Warbonnet

Hi Noel, They were perfectly visible, and we have seen mixed orders for Accurascale UK and IRM models in one order. We have now also opened up IRM models to UK retail outlets like Rails of Sheffield, further spreading the gospel. Thanks, Fran

Well that's most disrespectful. Where did I call Americans stupid? I merely pointed out that they had little understanding of tariffs, which I found surprising. That doesn't make them stupid, just that they were ill informed or perhaps misled by their leaders. Please do not make assumptions based on your own outlook. I have spent a lot of time in America and admire a great many of American achievements and culture. Enough of your gaslighting please. The Chinese exporters will pay none of it, unless it's to the same Chinese company importing it at the other end. It will then be passed onto the end consumer pays it and it goes into the exchequer. If I sell you a locomotive tomorrow from here and you live in the US, the 23% VAT will be removed from your purchase price (as it always has been) and the 30% of tariff imposed by your government will be added, along with whatever other charges. It's as simple as that. We have no control over it. Still, 30% is better than what it was, thanks to the climb down in recent days.

A fantastic achievement by the SDMRC, and what amazing club rooms they established too. Really are a joy to visit. From an IRM perspective we are especially grateful to the club and Paul in particular for giving us a spot in their Blackrock show so we could advertise our idea of doing a CIE Ballast Hopper in OO gauge back in October 2015. Not many people knew us then, but we have since grown a bit.... Now here we are 10 years later as those little acorns grew, and we are looking forward to marking our 10th anniversary further with the club at the show!

Correct. What this whole experience has taught me is just how much Americans do not understand tariffs and how they work. It's nothing to do with companies, it's basically a tax imposed by Governments.

A very special locomotive needs our help. Today marks the 80th anniversary since the first book from the Railway Series of children's books was published, and one of the locomotives which inspired one of the very special characters needs some help. Will you join us in rescuing this wonderful piece of railway history and funding a brighter future for him? WATCH: We Visit Wibert With Our Model And Tell You Our Plan! Our friend Wilbert is currently looking very sorry for itself at the end of a siding, awaiting funds to help put him back together and receive new paintwork. You can help make it happen by buying our latest exclusive model of this very special engine! History 'Wilbert’ as we have come to know him, was built by Hunslet, Leeds, in 1953. It was one of a number of post-war "Austerities", ordered by the National Coal Board. Wilbert was delivered in December that year to Rawnsley loco shed, Staffordshire for its first employment in the South Staffordshire coalfield and was painted a light green colour. Works number ‘3806’ led an average working life, moving around the coalfield to Cannock shed, and then West Cannock. At some point during its working career, it was fitted with non-standard ‘enclosed side’ steps for the running board. The locomotive was acquired by a group of members from the Dean Forest Railway and was delivered to Parkend in 1976. Here ‘3806’ sat awaiting its turn to be restored, which was realised a few years later, after its transfer to Norchard and ownership transferred to the Dean Forest Railway company – becoming the first locomotive to be owned by the railway. Now fitted with vacuum braking and pained in an attractive dark blue, lined red livery, ‘3806’ received its first name in August 1981, this was to be “G. B. Keeling” after the first chief mechanical engineer of the Severn and Wye Railway, which later was to become the Dean Forest Railway. On the 13th of September 1987, the locomotive was renamed “Wilbert” In honour of the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, creator of the Railway series and Thomas the tank engine who was the Chairman of the Dean Forest Railway at the time. There was a small ceremony where Wilbert Awdry unveiled the new name to his friends, family and invited guests. In 1994, Christopher Awdry published book number 38 in the Railway series (the writing of which he had taken over from his Father) entitled “Wilbert the Forest Engine” which was four short stories about “Wilbert” visiting the Island of Sodor from his home railway in the Forest of Dean (another Austerity, “Sixteen” is described in this book which bears a striking resemblance to “Warrior, also located at the DFR and available in our main range!) Wibert continued to work on the DFR and out on loan, visiting the Swanage Railway, Weardale Railway and Peak Rail amongst others. The last boiler ticket expired in 2016 when Wilbert was placed in store pending overhaul. This overhaul started later in the year by the removal of parts, including the boiler but was soon sidetracked as the railway had more pressing issues to finance and there was no immediate requirement for another operational Austerity. The Covid 19 pandemic placed the overhaul on hold indefinitely and Wilbert was shunted to the end of a siding. In 2021, there was a glimmer of hope in that the Dean Forest Railway Society had agreed to purchase 50% of the shares of the Wilbert from the Railway company and an overhaul would be subject to fundraising. With an estimated cost of over £100k this was to be no mean feat and sadly stalled again. How We're Going To Help Together! In 2024, we approached the Family of the Reverend Awdry to ask for their blessing to make a model of the locomotive bearing Wilbert’s name and it was suggested to them we could use the funds raised from the sales of the model to donate towards the real locomotive at the Dean Forest Railway. The family were in agreement that it would be a wonderful idea so discussions with the DFR society then started. Quotes were received for a full cosmetic (non-operational) overhaul and the railway agreed that following the overhaul, Wilbert would be placed in a prominent position at Norchard station along with interpretation boards to tell the story of Wilbert Awdry (the man), Wilbert (the locomotive) and to welcome guests and visitors to the railway. We hope that by restoring Wilbert, he will continue to inspire future enthusiasts in the same way that many of us were inspired ourselves. So, how can you help? Simple! Buy one of our limited edition Wilbert locomotives, and we will donate the proceeds to the restoration. To cosmetically restore Wilbert, we need to raise £7.500. Sales of our limited edition model, featuring our now famous "Accurascale Exclusives" packaging and bonus material, including a letter from the Awdry family, and certificate will be included in the box too. Priced at £149.95 for DC/DCC Ready and £249.95 for DCC Sound fitted. Our Wilberts will arrive with the rest of our first run of Austerities in Q2 2026 and once sold out, we will then donate the money to get the restoration underway. Thank you to everyone in advance who can assist in funding its restoration and we will keep you up to date with progress. Pre-order your Wilbert, available only direct via the Accurascale website via the link below! Pre-Order Wilbert Here! View the full article

God remember the days when everyone was just overjoyed about a new Irish model coming out? I really miss those days!

Thankfully there is sensible people running EU countries and economies, so we can enjoy Chinese expertise for a while yet, and now with additional capacity as American companies are forced to put the brakes on their plans. I really feel for those companies, as they're small companies and this is a serious threat to their liability. They'll be long dead before any alternative arrangements can be put in place. Having been to China, and having welcomed our factory partners here on a number of occasions now, all I can report is that they're brilliant people to work with. Their army was 3 million strong long before they started manufacturing model trains too.

Continuing our odyssey into the quintessential wagon load trains of the CIE era, and the maximum usage of the legendary Bulleid triangulated underframe, we are delighted to announce the humble H Van, this time in its widespread, "unfitted" format. History As part of the programme of standardisation and rolling stock renewal instigated by Corás Iompair Éireann (CIÉ)’s Chief Mechanical Engineer, Oliver Bulleid, in the 1950s, a fleet of over 1,300 H vans was introduced. With a body resembling earlier CIÉ types but mated to an underframe constructed to Bulleid’s patented triangulated design, these wagons quickly became a common sight across the entirety of the Irish railway system, being found at practically every station where goods were transhipped, from remote branch lines to the busiest yards, and could even be observed on through workings in Northern Ireland. The loads conveyed in these vehicles was varied, often being employed to carry a broad range of wagonload sundries, as well as serving higher volume flows such as bottles and barrels from the Guinness brewery at St James’s Gate in Dubbin, and beet pulp from sugar factories to be used as fodder. H vans were commonly observed on a wide range of workings, from short branch services consisting of one or two wagons in the company of the locomotive and a brake van, to long rakes of vans or mixed wagon types, and even on mixed trains on branch and secondary lines. The rise of fitted trainload ‘liner’ trains in the 1970s heralded the demise of CIE’s wagonload services, and the H Van fleet became increasingly redundant, with most being withdrawn by the latter half of the 1970s. Today, a single complete example has been preserved and is to be found at the Downpatrick & County Down Railway, though numerous bodies still survive, having been sold on by CIÉ upon withdrawal, mostly to farmers for use as animal shelters or equipment sheds. The Model The unfitted H Vans marks the latest, and one of the most numerous wagons using the famous CIE Bulleid triangulated underframe design which helped standardise Irish freight stock from their introduction in the 1950s. It's our aim to offer all wagons based on this underframe design. Featuring prototypically accurate simplified brake rigging compared to its rarer, fitted sisters, these wagons reached the four corners of the network, often seen in long mixed goods trains, and were a feature of almost every siding and freight spur around the country. Coming in our famed triple packs, we have six different packs to offer modellers, featuring original grey with Flying Snails, grey with CIE roundels and brown with CIE roundels, giving a wide range of possibilities and variety for the modeller. Due in Q3 2025, these models are already nearing production completion at our factory. Priced at £109.95 per triple pack, and 10% off when you buy two or more packs, you can order them below direct, or via your local Accurascale/IRM stockist. Pre-Order Your Unfitted H Vans Here! View the full article

tune in tomorrow morning, folks!

Hi folks, I will be there spreading the gospel according to Accurascale/IRM, and will have the 800, Hunslets, Park Royals, Bubbles and more on display over the weekend, so be sure to come by for a look. Please note that we will no longer be retailing at shows, and just promoting only, but of course everything is available in stock online or with traders at the show. See you then! Fran

Another milestone has been reached here at Accurascale as our Class 89 locomotives have reached production sample stage. We recently brought you a full update on the Class 89s including our visit to the factory to oversee production progress (which you can read by clicking here!). Since our visit the first models have now been fully completed and we can share them with you all. Check out those specially themed boxes! As per the last update, these are currently due in late Q2 of 2025, and will soon depart the factory for their trip to our warehouse! Watch out for a sound demonstration video coming very soon, too! We have a limited amount remaining on pre-order, so if you don't want to miss out, get your pre-order in below or via Rails of Sheffield with a £30 deposit! Pre-Order Your Class 89 Here! View the full article

Hi @Gabhal Luimnigh, Still awaiting your feedback/fleshing out of this statement. Many thanks, Fran

Hi Noel, Another way to look at it is; previously we had an IRM dedicated cabinet at these shows, and people hardly paid any notice. Now it is mixed in with Accurascale models which are more familiar to the average UK punter, it drew more eyes on them as they had a closer look at something "different". We definitely got more "what's that?" questions since we started doing it. Cheers! Fran

Hi folks, Instead of slipping down the dark hole of conspiracy, there is some very simple explanations to this. 1. The 800 and Park Royals were being transported to the UK to me here in Dublin via a IRM customer for the Wexford show next weekend, hence them not being on display. We only have 2 800 samples, the other being with ESU to finalise the PCB. We have Hunslets and bubbles here, so were able to leave them in the UK for display purposes at the show. 2. The ICR is also in ESU in Germany testing the electronics, hence was not on display. 3. As seen in recent months, IRM is being folded into Accurascale as a brand. 4. If you see Accurascale at a show, you can be sure that IRM products will be on display at our shows. Whatsmore, our designer of those items will be on hand to discuss them with you and give you a great insight into them as products. 5. The UK market by and large (97% of them) do not really care about Irish outline, but we always have some on display to show them what they are missing out on. Exactly Keith. End of the day, British show goers want to see British outline models. We cannot stress enough just how small the Irish market is. It's barely viable, and DJ Dangerous assessment of it slowing down is accurate. We have seen that over the last 18 months, and remember; it's not just IRM that we sell. Accurascale UK outline subsidises IRM. The more we sell of that, the longer we can continue to do Irish outline. Sales of Irish models is the biggest key though! I'm sure those of you who visit the Dublin shows, or see us at Wexford this weekend will not that there will be little or indeed no BR outline models on our stand, and only Irish models get promoted. In Ireland, Irish outline is our main focus of promotion. In the UK, it's British outline. Sorry, could you flesh out this point please, and let us know your thoughts? I'm intrigued. Many thanks, Fran

I have one. It's very nice indeed!

Hi Noel, Respectfully, an error is usually something made unconsciously, thinking it was correct to begin with. For the ballast and cement bubbles, we consciously decided to go with the cranked coupler solution to maintain prototype fidelity of the under frame. It was not an error, it was a conscious decision. We explained it at the time, at considerable length to you. And again on subsequent releases of these wagons. Other posters on here remember our explanation as demonstrated above. I’m surprised you haven’t, when it was explained in answer to your queries, countless times. I’m absolutely certain you’re not trolling of course. That would be rather pointless and silly for a grown man to do. Cheers! Fran

They sure are! We've only had one pack per livery from the factory to assess so far, so they are the same pack in each livery, just for illustrative purposes to give customers an idea of what the finished wagons look like. They're all identical save for changing numbers. Cheers! Fran

One of the most requested wagons we get asked for from our Irish outline fans is nothing new, but an icon of our past. The humble cement bubble was the second wagon we ever produced, but was an absolute must have wagon for any Irish outline modeller. It's been several years since the last run, but we're delighted to announce that our Cement Bubbles are back, in two liveries! HISTORY Introduced in seven batches between 1964 and 1972, a total of 150 of these two-axle wagons were built by Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) to convey bulk loads of cement from Irish Cement’s plants at Drogheda in County Louth, Castlemungret in County Limerick and Platin in County Meath to distribution points throughout the CIÉ/Irish Rail and Northern Ireland Railways’ networks. Despite being introduced at different stages, the fleet carried numbers in an unbroken sequence ranging from 25050 to 25199. Affectionately known as ‘bubbles’ due to their distinctive profile, the majority of the fleet remained in service right up until the cessation of cement traffic by rail in 2009. At first, the wagons carried an all-over medium grey livery with CIÉ roundels and ‘Bulk Cement’ text on the body sides. In the early 1970s, they were repainted with orange/tan bodies and grey chassis. In the early 1980s, they received a further repaint which saw them turned out with ivory bodies and black chassis. This latter livery was carried until withdrawal, although it was often hidden below several layers of cement dust! While wearing this colour scheme, a small number of wagons also received ‘Irish Cement’ branding. The wagons were loaded from overhead silos via a hatch located on top of the body, while unloading was conducted by utilising compressed air, which forced the powdered cement through the two cones at the base of the body and into a pipe which emerged at one end of the wagon. Unloading could be conducted at specialised terminals or by road-hauled trailers fitted with the necessary air blowers The Model Our cement bubbles were the second wagon we ever produced, and we're delighted to say that the detail and quality still more than holds its own among other releases since. Now in our fourth production run, we are bringing back the orange variant (only ever produced in small quantities once many years ago. We are also bringing back the ivory livery with CIE roundel, a livery that the bubbles wore for the longest period in their careers, from the early 1980s until withdrawal in 2008. In the early to mid 80s they also ran in mixed trains of orange and ivory liveries, so they can complement each other in a rake. Three packs are available in each livery and are priced at £109.95 per pack, with 10% off when you buy two packs or more. Delivery of the bubbles will be Q4, 2025. Pre-order yours below, or from your local Accurascale stockist! Pre-Order Your CIE Cement Bubble Wagons Here! View the full article

Okay, so we have kept you waiting long enough. It's time to bring back one of our all-time most popular wagons. It's time for run two of our iconic Redpath Dorman Long built PTA/JTA/JUA bogie iron-ore/stone tippler wagons! They are now back in our plans and with some new, much in demand liveries too! History These characterful wagons were built in three batches by the British Steel subsidiary Redpath Dorman Long from 1972 for transporting iron ore to Consett, Llanwern, and Ravenscraig. The tough looking tipplers stood out further with attractive liveries and rode on distinctive BSC ‘Axle Motion’ bogies. They soon became a favourite of the enthusiast as they became synonymous with the heaviest trains on the British Rail network. The Port Talbot to Llanwern trains saw 27 British Steel PTA tippers triple headed by Class 37s, before the introduction of pairs of the then new Class 56 on 30 wagon trains. Following the closure of Consett in 1980, a batch of PTAs became temporarily redundant before being snapped up by Procor. These soon found work on Mendip stone trains, going both to Foster Yeoman and ARC. Their use was in block formations from quarries at Merehead, Whatley and Tytherington to depots in London and the home counties. Once again, the PTAs found fame as wagons in the heaviest regular freight trains in the UK, with 43 wagons being hauled by a pair of class-56 locomotives from Merehead to Acton for Foster Yeoman. The wagons would be painted in distinctive house liveries of Yeoman grey and ARC mustard, and see service behind the then new Class 59, as well as a wide range of BR locos, much like their British Steel counterparts which were enjoying electric traction haulage on the WCML with pairs of Class 86 and Class 87 locomotives. The PTAs continued to provide sterling service for British Steel across Britain as well as Yeoman, ARC and its successor Mendip Rail into the 2000s when age began to catch up on them. Wagon leasing company VTG took on rakes of JTA/JUAs in the mid-2000s and they were used on spoil trains as well as sand and sea dredged aggregates until withdrawal. The Model These wonderful tipplers are among our most popular wagons we have ever produced. We last had them in stock in the early lockdown days, and while they were very nice, we have decided to give them some tweaks for run 2. Improvements have been around the bogie area, with enhanced features, now featuring better detail around the bogie centres. Also included in this new run is etched brake discs and we now have track pick up for the tail light. We are covering four different liveries in this second run, featuring two Mendip stone favourites and of course, two British steel iconic workings. First up are the Mendip packs, with Yeoman revised "Big Y" debuting for the first time on our model, a livery much in demand since we first announced our PTA models several years ago. It will be supplemented by two packs of ARC liveried wagons in their earlier livery, featuring the classic olive scheme and "Procor" markings. As well as the Mendip favourites, British Steel workings are once again well represented, with the legendary Redcar - Consett/South Bank wagons introduced to the range for the first time. This working was famous for utilising pairs of 37s between 1974 and closure of Consett in 1980. Of course, no PTA run is complete without a re-run of the famous Port Talbot-Llanwern circuit, with three Class 37s! Three new packs with new running numbers debut in the range. The price of each 5 wagon book set is £179.95, with a 10% discount if you buy both the outer and inner sets, and 15% when you order 5 or more sets. ARC, Yeoman and British Steel Consett liveries are represented by two sets, one with outer wagons featuring two wagons with buffers and traditional tension lock couplings placed at NEM recommended height, and an additional "inner" set with the higher placed knuckle couplings as per the prototypes. The South Wales British Steel livery features one outer set, and two inner sets. As per run one, the "inner" sets are just a "bolster pack" for the outer sets, and will not couple to locomotives, only the "outer" sets. Each outer set also comes with a working flashing tail lamp. Delivery is expected in Q2 2026. You can place your pre-order via your local Accurascale stockist, or via the link below to pre-order direct! Order Your Tippler Wagons Here! View the full article

A chap on here had 8 levels to his layout at one stage, started below the knee, finished above head height. No helixes either. Ran 60 wagon trains on it too with diesels with ease.

It's time to reveal our second run of Brush Type 2s/Class 30/31s, following the reveal of our Accurascale Exclusives model of D5579 in experimental golden ochre earlier this week! As mentioned on Wednesday, due to the popularity of our first production run of Class 31s, we have been able to squeeze in a quick second run with he factory, and it results in 6 different locomotives, so early pre-ordering is advised. Let's look at the sextet coming your way in Q1 2026. We've really tried to provide something for everyone! D5501 BR Green with SYP New to 30A Stratford in November 1957, D5501 was only the second Type 2 to be released from Brush’s Falcon Works in Loughborough as part of the 20-strong Pilot Scheme batch of locomotives. The Hawker Siddeley-owned company was so proud of their new 1,250hp A1A-A1A machines that this particular example spent its first few weeks on display at its new acquired sister firm Mirrlees’ Hazel Grove factory, home of the 12-cylinder turbocharged JVS12T engine that was originally installed in the class. Mostly limited to East Anglia, with the odd cross-London or cross-country excursion it initially settled into a life of express and secondary passenger work as well as parcels and freight traffic, with the latter duties dominating as more powerful diesels were introduced onto the Great Eastern and Cambridge main lines. By the mid 1960s, D5501 had been repainted to match the production members of the class, losing its picked out window surrounds and duck egg blue body stripes, and that is how the Accurascale model is represented. Later renumbered 31001 it was among the first ‘Toffee Apples’ – so named because of the shape of the power handle - to be withdrawn, succumbing in July 1976 before being scrapped at Doncaster in January 1977. D5579 Experimental Golden Ochre with SYP (Accurascale Exclusive!) Although the Brush Type 2s arguably wore one of the most attractive interpretations of the BR green paint scheme, a growing concern within British Railways was improving the visibility of its diesel motive power, which did not announce themselves to trackside workers in the same way as the steam locomotives they were quickly replacing. As well as trials with flashing lights on various classes, in January 1960, Falcon Works outshopped two ‘Class 30s’ in experimental liveries, D5578 in a French blue and D5579 in golden ochre, also described as bronze gold. Oddly only the latter retained the off-white stripes and was all the better for it. While both were initially allocated to 30A Stratford and then 31B March from November 1960, they parted company just under five years later when D5579 joined 41B Tinsley, having gained a small yellow panel – BR’s answer to the conspicuity problems – in 1963. While D5578 was painted into the standard green in September 1964, its colleague survived until January 1966 before being admitted to Doncaster for its own makeover. It was renumbered 31161 and was rescued from withdrawal as a late addition to the Class 31/4 programme, becoming 31400 in March 1988 after 31401 was condemned following an accident earlier in the year, notably swapping its Railfreight livery for a return to BR blue. It was stored just over three years later and was cut up at Booth’s of Rotherham in August 1993. 31271 Railfreight Construction One of just five Class 31s to gain Railfreight livery with Construction sub-sector decals, 31271 also has the distinction of being the only surviving example to retain the iconic Roundel-designed scheme into the present day. Built as D5801 and new to 30A in June 1961, it completed its heavy general overhaul at Doncaster in April 1987 emerging in the soon to be obsolete Railfreight Red-Stripe and was notably the last member of the class to be dual-braked as part of the ‘refurbishment’ programme. Allocated to Stratford’s FAGS aggregates pool in March 1989 it was repainted in triple grey at Vic Berry Limited, Leicester, the same month, complete with that company’s trademark black grilles, receiving embellishments such as decals and depot plaques – but no double arrows – later that year. Having been fitted with miniature snowploughs only a few months earlier it happily retained them throughout the rest of its BR career. It was finally stored unserviceable in May 1997 after being sidelined and reinstated several times and was acquired by A1A Locomotives Ltd exactly a year later as a source of spares for the restoration of 31108. Having survived a proposal to section the bodyside, it was reprieved and followed its ‘skinhead’ partner back into service, hauling its first passenger service in preservation in April 2002, incredibly still in its 1989-applied paint, albeit with a few touch ups and the reapplication of the squadron markings. It underwent extensive bodywork repairs and a full repaint into Railfreight Construction in the first months of 2004 ahead of its naming as Stratford 1948-2001 at the York Railfest event in May, becoming the fourth locomotive to be given a Stratford-themed name after 47007, 37023 and 31165. It is currently based at the Llangollen Railway. 31301 Railfreight Red-Stripe Developed from the large logo scheme, when the original Railfreight grey livery was launched on 58001 in December 1982 it was lifted by the addition of a red bufferbeam and solebars. However, when the paintjob was first rolled out on the Class 31s as they left Doncaster after Heavy General Overhaul from March 1985 only the red bufferbeams were carried over, the red lower body band not being introduced until January 1987 on 31188. Over the next 13 months, 36 other ‘refurbished’ machines were outshopped by the ‘Plant’ in the same ‘red stripe’ scheme with Bescot’s 31301 re-entering traffic after its makeover in June 1987. This had been new as D5834 to 41A Tinsley in March 1962 but spent most of the 1980s yo-yoing between the Eastern and London Midland Regions. When the locomotive fleets were divided into sectorised pools in the second half of that decade 31301 was initially allocated to departmental work, later joining Stratford FAGS aggregate pool, before returning to infrastructure work in the early 1990s. This became restricted to weekend work from 1992 along with several periods of store and around three years later it worked for the last time. A potential reprieve came in September 1999 when it was sold to Fragonset with the intention of re-instating it to traffic. Unfortunately this never took place and after hanging on for over a decade it met its fate at CF Booth, Rotherham, in February 2011. 31418 BR Blue Between 1971 and 1975, 24 Class 31s were upgraded with electric train heating capability (ETH) courtesy of a 320kW Brush BL100-30 alternator, the same as fitted to the similarly modified Class 45/1 ‘Peaks’ and Class 47/4s. Powered directly from the engine, this provided an impressive ETH index rating of 66, perfect for their expected duties shuttling empty coaching stock (ECS) in and out of King’s Cross, Paddington and St. Pancras as well as portions of ‘air-con’ trains around the Leeds/Doncaster area. An oddity within the new sub class was 31418, the former D5522 of 30A, which was from the lower geared 80mph batch delivered in 1959 and also the only disc headcode or ‘skinhead’ machine to be converted until a second series of Class 31/4s was undertaken in the mid 1980s. In 1978, having swapped North London for Gateshead via a spell at Finsbury Park, it saw its connecting doors plated over, which resulted in the loss of its centre pair of discs. It retained this basic appearance for the next nine years before being ‘refurbished’ at Doncaster in October 1987, which saw it lose its steam generator, bufferbeam cowls and bodyside banding. The ETH receptacle was also resited to the driver’s side corner of the cab front. Within days of release it was unofficially named Boadicea and received white painted ‘discs’ the following year, both customisations surviving to its withdrawal from Springs Branch with engine failure in October 1995. With minor celebrity status it was quickly purchased for preservation at the Great Central Railway, before joining A1A Locomotive Ltd’s fleet in 2002. Over the last two decades it has been slowly restored to 1970-80s condition at the group’s base at Swanwick Junction and is expected to be completed within the next few years. 31602 Chimaera Fragonset No heat 31191 was one of seven Class 31s acquired from EWS in April 1998 by Fragonset Railways along with 31186, 31459/468 and 31549/552/558. Originally stored from Toton in October 1995 it was returned to the fray courtesy of the Birmingham Railway Museum at Tyseley in June 1999 renumbered as 31602 the second member of the new Class 31/6 sub class, which included a repaint in Fragonset’s striking black livery with maroon/gold stripe and the mythical creature-themed name Chimaera. The only modification to justify the renumbering was the fitment of through ETS wiring allowing double heading with an electrical train supply-equipped Class 31/4, or for shutting down the ETS on the rear locomotive in case of fire while leading in a top and tail formation. Its first passenger use was on Silverlink Train’s Marston Vale branch between Bedford and Bletchley in summer 1999, which ended that same year, leaving 31602 with a regular diet of railtours and stock transfers until 2003 when Wessex Trains hired in loco-hauled sets for Cardiff-Brighton and Bristol-Weymouth diagrams, while 2004 saw it seconded to First North Western for Lytham St Annes-Greenbank and Manchester Victoria/Chester-Blackpool North commuter services. From 2005 Fragonset became FM Rail and when that collapsed into administration at the end of the following year it was put up for sale, eventually joining RVE at Derby, for Network Rail test train use, gaining that organisation’s house yellow in April 2007. That November it gained the new name Driver Dave Green and the following month it became one of just three Class 31s to gain brackets for UV spotlights for use with the Structure Gauging Train. It’s NR Service ended in November 2012 when it moved to DC Rail, which sidelined it at the end of 2013. It was put up for sale in 2017 but with no takers it was scrapped at Wolsingham by J Denham Metals in June 2018. Price And Availability As stated with the launch of our exclusive Brush Type 2 on Wednesday, production on this batch is very limited, so we advise early pre-ordering, either no money down direct, in instalments at no extra cost through partially direct, or via your local stockist for the main range models. Models for run two are priced £184.96 DC/DCC Ready and £284.95 DCC Sound fitted. Delivery is slated for Q1 2026, with production already underway. Pre-order your Class 30 or 31 via the link below to order direct! Pre-Order Your Accurascale Exclusive Brush Type Two Here! View the full article

Hi folks, We wont be there this year, but our friends at the Model Railway Society of Ireland will be bringing our pre-production Hunslets up for the weekend and they'll be available to see on the St. Davids MPD layout! Hope you like them! Cheers! Fran

Well, our all new Class 30/31 really has gone down a treat since they began arriving in late 2024. Picking up the "Diesel/Electric locomotive of the Year" award in the BRMAs and the Model Rail awards was a real treat and honour for us, as has all the positive reviews for our definitive Peds! Demand for what's coming next has been unbelievable, and it just so happens that we have the decorated samples ready to launch for a further, smaller run due at the end of this year. What better way than to begin the launch with our Accurascale Exclusives loco for this production run, D5579 Experimental Golden Ochre with small yellow panels! Prototype History Although the Brush Type 2s arguably wore one of the most attractive interpretations of the BR green paint scheme, a growing concern within British Railways was improving the visibility of its diesel motive power, which did not announce themselves to trackside workers in the same way as the steam locomotives they were quickly replacing. As well as trials with flashing lights on various classes, in January 1960, Falcon Works outshopped two ‘Class 30s’ in experimental liveries, D5578 in a French blue and D5579 in golden ochre, also described as bronze gold. Oddly only the latter retained the off-white stripes and was all the better for it. While both were initially allocated to 30A Stratford and then 31B March from November 1960, they parted company just under five years later when D5579 joined 41B Tinsley, having gained a small yellow panel – BR’s answer to the conspicuity problems – in 1963. While D5578 was painted into the standard green in September 1964, its colleague survived until January 1966 before being admitted to Doncaster for its own makeover. It was renumbered 31161 and was rescued from withdrawal as a late addition to the Class 31/4 programme, becoming 31400 in March 1988 after 31401 was condemned following an accident earlier in the year, notably swapping its Railfreight livery for a return to BR blue. It was stored just over three years later and was cut up at Booth’s of Rotherham in August 1993. The Model Following on from our first production run and due to popular demand, our factory has given us a production slot to follow up quickly with a second run. D5579 will be one of six locos in this run, with very limited availability due to production capacity. It will also be available from the factory with our Mirrlees sound file fitted for the first time, a sound recording that has gone down very well indeed with modellers. We will reveal the general range on Friday, with 5 other stablemates, all of which are due in stock in Q1 2026 with production already underway. As stated above, production on this batch is very limited, so we advise early pre-ordering, either no money down direct or via your local stockist for the main range models. As ever, our Accurascale Exclusive will come in special presentation packaging and certificate. Models for run two are priced £184.96 DC/DCC Ready and £284.95 DCC Sound fitted. Pre-order your Golden Ochre D5579 via the link below, available exclusively only direct from Accurascale! Pre-Order Your Accurascale Exclusive Brush Type Two Here! View the full article

Timelines eh? Sometimes manufacturers give them (always with the best of intentions) and then they sail past them. Something always comes up to derail a project and put the project back months, or even years. We've been guilty of this of course. But, it seems that we're getting better! Following the delivery of the 7mm Ruston locomotives on time from our initial release date, and our ICI hoppers arriving a quarter early from the original advised delivery date, we can now reveal that our 21 ton hopper wagons (TOPS code HTO and HTV) are also arriving a whole quarter early! Originally slated for a Q3 2025 arrival, our factory have beavered away on our latest wagon project and produced a much needed gap filler in the Ready-To-Run (RTR) wagon market in OO gauge! It is also an essential in our "Powering Britain" range of wagons. We received production samples a couple of weeks ago ahead of schedule and have began assessing them immediately. We're biased of course, but they've done a stupendous job in turning our research and design into simply beautiful models with a real quality feel. After our assessment and rigorous checks, we were delighted to green light the hoppers to leave the factory for delivery, which they did so earlier this week. We will let you feast on some further images below! As with all our non "joint-venture" models now, you can pre-order your packs with NO MONEY DOWN until they arrive in stock with us. There is no "crowdfunding by stealth" with large deposits up front, just stock ready to drop when they arrive in our warehouse. Want to spread the cost? you can do that too with our partially system for our pre-orders, or klarna, clearpay, revolut pay in three and paypal pay in three when they arrive in stock to spread the cost! The wagons will arrive in our warehouse in late May 2025. Fancy some? Pre-order yours below... Pre-Order Your HTO/HTV Wagons Here! View the full article

The Accurascale family grows even bigger as Stuart Brown joins the team as Customer Experience Representative. Many show goers and those with an interest in railway preservation will recognise Stuart from the Locomotion Models stand and of course, Locomotion Shildon and the National Railway Museum. Stuart spent 12 years with the NRM in total, in a diverse range of roles, primarily based in Shildon. A lifelong railway enthusiast and modeller, Stuart's primary interests are the industrial, light railway and narrow gauge. He joins us as a Customer Experience Representative, and will be based in our repair lab in Darlington where he will carry out warranty repairs as well as answering your queries via email and our chat service. We are sure he will also be dragged into helping us with some of our future projects too! View the full article