Revolution Trains has teamed up with the London Transport Museum to offer an exclusive N gauge version of the operational 1938 stock set that is preserved at the museum’s Acton depot.
The unit, comprising Driving Motor ’A’ car 10012, Trailer car 012256, Non-driving Motor car 12048 and Driving Motor ‘D’ car 11012 (originally 11178), is in the 1960s livery or all-over maroon with gold LONDON TRANSPORT lettering, a combination not previously been offered by Revolution.
It is used throughout the year on heritage railtours around the underground network, offering 21st century travellers a taste of the art deco style of the 1930s.
Preserved 1938 stock set on a tour at Ruislip Manor station. Photo: Foulger Rail Photos Creative Commons.
The 1938 stock was designed by a team led by William Graff-Baker as part of the 5-year New Works Programme programme started in 1935. 1,000 cars were built and the trains operated primarily on the Northern, Bakerloo, Piccadilly lines for 50 years.
Revolution 1938 stock preserved set on ‘Leadenhall’ by Simon Veasey.
They were the first underground train in which the control equipment was distributed under the floor of each car, giving more room for passengers.
This unit was fully restored to operational use in 1999 and takes pride of place at the London Transport Museum’s depot in Acton. Single 1938 stock DM ‘D’ car 11182 is also on display at the Museum’s famous Covent Garden site.
The models feature the distinctive ‘Bakerloo brown’ roof to reflect their many years of service on the line, and have destinations of ‘Acton Town – District Line – Special’ on the DM ‘A’ car and ‘Uxbridge – Special – Piccadilly Line’ on the DM ‘D’ car.
These sets are a limited edition and are only available from the museum shop, either in store or online, and are retailing at £300 for a complete four-car train, with every sale supporting the work of the museum.
To order your set please visit the LT Museum shop website here.
For more information about 1938 stock, and to find out more about the museum’s role in preserving London’s renowned transport heritage, see here.
Revolution Trains will be at DEMU Showcase 2026 at the Wyndley Leisure Centre in Sutton Coldfield this coming weekend, June 6th and 7th 2026.
Revolution’s stand is in the centre of the floor, and we are also adjacent to the layouts Oldshaw in EM and Leadenhall in N which are owned and operated by two of the Revolution team, and will be showcasing many of our most recent models.
Of interest to diesel and electric era modellers will be a variety of samples in three scales: decorated samples of our upcoming N gauge K-type all-steel Pullman cars in their present day VSOE Belmond guise with modified kitchen car, trussing and Gresley bogies, Class 313 PEP units in N, Ealnos MMA/JNA ‘Ealnos’ box wagons in TT:120, 3D printed OO Class 93 tri-mode locomotive and decorated samples of incoming products including our PEP units in N and Class 175 and 180 DMUs in N and OO.
As ever you can ask us about other plans and potential new models, and we are invariably more indiscreet in person than on the web!
Plus there will be two layouts on show with a taste of Revolution…
Leadenhall, making only its second full outing, is a slice of the City of London in N and features electric units shuffling in and out of a slightly faded secondary terminus in the Network Southeast era while the occasional parcels coach is shunted in for loading or unloading.
Leadenhall is owned and operated by Revolution’s Customer Services Manager Simon Veasey.
Oldshaw is an EM end-to-end layout owned depicting a secondary line in the Western Region in Worcestershire some time in the 1980s. Originally built by Andrew Bartlett with a single fiddle yard to terminus, the layout was subsequently acquired by Tom Harwin, Guy Molyneux and Mike Hale and a second fiddle yard was added to enable through running.
Stock on Oldshaw is a mix of passenger units and an eclectic mix of diesel-hauled freight including steel, fertiliser, palleted goods, china clay, domestic coal and cement among others.
Revolution is returning to the NEC this weekend for Model World Live, by Key Model World.
We are on stand A36 right near the door and just past Hornby and we will have a variety of exciting samples on show include the full range of our upcoming MMA/JNA ‘ealnos’ box wagons in TT:10 – perfect to accompany your Class 66.
OO modellers can see first samples of our class 320 and 321 units up close and we will have a few warehouse or other items on sale in both OO ad N including our well regarded N gauge class 66s from the recently delivered second run.
It’s going to be a hectic fortnight for the team at Revolution as we have just received the OO gauge Cartic-4 and Borail/Mullet/Parr/Super Tench wagons, and also we are on the road at the London Festival or Railway Modelling at Alexandra Palace this weekend (March 21/22) and then Model Rail Scotland at the SECC in Glasgow next weekend (March 27/28/29.)
As ever, we hope that all roads will lead you to Revolution and we will see you on our stand at one show or the other. These floorplan guides should assist. At Alexandra Palace you will find us at the rear of the main hall, near the catering counter and in the shadow of its massive organ (!).
Some of us will be at both shows…
While at Glasgow we will, ironically, be right at the front of the hall next to the second entrance in what has become our regular spot next to Rainbow Railways.
On our stand you will have the chance to see decorated samples of our new MMA/JNA ‘Ealnos’ box wagons in TT:120 – these are our first models in the new scale. For those that cannot make either show we will post photos later.
There’ll also be a chance to see our second run Class 66 locomotives, EP samples of our Class 320 and 321 units in OO, plus our N gauge Electrostar, Pullman cars and many other upcoming models. There may also be a surprise if a delivery can be made on time!
Revolution has received EP1 samples of its upcoming OO gauge four-car class 321 and three-car class 320 units for checking and testing.
Revolution Class 321/4 sample on Tidmarsh by Thetford and District MRC.
We are grateful to Thetford and District MRC for allowing us to test the models on their impressive ‘Tidmarsh’ display layout.
321417 in London Midland livery at Milton Keynes, 320318 in Scotrail Saltire at Coatbridge. Photo: Tom Smith.
Revolution is offering the Class 321/4 – comprising DTCO-PMSO-TSOL-DTSO and the Class 320 comprising DTSO-PMSO-DTSO cars. We are offering versions incorporating the original light clusters with rectangular markers, revised clusters with round markers and latest versions with combined marker lights and tail lights.
All models feature directional, destination blind, driver controls and interior lighting and are also available in DCC/Sound with controllable operating pantographs and side door lock lights. The outer cars are fitted with working representations of the Tightlock coupler on the prototypes, while the inner cars have 14-pin connectors to allow the whole train to be controlled by a single DCC decoder fitted in the underside of the pantograph car.
The EP1 is primarily designed to test the quality and fit of the mouldings, and to give us an early idea of running characteristics and any areas requiring improvement.
We have already identified areas for improvement including the fit of some smaller parts incuding the front lower fairing, radio roof pods, the bogie yaw dampers and roof airconditioning units (not all versions) and the clarity of the glazed components. Running tests identified some light leakage in the front clusters. These will be corrected.
The Class 321/4 units were built by BREL at York and introduced between 1989 and 1990 with Network Southeast for suburban services from London Euston and Liverpool Street. Following privatisation they transferred to Silverlink, London MIdland, Great Eastern, then First Capital Connect, Great Northern and finally some were converted to three car sets and moved to Scotland to join the similar Class 320 units that had been in service since 1990 too.
Top left, image right: 321426 at South Kenton in 1998, 320318 at Partick in 1995. Both Matt Taylor/Creative Commons. Bottom left: 320436 at Euston in 2009. Hugh Llewelyn/Creative Commons.
In 2022 Varamis Rail acquired a handful of Class 321/3 and 321/4 units and converted them for express parcels use between Scotland, the Midlands and London. These units have had the passenger seats removed and racking introduced for secure storage of parcels.
The models are being extensively tested to identify any further issues and check the DCC functionality.
The next step is for decorated samples to be prepared, and these are anticipated some time in early summer, though as ever this is an estimate and timings can change.
Can any of us believe another year has passed already? Farewell 2025 – and welcome 2026!
So much has happened in the last 12 months for Revolution that it is hard to pick out highlights, but we’ve delivered thousands of new powered and unpowered models in both N and OO, attended a record seven (for us) shows including the once-in-a-generation Greatest Gathering to celebrate 200 years of rail travel, expanded into a larger business unit, made three shop appearances and carried out numerous research trips as we continue to develop exciting new models.
We had a Revolution railtour of the lowlands and highlands of Scotland, Mike and Ben travelled east to visit our Chinese suppliers and with the help of our friends at Drax, GBRf and DB managed to help raise more than £25,000 for the Martin House Childrens Hospice in Yorkshire.
The year hasn’t been without its pitfalls – we had to cancel one newly announced model when we discovered that despite asking we were not told of an existing licence and had to reject an entire production of another product because of quality control flaws.
We hope all our customers and friends in the model railway world and real rail industry have managed to have a relaxing Christmas break, and all of us at Revolution Trains wish everyone a very Happy New Year!
Rails of Sheffield and Locomotion Models have commisioned Revolution Trains to produce exclusive models depicting GBRf locomotives 66710 Karen Harrison and 66719 Michael Portillo in their eyecatching red Rail 200 anniversary livery.
66719 leads 66710 past Leicester with the Rail 200 ‘Inspirations’ train. Photo: Rob Reedman/Creative Commons.
The models will join the Railway Icons range of models celebrating the best of the railway heritage and history of Britain.
Both of these releases are very limited and will be available in both DCC Sound fitted and DC Silent. All models feature the ESU E24 (Next 28) DCC interface and are supplied with a speaker pre-fitted.
66710 and 66719 were repainted to highlight this year’s 200th anniversary of the world’s first passenger service.
Outshopped in eye-catching bright red, and bearing the crests of each of the former ‘big four’ on each cabside, the two GBRf machines formed one of the highlights at August’s Greatest Gathering in Derby – the spectacular event created by the rail industry to celebrate two centuries of rail transport for all. Both carry large bodyside GBRf branding in white, along with red GBRf lettering on the roofs.
Both locomotives were named at the event – 66710 honours Karen Harrison, Britain’s first woman train driver, while 66719 was named Michael Portillo, after the well-known rail personality and former Conservative MP.
Locomotive images courtesy of John Ray, Derek Hoskins and Foulger Rail Photos and used under Creative Commons.
Revolution’s Class 66 has been very well received and our tooling suite allows us to offer accurate renditions of both ‘standard’ 66710 with replacement strengthened cabside windows and ‘low emission’ 66719 incorporating the disctinctive extended cooler group grilles and additional 5th door.
The models are available individually and can be ordered from Locomotion Models or Rails of Sheffield. The prices are: £254.95 (DCC Sound) and £159.95 (DC Silent). The models are expected to arrive in Q3-4 next year.
Looking for a present for a loved one or something for yourself? We have a limited amount of models in stock ready for despatch – just click on Shop>In Stock and follow the scale and model categories. Only the models in the “In Stock” category are available for delivery before Christmas (NB just to confuse matters, the website also uses “In stock” to describe models available for Preorder – please don’t mix the two up as we don’t want disappointed faces!).
The last date we can guarantee delivery before Christmas is if we receive your order by close of business (ie 1730) 15 December 2025 (for UK orders only, for international orders some of the last guaranteed posting dates have already passed so we can’t guarantee that non-UK orders will be delivered before Christmas but we will do our best).
In stock items (available for immediate dispatch) or at least some of them:
Fancy a Class 59 in N gauge? We have them in all liveries and variations of details from the original 59/0s all the way to the modern Freightliner orange 59/2.N gauge multiple units more your thing? We have units for all eras (L to R): Class 128s from the 1960s to 1980s; Class 320 and 321 from the 1980s to the present; Class 390 Pendolinos from 2000s to present.IPA car carriersHow about some N gauge rolling stock? Mark 5 coach sets in Caledonian Sleeper or TransPennine Express liveries; 1960s Cemflos; or IPA car carriers?IPAs in 00OO gauge rolling stock? From our FNA-D nuclear flask carriers, to our FWA Ecofret twins and triples, or our IPA car carriers.
That’s not everything, but we only have limited quantities of all items and some liveries/versions may be sold out. One of our fabulous Retailers might still have stock of a particular item including our newly arrived Class 66s!
Revolution will once again be attending the National Festival of Railway Modelling at the NEC this coming weekend (November 22nd and 23rd) at the NEC in Birmingham.
The National Festival is now in its second year, having taken over from the Warley club when they decided they were unable to continue hosting what had become the largest event in the model railway calendar.
Like last year Revolution will be hard to miss – we are right next to Hornby on one of the centre aisles as you enter the show.
As well as our usual Project Progress chart and video screen updates we will have a number of previously unseen samples on display including decorated Class 175 Coradia and Class 180 Adelante units in OO, a selection of blue, green and black Vale of Rheidol locomotives in OO9 and EPs of our upcoming Class 377 and Class 387 Electrostar units in N.
There’ll be free merch including OO and N catalogues and pens and mints (if you’re fast enough) plus we will have some limited items of warehouse stock, including several currently unavailable items – on sale.
Plus four out of five of the team will be there, so feel free to come and chat.
If your question begins ‘What’s the latest on…’ we will probably just point at the poster, but anything more interesting is likely to fall on friendlier ears, and as regular showgoers will know at least some of us can be pumped in person – provided you promise to keep our secrets off the internet!
This Friday October 31st – Hallowe’en – Revolution Trains is joining the Railnuts team at the Vale of Rheidol railway for a takeover event of Making Tracks featuring dozens of Revolution’s OO gauge models.
The event coincides with the repainting of Vale of Rheidol No.9 into the classic lined BR Blue livery, and Revolution hopes to have decorated samples of the 009 models it is producing for Model Rail magazine.
The recordbreaking Making Tracks layout is on display all this week at the Vale of Rheidol railway, and allows visitors to take control and drive trains for themselves – including a number featuring Revolution’s own OO models.
And visitors can also enjoy a steam train ride through the Rheidol Valley which is resplendent in autumnal colours and arguably at its most spectacular at this time of year!
With your support, we are delighted to reveal that sales of our ‘Drax collection’ of N gauge models have raised a fantastic £13,000 for Martin House Children’s Hospice. Martin House provides family-led hospice care free of charge for children and young people with life-shortening conditions.
We are also pleased to announce that due to a recent matched fundraising event that the £13,000 donation is being doubled and is worth £26,000 to Martin House. We presented the team at Martin House Children’s Hospice with our donation at an event at York station on 23 October 2025 as part of the wider rail industry’s efforts on behalf of Martin House (which to date has raised well over £350,000).
Revolution’s Ben Ando and Mike Hale hand over the cheque to Rosie Mellor-Sylvester and Michelle Ford from Martin House. Photo courtesy Andrew Brade.
Over the last 12 months, with our friends at Drax, we have produced N gauge models of GBRf’s 66301 ‘Drax Power Station 50’ in Drax gold 50 livery and DB’s 66190 ‘Martin House Children’s Hospice’ in ex-works condition DB red as well as Drax’s gold IIA-D biomass wagon. Thanks to the generosity of our customers the money raised will go towards the vital work of Martin House Children’s Hospice.
Ben and Mike were delighted to be invited by Drax to attend Martin House’s prestigious annual fundraising ‘Glitterball’ event near Harrogate.
66301 and the gold IIA-D biomass wagon are both sold out and stock of 66190 is starting to run low – if you would like a model before we sell out please don’t delay!
Revolution Trains will once again be attending the Great Electric Train Show at the Arena MK this coming weekend, October 11th and 12th 2025.
‘GETS’ is always a great show as Mike, Mark, Jonathan, Ben and Matt at Hornby Magazine always manage to find great layouts and put together a really enjoyable event.
Revolution is on stand 13 and we will have all our latest samples on display – including N gauge Pullman cars, TT:120 JNA box wagons and OO gauge Coradias and Adelantes – along with our popular Project Progress poster, new catalogues and some free merch.
We look forward to answering your questions about these and other ongoing projects – and pointing at the poster if your question begins ‘What’s the latest on…?’
Plus we will have limited items of warehouse stock – including several currently unavailable items – on sale.
We are right in the centre of the hall and directly opposite Making Tracks 3 – the stunning 64′ long depiction of Milton Keynes Central station built by Pete Waterman and the Railnuts team, so finding us will be a snap.
We have become aware of an issue with our new WIA car carriers in N gauge.
The bad news is that the models are not as free running as they should be, with many customers reporting that the wagons are ‘draggy.’ We apologise for this; it is due to an assembly error during production.
The good news is that it is simple to correct. There is no glue involved or bodyshell removal needed and the models do not need to be fully disassembled.
The issue affects the intermediate articulated couplers between the five cars that form the set. We do not know exactly how many models are affected, but it seems to be a significant number.
The problem
These articulation points comprise a a vertical metal post in one car, and a C-clip that clips onto this in the adjacent car. Unfortunately, the C-clips have been fitted upside down. They are designed to rest on the lower post support to keep the cars level, but being upside down allow the affected car to drop, so that the lower chassis member can rub against the bogie axle.
The top set in the image below has the C-clip wrongly fitted, and the ‘step’ between adjacent cars can be clearly seen as highlighted by the red arrow. The lower set as its clip properly fitted, and the tops of the cars are level.
The image below shows an incorrectly fitted clip on the left and one correctly positioned on the right. As can be seen, the clip should be slightly below the securing screws, and not level.
The fix
To correct, use a small Phillips screwdriver to undo the screws, then remove the clip, rotate through 180 degrees and refit. It’s that simple.
Now the models can be clipped back together on the track and will be free rolling. This graphic explains the process.
Further help
Any customers who are not confident of making this adjustment for themselves should contact our customer services manager using the email address in the instructions for further support.
Please note this issue only affects the N gauge models, and not the OO versions.
Revolution Trains is closing the pre-order book on its upcoming PTA box wagons and JSA steel carriers at the end of November, having received decorated samples recently.
These wagons were built in the early 1970s to carry iron ore for British Steel, but have also seen use for stone, ballast and sand. In the 1990s some were also converted into covered steel carriers, as detailed below.
Iron Ore
The wagons were built by Redpath Dorman Long to carry iron ore for British Steel. Iron ore is heavy, and the wagons needed to be robust. They were heavily ribbed and featured ESC axle-motion bogies with hefty cast frames for strength.
In British Steel use they transported ore to blast furnaces at Ravenscraig in Lanarkshire, Redcar on Teesside and Port Talbot in South Wales. The wagons allowed for significantly longer and heavier trains than previously used, and were operated by triple-headed Class 37s in the 1970s and then by pairs of Class 56s into the 1990s, when single Class 60s took over. Class 59s were also trialled on the trains to Port Talbot in South Wales and from 1998 Class 66s became the primary traction.
Three Class 37s with iron ore train at Stormy Bank. From the collection of Nic Joynson.
Left: 56001 + 56041 at Rumney in 1988. Mick Page. Right: 60093 at Cardiff Central inn 1994; Ryan Taylor LRPS/Creative Commons.
66028 at Newport in 2001.; Steve Jones.
The wagons were designed to ‘tipple’; that is, they could be rotated about their longitudinal axis without being uncoupled from each other in a specialist frame for speed of unloading. To do this each wagon had a rotating coupler at one end; this end was painted orange for the benefit of the operating crews.
The wagons used in the north east were grey and orange; those used in south Wales were blue and were labelled British Steel with the arrow logo.
The image shows both variants; the blue is fractionally too light and will be darkened for production. This image also shows that among the wagons there were ‘outers’ – with buffers, and bufferbeam strengthening fillets above the bogies and standard drawgear to enable them to be coupled to locomotives, and inners which had fixed rotating couplers only.
Revolution is offering the models in packs of five to allow prototypical rakes to be assembled.
British Steel Grey:
RT-PTA-BSRV-521A (2 x outers, 3 x inners) – BSRV 26794, 26787, 26680, 26681, 26734
In the 1980s, with the contraction of the steel industry and closure of some blast furnaces, iron ore traffic declined. At the same time construction was booming, and a high demand for box wagons in this sector led to many PTAs being acquired by Foster Yeoman and ARC Southern for use in transporting stone from the giant Mendip quarries in Somerset to London and around the south east.
Top: 59104, Frome in 1991; 59002, Westbury 1991. Both images: Richard Szwejkowski/Creative Commons. Avon Valley, 1993. Graham Rose. Bottom: 59001, Basingstoke, 1996. Paul Smith/Creative Commons.
Foster Yeoman and ARC locked the rotating couplers as they were not required and repainted the wagons into their own liveries. The wagons were also recoded to JTA (outers) and JUA (inners) under TOPS. Initially they operated as separate fleets, but in the mid-1990s the two companies decided to combine their rail operations under the Mendip Rail brand, and the types were often seen in mixed trains.
There are some improvements to be made to these wagons; the ARC lettering should be slightly darker (to match the Revolution Class 59 locomotives) and the blue stripe on the Yeoman model should be continuous across the ribs.
Again, Revolution is offering the models in packs of five to allow prototypical rakes to be assembled.
Foster Yeoman:
RT-PTA-FY-501A (2 x outers, 3 x inners) – PR 26561, 26552, 26496, 26509, 26457
From the mid 1990s some wagons were also used for ballast movements and for scrap between the midlands and south Wales.
In the early 2000s a batch was sold to wagon leasing company VTG, painted into a medium battleship grey and repurposed for use on sand traffic around the south east. See top map for route informationon the sand flows.
L-R 66120 at Merstham, 2015. Steve Knight. 66094 at Clapham Junction, 2006. Matt Taylor/Creative Commons.
These versions are being offered as a single 5-car set with outers and inners.
RT-PTA-VTG-541A (2 x outers, 3 x inners) – VTG 26833, 26563, 26617, 26598, 26601
Pre-order price £174.95 (MSRP after production £199.95.)
JSA steel coil carriers
In the mid 1990s British Steel converted a batch of tipplers into steel coil carriers with the addition of a contoured floor and three sliding telescopic covers. In 2007 a further batch was converted for VTG. The original conversions were painted pale blue; the covers on the later variants were left unpainted alumimium.
Prototype images: Top row: 60073 at Besford, 1998; 60017 at Hereford, 1997; 47739 at Norton Junction, 2014 – all Dave Gomersall.Second row: 66140 at Shrewsbury – Steve Knight.
The JSA steel carriers saw widespread use between steel production plants in south Wales and north east England and steel terminals in the south, the midlands and the north west. They were also used intermittently on imported steel.
In use they were usually mixed with other covered steel carriers including BRA/BYA ‘nissen hut’ and IHA canvas covered wagons.
The JSA steel carriers are being offered in twin packs with a total of eight running numbers available:
Revolution will once again be attending The International N Gauge Show (TINGS) at the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September 2025.
We are again in our improved location on stand 20 – just turn right as you enter and keep going to the corner! As our range and ambition grows the corner spot gives us a little bit more room to show off our growing selection products under development.
On display we will have first EP samples of our upcoming K-type all-steel 1928 Pullman cars in both original and VSOE versions, decorated samples of our PTA box wagons and JSA steel carriers, decorated samples of our PCA Alcan alumina tanks (please note the pre-order book for these is closing at the end of September 2025), latest versions of our Class 175 and 180 units (including the dynamic lines livery), and, hopefully, first samples of our Electrostar.
Even though not specifically N gauge we will also have our TT:120 MMA/JNA box wagon samples on display as we know there is considerable interest in them.
In addition, we will be announcing a new model at the show with decorated samples for customers to inspect.
There will, of course, be our popular Project Progress chart showing the latest information on all our models in development, in all scales, and the team will be there in person to answer any queries you might have about our range and tell us why that model you’ve always dreamed of makes good business sense for us!
In addition we will have some freebies for you to take away (not locomotives, sadly!) plus our free new Q3 2025 catalogue.
We will have select items on sale including some sold-out or hard to get items: a variety of JNA box wagons; the last few Class 92s; a selection of Class A and B tanks plus Zander conversions; and many more – please come and have a look!
Revolution Trains is on the road to Birmingham for Model World Live at the NEC over the weekend April 26th and 27th. Our stand is right next to the main entrance, opposite Bachmann Europe’s display, so we should be quite hard to miss!
STOP PRESS: our N gauge IHA steel carrier wagons have just arrived – if you’ve placed an order with us we will have limited stocks available for collection at the NEC this weekend.
We will have all our latest samples on display for you to examine – including the new Flatrol MJ and XKB ‘early’ nuclear flask wagons in OO commissioned by Model Rail magazine – plus small numbers of some hard-to-find models from our warehouse on sale.
There will also be our usual Project Progress chart on show, and you can ask us all about the new IIA-B, HOA-B and IIA-F wagons that we announced this week.
And we always enjoy seeing our models operating on the layouts at the show – and sometimes we put our samples through their paces too!
In person some of us have a slight tendency to blab about future plans – so far that hasn’t bitten us and customers have been willing to keep such indiscretions off the web – so please come and say hello to the team.
As many of you will have been aware our OO/4mm KSA ‘Rover cube” vans and timber carriers were due to be with us at the end of March 2025. We received the shipment from the factory and went through our usual spot-check process.
Unfortunately, despite the KSA production samples passing our inspection the remainder of the production run that we have checked to date have not met our standards. As a result we would not be happy to send the models to our customers.
The factory has agreed to produce a replacement batch of models though this will mean a delay to the arrival of the finished models.
If you have paid your balance invoice(s) recently or paid in full when preordering then you don’t need to do anything further – when the models arrive we will double-check the delivery address on your order against that saved in your account (and contact you if we have any queries) then send out your models. If you still have a balance to pay, you have a bit longer to settle the balance though we would ask that you do so by the end of June so that all the models can be despatched as quickly as possible when they arrive.
We would like to apologise to our customers eagerly awaiting their models and we will advise a revised expected shipping date on our website when we have more information from the factory.
Revolution Trains is offering the Hunslet 0-6-0 diesel hydraulic (DH) shunter in OO gauge.
Original NCB design
CAD is virtually complete and incorporates numerous options to allow for both 50T and 55T locomotives to be depicted with variations including engine room air breathers, handrails, footstep equipment boxes and sandbox fillers. The ‘flameproof’ versions used in refineries can also be produced.
Hunslet line-up at Workington steel works. Photo: John Carter.
Between 1965 and 1989 well over 50 0-6-0DH shunters were built by Hunslet for the British market. More were also built to a variety of gauges for users abroad in south America, Africa, Europe and the Indian subcontinent.
The Hunslet 0-6-0DHs were surprisingly powerful for their size, and their short wheelbase enabled them to operate in locations where other locomotives may struggle.
Model features
All models feature a heavy die-cast chassis block for reliable running, and a high reduction gear train to ensure smooth and realistic slow speed running.
‘Flameproof’ refinery design with single enclosed headlight
The locomotives will all have working head and tail lights and an illuminated cab interior, and where prototypically correct a flashing roof beacon.
A 21-pin MTC decoder socket is included with factory-fitted speaker, so upgrading to sound is simple. The decoder is accessed by simply unscrewing the body and lifting it clear of the chassis.
DCC sound models will also incorporate a stay-alive power pack, and this will be designed as a simple plug-and-play uprgrade for DCC Silent users.
The line up
Initially Revolution is offering four versions, with prototypically accurate detail variations intended to cover a wide variety of eras and locations.
HE6614 – NCB green
This locomotive was built in 1965. The National Coal Board was the largest user of the type, and this locomotive was given the internal number 503 and assigned to the North Eastern Area.
Locos in this version of the NCB livery saw service at collieries across the north and Midlands, often working alongside earlier steam locomotives.
Spotting points include the small sandboxes, dome breather on the right side of the long bonnet, as well as early pattern handrails. This loco has no roof beacon.
HE7017 – HNRC
Built in 1971 and originally used at Whitehaven harbour the locomotive was later acquired by Harry Needle Railroad Company, given the number 29 and used in a variety of locations for spot hire work, and it is offered in this later condition.
As a shunter-for-hire it’s been used at locations including Flixborough Wharf and Long Marston. This locomotive features more substantial handrails, dome breather mounted on the bonnet top and a flashing beacon, along with an equipment box on the right side.
Photo of 7017 at Long Marston courtesy Martyn Sanders.
HE7543 British Steel
This locomotive has seen widespread use – first at British Steel Workington, numbered 403, then it moved on to Shap quarry where it currently resides, though no longer in regular use.
The spotting points for this version are the oval buffers with strengthened shanks and conical breather.
Photo of Hunslet line up courtesy John Carter.
7543 at Workington exchange sidings with 66752. Photo courtesy Dave McAlone.
HE8999 Esso
This locotive is one of the last-built of this design, entering service in 1981 and operating variously at Fawley and Grangemouth before being sold. It is now in residence at the Chasewater railway at Brownhills in Staffordshire.
This locomotive is to the ‘flameproof’ design for refineries and features enclosed side cabinet and fire suppresant equipment. It has an extended exhaust (to be added to the CAD) and no roof beacon.
The CAD for this models is complete, barring some very minor adjustments, and we are hoping to receive first samples during the summer.
Industrial inspirations
The first four locomotives offered by Revolution have been selected to showcase a variety of liveries, details and uses but they can only scratch the surface of the wide range of locations served and liveries worn by these popular and long-lived locomotives.
From left: 8979 ‘Black Agnes’ at Dunbar. Photo davyc2008 – 7017 at Whitehaven 1982 – 6663 & 7018 Bersham 1986.
If you are interested in seeing more we heartily recommend the Flickr gallery of photographer Gordon Edgar. Here are a selection of his images.
Revolution Trains will once again be at Model Rail Scotland at the SECC in Glasgow this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday February 21st-23rd.
Those who attended the show last year may recall we were in a great location by the West door, opposite Hornby and next to Rainbow Railways – this year we are in exactly the same place!
As ever we will have all our latest samples on display including decorated versions of the N gauge WIA car carriers, along with their larger OO counterparts, offering customers a chance to examine them for themselves before we close the order book at the end of this month and put them into production.
Little and large articulated car carriers
Other previously unseen samples include the decorated versions of our N gauge Alcan PCA alumina tanks, plus we will have limited stocks of some of the largely sold out OO versions to sell at the show along with other overstocked models that are now sold out at retailers.
There’ll be our ever popular Project Progress poster, and the chance to inspect other models before we close the order book and move to production such as our N Class 175 and 180 units.
In addition you can ask us about ‘the latest update on….’ whatever you are waiting for and we won’t bite your head off (!) but be happy to talk through progress we are making on other projects, such as the Class 320 and 321 EMUs in OO, and we may even let slip the occasional unannounced model, as we are much more indiscreet in person. Oh, and we’ll be unveiling our latest new project on Friday morning.
The Revolution Trains/Cavalex prize draw has raised over £1000 for the charity Railway Children.
L-R: VIren Walia, Deniz Kemal and Jo Whittaker from Beacon Rail with Revolution’s Ben Ando.
The draw took place just before Christmas at Beacon Rail’s offices in London. In September Beacon and GBRf hosted a five-a-side football tournament with teams from throughout the rail industry, in which Revolution took part, and raised £18,000.
Railway Children works to help vulnerable children on the rail network who may be frightened and alone by training rail staff, the police, and other workers in identifying youngsters and in handling them effectively and safely. The charity also funds ‘safe spaces’ in major railway stations where they can be given food, water and shelter.
This time the focus was on OO gauge models, and we would like to thank our friends at Cavalex Models for generously donating a number of their highly regarded models to the draw.
We would like to thank everyone who took part – prizes were sent out shortly before Christmas. If you won congratulations, if you did not commiserations!
