The announcement of our Class 60 locomotives has certainly piqued the interest among modellers as sales of these Mountain movers have defied even our lofty expectations, with well over 80% of the first run selling through!  

Today we can confirm the final piece in our line up for Run one, as we announce Accurascale exclusive 60055 'Thomas Barnardo' in DCRail colours. Some of you will have seen this model already in our launch video as it was originally penned in to be our charity special. Unfortunately, that has not been possible this time however keep a close eye on Run 2... 

60055 was completed at the Brush locomotive works in Loughborough in 1991 and accepted by British Rail on the 15th of May that year. It Rolled out of the works the smart, triple grey Railfreight livery, wearing the black and yellow diamonds to denote its coal sector allocation. 60055 was named Thomas Barnardo from new, a name it would carry for the rest of its working life.

Thomas Barnardo (1845 – 1905) was an Irish born philanthropist. He was born in Dublin and moved to London in 1868 in an attempt to save and educate destitute children following a cholera outbreak. From his first orphanage he set up in 1870 a further 121 were opened by his death in 1905, caring for around 60,000 children. Barnardo’s legacy was to establish the children’s charity in his name that is still very much active today.

The locomotive bearing his name continued to work for the coal sector until under the “shadow franchise” period it became part of the Transrail fleet, this meant in 1995 it lost its coal sector markings in place of the Transrail “big T”. Soon ownership passed to EW&S Railways in 1996 but 60055 did not receive an updated livery for another decade until 2006 when the “big T” was covered by the iconic EWS “Three Beasties logo”. Unfortunately, 60055 did not last long in this condition as it was placed in to storage at Toton in November 2008 as part of EWS’ reduction in operational fleet. Moved by rail to Crewe in 2009, this is where 60055 would spend the next decade of its life before being purchased by DCR and moved by road back to Toton for a full overhaul.

In November 2019 60055 worked its first revenue train in multiple with class leader 60001 as a test run from Toton to Boston on the steel train. Still in tatty triple grey livery, it had yet to visit the paint shop to gain its new coat of single grey to indicate its new ownership.

DCR are notable for having impeccably clean locomotives and 60055 is no different. One of four operational class 60’s in the fleet, it can be seen working in rotation around many of their aggregate contracts and is always kept looking its best by the staff. The latest chapter in 60055’s story came during late 2023 when it was fitted with the latest BMAC LED style headlights as seen on our model.

The Decoration sample shown will have numerous tweaks before arriving, including the addition of all-black buffer faces, not to mention a highly collectable custom box! 

Production is well underway so pre-ordering 60055 is advised, Don't miss out on this wonderful exclusive; pre-order below in DC/DCC Ready specification for just £169.99 or DCC Sound Fitted for £269.99 with free UK postage and packaging below!

Pre-Order Your DCRail 60055 Class 60s By Clicking Here!