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Accurascale ACC3208-DCC

BR Class 08/9 - EWS Maroon - 08993 - DCC Sound

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

Prototype Era
Era 9 (1995 to 2004) Initial Privatisation

Manufacturer description

English Electric’s 1934 diesel-electric shunter No. 7079 for the LMS proved highly successful and led to further orders across all the “Big Four” railways. Its lineage fed directly into British Railways’ push, after 1948 nationalisation, to create a standardised large shunting locomotive. Drawing heavily on the LMS 350 hp design but incorporating improvements and flexibility for different engines and electrical equipment, the resulting BR standard 0-6-0 diesel-electric shunter—later known as the Class 08—entered production in 1952 as No. 13000.

Between 1950 and 1962, 1,193 locomotives were built at several BR workshops, with multiple engine/electrical pairings and a higher-geared variant for the Southern Region that became the Class 09. The locomotives evolved through different liveries, safety markings and braking systems, and by the 1970s were allocated TOPS classifications: Class 08, 09 and 10. As yards declined in the 1980s–90s, the fleet shrank, though hundreds survived into privatisation.

Today, around 250 examples remain in service or preservation, with some still working for Freightliner and others being converted for modern green traction, proving the enduring flexibility of the original design.

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 Class 08/9 EWS Maroon (model number 08993) is a ready‑to‑run diesel shunter locomotive equipped with DCC sound. The model includes interior lighting, a coreless motor coupled to a helical gearbox, and a PowerPack/Stay‑Alive capacitor for continuous operation over points and crossings. It uses an ESU LokSound 5 decoder with twin “sugar‑cube” speakers to provide a full sound suite, including a unique option for the Class 10 engine type.

The locomotive represents the Initial Privatisation era of British Rail and is part of Accurascale’s “Accuragronk” range, which also covers the standard Class 08, the less common Class 10 with its Blackstone power unit, and the low‑profile Class 08/9 conversions built at Landore Depot in 1986 for the height‑restricted Burry Port & Gwendraeth Valley line.

Technical features include full directional fibre‑optic and LED lighting, offering marker lights, high‑intensity lights, flashing beacons and separate cab lighting configurations. Construction employs a die‑cast metal chassis and underframe for added weight and tractive effort, an ABS body and cab with metal and wire detailing, and era‑specific tooling for variations in cab shape, doors and buffer beams.

Accuracy of the model was achieved through extensive surveys across the United Kingdom, with particular assistance from the Freightliner Group at Southampton Terminal and visits to preservation sites in County Durham, North Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Kent, East Sussex, Hampshire and Wiltshire. This collaborative research ensures that operational and visual details closely match the real‑world shunter.