For peak-hour Monday-Fridays suburban services from Moorgate on the City Widened Lines to Welwyn Garden City and Hertford North, 61 Hornsey, later Finsbury Park and Hitchin, Brush Type 2s were delivered with London Underground trip cock gear, D5586-5615/22-7/39-54/71-9, the major spotting feature being the operating lever on the side of the bufferbeam cowling on the secondman’s side.

Six of these, D5671-6, were fitted with Whitaker-style tablet catchers in the early 1960s for use on Highdyke iron ore branch in Lincolnshire and retained their recesses well into the 1980s, long after the equipment had been removed. A further eight of the trip-cock locos were uprated with ETH equipment between 1971-5 for ECS workings out of King’s Cross and other London terminals, becoming 31401/2/3-5/7/8/20.

Four new locomotives featuring these detail differences, never before offered on a high quality, ready-to-run (RTR) model will now join the first run of the Accurascale Class 31 line up, across four new running numbers and liveries.

D5615 brings great news to many modellers who were surprised by the lack of a BR green, small yellow panel Brush 2 in the initial range. It will appear in BR green, small yellow panel with trip-cock gear and has the Mirrlees “production” style of exhaust which has also never been done before on a high spec OO/4mm model of the Brush Type 2. This will be one of two locomotives in green, with 5674, in BR green with full yellow panel, BR logo, trip-cock gear and tablet catcher recess also joining the fleet.

For BR blue era fans, two additional Class 31s in this guise join the range, including another long awaited Class 31/4. 31402 will come complete with trip-cock gear and additional roof panel from its time earlier in life when it was uprated to 1,600hp in yet another Accurascale Class 31 first. The quartet is complete by 31248 in BR blue with trip-cock gear and tablet catcher recess.

Naturally, the specification of these four models mirrors the unbeatable list from Accurascale’s first announcement as they continue their ambition to lead the hobby. As well as Accurascale’s standard and well regarded traction, light and sound package, their Class 31 features working radiator fans – driven from a separate motor – and separately switched tail lights, allowing not just the either end to be illuminated as required, but also individual tail lights or both depending on era.

Utilising Accurascale’s standard specification of ESU PowerBank capacitors for smooth uninterrupted running, ESU Loksound 5 decoder with bespoke DCC sound package and twin speaker set up, including ‘AccuraThrash’ bass reflex speaker it promises to catch the characterful thrash of the real locomotives. It will also include a wheel flange sensor, automatically playing flange squeal on sound fitted locomotives as they hit curved track for extra realism on factory fitted DCC sound models.

Both DC and DCC sound options are available on all locomotives except D5615, as per D5549 it requires sound recording of a Mirrlees power unit, which Accurascale are currently looking for to record. Should their search yield an operational power unit that can be recorded then DCC sound fitted options of these locomotives will be made available.

With a DC/DCC ready price of just £169.99 DC/DCC ready, and £269.99 DCC sound fitted, Accurascale are once again demonstrating their commitment to offering the very best quality, realistic models at realistic prices for the modeller. Pre-production samples will be available to view at the Accurascale stand at the London Festival of Model Railway this weekend.

These locomotives can now be pre-ordered via your local Accurascale stockist, or the Accurascale website for delivery in Q2, 2023.