The development team at Dapol has approved four production samples of its upcoming release of Brush Type 3 Class 33 diesel-electric locomotives.

These models are expected to be on sale in the first few weeks of March, with the remaining models expected to follow a few weeks later.

Four production samples were reviewed:

• Class 33/0 Nos. D6509 and D6523 in BR Green.
• Class 33/0 No. 33056 The Burma Star in BR Blue
• Class 33/1 No. in D6580 BR Green

Additional models will be available once they go on sale, including:

• Class 33/0 No. 33025 in DRS livery.
• Class 33/1 No. 33107 in BR Blue.
• Class 33/1 No. 33103 Swordfish in Fragonset livery.

Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Works (BRCW) for British Railways’ Southern Region built 98 of this class of locomotives between 1960 and 1962. Originally numbered D6500 to D6597, they were often referred to as ‘Cromptons’ after the manufacturer of their diesel engines. Of the 98 locomotives built, 26 have survived into preservation.

The recommended retail price is £156.60 for DCC Ready models, and £189.00 for models already fitted with DCC. Dapol stockists are already accepting orders for the new models.

Decorated samples have also been received by Dapol of N gauge models of London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) B17 Class 4-6-0s to be released later this year. An interesting video recently released by Dapol shows a fully-automated process to assemble wheel sets for its models.