Rapido UK Newsletter No. 25
©2022 Rapido Trains Ltd
Dear Rapido Customer,

I can’t believe that I’m saying this… welcome to the Christmas edition!

Seriously, where has 2022 gone?

While I’m sure that some people will say ‘good riddance’ to it, 2022 has, over all, been a great year for us.

At the time of writing, we've taken delivery of our first locomotive and we've brought three new wagons to market; delivery of another locomotive and three new wagons is imminent; we've got another eight items in production; we have successfully launched at least one new project a month; we've added new members to the team; and we’ve attended our first show as Rapido Trains UK.

JASON: Sorry to interrupt but I have to thank each and every member of the Rapido UK team for everything you've done this year. I don't think any of us expected the business to grow so big so quickly and you should all be so proud of your efforts. Plus you're all such a great bunch of people to work with!

It's not all been smooth sailing of course. I know that the whole ‘Tit-gate’ affair and the seemingly cursed Dynamometer Cars (more on that later) have caused many a sleepless night. But you guys have reacted so well to it.

RICHARD & ANDY: Thanks boss!

RICHARD: We'd also like to thank each and every one of you who came to see us at Warley and complimented us on how we’ve handled these situations. In all honesty, we’re all railway modellers here and we react by thinking ‘what would we want to see from a model company in this situation’.

We’re delighted that the ‘Rapido way’ seems to be striking such a chord.

The end of the year is a good time to reflect on where we’re at… and we couldn’t leave December without a new product announcement either. Or two!

Here’s what we’ve crammed into this festive newsletter:

  • New product announcement No. 1
  • New product announcement No. 2
  • First look 1: 'Jones Goods' samples
  • First look 2: 'Small Prairie' CAD
  • New 'B-Sets' announced
  • New 'E1' announced
  • Exclusive model announcements
  • New arrivals update
  • Dynamometer Car update
  • Order deadline reminders
  • Expressions of Interest deadlines
  • Full product round-up – including pictures!

Plus:
  • Get ready for the Boxing Day Sale!

There’s more here to get through than a well-loaded dining table on Christmas Day, so we’d better start now:
No. 13154 is one of several GWR Diagram O11 five-plank wagons to be preserved. It was out-shopped from Swindon in 1912, one of 10,815 Dia. O11s built between 1911-1919. It now forms part of the 813 Preservation Fund's collection and is based at the Severn Valley Railway.
Photograph: GARETH PRICE
New tooling announcement: GWR five-plank opens

The response to our ‘OO’ gauge GWR four-plank open wagon has been so good that we thought that we really ought to offer some of its five-plank cousins too. We've chosen the Diagram O11 and the Diagram O15.

The GWR added a fifth plank to its four-plank open design in 1902 and the de facto standard five-plank appeared two years later. Versions of this 3ft 3in deep, 8ft wide body continued to be built well into the 1940s.
This is a colourised 3D render taken from the CAD file of our new 'OO' gauge GWR
Dia. O11 open wagon. It had a 10t carrying capacity and used a 16ft underframe with GWR self-contained buffers. The Dia. O11 was unfitted.
This is a colourised render of the virtually identical Dia. O15. The only difference was that it had vacuum brakes. Some 2,105 'O15s' were built between 1911 and 1922. Both this and the 'O11' will be supplied with parts to fit the Williams patent sheet supporter. We’ve included enough parts to either model the sheet rail in the up position or ‘at rest’.
Like most of our stream-era goods wagons, these new GWR opens have been designed in the UK. They feature full external, internal and underframe details. Design work is finished and we expect to start tooling early in the new year. Liveries and running numbers are still TBC and we hope to open the order book very soon.
Like most of our stream-era goods wagons, these new GWR opens have been designed in the UK. They feature full external, internal and underframe details.
As records are few and far between, it’s not known exactly when the last of the
Dia. O11/O15s were withdrawn as they slowly disappeared over the years but they did last well into BR days.
Here is a colourised 3D render taken from the CAD file of our new 'Mink As'. We're producing the fitted Diagram V14 and the unfitted Dia. V16.
New tooling announcement: GWR ‘Mink As’

The GWR used the telegraphic code ‘Mink’ for the majority of its general purpose vans. The code is most closely associated with the ‘Iron Minks’ and so it’s often forgotten that the GWR also built thousands of wooden-bodied ‘Minks’ from 1892 until the 1940s.

With delivery of our ‘Iron Minks’ imminent (more on this later), we couldn’t resist adding some wooden ‘Minks’ to the range too. So we’re delighted to unveil the Diagram V14 and the Diagram V16 'Mink As'.

At the time of writing, our UK design team has nearly finalised the design work. We expect to be able to start tooling early in the new year. Liveries and running numbers are still TBC.
Our UK design team has also included spoked and disc wheels, two types of rain strip and horizontal and vertical-planked doors.
The 'V14' and 'V16' diagrams were introduced in 1912 and they shared the same body, underframe, ‘W’ irons, DC III brakes and axleboxes. Both designs were upgraded from 10t capacity to 12t in the mid-1920s.
The Severn Valley Railway is home to number of wooden 'Minks', including this pair of Dia. V14s, Nos. 93016 and 93045. Both are part of the 813 Preservation Fund collection.
Photograph: GARETH PRICE
Dia. V16 No. 101720 is part of the Great Western Society's collection at Didcot Railway Centre. The last of the 5,506 Dia. V14 ‘Mink As’ were built in 1927; production of the
Dia. V16s had ceased in 1923 and ‘only’ 2,759 were built.
Photograph: GARETH PRICE
Here's a first look at the first Engineering Prototype of our 'OO' gauge HR 'Big Goods'
4-6-0. Looks nice, doesn't it?
First look: Jones Goods samples

Talk about an early present! Look what arrived from the factory just before we closed for Christmas...

Yes, it's the first Engineering Prototypes of the Highland Railway ‘Big Goods’!
We'll show you more next time but we couldn't resist offering you a tantalising glimpse!

Remember that you can order yours from your local Rapido UK stockist or by clicking this here:
And here's what it looks like from the back... We'll bring you more on these samples next time.
Here is the very first take on our new '44XX'. We ask you not to judge it too harshly because there are myriad details that are in the wrong place - but we think it certainly looks like a 'Small Prairie', which is always a good start!
First look: ‘Small Prairie’ CADs

Anyone who attended both days at Warley might have noticed a slight change in our display on the Sunday, namely 3D renders of the ‘Small Prairies’.

That’s because the first draft of the CAD drawings arrived at 3am that morning!

We only had time to put two versions into the display (thanks to Linny and Corwin!) so here are the first CAD images of our new ‘44XX’, ‘45XX’ and ‘4575’.

You will need to bear in mind that these are the first drafts and you’ll be able to spot lots of erroneous parts and incorrect detail combinations. But we think this is a pretty darn good start and these little locomotives are showing a great deal of promise.

We’ll properly get our teeth into this project early in the new year as we want to open the order book as soon as possible. Until then, feast your eyes on our different ‘Small Prairie’ versions:
This is nominally the early version of the '45XX', complete with the square drop-ends in front of the cylinders and porthole cab windows.
This is the 'late' version with curved frames and cab side shutters.
There are also two distinctive versions of the '4575': this is the early version (if you ignore the raised bunker rear)...
...whereas this is the later style with cab side shutters. Of course, this one should have the raised bunker. Moving swiftly along...
Extra ‘B-Sets’

Our new GWR ‘B-Set’ coaches have gone down so well that we’ve been forced - forced I tell you! - to add FOUR new liveries to the range.

Here they are:
SKU946008: Nos. 6453 & 6454 ‘Kingsbridge Branch No. 2’, GWR wartime brown livery
SKU946009: No. 6409 & 6410, GWR wartime brown
SKU946010: No. 6894 & 6895, ‘Kingham Branch’, GWR post-war livery
SKU946011: No. W6999 & W7000, BR (W) chocolate & cream livery
After we published the initial list last time, a bit of extra information came to light and this has meant that we’ve changed one set of running numbers.

SKU946002 is now Nos. 6523 & 6524 in GWR inter-war livery

All ‘B-Set’ twin-packs are available to order now. RRP is £169.95 and you can order from your local Rapido UK stockist or by clicking this button:
No. W4 Wroxall rose to fame simply by being the last of the Isle of Wight's quartet of 'E1s' to be withdrawn. It was taken out of service on October 22nd 1960. Wroxall looks to be in good condition as it rest in the yard at Ryde St John's Road in March 1958.
Photograph: PJ HUGHES/COLOUR RAIL
New ‘E1’ announced

Good news: we’ve finished design work on the ‘E1’!

To mark this special occasion, we’re delighted to add another ‘E1’ to the range: SKU936018: No. 4 Wroxall in BR unlined black with early emblem.

Silent and sound-fitted versions are available to order now, either from your local Rapido stockist or by clicking this button:

The ‘E1’ is now ready for tooling and we hope to start work early in the new year.
SKU937016: LMS Diagram 1666 open wagon No. 239431, LMS grey livery. Exclusive to Simply Southern.
Exclusive models!

We’re delighted to announce that our friends at Derails and Simply Southern have commissioned exclusive versions of some of our eagerly-awaited new projects.

Here they are:
SKU946007: GWR ‘B-Set’ coaches in GWR ‘shirtbutton’ livery without branding.
New for 2023: Scottish Fleetlines, South Yorkshire Fleetlines, Leicestershire Fleetlines and North Western Fleetlines... plus a few extra West Midlands ones for good measure. But they'll only happen if you order them!
Last call for Fleetlines

We've received repeated calls to offer our 1:76 scale Fleetlines in liveries other than West Midlands PTE (and its successors). It was always our plan to do so but we like to make doubly certain of these things and even went to the trouble of producing an online survey to gauge public feedback.

All looked good...

Imagine our surprise when orders for the second batch of WMPTE Fleetlines have been - how shall we say? – slow. We thought that widening the geographical reach of our Fleetline would tempt modellers and collectors beyond the West Midlands.

Sadly, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
cat_dog_portrait.jpg
We urge you to place your Fleetline order as soon as possible because this project might very soon be beyond a place where the shameless exploitation of a sad cat or dog can save it.
It’s actually got to the point where we’re questioning whether there is a future for the ‘Rapido standard’ model bus at all.

If you want us to continue to produce 1:76 scale buses, we urge you to get your Fleetline order in as soon as possible. Order deadline is February 1st 2023. You can place your order with your local Rapido stockist or by clicking here:

((button))
Finally! The 'N' gauge Class 28s and 'N' gauge 'Conflat Ps' standing on the warehouse floor in Staplehurst. Now they just need unwrapping...
New arrivals

It’s probably fair to say that you can get a big ‘demob happy’ with the impending festive season. We don’t have that luxury because we’re about to be inundated with new products!


Thanks to an outstanding effort from Andy, Steve, 'Warranty Dan', CAD designer Jamie, Andy's mate Matt and Andy's neighbour Chris, the bulk of Class 28 and 'Conflat' orders have now shipped.

If you have any on order from us and you haven't heard anything, please check all junk and spam filters for the automatically generated e-mail inviting you to pay the balance. If you've not received that e-mail, please drop us a line.
This lorry is full of Hunslets! They left the factory on December 19th.
Order deadline for the fresh batch of 1:76 scale WMPTE Fleetlines is
February 1st 2023
Order deadline reminders

There might be a few days of 2022 left but we want to focus your mind on the first few months of 2023 because we have some order deadlines to announce. And, while we’re at it, we’ll remind you of order deadlines already announced.

Diaries ready? Here we go:
UK920: 1:76 scale Bedford OB: February 1st 2023
All except the 'Jones Goods' are ready for production and so, as soon as the order deadline passes, the factory will get on with making them.
The deadline for registering your interest in our proposed 'O' gauge LNER 'J70' tram engine is February 1st 2023. Vote now... tell all your friends to vote... we'll only make this project a reality if the feedback looks positive.
Expressions of interest: what next?

Your opinions matter to us which is why we offer you the chance to have your say by offering ‘Expressions of Interest’.

This is not a commitment to buy: all we’re asking is for you to say, “yes, I’d be interested in that” or “Nah, that's not for me thanks”.

We have three ‘Expressions of Interests' open and we want to make a decision on these items very soon. Therefore, we have announced the following deadlines:
‘OO’ gauge Wisbech & Upwell tramcars in BR lined maroon livery as E60461 and E60462. 'EOI' deadline: January 16th 2023
‘OO’ gauge HR ‘Big Goods’ No. 57925 in BR lined black. 'EOI' deadline: February 1st 2023
If you’d like to see any of these projects become a reality, we urge you to make your voice heard by voting now!

Once you’ve voted, hurry back because we have lots more to share with you.
If you've sent your Dynamometer Car back to us, we thank you for your patience. We are doing our utmost to get it returned to you as soon as possible.
Dynamometer Car update

We’ve not been able to say much publicly about the Dynamometer Car re-call as we’ve been carrying out a full investigation into what has happened. The fault has been traced to an incorrectly supplied component on the circuit board.

Mohan George, Rapido Inc’s electronics wizard, has led the investigation, fault-finding and subsequent re-design of the PCB and has declared that he is happy with the replacement design that he's received for approval.
Once the fresh circuit boards have been tested to our satisfaction and we've swapped enough over, these items will go back on sale.
New PCBs – produced by a new PCB vendor we might add – have arrived at the warehouse and we’ve tested a wide selection to ensure that nothing has slipped through the vendor’s quality control net. All seems OK and so we've started the long process of fitting them.

We’ll make no bones about it: this is going to be a long, slow job and while we will be bringing in some hired help to accelerate the process, we have nearly 3,000 models to fix.

We've made a start on fixing these models but please continue to be patient with us. We will get your Dynamometer Car back to you as soon as humanly possible.

For those overseas customers, we think we have a solution to the fact that we can't offer a returns label. Please continue to bear with us as we double check to make sure that our solution works. We will contact you all as soon as we can.
The 'OO' gauge '15XX' is in production at the moment so there's very little to see. We thought you might want to feast your eyes on the Engineering Prototype once again...
Full product round-up

The end of the year is a good time to take stock of things and we thought we’d provide a full round-up of everything that we’ve not covered anywhere else in this newsletter:

‘OO’ gauge WR ‘15XX’ 0-6-0PT: These are in production and we estimate completion in April 2023.
One of the test boiler castings for Lion, before producing got into full swing. It's now in full swing!
‘OO’ gauge L&M 0-4-2 Lion: In production. We expected them to be finished in March 2023.
It might look like a box of bits but these are the first OAA parts to arrive in the factory, ready for painting and assembly!
‘OO’ gauge OAA open wagon: In production. These could be finished as soon as late February/early March.
It might be a bit blurry but there's no mistaking the profile of that wagon!
‘OO’ gauge GWR ‘Loriot Y’ machinery truck: In production and estimated to be completed in March.
It's so tempting to quote some lyrics from Donovan's Mellow Yellow here. Actually, it's the bodies of our GWR 'Toad' in Engineer's yellow getting their first coats of paint.
The interiors are being painted too!
‘OO’ gauge GWR ‘Toad’ brake van: In production and, again, with an estimated completion date of March.
The first 'Dan's House' bodies get ready to receive their colours. We've tried one or two clever tricks to make it look as close to the one in the film as possible...
‘OO’ gauge The Titfield Thunderbolt train packs: In production. Guess when we expect them to be ready to ship? Could it be March? No, you don't win a free one...
Bodies for the six-wheel brake vans ready for painting!
‘OO’ gauge SECR six-wheel brake van: In production and could be finished in February 2023.
SR eight-plank bodies being painted.
‘OO’ gauge SR eight-plank open wagon: In production and there's a chance that they could also be finished in February 2023.
One of the projects waiting space in the tool room is the range of 'N' gauge SECR wagons. We should get these moving early in the new year.
We then have a bunch of projects that are finished and we’re just waiting for slots in the tool room to begin the tooling process:
The new 'OO' gauge 'Y7' is one project that very close to going into tooling.
There are three projects that are agonisingly close to being finished. We hope to get them finished early in the new year and into tooling as quickly as possible:

These two projects are further down the pecking order but we hope to make more progress on them next year:
And finally…

We’re delighted to announce our Boxing Day Sale will run from December 26th until January 3rd. We’ll reveal all in a special Boxing Day edition of the newsletter so keep your eyes peeled for a bargain or two.

We’ve been very vocal about our commitment not to undercut model shops who stock our range. It’s why we only sell direct at full retail price but, with so many new models due to arrive soon, we REALLY need to clear some shelf space!

This sale is a strictly one-off event and because we only have limited stocks of each item listed, each item is sold on a first-come-first served basis.

Remember: keep an eye out on Boxing Day morning for the sale to start!
All the remains for me to say is best wishes from everyone here at Rapido Trains UK for the festive period.

The Rapido UK offices will be closed from December 24th and they re-open again on January 3rd.

We thank you once again for all your support in 2022 and we wish you a peaceful and prosperous 2023.

Richard
Sales & Marketing Manager
Rapido Trains UK
You can write to us at Rapido Trains UK, Unit 3, Clinton Business Centre, Lodge Road, Staplehurst, Kent TN12 0QF. Alternatively, you can call us on 03304 609496 or you can
e-mail us at customerservice@rapidotrains.co.uk