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Accurascale ACC2385

Class 50 - BR Blue Pre-refurbishment - 50035 'Ark Royal'

Manufacturer catalogue image - please note that pre-release images may be CAD renders or CGI images rather than photographs

Prototype Eras
Era 7 (1972 to 1982) British Rail Blue (TOPS)
Era 8 (1983 to 1994) British Rail Sectorisation

Manufacturer description

Illustrating the breadth of the Accurascale Class 50 tooling suite is 50035, one of three members of the fleet to gain plated headcode panels during 1977/8 with sealed beam marker lights along with Nos. 50003 and 50007, the latter at the No.1 end only. In January 1978 the ten-year old locomotive become the first of the newly-minted ‘Warship’ class to be honoured with nameplates following the easing of the ridiculous embargo on new namings. The Laira-allocated machine was dedicated Ark Royal after the Royal Navy’s flagship by its captain at Plymouth station, the new ’plates forcing the BR double arrows to be moved from the centre of the bodyside to the secondman’s cab side. The event also saw large replicas of the ship’s crests fitted above the nameplates. 50035 ran in this condition for several years, which included joining Old Oak Common in June 1980, before being called to Doncaster Works, emerging from the ‘Plant’ in March 1981 in large logo blue. It later gained the black roof version of the livery before being repainted in the original Network SouthEast scheme in July 1986, although not before running several turns in undercoat grey. Its BR employment came to an end in August 1990 and it was sold to the Fifty Fund the following April, the first Class 50 to be preserved with the official handover being performed by NSE Director Chris Green at the Old Oak Common open day. It was restarted for the first time in preservation exactly two years after its retirement and now returned to large logo ran the debut train of its new career at the Severn Valley Railway in October 1996. It is now part of the 50 Alliance fleet, still based at the SVR, and wears classic 1970s BR blue.

Catalogue listing

Model details

Prototype information

^* Class names often change over the lifespan of a locomotive, so this is not necessarily the class name used by the operator in the period modelled.

Accurascale has released a new OO gauge model of Class 50 locomotive 50035 Ark Royal in BR Blue livery. This model is a representation of the locomotive as it appeared in the late 1970s, with plated headcode panels and sealed beam marker lights.

The locomotive was named Ark Royal in January 1978, following the lifting of a naming embargo, and was one of three Class 50s to receive this treatment. It was later repainted in large logo blue in March 1981, and also sported a black-roofed variant and the original NSE scheme.

The model features a highly detailed OO scale design, with a die-cast metal chassis and RP25-110 profile wheels. It also includes separate etched and plastic details, etched nameplates and crests, and interchangeable printed headcodes.

The locomotive is DCC Ready, with options for DCC Sound, and features a five-pole motor with twin flywheels, all-wheel drive and pick-up, and a powerPack capacitor for uninterrupted power. Other features include directional lighting, cab lights, and driver's desk lights.

The model has undergone improvements based on modeller feedback, including revised packaging and resolution of issues with self-coloured plastic parts. Spare parts from the first run are available free of charge via the Accurascale website.