Name: Accurascale ACC3463 Class 66 - Freightliner (60th Anniversary) - 66501
Brand: Accurascale
SKU: ACC3463
Price: 215.94 GBP

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

66501 was the first Class 66 to arrive in the UK for another operator, in this case Freightliner, on 17 July 1999 aboard the ‘M.V. Gajah Borneo’. On 19 July 1999, the locomotive was formally handed over at Newport Docks before making its way to Ipswich for acceptance. It settled into normal Freightliner intermodal operations and gained the name “Japan 2001” to commemorate Freightliner’s support of the Japan 2001 Festival. It remained in this condition until being taken to the former Brush works of UKRL in 2024 for assessment and overhaul. Chosen as one of a pair to receive special commemorative livery for the “Freightliner 60” celebrations, it was outshopped from Loughborough in striking orange paintwork on 8 March 2025 and subsequently named “Spirit of ’65”. This locomotive has now received the modified driver’s door handle arrangement, with the upper handle plated over.

Catalogue listing

Brand

Accurascale

Product Code

ACC3463

GTIN

0781005475849

RRP

£215.94

Release date

April 2027

Model details

Livery

Freightliner

DCC status

DCC Ready

Prototype information

Locomotive class^*

Class 66

^* 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.

Supplier Links

Accurascale website

Search on Amazon

Search on eBay

Supplier links are provided for your convenience and do not guarantee that the product is currently available. RailwayModels.uk is not a representative of these suppliers, but may receive a commission when purchases are made through links on this page.

Related products

Accurascale Class 66 Freightliner (60th Anniversary) No.66501 is a 00‑scale diesel locomotive model. It is painted in Freightliner livery, is DCC ready and carries the manufacturer part number ACC3463. The model represents the initial privatisation era of the Class 66 fleet.

The prototype, numbered 66501, was the first Class 66 to enter service in the United Kingdom for Freightliner. It arrived on 17 July 1999 aboard the M.V. Gajah Borneo and was formally handed over at Newport Docks on 19 July 1999 before proceeding to Ipswich for acceptance. The locomotive operated in intermodal service under the name “Japan 2001”, was overhauled in 2024, repainted in a commemorative orange livery on 8 March 2025 for the Freightliner 60 celebrations and renamed “Spirit of ’65”. It now features the modified driver’s door handle arrangement with the upper handle plated over.

The model incorporates several refinements to reflect recent changes in the real fleet. These include a newly tooled exhaust silencer, handbrake linkages moulded in the off position, an etched middle handrail bracket on the cab fronts, optional roof‑mounted Wi‑Fi pods, updated Freightliner cab‑door handles and provisions for BMAC‑replacement lighting units. New buffer‑plate combinations allow further prototype variations.

Technical specifications include a five‑pole motor with two flywheels, gearing that permits a minimum scale top speed of 75 mph (120 kph), all‑wheel drive and pickup, and a fully detailed lighting pack with directional, DC and DCC operation, switchable red and white marker lights with day/night settings and independently switched cab lighting. Deluxe features are a PowerPack capacitor for uninterrupted power, customised dual‑speaker technology with a large bass speaker and a smaller high‑frequency cube (on DCC sound‑fitted models), and a Hall sensor for flange‑squeal effect. The locomotive can be supplied DCC ready with a 21‑pin MTX socket or fitted with an original ESU LokSound 5 decoder.