Ajax50046

Hi Atom3624, Mine arrived on Sunday and I'm thrilled with it. No bits falling off, the axle boxes are great and I think the sound file has been nailed. Anyone who's lived near a railway line and heard 66's at speed might be able to relate, there's a droning sound to them under power which is different to when starting away. It comes through really well, far better than other 66 sound files I've heard. Thanks @Accurascale, it's right up there with the Cavalex 56 for me.

I would absolutely get 50017 in LMS colours…I still recall my shock at seeing it on the cover of Railway Magazine as a 14yr old 😄. I liked it a lot.

You'd like to think that when the operators come to dispose of them, 66001 (and several others) will have won over a new generation of enthusiasts to preserve them. I genuinely cannot think of another diesel that has had as much of an impact on the railway as the 66. They may not evoke as much passion, but they certainly do most jobs very well. I've even grown to like them and their sound, after years of dislike that they killed off so many 31's,33's, 37's, 47's, 56's, 58's...

Outside my office this morning. It chilled me to the bone realising I first saw 66001 26 years ago at Toton open day and I hadn't even started High School. Can't wait to shortly have Accurascale's 66001 in gleaming red EWS, before the paint faded on them all. 🙂

So pleased to see this! Will you announce the next run and liveries soon?

May I ask - are the photos of the latest samples taken with scale sized wheels, or with the smaller ones that will be supplied? Thanks!

And don’t forget also the exorbitant listing and selling fees. You’ll need to sell them for significantly more than your purchase price to break even. I wish you all the best though, it sounds like you’re going through a rough time.

Love the auto coupler feature - really intrigued to see how it looks and performs! I am preparing myself for the price though. Is it going to break the £400 RRP?! We should always applaud manufacturer innovation in the hobby. I would love to see it most on future shunters, at exhibition layouts I think it would be most interesting! Hope that 31405 Mappa Mundi is on Bachmann's to do list!

Out of interest Gareth, what’s the ratio of sales of DCC Sound v DCC ready locos these days?

Or the Valiant & Thunderer Dutch/Laira Blue twin pack 😉

Question on sound recording if anyone can answer. If there isn't an actual locomotive available to record the noises from - such as the 89, 22, or 30 - how do the sound engineers manage to get suitable audio from video/tape recordings to put into a sound chip? In most cases any audio will be from the loco passing with all the difficulties that must have. And what sort of editing/manipulation is required? I figure it must be quite a task.

Totally agree. As much as the Hornby 08 is top drawer - the dearth of them is mind boggling for me. A constant stream of BR Green and Blue ones would surely do well - and there's a virtually inexhaustible amount of livery variations from the mid 80's onwards...or am I missing something? To many modifications to accurately tool?

Each month I tell myself I’m going to start increasing my pension contributions before it gets too late. And each month Accurascale announce more items that I simply must have and scupper my good intentions 🤦🏻‍♂️😄. 66001 this time.

It was also done in it's green with FYE and TOPS number variant by Accurascale.

Quick one for Cavalex - Would you ever consider doing future runs of weathered 56's? Unlike other manufacturers, I have found your weathered TEA's to be spot on, really capturing the feel of a well-worked asset. I'd love a tatty Transrail-Dutch one!

Another in agreement here. 94-98 will be my favourite memory with new liveries appearing in almost every issue of Rail that id read cover to cover in WHSmith (or Railway Magazine that dad subscribed to). Especially the brightness of Mainline and LoadHaul, and was forever waiting to see what the ‘full’ Transrail would be…that never came! Knowing that the 66’s were coming, that Virgin wanted rid of 47/8’s ASAP and likewise FNW with the 37/4’s meant I really savoured the time left. Sometimes when I looked in the magazines I couldn’t believe what traction had turned up at the head of the XC loco-hauled services when 47’s had failed…56019, 31110, 2x31/4, no heat 37’s, 33202, 37/6’s, and even 2x73 on one occasion. It was only when I started on the railway years later a colleague told me that, yes, it was all entirely deliberate by the cranks working in the Control! Great times…

Over the moon that D9000 is being done per it's VXC days. A couple of my fondest childhood memories are travelling a short distance on it from Leamington Spa to Birmingham New Street when the trains were packed with enthusiasts. Working on the railway now, I have some colleagues now who were involved with it and told me some great tales about it walking all over the 47/8 timings including some pretty unrepeatable stuff on here in the pre TPWS and OTDR days! Thank you Accurascale.

My ARC liveried one arrived last night - looks great I must say. Wonder if anyone could help suggest a course of action though; it’s missing a buffer (not in box either) and the retailer has sold out. I’d rather not send it back in favour of refund, as I’ve waited 7 years for it and it’s a small issue, but incredibly noticeable! Should I hold onto it for now in the hope that Dapol do some spares in due course, or can anyone recommend good alternative buffers available that will match the 59 as closely as possible? Many thanks.

I'd quite like to have seen a Deltic with two 16 CSVT's in the shell 😄. Probably need a few more bits of steel welded into the body. RA not great either. Still.

As soon as the Valiant and Thunderer twin-pack is announced my Hornby ones are going to Vic Berry’s 😄

Surely it must be time to announce which liveries and running numbers will be in the next batch then 😁

With the best will in the world, I can see me forgetting to lower the pantograph on my 92 at some point and losing it. I suspect I won’t be the only one - would Accurascale be able to comment if there would be possibility of getting spare pantographs - even if the replacement is non functioning, like the recent Hornby electrics?

I see the options are to have either smoke generator fitted or sound - to anyone in the know, should I take this as being they’re mutually exclusive?

My ‘favourite’ part of it was when he reversed one into another at a scale speed of 100mph then complained it didn’t couple properly 🤣