Rapido UK Newsletter No.46

©2024 Rapido Trains Ltd

Summer has arrived (despite it raining heavily here in Kent as this was being written) and RailEx is fast approaching. Along with all the lovely layouts and stands you have to look forward to, there will also be lots of exciting new announcements. July has consequently seen our staff strapped to their desks, working tirelessly to bring you as many exciting things for RailEx as possible. 

We have also had (and are expecting) several deliveries of new releases over the remainder of the summer with more plenty more due before the end of the year.

Oh, and rather than make you wait until September for all the exciting new bits, we thought we would announce the GWR Dia. O19 Open C ‘Tube’ wagon to keep your attention!

So, without further ado let's get stuck into all the news on the Open C, RailEx and an update on our progress on upcoming projects. 

NEW ANNOUNCEMENT

OO Gauge GWR Dia. O19 Open C ‘Tube’ wagon

We are pleased to announce that we will be adding the OO Gauge GWR Dia. O19 'Open C' ‘Tube’ wagon to our highly-regarded and growing Great Western Railway range.

Originally built to deal with timber loads, the Open C design started in 1907 as Diagram.O8. The Great Western Railway continued tweaking the 15ft wheelbase design and subsequently produced the Dia. O16 in 1913/14 and the O19 in 1914. The Open Cs were also one of the first wagons to be designed to use the DC III brakes.

The O19 was produced right through to 1927, making it the longest-produced diagram of this class of wagon. Further similar diagrams of the Open C were produced into the late 1940s. 

Despite its original designation as a timber wagon, it wasn’t long before the class was recoded. By the Second World War they were considered tube vehicles, as steel tubing had become their most common load. They were also uprated to a 15-ton load capacity during this period.

Surviving the rigours of two World Wars, the Open C continued to transport steel tubes and long loads across the nation right through to nationalisation and beyond. Due to their specific role, they often ventured further afield than the GWR or BR Western Region network. A small number were sold off into private ownership including at least one example to the Port of London Authority. So, if you want to model anything from a pre-grouping freight train through to a busy 1950s industrial setting, the GWR Dia. O19 'Open C' ‘Tube’ wagon is the perfect addition to your collection.

Incredibly, several examples have survived into preservation and thanks to the clean works drawings we have sourced, the Dia. O19 was the obvious choice for us to pick when looking at Open C variants to produce.

Our model will feature the usual wealth of detail, two types of wheels, separately fitted lashing rings so you can easily model tied-down loads and tooling variants to cover both flat-sided and sack truck door versions. The models are also fitted with metal bearings that will help with smooth running and shunting.

The GWR Dia. O19 'Open C' wagon has 13 different liveries for you to choose from and they are available to pre-order now directly from our website or from any of our Official Retailers.

Order Books Closing

OO Gauge Hunslet 16in Batch 2 

The second batch of our incredibly popular OO Gauge Hunslet 16in 0-6-0ST is ready to enter the production phase - so we have decided to close the order books for them on August 12^th.

Preservation modellers can look forward to Primrose No.2 sporting a delightful NCB red livery that was seen during its late industrial/early preservation career, as well as Beatrice in its as-preserved SECR inspired livery. Both locomotives are now resident on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway.

Supporting these are three locos that were seen across collieries in the North of England: Clement of the Yorkshire Main Collieries in its less than subtle wasp stripe livery; Glasshoughton No.4 in a striking lined green; and John Shaw of the South Kirby colliery.

If you missed out on the first run, a new livery has caught your eye, or you fancy adding a preserved example to your collection, now is the time to get your order in! 

You can place orders directly through our website or with any of our Official Retailers. Just make sure to get your orders in before the order book closing date of August 12th.

Production Samples



N Gauge OAA Open wagon packs

Last month we teased you with painted samples of the bodies for our upcoming N Gauge OAA Open wagon packs. Although these were nice and gave a great impression of what was to come, we wanted to show you more – and now we can!

We have now received the fully-assembled samples for all of these wagons for evaluation. We are extremely pleased with them and hope that these will be on their way to us around the time this newsletter reaches you.

With beautiful underframe detail and eye-catching liveries of late BR, Railfreight, Civil link and EWS eras, these 3-packs of modern wagons will be pride of place in the collection of any N Gauge modeller. 

We have sold out of these directly through our website. However, some of our Official Retailers may still have some stock available. If there is a particular pack you are looking to add to your collection, we recommend hunting them down before they are all gone!

Shipping Updates

This month has seen a slew of projects that have arrived in the UK already, whereas others are in the process of being shipped to us from our factories and will be on their way to you shortly. Let's have a look and see where things are with those projects that are due.

Metropolitan E Class (OO) 



These arrived earlier this month and were subsequently sent out to our Official Retailers and direct customers. We hope you are enjoying them. We're very proud of how they turned out!

Bedford OB (OO) and Leyland Fleetline Batch 2 (OO)



At the point of writing this newsletter the buses were on a boat and nearing the end of their journey to the UK, meaning that by the time this is published they are either already being checked and shipped out to you or they are still on their way to us but won't be long. If you have pre-ordered these, keep your eye out for emails confirming their arrival, as we expect it to be any day now. 

LNWR D88 Covered Van (OO) and LOWMAC LNER/LMS 25t LOWMAC Machine Wagon (OO)



July saw both of these wagons completed and loaded onto a boat. We are expecting them to arrive in the UK in late September. Once processed we will ship them out as soon as possible – hopefully in late September or early October.

SECR Freight Packs (N)



As we write this, these N gauge beauties are being packed ready for dispatch. Due to their small size we will be flying these to the UK and as such we expect them to be with us in August.

Production Updates

Two more projects have seen visible progress this month so we thought we would share some photos.

NER H / LNER Y7 Class (OO)

These tiny shunters are about to enter the final assembly stage and we are expecting the full colour samples shortly.

GWR B SET (OO)

These eagerly anticipated coaches are working their way through the decoration phase with some vehicles starting to receive their lining and lettering.

Getting Ready for RailEx

In addition to a plethora of wonderful layouts that will be in attendance at Rapido RailEx 2024, we have loads of other things for you to look forward to.

Before you even arrive at RailEx there is something for you to look forward to.

If you order your tickets in advance you are automatically entered into a prize draw, so if you are intending to join us, get your tickets booked. Everyone likes free models right? You can order your tickets HERE.

Have you had an idea for a cool wagon and thought you would never see a model of it? Maybe there is a private-owner wagon that’s local that you’ve always wanted, but it's never been made! Or is it that you’ve simply that you’ve always wanted to see your name on the side of a wagon? Well, if any of the above reasons (and more) sound familiar we have you covered! Our Customised Rapido Wagons will debut at RailEx, so make sure you get in line and have your idea ready!

Simply fill in the form at our stand when you place your order and our graphic artists will draw up the artwork for you to approve on the day. Then your PO wagon will be produced with your chosen lettering and posted directly to you.

Our first batch of PO wagones were really popular. At RailEx you get the chance to design your own!

All our custom PO wagon designs will be made using templates created from our painstaking research into real-life signwriting to create the most authentic look.

Have you been patiently waiting to see what progress we have made on our upcoming projects? Fear not, we wouldn’t be running our own show if we didn’t have our bright stand and eagerly-awaiting staff to talk to you about all things Rapido. 

Finally, in case this slipped past some of you, we will have some new announcements! There will be brand-new and exciting projects on our stall for you to see and talk about with the Rapido team. What do you think is coming?

You can find out more about RailEx and order your tickets by clicking on the button below.

More on Marcia

We have great news! Marcia is now ready for her annual boiler exam thanks to the staff at the K&ESR. If all goes well later this month, reassembly can take place and the first fire lit under the locomotive's new ownership. The engine's return also made it onto the local BBC radio and even the BBC News website.

After the announcement last month, many of you kindly sent in emails wishing us and the engine well - and asking for some more information about this diminutive locomotive. We thought a little feature on the engine might be of interest so here goes...

The Peckett & Sons official photograph of No.1287 – Marcia’s older sister.

In 1919 the first standard gauge ‘1287’ class locomotives were constructed. The engine weighed just over 12 tons, had 8”x12” cylinders, were 15’ long and could move 185 tons on the level. In 1923 the final member of the class, No.1631, emerged from the Atlas Works Peckett and Sons and went new to Constable’s (Matlock Quarries) Ltd., who operated Station Quarry Matlock. Located south of Matlock Bath station, this quarry produced crushed limestone, both tarmac and dry, which was mostly used for road use.

No.1631 in near new condition at Station quarry, Matlock. This image has been colourised by Ian MacCabe to show how No.1631 would have looked in its original livery.

The quarry had a rail link on the south side of the ‘up line’ platform but also dispatched stone by road. Soon afterward, this firm merged with the adjacent Cawdor Quarry, and the firm became Constable, Hart & Co Ltd.

There were many quarries in the Matlock area and with the coming recession closures were inevitable. Station Quarry closed in around 1931 and was the second closure in the area during this period. Unemployed in 1932, No.1631 subsequently migrated further North to Marcus Bain Ltd, Ballochmyle Quarry, Mauchline, Dumfriesshire. This quarry first began to produce building block stone in 1825, and there was a small internal rail system adjacent to the Glasgow and South Western Railway’s main line.

Marcia at Ballochmyle Brick Co., Mauchline, 1939 next to a rather primitive water column.

By the 1930s, in an attempt to compete with the cheaper common building bricks, the quarry produced their own bricks, made from the ‘Shimmers’ (waste from dressing the stone) which were then crushed and mixed with lime. The bricks were then baked in a steam oven for several days to cure and harden them. Marcia had been acquired to service these works, though technically she seems to have belonged to the Ballochmyle Brick Co., a subsidiary that also operated other brickworks. This type of brick was never a commercial success, being apparently regarded as too soft and prone to causing dampness. Brick production seems to have stopped at the start of the Second World War as private building construction ceased, but the quarry remained in limited production until the mid-1950s.

Unemployed once again, the still-unnamed No.1631 was sold in 1943 to the West of Scotland Shipbreaking Co., Troon. There seems to have been no internal railway system here which infers the loco was sold for scrap. However, she was presumably in reasonable condition and in wartime anything with wheels was needed, so later that year she was resold to Manchester Oxide Co. Ltd.

Marcia after purchase by Hardman & Holden., Pendleton, during the early 1950s.

The firm, which had a factory for the manufacture of Prussian blue dye at Miles Platting, had recently set up a plant on derelict land, which had been formerly occupied by the screens for the Pendleton Colliery, to process spent iron oxide which arrived by rail from gas works in South Lancashire and elsewhere. New sidings were laid under an agreement with the LMS. Soon after taking over the site, the Manchester Oxide Company obtained No.1631 for shunting its very limited internal railway system. It was first observed at Pendleton on the 7th of November 1943. By 1948 the Manchester Oxide Co Ltd. had been taken over by Hardman and Holden Ltd, an old established Manchester Chemical firm.

Marcia pauses during shunting at the Manchester Oxide Co Ltd on 18th June 1952.

The diminutive Peckett seems to have been held in great affection by this firm and finally acquired the familiar name Marcia in honour of Marcia Clayton, the managing director’s wife. She (engine, not wife) worked continuously on the same site for the next 20 years, occasionally being relieved whilst under repair by hired locomotives. Although the sidings agreement was not formally terminated until the 31st of December 1968, all traffic is believed to have ceased in late 1962 or early 1963. In July 1963 Marcia left Pendleton for distant Kent, and in doing so had travelled virtually the length of the country on her tiny wheels.

Now towards the end of her working life Marcia still looks relatively well cared for on 17th June 1959.

If you would like to help support Marcia's continued operation you can do so by purchasing an exclusive wagon! Commissioned by Andy himself these wagons are inspired by some of the UK’s independent locomotive builders.

Each wagon is £30 and includes free UK shipping with all the proceeds going to the engine's restricted fund for future works. These are being made in strictly limited numbers with production starting imminently! You can order yours by clicking on the button below.

Thought of The Month

Oh, go on then, I'll take it, but don’t tell the Mrs!

Our General Manager Andy’s recent acquisition of the locomotive Marcia got the rest of us in the office talking about some of our own buying habits, and what it really takes for you to flaunt your budget, risk upsetting the powers that be at home, or just simply treat yourself once in a while. 

We expected that the consensus would be, ‘it’s pretty so I bought it’, and as there are a lot of pre-grouping modellers that work at Rapido it was a fair assumption. However, digging deeper, the truth was a little different. It turns out some of us will turn a blind eye if we stumble across a particular model that is for our region, era, or railway operator of choice. Others have a shortlist of ‘free pass’ items, that if spotted are an instant purchase, and others even cite a model’s scarcity and resale value as their justification to overlook the voice of reason. 

Andy bought a "must have" item this month. This is a printing plate for the Peckett 1287 class (based on the works photo seen above). This would have been used for printing catalogues by Peckett & Sons over 100 years ago.

Everyone had a tale to tell of that must-have model that they finally managed to find, and it always ended in a positive memory. So, our question to you is simple, what makes you say ‘Oh, go on then, I'll take it’, and what cheeky little addition to your collection are you currently hunting for? Please let us know!

Jason: Can I mention some of my cool Doctor Who stuff? I am trying to get all the 1960s Radio Timeses with Doctor Who on the cover. I picked up this "holy grail" last year!

Andy: No, this is about railways not Doctor Who.

Jason: Can I just ask if anyone has any of the 1964-1966 Radio Timeses with Doctor Who on the cover to please get in touch as I'd be happy to pay lots of money for them?

Andy: Again, no. Please stop interrupting.

Jason: Lots of money! And I bet you'll get requests from people asking to see more of my Doctor Who collection, tantalisingly glimpsed in the photo above.

Andy: Can we sack him?

Steve: No. He signs our pay packets.

Andy: *sigh*

Well that's it for another month. There is a lot to come next month - including (we hope) some BIG samples...

Happy modelling!

The Rapido Trains UK Team