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Rapido UK Newsletter No. 51
©2024 Rapido Trains Ltd
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Blimey, it's been wet and chilly!
We’ve worked tirelessly in late November and early December to ensure projects were delivered; this included getting the Jones Goods QC-checked and sent out to customers and retailers. Despite Storm Darragh relentlessly battering the UK, we were pleased to see everyone received their new models safely and have been enjoying these lovely locos.
However, we had planned to get a few more projects into the hands of customers before the year ended. Sadly, a combination of the almost biblical weather conditions and a lack of available shipping meant we had to push a couple into early next year.
Thankfully, the factories have given us plenty of updates on the projects currently on their benches (which we will cover later). So, with more projects nearing completion and the delayed projects pending arrival we will be delivering a significant number of models in the early stages of 2025. You will also be pleased to hear that before the storm struck our shores, the factory managed to send us some new engineering samples. But more on those in a bit!
Other than this, the design team have been hard at work on livery artwork and CAD, with a plan to give our factories everything they need to hit the ground running once they return from their Chinese New Year break in February. You never know but this may include some new projects that might appear at the shows we are attending in 2025. You can find out more about some of the shows we are going to attend later on in this newsletter.
We hope you all have a well-earned festive break, and we suspect you are looking forward to playing with some lovely new Rapido models that Santa brings you… assuming you have been good of course!
So, let's take a look at what we’ve been up to before the team hibernates for a few days and smashes back as many mince pies as possible!
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Product Development Updates | |
Its Coal-ed Outside: GWR Wagon Decorated Production Prototypes | |
The cold weather is setting in, so it’s a good thing that loads of lovely Welsh coal is on its way to warm us up and keep our engines in steam. These beautiful decorated production prototypes of the upcoming GWR N19 Loco Coal Wagon and O18 5-Plank Open Wagon look fantastic. | |
Powering the Great Western Railway’s extensive network was no mean feat, with vast quantities of coal needed to keep the locos running. Often seen in yards, sidings and conveniently near engine sheds across the Western region, the humble loco coal wagon provided the lifeblood of the railway. The upcoming N19 model is our very first steel-sided open wagon; with separately fitted corner braces and fine rivet detailing they set the bar high. | |
Opens weren’t only used to transport minerals, with trucks such as the O18 making the perfect example of a GWR general merchandise wagon. Fitted with barrow doors with a tapered foot, the O18 was ideal for loading and unloading with ease and they were seen across the GWR network and beyond. Numerous private railways, such as the Manchester Shipping Canal, Bristol Port Authority and Port of London Authority had examples in their fleets. There’s a suitable version for every hobbyist! Due to the immense variety of loads these would have carried you know that whatever you choose will look great in these highly-detailed models. | |
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Both these projects have left the factory and are due to arrive in Q1 2025.
These wonderful wagons will look great alongside our existing range of GWR wagons and of course, the upcoming 44xx Small Prairie. We have limited stocks available directly through our website but many of our Official Retailers have ordered stock of these models, so if you are looking to add these to your collection we recommend doing so soon before they are all gone!
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It May Only Be Small, But it Measures Up: N Gauge LNER Dynamometer Car Prototype. | |
This month saw the development of the N Gauge LNER Dynamometer Car leap forward, and some delightful early engineering samples have arrived for us to review. Our OO version of the historical coach is one of the most detailed ready-to-run coaches ever produced; this has set people's expectations for an N Gauge version very high. Trying to portray a similar level of detail in N hasn’t been without its challenges. We don’t like to blow our own trumpet, but looking at these early engineering samples we think it's on par with its larger cousin. | |
The factory has kindly sent us a lit version to enjoy, and we think you’ll agree that the internal lighting helps emphasise the incredible detail nicely. Check out these images and judge it for yourself! | |
A Lightbulb Moment: Dimmable Lighting for Evolution Coaches! | |
The brightness of coach lighting is often a hotly-debated subject amongst modellers. As avid hobbyists, we all have our own opinions and as we reviewed the different preferences of our customers, we realised that no individual answer was going to be correct. Some prefer them to be nice and bright so you can see all the lovely internal detail and passengers that they have fitted in their models, whereas others wanted a more subtle effect to better reflect the lighting of that era. | |
When it comes to model features, compromises occasionally need to be made, as we appreciate that no matter how hard we try we are never going to make everyone happy. But when we looked at this particular one, we thought 'what if we could design them so they do make everyone happy?' | |
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We are pleased to announce that all Evolution coach models will be fitted with a potentiometer, a rather nifty addition to the lighting PCB (printed circuit board, in the roof) that allows you to dim the lights on all of your Evolution coaches to a level of your choosing. All you’ll have to do is remove the roof and turn it with a small screwdriver until you reach the brightness level you desire. How awesome is that!
Oh, and don’t worry, this new feature won’t increase how much each model will cost you. We will be adding them as part of the model's standard features.
The orderbooks for batch 1 of Evolution closes on the 20th January - order yours before it gets too late.
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Ah, Ha, Ha, Ha, Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive: Fitting Loco Stay-Alives | |
Don’t panic, we aren’t about to burst into a rather unmusical rendition of a Bee Gees classic. We have however managed to squeeze a stay-alive into our forthcoming 'Fireless' models. | |
A Quick Artwork Tweak: Updating The Livery of GER Dia.17 5-plank – LNER Loco No.0197 | |
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Upon a recent project review of the upcoming GER 5 and 7 plank wagons, we realised that the artwork we had been using for Dia.17 5-plank – LNER Loco No.0197 was missing a key detail; the wagons' restricted movement markings.
The error was entirely ours - we had drawn it but we had managed to switch off the layer in our artwork document and export it incorrectly.
We have subsequently updated the art on this version and it now has the additional marking that reads “TO RUN BETWEEN TEMPLE MILLS WAGON SHOPS AND GD SAW MILLS STRATFORD”. We apologise for any confusion. Hopefully you like the change we’ve made.
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Over the next couple of months, we have the order books closing for some rather exciting projects. We certainly don’t want you to miss out on these so we thought a reminder may be prudent. | |
Orderbooks closing on Monday 20th of January: | |
Evolution Coaches Batch 1 (OO Gauge) | |
This includes all batch 1 liveries including the Non-Corridor Full Brake and Non-Corridor First versions. Subsequent batches are planned but we cannot guarantee we will be returning to the batch 1 liveries in the near future. If you want them, we suggest grabbing them while you can. We are pleased to say that the first production run is expected to arrive in Q4 of 2025! With 72 different coaches in batch 1 there must be something for everyone. | |
Having recently received new running prototypes of these delightful little locos, we took them to the NEC for the National Festival of Railway Modelling. They smoothly hauled B-Sets and freight trains around our display track with ease all weekend. For those of you who may have missed the show, we have put together this short video of them and the B-Sets running together; that way everyone can see what you’ve got to look forward to. What a perfect pairing! | |
Order book closing on Monday 3rd of February: | |
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Fancy a yank?
This impressive wartime import was instrumental in keeping Britain's railways running during its hour of need, and in more recent years has become a popular fixture of many preserved lines and galas. Further work has been done on the sound file and new engineering samples have also arrived, meaning we can assess the latest modifications we requested our factory to make. As you can see, we are doing everything to ensure this is a really special model!
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Rounding off the order books that are closing in early 2025 are the N Gauge Iron Minks. Having tested them thoroughly in our office they match the quality, detail, and running capabilities of our recently arrived OAAs and SECR Freight Packs. When we visited the National Festival of Railway Modelling last month, we thought we would put them through their paces on our display track. We are pleased to report that we were highly impressed with these magnificent mini-Minks, and they were happily trundling around our layout for 8+ hours on both Saturday and Sunday performing without fault. Confident that we can progress them into their production phase we have decided to close their order books so they can move forward. | |
If you are considering ordering any of these models you can do so directly through our website or with any of our Official Retailers. Ensure you do so before the dates mentioned above, otherwise you may miss out! | |
Factory and Delivery Updates | |
We’ve got loads of projects due to arrive in early 2025, so let's see how we are doing with anticipated arrivals. | |
Stirling Single (OO Gauge) | |
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GOOD NEWS! - The Stirling Singles have finally arrived at our warehouse despite being delayed by Christmas shipping shenanigans and a big storm.
UNGOOD NEWS! - This means they have unfortunately missed the last posting date for Christmas.
We’ll be working on QC approval and looking to send them out from the 3rd January.
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In last month's newsletter, we confirmed that we had to reluctantly push the GWR B Set arrival back to some point in Q1 of next year. We now have some good news to follow this. They have now left the factory and are heading to the UK! The boat is due to dock in mid-January; after which they will be QC checked and then sent out as soon as possible. We greatly appreciate everyone's patience and will be doing everything we can to get these to you with the utmost urgency. For those of you who have pre-ordered directly with us, we suggest keeping an eye on your inbox next month! | |
The factory has continued to busily work on this highly-anticipated project, and we thought you might like to see the progress. With the latest images of models going through the paint shop, we can’t wait to receive the colour production samples. This positive progress gives us the confidence that our goal of delivery in Q2 is very much on track. As soon as we have more news, we will update you. In the meantime, here is the latest photo to wet your whistle! | |
Hunslet 16in 0-6-0ST Batch 2 (OO Gauge) | |
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While we are on the subject of paint shop progress, the factory has also made noticeable headway with Batch 2 of the Hunslet 16in 0-6-0ST models.
Currently estimated to arrive at some point in Q3 these industrial workhorses are well on the way; if we can get them into your hands sooner we will. We have a handful of each version still available, so if you are looking to add these to your collection, we suggest you pre-order them while stocks last.
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STOP PRESS! RCH 1907 Spec PO Wagons Batch 2 (OO Gauge) | |
Just before we pressed send on the newsletter a parcel arrived from the factory filled with painted samples of our forthcoming Private Owner batch 2 wagons - including the mainline LBSC. SECR and GNR versions. We will look at these more in-depth next month but until then we thought you might like a teaser. | |
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In 2024 we attended more shows than ever before, and 2025 is set to be no different. We have already lined up our first shows of the year. We hope you can come see us and all our latest samples and announcements.
February
Sat 15th – Tonbridge Model Railway Exhibition at The Angel Centre, Tonbridge.
Fri-Sat-Sun 21st to 23rd – Model Rail Scotland at Scottish Event Campus Glasgow.
March
Sat-Sun 15th and 16th – London Festival of Railway Modelling at Alexandra Palace
April
Sat-Sun 26th and 27th - Model World Live at Birmingham NEC
Of course, there will be more later in the year! But for now, these are the dates to put in your diary.
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New Year's Day Jaunt for Marcia | |
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Grab your coat and your camera!
We are heading to the Kent & East Sussex Railway on January 1st to see our little loco ‘Marcia’ taking her first timetabled services since we took co-ownership of her back in June. Since gaining her boiler certificate in early November we have been champing at the bit to get her hauling passengers, and with a New Year's Day shuttle between Tenterden Town and Rolvenden available we were never going to say no. If you are looking for something to blow away the cobwebs on New Year's Day, why not come down and say hello?
Three shuttles are planned from Tenterden Town to Rolvenden departing at 10:50, 12:50 and 14:30. If you can make it please do wrap up warm. Marcia can’t provide steam heat so it will be a little chilly inside the planned Victorian 4-wheel coaches. Please note you will have to alight at Rolvenden whilst the train goes to run round in the carriage shed - but it gives you time to visit the viewing gallery and see the other locomotives in Rolvenden yard.
We can’t wait to see her climbing the incline out of Rolvenden with a couple of vintage carriages. Oh, and you’ll have to forgive Andy, our General Manager and co-owner of Marcia. He’ll be driving on the day and grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Two other steam locomotives will be in operation as well – you can find out all the details on the KESR website by clicking the link below.
Don't forget - you can support Marcia's upkeep by purchasing a limited edition 'Locomotive Manufacturers' 1907 RCH open wagon produced by us HERE.
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How are we going to outdo this year?
We have had a blinding 2024 and have done our absolute utmost to make it as special for each of you as possible. In 2024 we announced Ivor the Engine and a record number of other new projects; whilst delivering tens of thousands of models to our customers. That’s just the models! In addition to this, we’ve taken on more staff, become the UK distributor for ESU, doubled our head office and warehouse space by taking on additional property, and even bought our own full-sized steam locomotive.
Then there have been the exhibitions! We’ve attended Model Rail Scotland and the Bristol Model Railway Exhibition for the very first time, planned and run our own show, Rapido RailEx, introduced our custom wagon printing service and even went to the mad extent of designing a wagon from scratch on-site at the National Festival of Railway Modelling.
So, now that’s all said and done, how do you think we will top it next year?
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Thank you to everyone who read our newsletters, picked up our models, visited our show stands or supported us in any way in 2024. You’ve helped make it what it was, an absolutely epic year!
Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and a Happy New Year from all of us.
The Rapido Trains UK Team
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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
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