Accurascale have announced the latest edition to their OO Gauge diesel locomotive range today - with a newly tooled "Gronk"!
The brand are set to recreate the iconic Class 08 in a huge variety of liveries - and also, for the first time, the oft-forgotten Class 10 variant as well as ' cut-down' (low profile) Class 08/9 variations converted for the BP&GV line in Wales. These models are set to include all of the usual high specification features you'd expect, which you can read all about below! There are plenty to peruse and pre-order right now, with release expected by Q1 2027.
The " Accuragronk" range is set to deliver interesting and historically significant variants never before produced in ready-to-run models:
- The Standard Class 08: The ubiquitous British Rail shunter, available in a huge variety of liveries and eras. This tooling includes all sorts of specific details even including the later LED light modifications for the first time in OO.
- The Class 10: An oft-forgotten variant, featuring the distinct thrash of the Blackstone power unit and GEC electrical gear. Accurascale’s model will be the first ready-to-run release to capture the unique sound of these ‘Non-Standard’ units.
- The Class 08/9 Low-Profile Shunter: A fascinating chapter of BR history. These conversions were specially engineered at Landore Depot in 1986 to operate on the height-restricted Burry Port & Gwendraeth Valley (BP&GV) line in Wales. The model accurately recreates the dramatically lowered cab roof and bonnet profile of these characterful machines, which later escaped the Welsh Valleys under EWS ownership and could be found in diverse locations such as Doncaster and Westbury.
Watch the Announcement Video
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Product Features
Coreless Motor & Gearing: A high-quality, large diameter coreless motor paired with a helical gearbox is designed for extreme slow speed running capability and smooth power delivery, achieving realistic shunting speeds.
Stay-Alive Technology: Every unit will be fitted with a PowerPack/Stay-Alive capacitor for uninterrupted running, essential for reliable operation over points and crossings.
Sound and Lighting: The models will be DCC Sound Fitted with the ESU LokSound 5 decoder, permanently fitted with twin 'sugar cube' speakers, and featuring a full sound suite with different engine type options (including the Class 10's unique sound).
Directional Lighting: Full directional fibre optic and LED lighting, with extensive light options including marker lights, high-intensity lights, flashing beacons, and separate cab lighting configurations.
Detail and Build: Die-cast metal chassis and underframe for maximum weight and tractive effort, ABS body and cab with separate metal/wire detailing, and era-specific tooling covering differing cab types, doors, and buffer beams.
Prototype Information
ABOUT THE CLASS 08
The British Rail Class 08 is one of the most numerous BR locomotive classes, with close to 1000 being produced between 1952 and 1962 at Crewe, Darlington, Doncaster and elsewhere. Over time, they became the standard shunter across the network and were an extremely common sight at stations and freight yards until the 1990s. The introduction of fixed wagon rakes and increase in the use of multiple units meant there was less need for shunters, so many were scrapped or sent overseas. More than 70 Class 08s have made it into preservation - making it one of the most numerous preserved locos in the UK!
ABOUT THE CUTDOWN CLASS 08/9
Class 08/9 locomotives were modified from the standard class by having headlights and lowered bodywork, with the overall height reduced to 11 ft 10 in (3.61 m), for use on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway up to Cwmmawr. In 2007, three were used on infrastructure trains on the Manchester Metrolink.
ABOUT THE CLASS 10
The British Rail Class 10 diesel locomotives are a variant of the standard Class 08diesel-electric shunter with a Lister Blackstone diesel engine and General Electric Company plc (GEC) traction motors. The locomotives were built at the BR Works in Darlington and Doncaster over the period 1955–1962, and were withdrawn between February 1967 and June 1972. The locomotives had the same general outline, 0-6-0 wheel arrangement and outside frames as the earlier Class 11, built originally for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway after 1945, and perpetuated by British Railways as the Class 08. However, they were fitted with Lister Blackstone 6-cylinder, 4-stroke, ER6T engines and two GEC nose suspended motors