Accurascale Announces Class 92 in OO
Accurascale today announces that it is to produce the Brush Class 92 dual-voltage electric as its second locomotive release.
A total of 46 of these interesting and complex locomotives were built between 1993 and 1996 as part of the landmark Channel Tunnel project, to convey freight and sleeper trains between Britain and France across the 25kv AC overhead and 750v DC third rail network.
The locomotives have enjoyed chequered careers, with some of the work they were built for, such as the ‘Nightstar’ sleeper trains seeing cancellation before services could start and the 92s built for the role languishing in storage for many years.
Luckily, the locomotives have acquitted themselves well on intermodal, steel and general freight traffic for BR, EWS, DB and GBRf over the past 25 years and belatedly find themselves on sleeper services with the Caledonian Sleeper, some 20 years after they were built for such trains.
It is the Caledonian Sleeper that has led Accurascale to choose the Class 92 as its second locomotive. Accurascale has teamed up with the exciting and innovative brand Revolution Trains to design and manufacture the new CAF built Mark 5 coaching stock, which will be used on the Caledonian Sleeper as well as TPE services. Accurascale will produce and retail the coaches in OO gauge, while Revolution will do the same in N gauge under their crowdfunding model.
With a high-quality Class 92 model in the pipeline in N gauge from Revolution/Rapido, it seemed right that OO gauge modellers should enjoy a high specification model with excellent detail, an array of features and excellent fidelity as modellers come to expect from Accurascale.
Extensive research on the locomotives has been complete with CAD design at an advanced stage. Tooling will commence shortly. The first run of locomotives will see multiple releases in railfreight with different markings, EWS, DB Schenker, and GBRf, with DCC ready and DCC sound options available on all running numbers.
Specification will mirror that of the Accurascale Deltic locomotives, with heavy tungsten alloy chassis, an extensive array of separately applied detail, detail differences catered for between locomotives and numerous operating features including motorised raising and lowering pantographs and DCC ready and DCC sound fitted options using ESU’s latest Loksound 5 chip.
Accurascale would like to thank Revolution Trains for their assistance in this project. Prices and delivery are TBC. Preorders including attractive bundle deals with Caledonian Sleeper stock will be on offer via the Accurascale website: www.accurascale.co.uk