Built originally at BR Derby Works form 1957, the Class 24 locomotives were for mixed traffic and were introduced to British Railways in 1958. Subsequent orders also involved Crewe and Darlington workshops and 151 were built before the design was modified to produce the Class 25. Withdrawals of the class started in the late 1960s and had been completed by the Autumn of 1980. Four members of the class have been preserved.

Graham Farish had produced a Class 25 in 1983 but did not follow this up with a Class 24. Bachmann perpetuated the Class 25 but, for the new Class 24, has gone back to the drawing board and this shows in the high level of detail. The whole essence of the Class 24 has also been captured despite the smallness of scale. The detailed bogie frames are well represented and the cab interior has been reproduced. The handrails are wire painted white and the cab glazing, despite being flush avoids the bottle effect. Pipes, steps and artificial screw couplers come with a bag full of nicely moulded and painted code discs which plug into holes on the cab fronts.

Another great development is the provision of instructions which show fairly well where everything goes and includes an exploded diagram. There is also a list which shows what the different disc codes mean. There is also advice on maintenance.