Accurascale PTA/JTA/JUA tipplers
◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL Accurascale PTA/JTA/JUA bogie tippler wagon packs ◆ PRICE £149.95 per five-pack ◆ AVAILABILITY Accurascale Web www.accurascale.co.uk
Who would’ve thought that such a seemingly basic and utilitarian wagon design would generate so much interest? Accurascale’s latest ‘OO’ release has been hotly anticipated. Representing the high-capacity, steel-bodied tipplers built, initially, for iron ore traffic in the 1970s, the PTA/JTA/ JUA sets have been selling like hot cakes. So, why the attraction of these big ‘boxes on wheels’?
Built by Dorman Long at Middlesbrough, a subsidiary company of British Steel, the wagons were employed on the intensive flow of imported iron ore from various UK ports to steel making facilities, such as Scunthorpe, Consett, Llanwern and Ravenscraig. For a while, these were some of the heaviest freight services in the UK, especially those heading to Llanwern from Port Talbot, which required triple-headed Class 37s or double-headed ‘56s’ as motive power.
The wagons became a common sight on the BR network, especially at various freight ‘hotspots’ in the East Midlands, Teeside, South Wales and South Western Scotland. Following the decline in ore traffic, a large number of wagons moved to aggregates traffic for Foster Yeoman and ARC. Their vibrant liveries and everyday operations from the Mendip quarries in Somerset brought them further attention.
Intrinsically linked with popular traction types, their long and successful careers cemented their place in enthusiasts’ imaginations.
THE MODELS
Attractively presented in boxes of five wagons, a convincing rake of 10 tipplers can be assembled, by combining an ‘outer’ pack with an ‘inner’ set. The prototypes were designed to work in fixed rakes, with knuckle couplers linking the wagons and traditional draw gear at the outer ends only (see Factfile panel) and Accurascale has faithfully copied this feature.
A number of livery options are available, encompassing their use with British Steel (BSC) and aggregate purveyors ARC and Foster Yeoman. There’s also plain dark grey, with VTG branding, for more up-to-date layouts. We received ‘outer’ packs ACC2100-BSC and ACC2110-YEO1 for review, which both contain two ‘outer’ wagons and three ‘inners’, in the original BSC grey/ orange colours and Yeoman light grey, respectively.
The wagons look impressive as soon as they emerge from their attractive packaging. Close inspection reveals that they are much more than a mundane, modern open wagon, as there is plenty of detail to admire. The deceptively complex body profile has been captured perfectly, with the tapered sides and bulky strengthening ribs capturing the ‘solid’ nature of the real things. The end ladders also taper inwards at their bottom edge, which is a pleasing touch.
Each wagon boasts
a universally high standard of decoration, with crisply defined lettering and legends, including all warning and operating instructions. The blue backing of the Yeoman logos is a little fuzzy in places, but it must be a fiendishly difficult process to tampo print cleanly over the deep ribs. Besides, you have to be looking very closely to even notice this.
FLASHY FITTINGS
One ‘outer’ wagon of each set features a working tail lamp of the later BR pattern. This is powered by a button cell battery (not supplied) that slots into a compartment beneath the wagon’s false internal floor. Full, easy-to-follow instructions are provided but, on our samples, I did have a little difficulty in getting the battery to engage the copper contacts reliably. In the end, the lower strip was bent upwards very slightly so that it would bear against the battery’s lower edge more positively.
Once the button cell is clipped in position, the floor can be replaced and the lamp controlled via a tiny slide switch behind the headstock. I also found this a little tricky to operate as it’s set deep within a recess and the action was rather stiff. Once engaged, though, the flashing tail lamp looks fantastic, giving out a realistic amount of light.
LOOKING UNDERNEATH
Below floor level, the BSC Axle Motion bogies are superb, with etched metal brake hand wheels of the correct fluted/pressed profile. There are also small vertical components on one bogie, linked to a pair of cables. I’ve no idea what these are, but their inclusion displays an admirable attention to detail on Accurascale’s part.
The longitudinal and lateral strengthening ribs are
There is plenty of detail to admire. The deceptively complex body profile has been captured perfectly
nicely rendered, while there’s also a full array of brake valves, cylinders and associated plumbing installed. The ‘outer’ wagons feature sprung, close coupler units for the NEM tension lock units, plus a set of attractive sprung Oleo buffers. A small bag of details is supplied to add brake hoses and dummy screw link couplings to the outer ends, if desired.
The ‘inner’ knuckle couplings sit in draft boxes at a prototypical height, pivoting from side to side to allow the wagons to cope with curves of up to second radius. Talking of performance, both sets of wagons ran smoothly and surely around my test circuit, with the knuckle couplers doing their job well. The absence of buffers on the ‘inner’ wagons means that there’s a realistically short gap between cars.
ORE INSPIRING
It’s amazing how a seemingly mundane wagon can make for such an interesting model, thanks to the amount of effort that a design team is willing to put into recreating as many facets of the original as possible. These PTAS are very impressive, placing them towards the top end of the spectrum in terms of detail and finish. At around £30 per wagon, they present good value too.
While I would’ve preferred a more accessible switch – or even a motion sensor – for the flashing tail lamp, that hasn’t stopped me enjoying these models and I’m looking forward to getting them weathered up and ready for service. Packs have been selling fast, so grab them while you can. Incidentally, Accurascale is also working on some drop-in loads for these wagons, featuring iron ore, aggregate, limestone and coal, which are available to pre-order now. (GD)