Revolution Trains is offering Class 66 66301 Drax Power Station 50 in its striking GBRf/Drax Power 50th anniversary gold livery in N gauge.
The announcement was made to coincide with the formal naming of the locomotive this afternoon (August 18th 2024) in a ceremony at the plant, near Selby in North Yorkshire, in commemoration of five decades of operation.
66301 Drax Power Station 50 in N gauge
This model – licensed exclusively to Revolution Trains – is a last-minute addition to the extensive range of Class 66 locomotives now in production.
It is available to pre-order now for £164.95.
It will feature our usual refinements including accurate bodyshell, correct light units, bufferbeam details, photo-etched nameplates and has the ESU E24 Nano DCC interface. It has been produced with the full co-operation of GBRf and Drax.
The Gold Hopper
The Drax 50 celebrations also included the wrapping of one of the company’s huge biomass wagons in a version of the gold colour scheme, and a commemorative run with the loco, gold wagon and a full biomass train from Drax to Tyne Dock via the spectacular Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle and Carlisle line.
The gold wagon is number 001 of a fleet that currently stands at 255. This wagon was the first of a new design of IIA-D built by W H Davis of Langwith Junction in Nottinghamshire and designed to maximise capacity for relatively light biomass. By mid-2024 the wagons had covered a total of 137million miles, removing 250,000 HGV journeys off the roads every year.
Revolution was delighted to be asked to produce these in model form to help Drax celebrate this proud occasion, and a limited number were made available for general sale.
More help for Martin House Hospice
For every Drax locomotive and wagon sold a donation will be made to Martin House Hospice, one of several charities supported by Drax and GBRf.
Last year sales of the standard livery biomass hoppers raised £2000 for Martin House, and we are hoping that proceeds from the gold locomotives and wagons will enable us to smash through that amount!
The celebratory 50th anniversary weekend featured other rail tours organised by the Branch Line Society and, combined with raffles to which Revolution donated prizes, raised a total of £35,000 for Martin House Hospice.
The Drax Story
Drax is the UK’s largest power station and generates 11% of the UK’s renewable electricity, or enough to power five million homes. It opened in 1974 and after many years of being coal-powered has now fully switched over to renewable biomass for energy production.
By switching to biomass Drax power station has reduced its carbon emissions by around 80%. Drax is also leading the way in Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and is an important employer, creating around 700 jobs in North Yorkshire.
Our N gauge model of 66301 is expected in early 2025.