Accurascale Class 60

◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL Accurascale • ACC2893 60092 BR Railfreight Coal Sector triple-grey • ACC2900 60055 DC Rail grey

◆ PRICE £169.99 (DCC-ready) £269.99 (DCC sound) ◆ AVAILABILITY Accurascale stockists Webwww.accurascale.com

My own memories of the Class 60s are rooted mostly in the privatisation era, as their initial introduction into British Rail stock came when my late teenage attentions were moving elsewhere. It was only after moving to the Peak District as an adult that I began to fall in love with them, to the point where I’d plan my daily routine around the usual ‘60’-hauled departures from Dove Holes or Briggs Sidings.

Revealed at last year’s DEMU Showcase event, Accurascale’s Class 60 project took many of us by surprise, not least as Cavalex Models’ high-fidelity ‘60’ was by then nearing completion (see review in MR338). With Hornby’s popular Brush Type 5 still very much a part of the Margate company’s range, we’re now spoilt for choice.

With a 100-strong fleet and a vast range of livery options to choose from over the past 35 years, all three makers are unlikely to run out of individual prototypes to replicate.

Furthermore, with the future of the remaining Class 60s uncertain, they’re perhaps more popular with enthusiasts than ever before, not least as they represent British Rail’s final diesel locomotive design.

TOOLED UP

As we’ve come to expect, Accurascale has created an extensive tooling suite to cater for exterior and interior detail differences appropriate to different operating periods. Ten versions have been produced in the main range, taking in original BR Railfreight sub-sector schemes, the shadow franchise period (LoadHaul, Mainline and Transrail), and the post-privatisation era (EWS, DB, GBRf and DC Rail). Additionally, Rails of Sheffield has commissioned a special edition of 60033 in the fetching British Steel blue livery.