What's New!
What's New!
New Announcement; Class 37s Come To The Four As Welsh And Scottish Classics Announced
You have called for it in your droves, so here they are! The classic Class 37/4s have been added to our range, with all new tooling included! Check them out here...
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New Announcement; Accurascale Exclusive FCA 'binliner' Unveiled!
With the recent announcement of Run Two of our highly acclaimed Class 66 locomotives, we've turned our attention to trains for them to pull. First, we announced a second batch of our cutdown HYA wagons but we also wanted to add something brand new to the mix in the form of the FCA bulk container traffic family. Designed from the ground up, this is an all-new project that has never before been done in 'OO' gauge, so we're very excited to introduce this completely new tooling suite. Prototype history Glaring omissions from the range of wagons acquired by English Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS) on its takeover of the BR freight companies in 1996 were general-purpose container flats. Freightliner had taken the vast majority of the fleet when it was spun off from BR that same year, leaving only a rump of ageing vehicles mostly used for containerised ‘binliner’ household waste traffic, as well as Railfreight Distribution’s newer but more specialised FIA ‘Multifret’ fleet for Channel Tunnel intermodal traffic. The result was an order for 400 flats semi-permanently coupled as ‘twins’ that were constructed by Thrall Europa at the former Carriage & Wagon Works at York Holgate between April 2000 and January 2001 and numbered 610001-610400. Primarily aimed at bulk traffic, the 92.7-tonne GLW 60ft platforms were part of a £200 million five-year investment for just over 2,400 vehicles by Ed Burkhardt’s company in 1997 that also included two other container-carrying types. These were both more specialised towards maritime or Channel Tunnel use, the 100 FAA ‘well’ style wagons and 150 FKA low platform ‘Megafret’ derivatives. Like many of the wagons constructed by Thrall, the FCAs were shod with the NACO ‘Swing Motion’ bogie. While this saved money, it limited the fleet to 60mph and forced a deck height of 1,023mm rather than the 980mm used for Freightliner’s Arbel Fauvet-built FSAs and FTAs. While this was acceptable for their bread and butter bulk flows, their use on maritime container trains, which were seeing an increasing number of 9’6” ‘high cube’ boxes, was restricted to major routes, or carrying standard height boxes only when mixed in with FAA and/or FKA. In April 2000, the first two FCA pairs, Nos. 610001/2 and 610003/4 moved to Derby for approval and type testing. Their first deployment was to the London area, when over 120 vehicles were allocated to the Brentford to Calvert and Cricklewood to Forders ‘binliners’, while a further 30 examples were reported working out of Thrislington carrying lime to Margam in South Wales in the distinctive low-height Rail Freight Services containers. The FCA would be associated with a range of other interesting duties over the next few years. They replaced two-axle FPAs on containerised coal traffic, were mixed in with wagonload vehicles in ‘Enterprise’ trains, and were partnered with brand new curtain-sided steel coil containers working out of South Wales. From the mid-2000s they turned heads on the East Coast Main Line when loaded with bright orange Rugby Cement 30ft ‘ISOVeyor’ flyash tanktainers and notably took over from KFAs to carry 20ft ammunition containers and other military supplies and equipment from a range of depots across the country. They have also been spotted carrying scrap carrying containers on the rear of the Outokumpu stainless steel trains between Tinsley and Immingham, while between 2011-6, they were used on various flows from Fiddlers Ferry and Drax carrying gypsum containers. From 2010, new owner DB Schenker began a programme of uprating the brake equipment for 75mph running, recoding the modified wagons as FYA. Two years later, the operator addressed the other major compromise in the original design, replacing the 915mm diameter wheels with 826mm versions to reduce the overall deck height to accommodate ‘high cube’ containers within the standard Network Rail W10 loading gauge. The first recoded FXA to be converted, Nos. 610023/4, was also outshopped in DB traffic red, the only full repaint so far of these wagons. For others, the removal of the EWS branding and often replacement with a DB sticker is the norm. Finally, July 2015 saw the debut of the first FQA, a three-unit 180-ft long variant that used a converted ‘outer’ wagon with its buffers and drawgear replaced with a receptacle for a bar coupler. One other interesting use for two pairs of former FCA ‘twins’ is partnering Network Rail Kirow ‘multi-tasker’ 1200UK crane No. 99 70 9319 013-7. These follow on from the 18 single-unit KFA variants of the FCA that have become the standard support wagons for the Kirow fleet operating with Balfour Beatty, Colas Rail, SB Rail and Volker Rail (ex-Grant Rail). Bringing the story up to date, as well as a much greater use on intermodal traffic, more recently, examples have been fitted with ‘Super Tench’ mesh-sided modules recovered from scrapped FJAs, while others are equipped with three 20ft steel slab carriers or flat platforms for carrying concrete tunnel liner sections. They are still heavily associated with military trains and the ‘binliners’, although the Brentford and Northolt flows now run to Severnside, near Bristol, although they also ran to Scunthorpe in the mid 2010s. The FCAs are also used on the Knowsley-Wilton (Teesside) service carrying Merseyside’s domestic waste to the incinerators. While the Rugby flyash working has fallen by the wayside, similar ISOVeyor tanktainers are used between Drax Power Station (via Milford Sidings) and Appleford carrying low-carbon ash to Forterra’s plant at Newbury as a major ingredient in Thermalite Aircrete blocks. The Containers The first run of the FCA includes two brand new container models that have never been tooled before in R-T-R plastic in any scale. The 20ft ‘binliner’ household waste container represents the later 8’6” high variant most commonly associated with the Northolt and Brentford flows, although it shares a family resemblance with boxes built for Avon County Council and Dagenham, as well as the Powderhall service in Scotland. These containers replaced the ageing 8’ high variety that were phased out in the late 1990s/early 2000s, and have seen service from West London to the Bristol area and North Lincolnshire. Although the 8’ boxes wore large GLC lettering for the Greater London Council, the 8’6” variants were delivered in the same yellow but with West Waste branding (for the West London Waste Authority). In 2017, Suez-Sita took over the waste contract, quickly rebranding the containers, while since 2018 an increasing number of refurbished versions have been appearing in the company’s blue livery with large Suez logo. The second all-new container covers an equally long-lived design. After years of relying on an eclectic range of British Rail air-braked vehicles, the early 1990s saw the Ministry of Defence containerise its stores and munitions traffic between depots within the UK and to overseas deployments. The existing wagon fleet was rationalised down to OCA, VAA and VGA types and these were supplemented by KFA container flats leased from Tiphook to carry the new Adamson-built 20ft boxes. These distinctive containers featured opening doors along the full length of three sides reducing the handling of sensitive loads. The format of the trains between the various MoD establishments remained basically the same until 2007 when the FCAs took over. The Model We are is proud to reveal the FCA family as the latest addition to its range of high fidelity 4mm/OO gauge wagons, complete with a range of appropriate containers that will open up many new opportunities for modellers looking to add interesting freight flows to their layouts. Designed from works drawings and multiple surveys, the first run sees the wagons combined with either 20ft West London ‘binliner’ or 20ft MoD ammunition containers, but can also be configured to carry a range of different-sized modules or boxes. Highlights of the design include the cast metal frame with plastic, wire and etched metal details, sprung buffers, highly flexible air pipes cast from rubber, the gorgeously rendered NACO bogies with rotating axle boxes, correct wheel profiles front and rear, full inner frame detail and brake shoes with rigging, and the numerous separately-added elements such as locking bars and operating equipment on the containers. As you can see from our images, the containers and flats are fully tooled, with first samples having arrived for inspection before moving onto the decoration phase. You'll be able to see these Engineering Prototypes first-hand at the Great Electric Train Show in October. The Accurascale Exclusive FCAs are anticipated to arrive in stock in Q4, 2025, so you've plenty of time to rake build using our Pay-monthly Partial.ly feature. Our FCA packs each feature two wagon flats and no less than six containers per pack! They're priced at £129.99 per twin pack and we're operating their usual 10% off when you buy two packs or more, along with a new offer of 15% off when you buy 5 or more packs directly from our website. That means each wagon just costs £52.53 when you factor in loyalty points rewards and postage and packaging being free, representing excellent value! The FCA's are only available directly so Pre-order yours today for no money down via the link below. Pre-Order Your Accurascale Exclusive FCA/FYA Packs Here!
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Class 55 Deltic Run 2 Update September 2024 - Final Production Samples Revealed!
The mighty Deltic was our first Accurascale locomotive and proved extremely popular, selling through in record time. Now Run Two is almost here and final production samples were recently forwarded to us by the factory for inspection. Back in 2022, our first Class 55 model was a resounding success, It became a multiple award winner, clinching the top spot in the 'OO' Model of the Year and 'Innovation of the Year' categories in the Hornby Magazine Awards, voted for by the public. However, not resting on our laurels! We have listened to feedback from our customers and put our heads down to make subtle changes which improve on what has gone before as we continue to pursue the goal of creating the definitive Deltic in 'OO' gauge. Having carefully listened to your feedback, our Project Manager went back to the factory with a list of subtle improvements. The Class 55 handbrake chains are mounted from the bogie to the body, just like the prototype. This proved troublesome due to the high fidelity of the parts used, particularly when adding one of our 3D-printed ModelU crew packs. Going back to the drawing board, we've redesigned our handbrake chains to feature a larger hook and pin, which prove much simpler to install. We've also asked for them to be a separate part in the accessory bag so those who want the extra detail only have to add the chains once. Working with our designers, we've also reengineered the chassis to lower the seating of the speaker in order to eliminate any interference with the body. Our coveted special edition boxes have also been completed, which include the Porterbrook Purple 9016 and D9000 'Royal Scots Grey'. With these adjustments completed and a handful of other refinements added, we're delighted to share the news that our Deltics will be departing our factory and sailing to the UK imminently. We expect shipping to take six weeks although with world events may mean it takes a tad longer. 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! Pre-Order Your Class 55 Deltic Here!
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ICI Bogie Limestone Hoppers Return In OO/4mm Gauge
Hattons Original favourites, the ICI Bogie Limestone hoppers join the Accurascale Exclusive lineup! Yes, We've managed to secure another of the tooling suites from ex-retailer Hattons in the form of the extremely popular ICI Bogie hoppers, joining our 'Moving Britain' range. History The ICI bogie limestone hopper was one of the first bulk bogie hoppers built, with the design dating as far back as 1931 with the LMS. The Vacuum only wagons were ordered by ICI Limited to transport crushed limestone from Tunstead quarry in Derbyshire (Peak Forest), to the Soda Ash plants at Northwich in Cheshire. Each wagon could carry 43.5 tonnes, the gross weight being 66.5 tonnes. They take the historical distinction of being the first ‘block freight’ train. A total of 152 wagons were built by Charles Roberts in Horbury between 1936 and 1953 in three batches, the first batch of 84 wagons numbered 3200-3283, the second batch of 36 in 1945 numbered 3284-3319, and the final batch 3320-3351 in 1951. With a working lifespan of 62 years, these wagons became part of the Peak District scenery and were very robustly built workhorses. The fleet had a few subtle differences, the most obvious being the ICI plate lettering on the hopper sides, 3200-3283 had the smaller type, and 3284-3319 having the larger lettering. As time went on, the lettering was removed completely on overhaul but the odd wagon managed to keep it or retain the scars from where it used to be. Generally the wagons were in pretty good condition up until the end of their working lives. The ‘BSC’ Iron Ore hoppers. These 123 ‘unfitted’ wagons followed on from the ICI hoppers and were built between 1952-1958 for John Summers and were very similar in design. The biggest tell tale is they are 5.6 inches shorter than the ICI wagons so are easily spotted in a rake because they are lower in height. The wagons passed to British Steel in the 1970s, and by 1980 were becoming surplus from British Steel Shotton. With perfect timing, BR was obliged to replace 13 wagons which were lost in accidents and scrapped between 1980-82, and ICI purchased most of the remaining wagons to increase capacity, also adding vacuum brakes and ICI lettering. The remaining purchased wagons (around 90) were used as a source of spares which surrendered their newer plate style bogies to the original build of 84 ICI hoppers built with diamond open frame bogies to standardise the fleet. The surplus BSC hoppers were sold as internal users or scrapped. These ex-BSC hoppers were mixed in with the ICI fleet and survived until the end, and the original Baldwin diamond frame bogies had all been replaced by the mid 1980s. The wagons have seen a variety of traction over the years, being hauled by LMS and BR 4F and 8F locomotives, followed by the Sulzer Type 2s (Class 24/25s) into the 1980s. Pairs of Class 20s were trialled from 1982 and by 1985 had seen some braking modifications. This led to a new subclass being created in 1986, the Class 20/3, and featured further braking modifications (not to be confused with the Class 20/3 conversions for DRS) but the subclass and conversion project was dropped by late 1986 replaced by single Class 47s. This gave way to the famous pairs of Class 37s hauling these trains across the Derbyshire scenery. Other classes such as 3F, 9F, Co-Bo, 31, 40, and 45 lending a hand too. Wagon rakes varied from 11 in the early 8F days, to 24-28 with a pair of Class 37s up front. The wagons remained in service into the 1990s, usually hauled by a pair of Class 37s, withdrawal from mainline duties came in December 1997. The main reason for their withdrawal apart from their age was that the entire fleet were vacuum brake only, and EWS were unable to commit to providing reliable pairs of Class 37s as the years went on. Classes 56 and 60 were air brake only and no use for this traffic flow, and with the Class 66 invasion planned, the situation wasn’t going to change. Comment was made by one of the scrapyards that these wagons were so solidly built they were very difficult to cut up, and still had lots of life left in them. A credit to Charles Roberts build quality all those years ago. The wagons were replaced from 1997 by redundant two axle PGA hoppers dating from 1979-1981, hauled by pairs of Class 37s or a single Class 60. Several ICI Hoppers are preserved in various places, both ICI and BSC types being represented. The Model A welcome addition to the 00 gauge ready-to-run scene when first released, these bogie hopper wagons formed part of the "Hattons Originals" range and have been highly sought since previous production runs sold out. Decoration samples are now complete with the first samples having arrived for assessment. While the models are shaping up nicely feedback on fit and finish will be triple-checked before being signed off. Our ICI bogie hoppers will be sold in 15 twin packs, 5 packs each for three eras; 1950s - 1973, 1973 - 1992 and 1992 - 1997, priced at £79.95 per pack. Delivery is anticipated for Q2 2025. We're offering the usual 10% off when you buy two packs or more, along with a new offer of 15% when you buy 5 or more packs direct from our website. Pre-order yours today for no money down via the link below.Pre-Order Your ICI Bogie Limestone Hoppers Here!
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DCRail 60055 'Thomas Barnardo' joins our Exclusives Range!
The announcement of our Class 60 locomotives has certainly piqued the interest among modellers as sales of these Mountain movers have defied even our lofty expectations, with well over 80% of the first run selling through! Today we can confirm the final piece in our line up for Run one, as we announce Accurascale exclusive 60055 'Thomas Barnardo' in DCRail colours. Some of you will have seen this model already in our launch video as it was originally penned in to be our charity special. Unfortunately, that has not been possible this time however keep a close eye on Run 2... 60055 was completed at the Brush locomotive works in Loughborough in 1991 and accepted by British Rail on the 15th of May that year. It Rolled out of the works the smart, triple grey Railfreight livery, wearing the black and yellow diamonds to denote its coal sector allocation. 60055 was named Thomas Barnardo from new, a name it would carry for the rest of its working life. Thomas Barnardo (1845 – 1905) was an Irish born philanthropist. He was born in Dublin and moved to London in 1868 in an attempt to save and educate destitute children following a cholera outbreak. From his first orphanage he set up in 1870 a further 121 were opened by his death in 1905, caring for around 60,000 children. Barnardo’s legacy was to establish the children’s charity in his name that is still very much active today. The locomotive bearing his name continued to work for the coal sector until under the “shadow franchise” period it became part of the Transrail fleet, this meant in 1995 it lost its coal sector markings in place of the Transrail “big T”. Soon ownership passed to EW&S Railways in 1996 but 60055 did not receive an updated livery for another decade until 2006 when the “big T” was covered by the iconic EWS “Three Beasties logo”. Unfortunately, 60055 did not last long in this condition as it was placed in to storage at Toton in November 2008 as part of EWS’ reduction in operational fleet. Moved by rail to Crewe in 2009, this is where 60055 would spend the next decade of its life before being purchased by DCR and moved by road back to Toton for a full overhaul. In November 2019 60055 worked its first revenue train in multiple with class leader 60001 as a test run from Toton to Boston on the steel train. Still in tatty triple grey livery, it had yet to visit the paint shop to gain its new coat of single grey to indicate its new ownership.DCR are notable for having impeccably clean locomotives and 60055 is no different. One of four operational class 60’s in the fleet, it can be seen working in rotation around many of their aggregate contracts and is always kept looking its best by the staff. The latest chapter in 60055’s story came during late 2023 when it was fitted with the latest BMAC LED style headlights as seen on our model. The Decoration sample shown will have numerous tweaks before arriving, including the addition of all-black buffer faces, not to mention a highly collectable custom box! Production is well underway so pre-ordering 60055 is advised, Don't miss out on this wonderful exclusive; pre-order below in DC/DCC Ready specification for just £169.99 or DCC Sound Fitted for £269.99 with free UK postage and packaging below! Pre-Order Your DCRail 60055 Class 60s By Clicking Here!
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AccuraPannier Gains Colour!
Following the recent announcement of our all-new London Transport exclusive pair. We can now show you the rest of our Pannier collection as the project reaches the decoration phase. The sheer number of variances in tooling options took a while to get right before moving on to decoration, but now they've arrived, all we can say is; WOW! The addition of paint really highlights the depth of tooling as no two models are the same.Lets have a look! You might notice when looking at 5741, the green looks a little peculiar... Well, no need to adjust your sets as this highlights one of the reasons we take so much time inspecting decoration samples. Project Manager Steve Purves has taken some stick in the office, after accidentally forwarding a typo to our factory, creating a very unique light green 5741. This of course, will be changed along with other tweaks for final production, although we all agree, Steves obviously a big Montague fan.. So, when are they be getting here? Well, the exciting news is that production is about to get underway, once changes have been implemented from feedback given. Delivery is still slated for 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. Detailed Specification Highly detailed 0-6-0PT 00 gauge model, 1:76.2 scale on 16.5mm track Minimum Radius 438mm (2nd radius set track) RP25-110 profile 00 gauge wheels Coreless motor with flywheel geared for maximum performance and slow speed running Die-cast metal chassis and pickups to all wheels. Next18 DCC ready or ESU LokSound V5 sound fitted, slot mounted in smokebox PowerPack capacitor for uninterrupted power Two quality sugar cube speakers contained in sound capsule located for best possible sound. Small, flexible neck NEM coupler mounts set at correct height, with mini-tension-lock couplers. Brake rigging factory fitted Brake blocks aligned with wheels Scale width wire handrails and sand pipes Fully detailed cab interior with twin LED pulsing/steady Firebox glow Etched metal/plastic detail parts, including grab handles, steps, buffer pipework, lamp irons etc. Turned brass whistles etched whistle shields (where fitted) Sliding roof ventilator Etched metal pre-painted number plates and works plates. Fully sprung metal buffers, factory-installed pipework and screw/3 link couplings Magnetically removable smoke box door PRE-ORDER YOUR PANNIER RIGHT HERE AND BROWSE THE RANGE!
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New Accurascale Exclusives Announcement: London Transport 57xx Pair!
We announced our all-new Pannier locomotive project back in November 2023. Today we can confirm the project has reached the decoration stage, with all models arriving for full evaluation by Project Manager Steve Purves. Let's kick off the update on the project with an exciting announcement, two all-new London Transport variants, L91 and L94! London Transport’s railway network is well known for being electrified and “underground” but there had always been a small fleet of steam locomotives retained for working infrastructure trains on the surface lines. By the 1950s, these older locomotives were well past their prime and London Transport began to look for replacements. Diesel locomotives were considered, as was a small fleet of ex GNR J52 steam locomotives but their trial was unsuccessful. In 1956, the solution came in recently withdrawn ex GWR 57xx pannier tanks. Image: London Transport L89 and L90 at Lillie Bridge depot in July 1966 copyright PWS collection 2023 Modifications were required to the cab roofs to allow for tighter clearances which involved removing the protruding roof section and placing a new rainstrip higher on the roof. Modifications were also required to fit the locomotives with “trip cocks” to be compatible with LT’s signalling system. These cocks would contact a ramp which was raised at red signals which would activate the vacuum brake and stop the train. Extra brackets were fitted on the running plate, and the cocks were fitted to these. Steam heat was not a requirement for the engineering trains so this was removed. In total 13 locomotives were bought by LT although only 11 ever ran at once. L91, as modelled was the second locomotive to carry the number L91. Originally this running number was allocated to ex-GWR number 5752, a 1929 vintage product of Swindon Works. This was one of the first to enter traffic in 1958 but within two years it was in need of major repairs which were deemed to be prohibitively expensive, and so it was scrapped and replaced with the second L91, which we have modelled here. The second L91 was actually from the same batch, ex GWR 5757, this locomotive differed to the first in that it didn’t have the top feed fitted and retained its back feed boiler right up to its final withdrawal in 1968. Unfortunately, L91 was not a survivor and was cut up by Chesterfield Steelbreaking and dismantling limited during 1970. Steam on the LT system lasted until 1971, 3 years after the big “final day” on BR. During this period, the “Red Panniers” gained quite a following as they were still mainline type locomotives doing real work, unlike the industrial systems which struggled to find favour with many enthusiasts. This 3-year window also allowed many of the LT panniers to find homes in preservation following their withdrawal. Fledgling preservation schemes were faced with having to purchase either industrial or scrapyard-condition locomotives so the opportunity to purchase a working mainline locomotive was not passed up. L95 was even steamed the day it arrived on the Severn Valley Railway! L94 was one of these locomotives. After hauling the last steam service on the underground, it was sold from service to “7029 Clun Castle ltd” and moved to Tyseley in Birmingham. It has appeared in several guises, including LT livery as L94 or painted in GWR and BR conditions with its original number, 7752. A product of Glasgow, dating from 1930, L94/7752 must be considered one of the hardest working panniers in preservation and during 2011 it was even fitted with equipment to allow mainline running. Still retaining the LT “cut cab” but having lost the trip cock brackets, it now gained new modifications. A GWR style speedometer drive was fitted to the rear wheel under the driver’s side and two electrical equipment boxes were fitted under the running plate to house electronics for modern mainline signalling. Also evident are slightly more polished areas than it would have had during squadron service as well as the mandatory OHLE warning flashes on the step areas. L94 was seen working frequently with classmate 9600, either top and tail, double heading or even used as a pair for banking duties on some of Vintage Trains’ railtours as well as spending periods on hire to preserved railways around the country. L94 has most recently been repainted into Great Western Green livery and is carrying the original number of 7752. Deco samples have been received and are currently under inspection, with further images to be shared in due course! 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. PRE-ORDER YOUR PANNIER RIGHT HERE AND BROWSE THE RANGE! Detailed Specification Highly detailed 0-6-0PT 00 gauge model, 1:76.2 scale on 16.5mm track Minimum Radius 438mm (2nd radius set track) RP25-110 profile 00 gauge wheels Coreless motor with flywheel geared for maximum performance and slow speed running Die-cast metal chassis and pickups to all wheels. Next18 DCC ready or ESU LokSound V5 sound fitted, slot mounted in smokebox PowerPack capacitor for uninterrupted power Two quality sugar cube speakers contained in sound capsule located for best possible sound. Small, flexible neck NEM coupler mounts set at correct height, with mini-tension-lock couplers. Brake rigging factory fitted Brake blocks aligned with wheels Scale width wire handrails and sand pipes Fully detailed cab interior with twin LED pulsing/steady Firebox glow Etched metal/plastic detail parts, including grab handles, steps, buffer pipework, lamp irons etc. Turned brass whistles etched whistle shields (where fitted) Sliding roof ventilator Etched metal pre-painted number plates and works plates. Fully sprung metal buffers, factory-installed pipework and screw/3 link couplings Magnetically removable smoke box door
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