DRS Crewe On A Mission

Hi, Thank you for compiling the list, I have just thought of a few more. DB Red liveried 66077 & 66085 have the ‘Powered by HVO’ ‘ Reducing our carbon footprint’ decals and branding on their bodysides. 66077 remains named as ‘Benjamin Gimbert G.C.’. 66434 also carried full Fastline livery as per 66301-66305. 66434 also carried the numbers ‘434’ on the cab ends without the ‘66’ digits present. 66737 in full GBRf Europorte livery with cab side and cab end logos carries enlarged ‘37’ digits on the bodysides whilst the ‘667’ digits are the standard smaller size. It’s also named ‘Lesia’. I believe the loco is still currently in this condition, just possibly without the Europorte cab side and cab end logos. I’m not sure if you have it noted and listed but some of the Freightliner 66/5s, 66/6s and 66/9s now have new Freightliner logos on the cab sides and cab ends. It’s written in a different font to the original ‘block’ type logo that they had originally when delivered. The new logos have been applied since around 2015 mainly at Leeds Midland Road during cab refurbishment work which has included externally repainted cabs, new and replacement headlight clusters/lights and new Freightliner logos. Of note is that Bachmann and Hattons have never produced a standard Freightliner Green liveried 66 of any sub class with the new Freightliner logo on. This would be an excellent choice for Accurascale because this represents many of the Freightliner examples for the past eight years or so since circa 2015. I hope this helps. Kind Regards, Danny.

I hadn’t thought of it that way and you make a good point. I have noticed recently after paying closer attention that coupling heights do differ between different brands and models, even if just by a couple/few mm it is noticeable. Even the small details like this are interesting to follow and take note of. Kind Regards, Danny.

Maybe slightly but I’m not going to read too much into this. I have this happen on my layout sometimes if the couplings aren’t connected properly or if locos and wagons are different brands there can be a slight variation in coupling height. Kind Regards, Danny.

Thank you for these @Shoey. These are perfect screenshots from the video. The coupling certainly seems to sit in a central position on the 66 and level with the coal wagons that are attached. This is excellent. Thank you. Kind Regards, Danny.

So there isn’t too much play in the movement of the couplings and they don’t droop? I don’t have the A Class, 55 or 92 but I do have some 37s on order with you. I’m assuming the 66 will go through testing too to ensure that it doesn’t derail wagons and other locos when coupled up and when reversing etc? The reason I mention it is because this was an issue with the original Hattons batch and I just want to be sure you have made the appropriate modifications to ensure these issues aren’t present on your model. I also want to mention it so that you are aware of the issues when it comes to testing the 66. Obviously I’m not undermining your knowledge or competence with the 66 it’s just that in the announcement video and the specification in relation to modifications/upgrades made to the model the coupling mechanism upgrade wasn’t mentioned, so I just wanted to mention it to ensure modifications had been made and to keep an eye on the model in this area when testing it, to ensure any issues/snags are ironed out before the first batch are put into production. Thank you. Kind Regards, Danny.

Thank you for that, it’s greatly appreciated. Can we see a video with a 66 in a consist with other 66s, running around corners, moving in the backwards direction etc, so we can see the play and movement in the couplings and if the coupling still has any droop when attached to other locos and reversing? I would like to see this before committing to pre-ordering no doubt many models from the initial batch and future batches, and I may sell some of my old models now in order to upgrade them. Thank you in advance. Kind Regards, Danny.

Hi McC, I appreciate you will have had a busy weekend but when you get a chance please could you make us a video of the 66 attached to wagons and other 66s specifically focusing on the couplings and there movement and so we can see if they droop as much as they did originally. This is the only slight reservation I have before deciding which models to pre-order. Also I forgot to mention the other day that 743 and 746 when produced by Hattons in Royal Scotsman livery didn’t have all of the lighting operational, as there was an error when producing the locos with this lighting configuration. That’s one reason why I mentioned about you reproducing models from the Hattons batch in the same livery and with the same numbers. That reason and because some people like me missed out on some versions due to so many different models and liveries arriving at the same time. Is this something that you may do and you aren’t ruling out, or is this a no go? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. Kind Regards, Danny.

I understand your thinking but in relation to the original Hattons batch of the 66 there were issues reported when couplings were moving too far around and close to the buffers on the locos, as well as the drooping of the NEM couplings. Accurascale have said that some modifications have been made to the coupling mechanism, and I have asked if they can make a video in relation to the things that I have mentioned so we can see how well the 66 runs with other 66s and wagons. You know you like my long comments haha, I hope you are keeping well my friend. I mentioned these two models specifically because when they were produced by Hattons there were issues regarding getting all of the lighting functions to work. I believe it affected these two models and possibly a further six or seven other models too with the same lighting configuration. Unless you had the ability and wanted to try and buy the models and get the lighting to work then not all of the lighting functions were operational. Accurascale have now rectified this according to the information in the announcement so it would be good to see some or all of the liveries reproduced that had this issue from the Hattons batch. Kind Regards, Danny.

Thank you for the detailed reply to the questions, it’s greatly appreciated. So the couplings will still be on a spring but there have been some modifications made, this sounds good. Do the couplings still swing right around close to the buffers, or do they now stay more forward facing even when going around corners? I’m just thinking in relation to interlocking between wagons and other locos and derailing. Also I forgot to mention this yesterday but have you amended the coupling ‘droop’? On the original Hattons batch the couplings easily pushed down when any pressure was applied which meant that couplings between the loco and wagons or other locos became tangled and caused derailments. Is there any chance that you could produce a video showing the loco up close attached to other 66s and wagons running along straight stretches of track and around corners? This is just the main and only niggle and slight reservation I have before deciding which ones to pre-order from the first batch. The additional tooling to cover more cab interiors and the Euro variants is excellent news. As we know the GBRf Euro variants have never been modelled in RTR form before, so this is very exciting news. The batch of 747, 748 and 749 have already worn five different liveries for GBRf in the UK and they have only been here for ten years. These are plain Grey with Orange GBRf numbers on the bodysides (worn by all three), GBRf Blue and Orange Europorte (worn by all three), 747 in Newell & Wright Transport livery, 748 with Safer branding and decals and 749 in GBRf Blue and Orange but without Europorte branding. It’s good to hear that there will be a specific DCC Decoder available to buy directly from yourselves via your website for the 66. I would rather buy this DCC Decoder than another one which might not allow everything to function. So just to confirm you aren’t ruling out reproducing the same liveries and running numbers that Hattons have in the original batch? I would welcome seeing 743 and 746 in Royal Scotsman livery and 780 in Cemex livery. 780 would be perfect to run with your hopper wagons. It’s good to hear that standard/mundane liveries and running numbers will feature regularly too. This is something that Bachmann have lacked in there range especially in recent years. The last Freightliner Green 66 was produced in 2014/2015! This is far too long of a gap to leave it missing from the range. It’s excellent to hear that the price for standard DCC Ready and Sound Fitted examples will remain the same regardless of where each model is available from and the livery. For £170 for the definitive 66 and for special/unique liveries this is exceptional value for money. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. Kind Regards, Danny.

Hi all, Congratulations on the announcement of a new Class 66 Accurascale. I can see this model being really well received by modellers and collectors. It's great to see that this isn't another newly tooled Class 66, but rather taking the original Hattons model and reworking it to a better and higher standard, whilst giving it the feel of an Accurascale model with the inclusion of additional features. Making use of the Hattons tooling was a way to ensure that there tooling and efforts were not wasted, which would have been a shame. This feels very well thought out for all involved, a good business decision and provides Accurascale with the opportunity to have another 'bread and butter' loco in there range. I have watched the announcement video, read the description on the forum and the news article on the Accurascale website and I just have a few questions which I don't think have been answered yet. I was going to email you but then I figured that others may have the same questions, so I thought it would be beneficial to post on here where more people can see the response/s and information. It's excellent to hear that some of the niggles with the original model have been improved and also some of the Accurascale features like the removable roof panel for access to fit the DCC Decoder and to turn switches on and off if you are DC, as well as the stay alive capacitors for flicker free running in relation to lighting now also feature on the model. I bought three of the Hattons Class 66s and whilst I haven't actually had the time to do some minor repairs to them, fit DCC Decoders and run them in etc, I have read comments from others regarding the couplings, as they are sprung and not actually fixed in position to the chassis of the loco. This was a concern to some people as they experienced the couplings bending too far when running around corners and consequently the coupling and/or sometimes the buffers too interlocking with wagons or other locos that the loco was coupled to. So my first question is will the coupling mechanism be changed so that they aren't on a spring and instead attached to the chassis of the loco in a fixed position? When you mention that you have tooled extra combinations from the initial Hattons model, I am assuming that you mean to accommodate the Euro variants that are either already in the UK or are expected to arrive in the coming years. Can you confirm this, and if this is correct which Euro variants have you tooled for? I ask because depending on the specific Euro batches and sometimes even individual locos within the Euro batches there are differences. Off the top of my head the Euro Class 66s imported into the UK are 66306, 66307, 66308, with 66309-66316 arriving in the next two years, 66734, 66747-66751, 66790-66799. Then there are the EWS/DB 66s that operate in Europe that sometimes return to the UK for maintenance/exams as well as the ten that have recently returned and will remain in the UK for the medium to long term to assist DB with there traffic requirements. Will the tooling also allow for these variants to be modelled and produced? I ask because many of the Euro variants carry special liveries which haven't yet been produced in OO Gauge in ready to run form. Also it's brilliant to see an original Freightliner Green Class 66 numbered 66507 has featured in the first batch. I had previously been wanting Bachmann to produce some 66s in this colour scheme that were from the early numbered members of the Freightliner fleet as these were allocated to the Heavy Haul pool and could regularly be found on Leeds Midland Road, in Hunslet Yard with coal wagons and around Yorkshire on coal trains. I am talking about numbers such as 506-515, 518, 519, 520 and 525-528. So the announcement of 507 is excellent seen as though the last Heavy Haul allocated Freightliner 66 that Bachmann produced in Green was 546 circa 2015 but this was fitted with sound and therefore if you didn't want sound fitted or wanted to buy a couple of models to renumber this wasn't an appropriate base model to buy and use, in terms of it being available as sound fitted only and the cost of it. In future batches it would be excellent to see the likes of 514 and 519 produced as well as 506 and 527 with there names fitted or included in the detailing pack. In addition, will you be producing and supplying an Accurascale DCC Decoder (non sound decoder) for the Class 66s? Or will we still need to continue to buy the Hattons Originals DCC Decoders to be able to use and access most of the functions from this model? Furthermore, I missed out on some of the special liveries that Hattons produced specifically 66743 and 66746 in Belmond Royal Scotsman livery and 66780 in Cemex livery. Will you be producing these liveries again now that the 66 is under the Accurascale brand or won't we see previously offered liveries and numbers reissued by you? Lastly, when further Accurascale Class 66s are announced either as Exclusives via the website or through Exclusives/Limited Editions to retailers will the price remain the same for all DCC Ready models at £169.99? I ask because with the price being so brilliant and I will likely want to build a fleet of the Accurascale Class 66s, I will just commit to buying 66s from you going forwards because they offer better value for money and they will all be the same specification. I have been waiting for a manufacturer to produce regular batches of the Class 66 in every livery to the extent that I now mainly model DRS and GBRf on my layout as the lack of Freightliner Green 66s by Bachmann is astonishing, so this is a very welcome announcement. I will now be able to build a fleet of Freightliner 66s, which I haven't been able to do for years. Another brilliant announcement, for a model that will be able to be produced in many batches for years to come. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. Kind Regards, Danny.

This set of coaches are now £165. If anyone is interested, send me a message. Kind Regards, Danny.

I have reduced this model. If anyone is interested please send me a message. Kind Regards, Danny.

If anyone is interested in this model, send me a message. Kind Regards, Danny.

If anyone is interested in this model, send me a message. Kind Regards, Danny.

If anyone is interested in this model, send me a message. Kind Regards, Danny.

If anyone is interested in these coaches or has any questions, send me a message. Kind Regards, Danny.

If anyone is interested in these power cars, send me a message. Kind Regards, Danny.

Hi all, I’ve just had another couple of ideas for new OO Gauge wagons. Please could we have the SITT wagons (Snow Ice Treatment Train) that run primarily in southern England. These can be found being hauled in top and tail formation by GBRf traction including Class 20s, 66s in a range of GBRf liveries, Class 69s, Class 73s and Class 73/9s. They have also been hauled by Network Rail Yellow Class 57/3s of which Bachmann have produced 305 and 312. All of these locos are either already or will soon be available in RTR form except the Class 73/9s, so they would compliment a range of traction. Even I would buy some and I don’t specifically model Southern England but I would run them with GBRf locos. Secondly what about those flat wagons that currently are hauled by DRS traction on the Crewe-Carlisle-Crewe and possibly Crewe-Toton/Bescot-Crewe engineers trains? I’m unsure what the wagons are coded on TOPS but they have some kind of yellow frame/structure on the ends of them. I’m assuming these are used to strap and hold materials to the wagons. They are hauled sometimes by DRS Class 37s and as recently as Thursday when 37425 in Regional Railways livery was in charge. These wagons would compliment the existing Accurascale range of Class 37s and future batches. They also run in lengthy rakes as seen on the photo below. I would certainly buy some because I don’t currently have any flat engineers wagons, only ones with medium or high sides on. Just to let everyone know this isn’t my image, and credit for it goes to Mark Ainsworth. Kind Regards, Danny.

I have removed the content of this comment to the correct thread as I posted it in this one, which is the wrong one. Sorry for the mistake. Kind Regards, Danny.

I actually phoned Rails a few weeks ago to ask the same question but in relation to the Accurascale 37610 Exclusive model. I initially phoned to update my card details and email address in anticipation of 37610 arriving with them from Accurascale in the new year. I initially paid the £30 deposit for 37610 as everyone else has had to. The member of staff confirmed that Rails will attempt to debit the balance from my bank of £140 when the model arrives into stock. I asked if I would receive an email with a link on to pay the balance of £140 and they said I wouldn’t and they would choose when they took my money directly from my bank account. So yes just to let everyone know make sure you have some money available in your account for Rails Of Sheffield Exclusive models and possibly other models that require a deposit then the balance to be paid at a later stage, as if there is no money available your order may not be processed and you risk missing out. It’s not an ideal operating system considering that money in our accounts could easily be swallowed up by direct debits etc, or if you have forgotten about any pre-orders you have and then consequently forgotten to ensure the money is available then money wouldn’t be in your account initially either. So the moral of the story is we need to keep track of our pre-orders, deposits paid, outstanding balances and ensure we have money available to be taken from our accounts. Pardon the pun, it wasn’t intentional but I’ll leave it because it fits quite nicely. Merry Christmas everyone. Kind Regards, Danny.

I have reduced this model to £110. If anyone is interested please send me a message. Kind Regards, Danny.

I have reduced this special set of power cars to £350. If anyone is interested please send me a message. Kind Regards, Danny.

I have reduced this set of coaches to £170. If anyone is interested please send me a message. Kind Regards, Danny.

This pack of coaches are available if anyone would like to buy them or make an offer. Kind Regards, Danny.

I saw this thread the other day and my thoughts on what it might be are: A new batch of Class 37s given that the announcement of a newly tooled model was a few months ago and most, if not all of the first batch including Kernow Limited Edition models have now arrived with retailers. Maybe Bachmann wanted to get the first batch into the shops before announcing anymore, to avoid a backlog of announcements that have already been announced to the public but haven’t arrived with retailers. A newly tooled Class 66 given that Bachmann have retooled there Class 37 and 47 recently. With the endless liveries and variations on the 66, this would very much seem like natural progression for Bachmann as a business. The first batch of Class 69s may be due to arrive soon given that Bachmann announced the model was in development 18 months ago in mid 2021. So depending on how early development started the first batch may be almost or already complete. The Class 69 was also announced separately to the quarterly announcements so in this respect maybe we could expect there arrival announcement to be sepetate from the quarterly announcements too. I could be wrong but if it’s something other than one of the above three ideas I will be shocked because I can’t think of what else it could be. Unless it’s something steam related in which I don’t know that well 😂. Apologies steam modellers and collectors, the knowledge just isn’t there with me on this one. Kind Regards, Danny.