BOO! It's A Ghost - 60022 In EWS Undercoat Completes 60 Run Two Accurascale Exclusives

Warbonnet · Friday at 11:00

Now, what have we here? Did we forget to paint our latest Class 60 exclusive?

What’s going on, Accurascale??

Well, no, we didn’t. But we did want to bring you something different with our latest Accurascale Exclusive – something never before done in model form. Yesterday, we revealed 60099 in its new DC Railfreight livery, and today we present 60022 in its undercoat livery – just as it appeared while EWS were still deciding which livery to adopt for their new operation.

Loco History

(Prototype pics - Douglas Johnson)

On 7th December 1990, 60022 was collected from the Brush Electrical Machines works in Loughborough and took its first steps onto BR metals. Named “Ingleborough” after the Yorkshire Dales mountain, it carried Trainload Freight Metals sector branding. Although it never received a depot plaque, it was allocated to Thornaby depot in the North East of England.

During the transition from the shadow franchise era to EWS ownership, 60022 became unique in its class by being outshopped in primer and entering traffic in this unfinished state. This was because the final EWS livery had not yet been decided, but the locomotive was urgently needed for service. It featured primer-grey bodysides, a few black-painted details, numbers and warning flashes – and nothing more! 60022 thus joined a very small club of “ghost” locomotives across Classes 37, 56, 58, and 60.

Whilst some of these “ghost locos” were quickly repainted into the maroon and gold EWS livery, 60022 remained in its distinctive state for around 14 months. It skipped the original EW&S branding entirely, instead later receiving the EWS lettering and the famous “three beasties” logo on the cab side.

This lasted until 12th December 2009, when the locomotive was stored at Toton with major engine faults. There it remained until June 2022, when it was finally “roaded” out of Toton and returned to its birthplace – the former Brush Traction works, now operated by UK Rail Leasing.

60022 was subsequently acquired as part of the spares pool for the DCR/Cappagh fleet of Class 60s, and today it still stands alongside the former No. 25 shop, awaiting the next chapter in its story.

The Model

The “ghost” livery was seen on a handful of diesel locomotives around the early privatisation period, but it has never been offered before as a ready-to-run model. With 60022 surviving in this striking condition for over a year, it was the perfect candidate to debut the livery in model form!

The undercoat scheme really emphasises the heft and crispness of our Class 60 tooling, making its fine detail stand out all the more. It’s also ideal for customisation projects such as weathering.

As part of our Accurascale Exclusives range, 60022 will come in special presentation packaging – with a little something rather “Helter Skelter” about its collectability.

Priced from just £169.99, these very special locomotives will arrive in stock alongside the rest of Run 2 in Q4 2026.

Pre-order yours below – exclusively direct from Accurascale – and keep an eye out for the main range announcements next week!