliner UK for allowing us to work together to produce our museum quality model of the Class 66 and work with you, the British outline railway modelling public, to help raise £10,000 which can help others who are suffering.”
The model of 66415 is currently in production and will arrive with the rest of the first production run of the Class 66 locomotives and will arrive in the first quarter of 2024. It will come complete with presentation packaging and offered in both DC/DCC Ready and DCC Sound Fitted formats priced at £169.99 and £259.99 respectively. The locomotive will be available to order exclusively via the Accurascale website only and with production already underway stock is strictly limited, so early “no money down” pre-ordering is recommended to avoid disappointment.
(Accurascale would like to thank Freightliner UK, Bessie Matthews and Samaritans For Their Help In Producing This Model)
If you didn't, then let us confirm it for you! The latest 'Accurascale Exclusives' announcement is the iconic 16 ton mineral wagons in the wonderful ICI livery which were used for soda ash traffic.
Prototype History Of ICI Mond Division’s Wagons for Soda Ash Traffic
When the Imperial Chemical Company (ICI) won a contract to export Soda Ash from the Northwich Wallerscote site in the mid-1960s, they encountered a significant barrier to operations when it was found that the vessels allocated to the shipping could not navigate the River Weaver. Instead, it would be necessary to load the Soda Ash at Partington Wharf on the Manchester Ship Canal via the existing wagon tippler, previously employed for coal traffic, however this necessitated the use of unfitted rail wagons, no bigger than the existing 16T Mineral stock.
To accommodate this new traffic, between December 1969 and December 1970 ICI’s Mond Division undertook a programme to convert 120 16T wagons at the Avenue Workshops in Northwich, covering vehicle numbers in the 652 to 801 range. These conversions were straightforward, merely adding a sheet bar and sealing the interior across the three door sides of the wagon and while the majority of these vehicles were scrapped by the mid-1970s, a number were re-liveried from their original ICI Green-Blue into the more familiar Grey-Blue, surviving into the early-1980s.
Pack P covers these Batch One conversions in their later life, with Nos. 751, 737 and 690 all being fitted with the stepped shank buffer housings and fabricated (but redundant) end doors, as well as Morton Double 2-shoe independent brakes. Axle journals are a mix of standard and square types, with both solid and pressed steel handbrakes being featured.
A further batch of 100 wagons were converted by C.C Crump, Connah’s Quay, between November 1971 and March 1972 and while they retained the sheet bar, the sides were reinforced with horizontal side braces and the removal of (in most cases) the side door, which was replaced by a welded panel. These wagons were numbered in the ICI 900-999 range, (C.C Crump 5500-5599), although at least one wagon from this batch, CLWD 5540, is known to have carried the TOPS code of POO.
Pack Q covers these Batch Two conversions, showing the wagons in a later bleached ICI Grey-Blue livery and covers Nos. CCC5534 and CCC5579 in this condition and CLWD 5540 with its POO TOPS Panel (the decorated sample incorrectly shows this wagon as CCC5558 and is being revised). All wagons are fitted with stepped shank buffer housings, fabricated end doors, standard axle journals, solid handbrake handles and Morton 2-shoe brakes.
The Model
Making up the final two packs from our first production run of 16 ton minerals, these wagons will have the same unbeatable specification and will also be delivered in Q4, 2024. Priced at £74.95 per triple pack, with 10% off when you buy two packs or more, they will come with our usual special presentation packaging and are available to pre-order now from the Accurascale website direct only. Demand is expected to be high so make sure you get your pre-order in via the link below!
We would like to offer our thanks to Ian Nickson, whose research into the ICI Soda Ash traffic has proved invaluable, along with Trevor Mann, Paul Bartlett and Paul Harrison, for use of their photographs.
]]>Excited to see where we take the latest addition to our "Powering Britain" range of coal wagons, modellers have been sending in pre-orders by the bucket load direct and via our retail network.
We can now present you with further excitement and a full progress report as we show the first decorated samples that we have received from the factory.
As ever, even at this stage, there are still some niggles to address with the decoration samples - some to do with the decoration itself and some to do with the models, as the addition of paint reveals some gremlins in the bodywork:
Naturally, all these issues will be addressed as part of the refinement process ahead of production. In the meantime, let's feast on some pictures!
With these wagons progressing as anticipated, we can confirm that they are on course for delivery in Q3 of 2024 as per initial announcement. Priced at just £74.95 per triple pack, with our usual 10% off when you buy two or more packs, and free postage and packaging when you buy direct, they yet again offer unbeatable value for money when it comes to the latest tooled, highest quality and detailed wagons.
With a huge 20 different packs to make up the first run between general releases in BR livery, a selection of private owner sets reflecting later use in industrial railway settings and Accurascale Exclusive packs yet to be announced (roll on tomorrow!) it gives the modeller great potential to build large prototypical rakes along with a few wagons to add to a classic mixed freight operation.
Pre-order via your local stockist, or direct by clicking the link below!
The demand for these coaches, never done before at a high quality level in OO gauge Ready-to-Run format, has been huge, with a production run to match! All now long sold out direct, and also via some retailers, the anticipation for them has been huge.
Naturally, we would usually spam this blog with lots of photos of the finished coaches, but we thought we would try something a bit different this time. A few weeks back, we lent some pre-production samples of these coaches to Dave from Dean Park on YouTube, and he ran the camera over them to show the features, details, and them running on his wonderful layout, which you can watch below. It will give you a good idea of what to expect on the finished models!
Excited? We certainly are! The coaches are due to end with us in late January, when we will QC them and then post them out to the masses of excited modellers who have been patiently waiting for us to fill this large gap in BR coaching stock. We are sold out direct, but we do have some of our similar Mark 2c coaches which are now being assembled still available, and when stock arrives of the Mark 2b there will surely be some that come up for grabs.
Click the link below to browse our Mark 2 range, and get your name on the waiting list or pre-order list!
Well, one of those is the Class 89, our rather wonderful one-off prototype electric model that we are producing in association with Rails of Sheffield.
Back in the summer we showed off the first decorated samples of our Badger, and they certainly got the modelling public salivating at the prospect of one gracing their layout or collection in the near future.
We did at the time outline one particular difficult area that we needed to nail in order to sign off on this model and that was the DCC sound file. The real locomotive is unique as we know, but this extends to its innards, and the 89 as a result sounds like nothing else on the rails.
We had hoped that the real locomotive would be back together and that we could record it in time, but this sadly has not been the case, despite the amazing skills and dedication to the people who are working on her.
As a result of this, we had hung on as long as we can, but now we must defer to historical recordings to replicate the sound for our model. This is easy enough done, but waiting for the real locomotive to be repaired resulted in us missing our production slot at the factory. We also had some work to do with the pantograph, which sits higher than the Class 92s so some fettling was also required which came up in the testing phase.
The good news is that these issues are no longer halting progress of our model, and it is now in production. However, this does mean there has been a further delay, with the finished models now due in stock in Q3, 2024. We sincerely apologise for this delay, but we really wanted the best sound file to match this unique locomotive to really take it to the next level. We're delighted that the sound file we are preparing will sound fantastic though, and will demonstrate it in the new year.
In the meantime production has commenced and we can no longer add any more capacity to the production lines, so remaining stock is limited. If you fancy an 89, now is the time to place your pre-order to avoid disappointment. Order via our friends at Rails of Sheffield, or below!
But what about our Warley announcement from last year, the Class 50? Well, it's long overdue an update, and we are delighted to announce that the first of our decorated samples have arrived ahead of the show this weekend, and how fine they look too!
Our first two decorated samples to land especially for the Warley show are 50014 "Warspite" in BR Large Logo livery with black roof, and 50008 "Thunderer" in her current and rather attractive Hanson and Hall grey scheme.
As ever, fit and finish of these early samples requires some improvement, but our Accurahoover is shaping up very well indeed and it is always wonderful to reach the decorated milestone to see how paint sits on a locomotive. It also helps to show the depth to detail and mouldings. That removable roof panel needs to sit lower though, and will be addressed on the final models that will land on your layouts! The copper coloured pick ups behind the bogie frames will also be darkened on the final models, and the body will sit right on the chassis!
Our Class 50 will follow in the footsteps of our Class 31 and feature a fully operational roof fan powered by a separate motor. It also looks the part, which always helps!
We will have these pair of beauties on our stand at Warley for a closer look this coming weekend, and the other decorated samples for run one are will be with us in the next couple of weeks for assessment and we will bring you plenty of snaps of them too.
Of course, we are 12 months on from our initial Class 50 announcement and had hoped to be further advanced with deliveries landing about now, but the ongoing semi-conductor shortage coupled with factory backlogs in completing production of other locomotives has slowed our pace somewhat. This has impacted the Class 50s but we are now at a stage where production can commence and will do shortly, once these samples are signed off, with a slot at the factory booked. This means that the revised delivery date for the Class 50 is now Q3 2024. We apologise for this delay but it has been beyond our control.
With the Class 50 production slot now booked and quantities finalised there is only limited stock available left for sale as we cannot now increase the size of the production run. So, if you fancy one, make sure you place your pre-order with your local stockist, or direct via our website very soon before they sell out. Don't forget about our couple of very tasty Accurascale Exclusives too, along with a limited edition for Rails of Sheffield.
]]>
Background
The pannier tank story starts in the early part of the 1900s when the Great Western Railway started to replace the round topped fireboxes on some of its older locomotives with more efficient Belpaire fireboxes. The Belpaire firebox is a square design and gives improved heat transfer from the fire to the water in the boiler however fitting a saddle tank over the top of such a design would prove unnecessarily difficult.
Other railways had adopted side tanks in place of earlier saddle tanks, the tanks extending all the way down to the footplate. This is great for stability and water capacity but not so good when it comes to servicing the inside workings of a steam locomotive. The pannier tank was deemed to be a better all round decision and this was adopted as standard for almost all GWR 0-6-0 locomotives going forward. Rebuilds continued various elderly classes of locomotive right up to (and past) the grouping in 1923, this grouping brought a vast array of different designs of locomotive from 28 acquired companies. This created a nightmare for maintenance, crew training and rostering. A standard locomotive would be the answer.
Concept and Early Orders
What was required was a standard, go-anywhere lightweight yet powerful tank locomotive. One that everyone could be familiar with that’s easy to maintain and handle. The design drew from many now standard GWR features, Belpaire boiler, inside cylinders driven by Stephenson’s valve gear, enclosed cab and most notably, pannier tanks. From the design office of Charles B Collett, 100 locomotives were ordered, these were developed from the earlier rebuilt 2721 class and were designated the 5700 class. Of the first hundred locomotives, fifty were built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow (at both Hyde Park and Queens Park works) and fifty were built in the Great Westerns own workshops in Swindon.
Almost immediately a further 200 locomotives were ordered, funded for by the British government as part of a work creation scheme. They 200 locomotives were split between 6 contractors: North British (50), Bagnall (50), Beyer-Peacock (25), Kerr-Stuart (25), Armstrong Whitworth (25) and Yorkshire Engine Co. (25).
These 300 locomotives mostly formed class 5700 and became the standard pannier tank on the Great Western railway however they were not as standard as you think! 50 locomotives were built without steam heat, Vacuum braking and GWR ATC – This formed class 6700 and were used primarily for shunting and short trip freight work and as such weren’t equipped with screw couplings either, a simple 3 link chain was hung from the coupling hooks.
The 9700’s
Tagged on to the last batch of 5700 was a small build of ‘nearly’ pannier tanks that were built for working over London Transport metals to the Smithfield Market from Paddington. A radical departure from the appearance of the 5700, these had a shortened tank to make space for condensing equipment and weir pumps for feeding the boiler instead of injectors. To counter the loss of water capacity when the tanks were shortened, they were extended down to footplate level near the cab – which was also a new design with larger windows and more enclosed side sheets.
Later Orders
The larger and more comfortable cab on the 9700 class was incorporated into the latest breed of pannier tank. From 1933 the 8750 class was born. Nearly 500 locomotives followed to this basic design, right up until the last batch was completed by the Western region of British Railways in 1950. Like the 6700s before there was a further batch of no-heat and steam brake only locomotives, this time just ten were built and designated 6750 class. These, like the 6700s were outwardly identical to the parent class of which they belong.
Operation
The panniers benefitted from a low axle loading and were classified as ‘blue’ locomotives under the GWR’s route restriction policy. This allowed them to be utilised on pretty much the whole of the great western and later British Railways western region network. In fact, this blue coding was reduced to yellow in 1950 allowing them to reach even further branches around the country. The Great western also had its own power classification system which designated the panniers a ‘C’ which was later changed to 3F under the BR system.
The combination of power and route availability was enough to ensure that the near 800 members of this type were fully employed. They could be found on almost every type of traffic thinkable, from local pick-up freight trains to shunting yards, branch line passenger services to ECS and pilot duties at the bigger stations. They really were the go-anywhere, do-anything locomotives of the western region.
Withdrawals and post squadron service
The first withdrawals started in 1956 and continued through until 1966 when the class were removed from squadron service. Many locomotives were cut and disposed of, but some found employment elsewhere. Thirteen locomotives were purchased by London Transport to work night-time infrastructure trains over the Metropolitan line. These locomotives were modified with reduced width cab roofs and the removal of steam heating. Trip cocks were fitted which allowed them to integrate with London Transport’s signalling system – these were small valves that were actuated by a ramp when a signal was passed at danger. These locomotives were used until the grand finale of LT steam in 1971, 3 years after steam on the main British Railways network was abolished. London transport was not the only purchaser, the National Coal Board took advantage of the good quality locomotives that were being withdrawn. The NCB locomotives were worked hard and soldiered on until the last was withdrawn 1975.
Preservation
The story does not stop there. Whilst some panniers were saved for preservation direct from BR the industrial and LT service gave preservationists a ‘second bite of the cherry’ and as a result many more locomotives were saved from the torch than would have been the case otherwise, in fact all surviving 5700s were preserved via this route. In total 16 locomotives, eight from the 5700 class and eight from the 8750 class are still with us.
These 16 have enjoyed a relatively relaxing retirement pottering around on the countries many preserved branch lines but variously 4 have been re-certified for mainline use and have been seen on many excursion trains running at speeds of up to 45mph
This delicious recipe will bring you the ultimate model of one of the most iconic tank locomotives of them all, the GWR 57xx, 67xx and 8750 Class Pannier Tanks!
The Accurascale pannier range is the product of several years of hard work and research. In order to select the variants we wanted to model, we had to look at all variations over the history of the class.
However by doing this we soon realised that we would in fact do all of them!
Where Our Pannier Differs
Before anyone says the 'D' word (and we don't mean Duck!), we need to explain where our Pannier Tanks differ to what has gone before.
Like our class 37 project, amongst others, we have done our Panniers in "The Accurascale Way", with lots of variations and detail differences. We have started by ‘filling the gaps’ and cover variants never before offered in ready-to-run format. This means locomotives with backplate feed (not top feed fitted) feature heavily in our launch range. Another striking variation amongst the contractor built locomotives was the use of rivets for constructing the tanks. Later modifications like the large “8750” cab is also included as is the 67xx sub class that were built without steam heat or vacuum brakes – with relevant pipes and equipment missing from the model as per prototype.
One smaller but no less important change is around the cab area. When built the 57xx class didn’t have an external front handrail or bunker steps. The handrail was flush with the cab side and built into the beading, the steps were also a later addition which we have recreated on our model.
It's not just big variations we have included. Smaller features like the whistles with or without a whistle guard, types of water filler which can either be screw down or clip down, position and number of spare lamp irons, cast or fabricated brake hangers, couplings were either screw link or 3 link and right down to the route of the injector overflow pipe, whether it ran through the running plate or around the outside, has been catered for. A vast suite of tools allows us the option to mix and match early and late features on the same locomotive, enabling a wide variety of prototypes to be recreated in faithful detail.
Need to find out more? Check out our launch video as pannier Project Manager Steve Purves takes an indepth look at the real thing!
Now with that explained, let's look at each model in our initial launch range!
5754. Great Western livery
5754 was the 4th member of the 57xx class to be built at Swindon. Outshopped in 1929, the locomotive represents a standard pannier from this early period. New to Old Oak Common shed and not relocating until the war years, it lasted just over 30 years in service. 5754 was withdrawn from Stourbridge shed and scrapped in 1960.
Features: No top feed, early style cab handrails, no bunker steps, Injector overflow routed through running plate
6743. Great Western livery
The 67xx was a subclass of panniers built without steam heat or vacuum brakes. The first 25 were built by Bagnall’s of Stafford but this one, from the second batch of 25, was outshopped from the Yorkshire Engine Company, Sheffield, in 1930. Initially allocated to Ebbw Junction, this loco spent its entire working life in South Wales before being withdrawn from Newport Pill shed in 1959
Features: No top feed, rivetted tanks, early cab style handrails, no bunker steps, Injector overflow routed through running plate
7755. GWR Shirt button Livery
7755 was a loco from the “Work Creation” orders. This engine was built in 1930 by North British Locomotive Co. at Queens Park works in Glasgow and was new to Neath shed. By the late 1930’s, 7755 gained the then new “shirt button” GWR logo and was transferred to Llanelly shed. A South Wales engine for its entire life, it was withdrawn from Aberbeeg shed in 1962 and scrapped.
Features: No top feed, early cab style handrails, Bunker steps fitted, Injector overflow routed through running plate
5741. GWR Livery
From the initial order of 50 locomotives from the North British Locomotive Works, 5741 emerged from Queens Park works, Glasgow in 1929. Initially allocated to Aberbeeg but transferred to Ebbw Junction whilst in the condition represented here. A relatively early withdrawal came in 1957 from Newport Pill Shed. It is reputed that 5741 was the inspiration for (and number carried by) “Duck” in the Rev. Awdry’s Railway Series.
Features: No top feed, late cab style handrails, Bunker steps fitted, Injector overflow routed through running plate
9741. British Railways Green Livery
With the introduction of what became the “8750” variations, this 1935 built locomotive emerged from Swindon works carrying a new enlarged cab but still retained some of the earlier style parts such as water fillers and backplate feed. Its initial allocation was Stafford Road shed (Wolverhampton) and can be seen here as it was outshopped in the early British Railways livery lettered livery with GWR "Egyptian" typeface. It was withdrawn from Wellington shed in 1962 before being scrapped
Features: No top feed, 8750 style cab, Bunker steps fitted, Injector overflow routed through running plate.
8763. British Railways Lined black livery, with Early Emblem
This locomotive was built at Swindon in 1933 and allocated to Old Oak Common where it spent its entire working life. By the early 1950s many panniers were fitted with top feed boilers. In contrast to the more common plain black livery, 8763 was treated to full mixed traffic lining as its duties included working empty coaching stock in and out of London Paddington. It was withdrawn in 1962.
Features: Top feed boiler, 8750 style cab, Bunker steps fitted, Injector overflow routed outside running plate.
9681. British Railways Black Livery, Late Crest
9681 was one of the last pannier tanks to be built. Emerging from Swindon Works in 1949 under the ownership of British Railways it was part of the penultimate lot of 10 locomotives. Initially allocated to Tondu in South Wales, it spent periods at Oswestry and Hereford before being withdrawn from Cardiff East Dock after a 16 year working life. Luckily it was bought by scrap merchant Dai Woodham and spent a number of years languishing before being moved to the Dean Forest Railway and returned to steam in 1984.
Features: Top feed boiler, 8750 style cab, Bunker steps fitted, Injector overflow routed outside running plate
7714. British Railways Black Livery, Early Emblem
7714 was an early “contractor” built locomotive, in this case, it was built by Kerr Stuart in Stoke on Trent in 1930. Initial allocation was to Tyseley but was soon sent North to Birkenhead. Withdrawn in 1959 it was purchased by the NCB and was sent to work at Penallta Colliery in South Wales. It worked here until it was purchased by the Severn Valley Railway in 1973. It was returned to steam and has been in service on and off ever since.
Features: No top feed, Rivetted tanks, Injector overflow routed through running plate
7754. NCB Green Livery
Another product of the North British Locomotive Company was 7754. Outshopped in 1930 it was allocated to Reading where it would be seen working all manner of trains. Following periods at Old Oak Common and Wellington it was withdrawn from service in 1959. Purchased by the NCB for use in South Wales, it went first to Talywain Colliery before being transferred to the new Mountain Ash system where it worked until 1975. Despite interest from many private individuals, the NCB donated it to the National Museum of Wales who placed it on permanent loan to the Llangollen Railway where it was restored to steam in 1994. It has just returned from a major overhaul and can be seen still working serviced on the Llangollen Railway
Features: Top feed boiler, Bunker steps fitted, Injector overflow routed outside running plate, Toolbox and steam heat removed by NCB
The Model
Inside the model you will find our powerful coreless motor suitably geared to allow the pannier to perform just like the real thing. There is the usual twin LED firebox flicker arrangement and a pair of sugar cube speakers for authentic sound reproduction on DCC sound fitted models. The DCC decoder is accessed through a magnetically removable smokebox door and pull-out board for trouble free decoder fitting.
As you can see from our lovely pics, the locomotive is now fully tooled, with first samples being on display on our stand at the 2023 Warley MRC Exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham this weekend. These samples are currently undergoing testing and evaluation by our technical team before they progress to the decoration and production stages.
It is anticipated that the locomotives will arrive in stock in Q1, 2025. Our Pannier Tanks are priced at £139.95 for DC/DCC Ready models, and £239.95 for DCC Sound Fitted models. Locomotives can be pre-ordered via our website for no money down or via monthly instalments at no extra cost, or via our network of local stockists. A further announcement of an “Accurascale Exclusive” model, available exclusively via the Accurascale website only, will take place in the coming months.
Accurascale would like to thank the Dean Forest Railway, The Great Central Railway and The Severn Valley Railway for their help and assistance in producing this model.
Detailed Specification
]]>
Can it get any more classic Cornwall than these? Join us as we look at the history of these icons of railfreight as well as our stunning models below!
History
Replacing the famous ‘clay hoods’, the wooden-bodied UCV/OOV covered opens that dated from the 1950s, the distinctive CDA china clay hoppers featured striking blue framing and canopies, galvanised steel bodies and large English China Clays branding. Debuting at a ceremony at BREL Doncaster Works on September 2, 1987, the new fleet perfectly complemented the recently refurbished Railfreight red-stripe Class 37/5s being outshopped from Crewe Works and created an iconic new look for the services that had previously relied on wagons that were little changed from their GWR predecessors.
The air-braked CDAs were derived from the ubiquitous HAA merry-go-round hopper design with a similar 32-tonne capacity and were preceded by a prototype, modified from No. 353224 in early 1987. This led to BR’s Speedlink Distribution division placing an initial £4.5 million contract for 124 purpose-built covered hoppers, numbered 375000-375123. Following trials, the first revenue-earning movement of CDAs took place on January 26, 1988, and this allowed the ‘clay hoods’ to be taken out of service just two weeks later. A second batch of 14 followed in 1989, Nos. 375124-375137 all being rebuilt at RFS Doncaster from MGR hoppers.
The introduction of the CDAs coincided with the wider application of the new Roundel triple-grey scheme to the Class 37 fleet, which had seen Laira’s own No. 37673 repainted in Railfreight Distribution livery for the launch in October 1987. It wasn’t until 1989-91 that the other members of the St Blazey out-based group, Nos. 37669-37672, 37674 and 37675 would be similarly treated, by which point Scottish outcasts Nos. 37411 and 37412 had also been transferred to the south west for clay work. Experimental No. 50149 was also drafted in for over a year to provide cover while Nos. 37670 and 37671 were away for repairs after a derailment at Tavistock Junction in November 1987.
In their first years of operation the CDAs were loaded at a diverse range of locations in Cornwall, including Burngullow, Crugwallins, Drinnick Mill, Goonbarrow, Kernick/Treviscoe, Marsh Mills, Moorswater, Parkandillack and Trelavour. They were usually tripped to Lostwithiel for onward movement to Carne Point/Fowey for unloading for export.
From the early 1990s, the CDAs began to lose their ECC branding and the clay-stained fleet passed to the ‘shadow’ freight operator Transrail in 1994. By this point Laira had handed over responsibility for the St Blazey Class 37s to Cardiff Canton and the reshuffled pool included Nos. 37229, 37413, 37416, 37521, 37668-37674, 37695 and 37696, most of which would eventually also gain big ‘T’ brandings.
Following the EWS takeover in 1996 the Wisconsin Central-owned operator was very proactive in repainting the frames of the CDAs maroon and applying branding, although notably several vehicles managed to retain their original blue. The Class 37s continued to soldier on, with the pool now consisting of Nos. 37521, 37668-37674 and 37696, several of which gained EWS livery. However, it couldn’t last and Class 66s eventually took over full time from July 1999.
The sale of ECC to the French company Imerys in the same year saw a major revamp to the appearance of the rest of the china clay fleet, but the railway-owned CDAs were unchanged until DB Cargo acquired EWS in 2009. The same period also saw the first CDAs retired and by the time DB stickers began to appear on the wagons, four of the original batch had been deleted while 11 of the HAA conversions were stored or cut up. The other three were retained for internal use as barriers at Fowey Docks.
By 2015 just two rakes of 38 wagons were required for the Imerys contract and DB released the remaining wagons for scrap or component recovery. Further reductions in the active roster have taken place over the intervening eight years and by the start of 2023 over 30 wagons were in store at St Blazey, with the three internal users still at Fowey.
Sadly, just a few weeks shy of the 36th anniversary since their debut, DB took the remaining CDAs out of service. The last move from Goonbarrow took place on August 8, 2023. The last move from Parkandillack took place three days later on August 11, the 6P24 15.25 to Fowey Docks, comprising a full 38-vehicle set of CDAs. The wagons returned to St Blazey and into store, and have now all been cut up. Happily at least 12 have been preserved, prototype No. 353224 at Chasewater, No. 375088 at the former Barry Tourist Railway site, No. 375030 at the Plym Valley, Nos. 375050/061/063/067/090/091/113/117 by the National Wagon Preservation Group/Bodmin & Wenford and No. 375102 by a private buyer.
The surviving china clay traffic will remain on the rails and now utilises the same Arbel Fauvet-built bogie covered hoppers as the Exeter Riverside-Cliffe Vale flow. These have been supplemented by five ex-Tarmac JGAs.
The Model
As you can see in the photos above, our CDA wagons feature a wealth of detail and crispness which signifies 'The Accurascale Way'. A diecast chassis, brass bearings and 26mm pinpoint axles means smooth running and excellent performance on your layout.
Particular attention has been paid to the detail differences over the traditional HAA wagons these were based on, such as the equipment at the wagon end, holes in the bodyside on one side, the underframe and of course, the hood/canopy.
Given the flexibility of our tooling we can also cater for those wagons as built as CDAs from new, as well as those converted from HAA hoppers, giving the modellers a true variety in their wagon rake.
Tempted? At a price of just £79.95 for 3 wagons, and 10% off when you order two packs or more, why wouldn't you be? Pre-order yours via your local stockist, or direct below for a Q3 2024 delivery.
Model Specifications
Numerous individual differences between wagon types
Well, here is some awesome progress - decorated samples of our hotly anticipated Mark 2c coaches!
Received last month and first unveiled at the Great Electric Train Show last weekend, the decorated samples pick up with the decorated samples of the Mark 2b coaches left off.
With the Mark 2b coaches now almost complete and due to ship from China very soon (look out for an update there in the next week or so!) the factory moved straight onto the Mark 2c coaches and are making rapid progress there too.
The first batch of Mark 2c coaches for our sister brand Irish Railway Models in Irish rail classic orange and black livery with white stripes is currently in assembly, and immediately after this finishes we move onto the BR variants, which have finished the moulding stage and are now at the painting stage milestone.
With production in full swing, delivery can now be predicted for early Q2 2024 for arrival at our warehouse. These much needed prototypes are perfect for BR era modellers of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, with some fantastic rake building opportunities as well as exclusive one-off models included in the first run. Stock is getting close to sell-out, so if you fancy some, now is the time to act. Pre-order yours today via your local stockist, or below!
Why? Well, is there a more useful engine possible in 7mm? We wanted to "dip our toe" further into the O gauge water, and offering a cute small shunting locomotive for a very competitive price seems the ideal place to start!
A model that we begun work on in the days before the pandemic, the Ruston 88DS has been a long time in development as we look to further build our range in O gauge. Following surveys of a couple of prototype subjects, not to mention our usual extensive research and development, we kicked off our tooling earlier this year with the first tooling sample was just received ahead of the "Great Electric Train Show" this weekend.
Prototype History
Ruston & Hornsby Ltd, of Lincoln, was formed as the result of the merger between Ruston, Proctor & Co. Ltd and Richard Hornsby & Sons Ltd on September 11, 1918 and their first narrow gauge diesel locomotive left the works on September 1, 1931. In the summer of 1932, production was moved to the larger Boultham Works, where the firm were eventually to become Britain’s largest builder of diesel locomotives, with over 6,500 being built by the time production ceased in 1969.
Almost as soon as the firm’s 44/48HP 0-4-0 locomotives were making an appearance, an upgraded, more powerful 0-4-0 was on the drawing board.
Although many of the features of the 44/48HP were retained for the new 80/88HP, such as the chain drive and running gear, a new type of transmission was fitted, along with Westinghouse airbrakes. The new power unit, Ruston’s own 4VPB, delivered 80BHP at 1000rpm and was later supplanted by Ruston’s improved 4VPH that delivered 88BHP, but it required compressed air to be injected into the cylinders to be able to start. While running, an air reservoir was kept charged via the braking system, but after standing idle for a period the reservoir depleted and a secondary source was required to recharge the reservoir. This was achieved by fitting a small, secondary 1½HP ‘donkey’ engine, giving rise to a distinctive raised cover on the right hand side of the engine compartment, that differed in size and placement depending on the make of engine used.
Two basic weight options were offered for the 80/88HP, 17 tons and 20 tons; the difference being achieved by attaching weights to the outside frames, as well as to the front and rear buffer beams. In 1941, Ruston’s locomotive classifications were changed, with the 80/88HP becoming 88DS (with the narrow gauge versions being assigned the DSM and DSN suffix, and the broader gauges assigned DSW). Outward appearance changes to the ‘standard’ locomotives were mainly confined to the cab area, with examples from mid-1947 replacing the open cab with a fully enclosed cab that featured several ad-hoc styles of windows and fittings, depending on the customers’ requirements.
As a shunter, the 88DS was never going to be a greyhound in terms of speed, the four-speed gearbox delivering a maximum speed of just under 15½ mph, but it could deliver some impressive haulage figures, being capable of shifting a 510 ton train from a standing start on the level, down to a 56 ton load on a 1:20 incline. With the widespread delivery of the type, to all areas of industry and use, it is difficult to give an idea of a typical train, but photos showing consists of 8 covered vans, or mixed open/van consists of a similar number are common.
The first 88 to leave Ruston’s works was 192325 on 27 June 1938, bound for Tunnel Cement at Grays in Essex and the subsequent orders were spread across the country; from Kent and Dorset in the South, through the Home Counties, East Anglia and the Midlands, to the North of England and into the far reaches of Scotland. Customers tended to be those whose industries were reliant on internal railway systems, so the 88DS were in common use in various Gas Works, Paper Mills, Manufacturing Works, Refineries, Chemical Works, Quarries, Steelworks, Power Stations and Collieries.
The War Department/Ministry of Supply were a large customer for the type, with the 88DS being employed in Ordnance and Maintenance duties, often being flameproofed or provided with spark arrestors as a minimum. British Rail also took a number of 88DS into service, notably working at Reading and in the North-East from York and Hartlepool, to Newcastle.
Ruston also widely exported a large number of 88DS types: to Ireland, France, Holland, Portugal, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Kenya, Brazil, Argentina, India, Burma, Ceylon, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Rhodesia, South Africa and even Mauritius and Alderney!
The final 88DS, 518494, left Boultham Works on 29 November 1967, ending a production run of 271 locomotives, but a significant number have survived into preservation, albeit in varying states of completeness or operation.
Watch Our Launch Video To Find Out More!
Our First Production Run
Ruston 262997 was built new for the West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority, leaving Boultham Works on 27 January 1949 for the Birchills Power Station in Walsall. Birchills came under the control of the WMJEA in 1925 and in 1944 it was decided that a new Station, Birchills B, should be constructed. The new power station, called 'Walsall B', officially opened on 30th September, 1949, and 262997 was responsible for shunting at the new Power Station, still carrying its WMJEA legend despite nationalisation of the industry in 1948, where Birchills became part of the Midlands Region of the Central Electricity Generating Board. Birchalls burned ‘slack’ coal, a mixture of coal and coal dust which was delivered by road, rail, and canal. Located to the south of the former Midland Railway’s Wolverhampton to Walsall (Ryecroft Junction) line, the railway sidings and coal storage areas could be accessed from both east and west directions. The Power Station closed in October 1982 and the stub of railway serving it was closed at the same time.
Ruston 432477 was built new for British Railways, being delivered to the North Eastern Region Civil Engineer’s Department at Etherley Tip in Witton, County Durham on 5 January 1959. Expired track ballast and materials were dumped at Etherley in the post-war years, with the ballast being removed from the wagons, then passed over a screen to separate the 'fines' and muck from the bigger bits of stone. The fines would be dumped in the nearest low spot, whilst the ballast would be sold off for use as foundation material. The North Eastern Region employed a number of 88DS in the Civil Engineering Department, mainly being used for Permanent Way work, and 432477 was utilised around the region. By late 1969, the locomotive was laid up at Heaton depot and was finally scrapped in 1970.
Ruston 408493 was built new for British Railways Western Region, for use at the Signalling & Telecommunications Department workshops at Reading and was delivered on 19 January 1957. Taking the Departmental number 20, the locomotive spent its entire lifetime at Reading, housed under the Vastern Road bridge when not in use. Renumbered in 1973 under TOPS, to 97020, withdrawal came in April 1981 and the shunter was disposed of at Reading by Cartrights of Tipton in August 1982, being replaced by a Barclay Class 06 No. 06003, which was transferred to Reading from the Scottish Region.
Ruston 338413 was built new for the National Coal Board, for use at the East Cannock Colliery in Staffordshire, leaving the works on 23 April 1953. The locomotive stayed in the area for its working life, spending most of it in and around the NCB’s Hem Heath wagon workshops, where it was finally dismantled during 1982.
Ruston 412427 was built new for Bowaters Packaging Ltd, for use at their newly expanded Northfleet site in Kent, leaving Boultham on 25 March 1957. The Thames Mills site at Northfleet had resumed producing newsprint at the end of 1945, with supplies of pulpwood coming from Canada and Scandinavia, and the manufacturing output had doubled by 1957. The pulpwood was unloaded from the ships berthed at the deep water jetty on the Thames and from there, the raw material was conveyed to the mills by the internal railway system. With the gradual decline in newsprint production, Thames Mills was closed and transferred into the ownership of Bowaters’ Northfleet Terminals Ltd group and in 1981 412427 was donated by NTL to the fledging North Downs Steam Railway, then to Chatham Dockyard, Stone (Dartford), and Tunbridge Wells, before finally moving to Oswestry, Shropshire in 2007 for use on the Cambrian Railway.
Ruston 245034 was built new for the firm of Babcox & Wilcox Ltd in Refrewshire, leaving the works on 1 December 1947, where it was part of a fleet of 88DS utilised by the Boilermakers. The works opened in 1895 and covered 180 acres, one of the largest boiler making works in the world at the time, which was accessed from the 3 mile long Paisley & Renfrew line running from the east bank of the River Cart at Paisley to a wharf at Renfrew on the south bank of the River Clyde. Although B&W Renfrew manufactured huge boilers for both conventional and nuclear power stations, the line was completely shut in 1977, the same year that production at Renfrew was scaled back due to the recession, with 1100 workers losing their jobs.
Ruston 441934 was built new for Rowntree & Co. Ltd of York, being delivered on 14 April 1960 to join R&H 421419/1958 and 432479/1959 in the confectionery company’s fleet of locomotives as No. 3. In 1979, the York factory bought a new 0-6-0 locomotive and No.3 was transferred to Rowntree’s Fawdon factory in Newcastle. Rail services at Fawdon came to a halt on 30 January 1987, with No. 3 being handed over to the North York Moors Railway for preservation and after some years being moved about, in 2013 it was purchased by two members of the Derwent Valley Light Railway, Glynnis and Tony Frith. 441934 has now been named Ken Cooke, in honour of the former Rowntree’s York employee, D-Day veteran and holder of France’s highest military honour, the Legion d’Honneur.
Ruston 408496 was built new for the firm of Shanks & Co. Ltd at Longpark Pottery in Hillhead, Kilmarnock, leaving the works at Boultham on 24 January 1957. The locomotive was sold on, eventually ending up with NEI-Clarke Chapman at their Horseley Bridge works and has survived into preservation, currently residing at the Foxfield Railway.
Price, Delivery And Availability
Our adorable little Ruston is progressing nicely, with tooling already completed and testing of the first prototype samples well underway. We will continue this testing process and then progress to decoration stage, before signing off for production. Delivery at this time is envisaged for Quarter 1 of 2025. Both DC/DCC Ready and DCC Factory Sound fitted variants will be offered, with the latter making use of an ESU loksound 5 decoder and our own bespoke recordings of a real 80DS. RRP will be £229.95 for the DC/DCC ready locomotive and £319.99 for the DCC sound fitted loco.
Pre-order via our network of local stockists, or direct for no money down, or using our partial.ly system of flexible monthly payments at no extra cost below!
DESIGN SPECIFICATION and CONSIDERATIONS
HIGH PERFORMANCE TRACTION and MECHANISM, TO INCLUDE:
LIGHTING and DCC FEATURES, TO INCLUDE:
As reported in June, we had to go through the first EP samples with a fine-tooth comb. On the surface, they looked lovely, and many of you will have seen them in our cabinets at recent shows. However, a lot of work was required to get them spot on. We executed 99% of this successfully, but following our last update, there was one area that modellers pointed out still just was not quite right; the bodyside grilles.
Unfortunately the consistency of the bodyside grilles was incorrect, with an uneven fitting of slats. It has taken more work and altering than we would've liked to get this correct, but we have finally got it spot on following some tooling alterations.
This has gone up another level since we previewed our first tooling samples in late August, with the modelling public very much enjoying the first glimpse at the depth of our tooling suite, covering the wide variety of detailing differences among each loco.
But, some modellers felt that there was something missing. A small gap in our range. The lack of a later LNER liveried model.
Well, fear not. Here it is, due to popular demand, and another for our "Accurascale Exclusives" fleet!
HILL G75 (LNER J68) 0-6-0T No. 7027.
The second batch of Hill’s ‘improved’ 0-6-0T locomotives, GER Nos.21-30 to Order G75, differed from the initial C72 order by being designated for shunting duties and differed in build accordingly. Sixteen spoke, unbalanced cast iron wheels were fitted, along with lever reverse and the side tanks were straight topped, lacking the raised chambers of the passenger tanks. Steam brakes were fitted from new, along with a wide-rimmed, parallel sided chimney, but the high arched, wooden cab roof was retained; a feature removed from the final I89 order which were fitted with elliptical wooden cab roofs.
Built at Stratford,as GER No.27, in December 1913, the locomotive was allocated to Cambridge Shed from new and by Grouping was present at Peterborough East on shunting duties, before being renumbered as 7027 under the LNER. The distinctive high arched roof was removed in August 1928, being replaced by an LNER pattern elliptical steel roof and the three bunker rails were filled during September 1931. 7027 was also the pioneer locomotive for the trial fitting of grease lubrication to the coupling pins and connecting rods in 1936.
At Grouping 7027 was still in GER Austerity Grey but from 1925 carried the LNER goods livery of unlined standard black with shaded 7.5" LNER lettering and 12" numbering, unlike the final I89 order that were painted in standard black with red lining, along with the ‘E’ area number suffix and either L&NER or LNER.
Pre-order your LNER 7027 in DC/DCC Ready or DCC Sound Fitted formats direct only via our website, with no money down and options to spread the payments over 6 months ahead of delivery to make the purchase kinder to your wallet.
We've been putting our Buckjumpers through their paces in recent weeks to ensure they live up to our expectations. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel to get all the latest news and info on our projects in development, Plus watch out for our future Buckjumper running video.
]]>
In fact they are now in production!
We recently received these decorated samples from our factory and have assessed them ahead of signing off production. We have a total of 9 diverse machines catering for multiple eras, from the 1960s to the present day making up this run, along with the limited edition model for the Heavy Tractor Group of 37714.
Before we look at the models, we have identified and made the following changes to these pre-production models before we signed off for production;
And now to the photos of each!
Delivery for these locomotives is slated for Q2, 2024 due to their popularity and the finishing of run 1 locomotives taking longer than anticipated. Unfortunately, we are now pretty much sold out an almost all running numbers on pre-order direct, but check out your local retailer, or our website for what is left, along with a small supply of our new Class 37/6s which are currently in stock. Be quick, they're moving fast! Click below.
]]>
Step 1: Unpack your figures and check all bodily features are still attached.
Step 2: Using a pair of tweezers, it's a good idea to have a dry run with the fitting of your crew before getting the glue out. In this instance, the driver goes in from the open cab, while the fireman is best positioned via the side window.
Step 3: With the test fitting complete, it's time to glue the crew in place. We'd recommend PVA glue or if you're more confident, Super glue.
Step 4: Apply the glue to the contact points on the figures, If standing apply to the feet and if sitting to the driver's seat.
Step 5: Once in place, check you're happy with how the crew are positioned and keep checking back while the glue drys.
Now all thats left to do is enjoy your new Locomotive and crew on your layout!