Ruston and Hornsby 88DS diesel mechanical shunter

£229.95

The pervasive Ruston and Hornsby 88DS 0-4-0 diesel shunter has a long pedigree with a stream of industrial and commercial customers with many operating on individual internal railway systems. This ranged from power stations and collieries, steelworks, chemical works, refineries, gas works, quarries, manufacturing works and paper mills.

Available first quarter 2025.

Ruston and Hornsby 88DS diesel mechanical shunter

The pervasive Ruston and Hornsby 88DS 0-4-0 diesel shunter has a long pedigree with a stream of industrial and commercial customers with many operating on individual internal railway systems. This ranged from power stations and collieries, steelworks, chemical works, refineries, gas works, quarries, manufacturing works and paper mills. Many factories possessed private railway networks and sidings. Since steam locomotives were expensive to operate on small industrial systems, an alternative was sought. The Guinness factory in Dublin were early pioneers of substitute haulage transport technologies. Post WW1 with many firms beginning to operate their own diesel powered commercial vehicles, in-house expertise was soon established, and a thriving market developed when diesel shunting locomotives started to appear in the 1930s.

The Ruston and Hornsby 88DS shunter had longevity with construction lasting almost 30 years from June 1938 to 29 November 1967 when the last was built heading to Tarmac Roadstone’s plant at Hayes, Middlesex. A total of 271 locomotives were constructed with a significant number surviving into preservation. During WW2, the War Department and Ministry of Supply were a large customer, with locomotives employed in ordinance and maintenance duties. Later British Railways took them into service, working around the country in places such as the biscuit town of Reading, chocolate city of York – Rowntree’s had their own as well, to the industrial and heavy manufacturing areas of the north east of England in Hartlepool and Newcastle upon Tyne. The 88DS shunter featured a four-speed gearbox and had a maximum speed of 15½ miles per hour delivering impressive haulage figures on the flat or on inclines.

The initial Accurascale production run mirrors the diverse range of industries where these small, but powerful mechanical locomotives could be seen. A total of ten locomotives, predominantly from the post-war period from the late 1940s up until the mid-1960s are all available in a wide variety of attractive, colourful and distinctive liveries reflecting their owner’s corporate branding such as Tarmac’s in-house Yellow Olive coloured livery. With authentic livery, markings and numbers, accurate to time period modelled, they will undoubtedly grace many smaller dioramas, railway sidings, settings and layouts with main line connections. The perfect little shunter.

The Ruston and Hornsby 88DS 0-4-0 diesel shunter is a completely newly-tooled 0 gauge model. Its key specifications are:

  • Die-cast metal chassis, body frame and footplate. The cab and engine panels are plastic
  • Scale length 143.88mm over buffers, 54.85mm wide and height over cab of 70mm
  • Wheelbase of 40.54mm allowing operation over a minimum radius of 1,028mm (40 ½ ins) – Peco 2nd radius standard curve 22.5º Setrack
  • Choice of metal 3-link or screw couplings
  • Single style of 21mm solid wheel set in brass bearings or contact strips and conforming to 29.2mm back-to-back on 4.763 diameter axels
  • Fully detailed die-cast underframe with all cylinders, linkages and piping applied separately
  • Eroded metal, plastic and wire detail parts, including handrails, door handles, lamp brackets, brake gear, brake discs, draw gear, vents, louvres, radiator grilles and builders’ plates
  • Prism-free flush glazing
  • Removable cab roof
  • Sprung metal buffers and draw hooks
  • Powered by centrally mounted 5-pole skew-wound motor with flywheel driving both axels
  • All-wheel electrical pickup
  • Helical gear box for maximum performance and slow speed running. As noted above this is arranged to provide a scale maximum top speed of 15.4 mph with a load of 1.1kg
  • DCC ready with PowerPack capacitor for uninterrupted power or similar stay alive arrangement
  • Design around PluX22 Decoders with easy access to decoder via removable bonnet
  • Switchable shunting lights
  • Full cab interior lighting set at correct colour temperature
  • Permanently fitted speakers

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