This is one of our Stirling 'Singles' fitted with the TRS Trains smoke system. We are delighted to offer this system in two yet-to-be-announced models... but it won't be the Stirling! Photograph: DAN HULL

We are delighted to announce that we've signed an exclusive deal with TRS Trains to bring smoke-fitted locomotives to both the UK and North American markets.

TRS Trains currently retro-fits models with its revolutionary (and top secret!) technology. This synchronises the exhaust with the ‘chuff’ sound on the decoder, expelling the smoke vapour through the chimney just like a real locomotive, rather than the foggy mist that some smoke generators make.

The initial deal covers two projects: a large ‘OO’ gauge locomotive for the British market (which we will unveil next year) and a North American project from Rapido Trains Inc.

Want to see how good the TRS System is? Click here or on the above image to see for yourself. It uses cold water. That's right, no oil and no heating elements. This locomotive has working drain cocks. We don’t know exactly what features we’ll be able to include as development is still underway.

The subject of our laser scanning session, Transport Museum Wythall's 1151/1R NOE544R, is one of the 24 Leyland National Mk 1s models you can choose from. It will be offered in Midland Red West's cream and red livery.

We showed off the first 3D renders of the Leyland National Mk 1 last time. Now, we’re delighted to announce what liveries we’re going to make.

We’ve been able to design 1051/1R (short, single door), 1051/2R (short, dual door), 1151/1R (long, single door) and 1151/2R (long, dual door) body styles. We’ve also been able to tool Phase 1 and Phase 2 exterior detail differences as well as long and short ventilation pods.

WFM801K was the second production National to enter service and is preserved as part of the Keighley Bus Museum collection. It's a worthy addition to our range and it gives us an opportunity to produce the famous Crosville name too!

Choosing which liveries to produce has been a huge challenge because there are literally thousands of options. We’ve tried to offer a wide range of eras over a wide geographical spread.

So far, the 1151/1R body style has been fully designed, so we've applied the liveries to that style purely for illustrative purposes. Rest assured, each livery will have the correct body style with the correct number of doors. We'll show you those images when the order book opens.

Ready? Here they are!

941001: HNE647N, Greater Manchester PTE brown/cream. This will be a 1051/1R (short, single door), Phase 1 version.

941002: ABA15T, Greater Manchester PTE brown/cream. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 2 version.

941003: NOE544R, Midland Red (West) red/cream. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 2 version.

941004: NOE551R, Midland Red (South) NBC red with white roof stripe. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 2 version.

941005: SKN905R, Maidstone & District NBC green with white roof. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 2 version.

941006: SKR556R, Maidstone & District green/cream. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 2 version.

941007: PCD75R, Southdown East & Mid Sussex green/cream. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 2 version.

941008: BCD807L, Southdown NBC green with white stripe. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 1 version.

941009: WFM801K, Crosville plain green (as preserved). This will be a 1151/2R (long, dual door), Phase 1 version.

941010: KMA406T, Crosville green/orange. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 2 version.

941011: GFX972N, Perth Panther. This will be a 1051/1R (short, single door), Phase 1 version.

941012: GRM353L, Cumberland. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 1 version.

941013: OTO594R, Mansfield & District. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 2 version.

941014: XNG763S, Eastern Counties red with stripes. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 2 version.

941015: TVF617R, Eastern Counties NBC red. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 2 version.

941016: DET473V, Yorkshire Traction white/maroon. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 2 version.

941017: WWA121S, Yorkshire Traction NBC plain red. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 2 version.

941018: NTC624M, Ribble NBC plain red. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 1 version.

941019: PTF758L, Ribble NBC red with white stripe. This will be a 1151/2R (long, dual door), Phase 1 version.

941020: MOD823P, Western National BR Sealink. This will be a 1151/1R (long, single door), Phase 2 version. Please note that we will not be tooling the trailer that ran with this bus on this service.

941021: GFN552N, East Kent BR Sealink. This will be a 1051/1R (short, single door), Phase 1 version.

941022: AYR394T, London Transport red, Route 182 Wembley (licensed from TfL). This will be a 1051/2R (short, dual door), Phase 2 version.

941023: THX124S, London Transport red, Route 10 Victoria (licensed from TfL). This will be a 1051/2R (short, dual door), Phase 2 version.

941024: BYW402V, London Transport 50th anniversary red, Route 136 South Harrow (licensed from TfL). This will be a 1051/2R (short, dual door), Phase 2 version.

All will be available to order very soon! Work will commence shortly on developing the Leyland National 2.

We’re delighted with how well our ‘OO’ gauge 'OAA' has scaled down to ‘N’. This 3D render taken from the CAD file shows that the ‘N’ gauge model captures the distinctive look of the real thing, with its mix of steel ends and wooden doors.

We’ve decided to put our ‘OAA’ open wagon – coming soon in ‘OO’ – through our A.C.M.E. Model Shrinking Device in order to offer it in ‘N’ too!

The ’OAA’ will be available in triple packs and there are six different packs to choose from - plus one retailer exclusive:

956001: BR Bauxite (yellow ‘ABN’ spot) Triple Pack

956002: BR Bauxite Triple Pack

956003: BR Railfreight Triple Pack No. 1

956004: BR Railfreight Triple Pack No. 2

956005: Civil Link Departmental Triple Pack

956006: EWS Triple Pack

956007: BR Bauxite Triple Pack with Corpach pool lettering. EXCLUSIVE TO RAINBOW RAILWAYS

The order book is now open. RRP per triple pack is £69.95. You can order from your local Rapido UK stockist or by clicking here:

Say hello to an Engineering Prototype of our new 'OO' gauge LMS Dia. 1666 open wagon. Did you know that there were more of these wagons built than the Southern Railway's entire wagon fleet? Despite this, only a handful survive.

Our blossoming range of pre-Nationalisation wagons has focused a lot on former GWR and Southern designs… now we’re offering something for the Midland modeller. The design of the Dia. 1666 originated with the Midland Railway but the LMS adopted it as its standard open wagon and built

a staggering 54,450 of them between 1923 and 1930.

This is the solid spoke version. The majority of Dia. 1666s were fitted with independent brakes but some batches were built with Morton brakes. We're only tooling the independent version.

Thankfully, we're not offering 54,450 versions to choose from. Our initial range comprises 15 different wagons. And here they are:

937001: No. 24361, LMS grey

937002: No. 247185, LMS grey

937003: No. 134946, LMS grey

937004: No. 356761, LMS grey

937005: No. 268515, LMS grey

937006: No. 304008, LMS grey

937007: No. 217624, LMS bauxite

937008: No. 139905, LMS bauxite

937009: No. 304417, LMS bauxite

937010: No. M156572, BR grey

937011: No. M234421, BR grey

937012: No. M133488, BR grey

937013: No. M101524, BR grey

937014: No. DM29719, BR grey

937015: No. 84, Internal User livery

RRP is £32.95 and the order deadline is March 1st 2023. You can order from your local Rapido stockist or by clicking here:

We've tried to include everything that made critics rave about our ‘OO’ gauge model into our ‘N’ version, albeit with the inevitable compromises that come with working in a smaller scale. But aren't those compromises hard to spot in this 3D render taken from the CAD file?

Yes, the ‘shrinking machine’ has done it again: you can now order our LNER Dynamometer Car in ‘N’ gauge!

Look underneath and you’ll see that all the details and parts associated with the ‘recording wheel’ have been included.

We’re offering the ‘N’ gauge Dynamometer Car in four liveries, plus one retailer exclusive:

955001: No. 23591, LNER livery (1928-1938 condition)

955002: No. 905202, LNER livery (post-1946 condition)

955003: No. E905202, BR livery (post-1949 condition)

955004: We’re also offering the Dynamometer Car in spoof Railway Technical Centre livery as DB905202. The perfect partner for our RTC liveried Class 28 model!

955005: No. E905202 in spoof BR lined maroon. EXCLUSIVE TO RAILS OF SHEFFIELD

The order book is now open. RRP is £99.95 and you can order from your local Rapido stockist or direct by clicking here:

A 3D render taken from the CAD file of our new GWR Diagram E140 'B-Set' coaches. Primarily allocated to the Bristol Division, Dia. 140s could be found further afield, from Cardiff and Taunton to Birmingham and Worcester… not to mention those classic Cornish branch lines so beloved by modellers!

We delighted to announce that we’re bringing to modellers a 21st Century rendition of the Great Western Railway’s classic ‘B-Set’ coaches. We’ve chosen the Diagram E140, which was introduced in 1930. These vehicles sported a guard’s compartment, a single First Class compartment and five Third Class compartments.

Our all-new Dia. E140 has been designed in the UK, from the original works drawings. The models feature our usual level of detail both underneath...

The coaches come in twin packs and there are six to choose from:

946001: Nos. 6977/6778 ‘Bodmin Branch No. 2’, GWR ‘shirtbutton’ livery

946002: Nos. 6457/6459, GWR post-war livery

946003: Nos. 6365/6366, BR crimson

946004: Nos. 6534/6555 ‘Bristol Division No. 49’, BR crimson

946005: Nos. W6989W/W6990W, BR lined maroon

946006: Nos. W6455W/W6456W, BR plain maroon

946007: Nos. 6381 and 6382, GWR ‘shirtbutton’ livery. EXCLUSIVE TO DERAILS

RRP is £169.95 and you can order from your local Rapido stockist or by clicking on the button below:

This colourised 3D render is from the CAD file of the 1888 batch of 'Y7s'. What the North Eastern Railway called its 'H' class was introduced that year to modernise its dockside railways. These little locomotives were so successful that further batches were built in 1891, 1897 and the LNER even built five more in 1923.

We have now have an LNER locomotive in our range and it's one of the smallest: the diminutive Worsdell ‘Y7’ 0-4-0T.

Key differences between the 1888, 1891, 1897 and 1923 batches have been incorporated. This one depicts No. 1310, which was built in 1891. It's based at the Middleton Railway and is only one of two preserved, although whether it really is No. 1310 is still a matter of some conjecture.

Just because the 'Y7' is small, doesn't mean that we should skimp on the detail or features. It will have a coreless motor and flywheel for super-smooth slow running as well as NEM coupler pockets and a factory-fitted sound speaker. It will also have a fully detailed boiler backplate too.

Classified ‘Y7’ by the LNER, these locomotives could be found all over its network, from Leith docks in Scotland all the way down to Stratford and Neasden. They got about a bit during the Second World War, working as far afield as Kyle of Lochalsh, Shrewsbury and the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich.

The downturn in dock work In the wake of the Great Depression forced the LNER to cull its 'Y7' fleet. It sold 17 into industry in the 1930s while BR sold one of the two 'Y7s' it inherited, No. 68088, to the National Coal Board in 1952. Happily, that engine survives today. We have even tooled this Coal Board cab.

BR's only other 'Y7', No. 68089, was unique in that it was only one fitted with train brakes. This was hired to the North Sunderland Railway from 1944 (the NSR paying the LNER to fit vacuum brakes) until it closed in 1951. It ended its days on Morecambe promenade.

We’re producing nine ‘Y7s’:

932001: No. 24, NER Saxony green (original)

932002: No. 1310, NER Saxony green (as preserved)

932003: No. 1303 NER lined black

932004: No. 129, Darlington Works livery

932005: No. 1800, LNER wartime black

932006: No. 986, LNER black

932007: No. 1302, LNER black

932008: No. 6, NCB livery

932009: No. 68089, British Railways black

Prices are still to be confirmed. However, we hope to open the order book later this year, with tooling to begin early in 2023.

No. 4555 looks perfectly at home hauling a short milk train during a photographic charter at the East Somerset Railway on March 25th. The 98-year-old machine sports the flat-topped tanks of the '45XX' class.

As we’re bringing out new ‘B-Set’ coaches, it would have been rude not to offer a locomotive to pull them!

We are, therefore, developing a new 'OO' gauge GWR ‘Small Prairie’. In fact, we’re developing the whole ‘Small Prairie’ family: the ‘44XX’, ‘45XX’ and ‘4575’ classes.

The ‘Small Prairie’ story started in 1904 when George Jackson Churchward's prototype No. 115 was built. It was designed for branch line working and was so successful that ten more were built in 1905/1906. They became the ‘44XX’ class. No. 4405 stands in the yard at Swindon on September 11th 1955. It was withdrawn the following day, along with Nos. 4406 and 4410. This final trio had all been scrapped by the end of the year.

Good though the ‘44XXs’ were, they were hampered by their 4ft 1 1/2in diameter driving wheels. 4ft 7 1/2in diameter driving wheels were introduced from 1906 and this became the famous ‘45XX’ class, forever known as the ‘Small Prairie’. Two '45XXs', Nos. 4549 and 4570, back down on to a lengthy train at St Erth, where the Newquay branch joined the Cornish main line, in July 1960.

Churchward’s successor, Charles Collett, made some tweaks to the 'Small Prairie' design, the most noticeable being the larger tanks fitted to the final 100 (built 1927-1929). These became the ‘4575’ class.This is Pete Waterman's beautifully restored '4575', No. 5553, basking in the sun outside Rowsley shed, Peak Rail, in August. This locomotive was the last locomotive to leave Barry scrapyard, having spent 27 years and 8 months rusting in the sea air.

'4575' No. 5521 has had one of the most remarkable preservation careers of any 'Small Prairie'. It has run on both the Polish and Hungarian main lines and, in recent years, has become the go-to engine for 'Steam on the Underground' events. It's spent so much time on LUL metals that it's been reduced in height as well as carrying a London-themed livery.

Design work is already under way but we're aiming to include key changes made to the ‘Small Prairies’ throughout their lives as well as myriad smaller detail differences. They will have a Next18 decoder socket, factory-fitted sound speaker and firebox flicker. As design work is still on-going, liveries and prices have yet to be confirmed.

We’d like to thank Mark Sealey from Peak Rail, the Waterman Heritage Trust and Kenny Felstead for their help in developing this exciting range of models.

Phew, wasn’t that exciting?

If you're reading this at 9am on the morning of the 26th, we'll all be behind stand A58A waiting to see you. If you're reading it after the Warley show, we hope you enjoyed it.

The next newsletter will be out just before… Christmas! And who knows, it might have an exciting pressie or two in it (by that, I mean more new announcements!).

All the best,

Richard

Richard Foster

Sales & Marketing Manager

Rapido Trains UK