Rapido Trains UK Railex 2025 Announcement No.1

©2025 Rapido Trains Ltd

That’s right folks, we haven’t just got a big announcement, we have an entire week of them! Well, we were hardly going to do Rapido Railex as a quiet little event, were we?

Last year's Railex involved a whole selection of announcements, and we were determined to go one better with this year's offering.

So, brace yourself for some spectacular surprises as we fill your inbox with a multitude of lovely locos and rocking rolling stock in various scales.

Without further ado, let's begin with our first announcement of many!

New Announcement! 

New Kerr, Stuart & Co. ‘What If’ Short-Tank Sirdar Class 0-4-0.(009 Gauge)

We are kicking off our week of Railex announcements with a massive yet small offering. We have an exciting new tooled body for our existing 009 Gauge Sirdar Class range; the brand-new ‘What If’ Short-Tank Sirdar Class 0-4-0!

Narrow gauge loco builders rarely had an off-the-shelf template; this was due to the varying needs and desires of the companies that placed the orders with them. There was stiff competition amongst the different loco builders, all of which were willing to create something unique for their customers and ship them worldwide. If you could give the customer what they wanted, your company would get the order!



Whilst different locomotives may have been physically unique, each manufacturer had a design style, leading to a familiarity between different locos. Some builders even produced semi-standard designs, allowing different capacity tanks and styles of cabs to be interchanged with each other.

Kerr, Stuart and Co. were no different, and their Sirdar Class had several variations, including several cab styles and long and short tanks.



Taking inspiration from these, we have developed our new highly detailed 009 Gauge models of Kerr, Stuart & Co. ‘What If’ Short-Tank Sirdar Class 0-4-0. This has design elements from several “real” locos, combining them into a prototypically literate model.

This newly tooled loco body fits over our existing Kerr Stuart Sirdar chassis and features slightly longer tanks than the real Short-Tank Sirdar locos that were seen around the world. This is combined with a larger enclosed cab based on other Kerr, Stuart & Co. products.

They will be finished in six striking liveries, many of which are familiar to narrow gauge enthusiasts, and ideal to run alongside the rest of the Rapido ready-to-run model range as well as your existing narrow gauge models.

To complement their existing range of exclusive WD livery 009 All-Purpose Wagons, an exclusive WD Plain Green Livery ‘What If’ Short-Tank Sirdar Class 0-4-0 will also be available to pre-order from Rails of Sheffield.

Additionally, you will be able to pre-order an exclusive Works Grey livered variant named Sirdar from Fourdees Limited. 

The 009 Society has been instrumental in the research and development of our Narrow Lines range, so we are making an exclusive livery available to the Society:

This model will only be available to members of The 009 Society and will be provided in a DCC Ready style only.

Both Fourdees Limited and The 009 Society exclusives will feature exclusive combinations of our Sirdar parts. These will be fitted with short-tank style bodies alongside a ‘Diana’ style open cab.

All versions are available in both DCC-Ready and DCC-Fitted, and feature six-wiper pick-ups and a small coreless motor with flywheel.

In order to simplify customisation and servicing of your Short-Tank Sirdar, the loco's removable body is held in place with four easily accessible screws; this also gives you access to the model’s 6-pin DCC socket.

Sourcing parts to customise models can often be challenging, so we have made it as simple as possible by including a polybag full to the brim with interesting and easy-to-fit parts. With a huge number of combinations, we are sure you will have great fun personalising your models.



These detailed parts include screw in alternative chimneys, dumb buffers, vacuum brake gear, toolboxes, coal bunker covers, and front steps.

The order book is open, and you can pre-order your models directly from us today or from any of our Official Retailers. 

Pint-sized Prototypes – Rapido Narrow Lines First 009 Gauge Prototypes!

They might be little, but they pack quite a punch. Just in the nick of time before Railex, we have received a box of narrow gauge niceties from our factories, so we thought we would show you these alongside our new announcement. 

These engineering prototypes of both the upcoming 009 Gauge Kerr, Stuart & Co. Sirdar (Long-Tank), and All-Purpose Wagons demonstrate just how much detail we’ve managed to fit into these compact models. 

Despite having a chassis length of a mere 47mm, our long tank Sirdar models bring this diminutive class of loco to life. Here are a few close-ups so you can see what we mean; we think they look unbelievably cute.

The range features numerous variants, which include different chimney types and even cane bins on some models. The factory has kindly sent us a selection of versions, so here is a sneak peek at one fitted with cane bins.

Many of you have emailed us with queries regarding the measurements of the Sirdar chassis. Here are some pictures of the chassis prototype, and an updated image of the necessary measurements. 

Alongside the Sirdar samples we have also received some delightful engineering prototypes for the upcoming 009 Gauge All-Purpose Wagons. These quirky little wagons will be at home on any 009 layout, complementing Diana, the other Sirdar models, and all of your other 009 Gauge locos. There's a version suitable for everyone as they are available in a plethora of styles and liveries. 

These prototypes demonstrate just how much detail we’ve managed to fit into our entire 009 wagon range. So, let's take a closer look at this incredible motley crew of rolling stock.



A narrow gauge railway wouldn’t be complete without an obligatory selection of open wagons and covered vans. Designs of these varied massively throughout the world's narrow gauge railways, so we have taken inspiration from many for our versions. Here they are alongside our Brake Van prototype, and we think you’ll agree this makes for quite an attractive little train.

Leaning into the quaint and quirky nature of narrow gauge railways is our Livestock Wagon. We think these prototypes have come out brilliantly and cannot wait to see what menagerie of exotic animals you place in yours once they arrive. 

JASON: Exotic animals such as the Thraskin (also referred to as the "Plinge".)

RAPIDO UK: Er... Right.

The modest Manrider will be a great addition to any collection, as it is suitable for most narrow gauge environments. These prototypes highlight the planking effect on both the benches and the floor nicely, and we look forward to seeing the different types of passengers you choose to attach to them. It won’t matter if it's high viz clad miners, bedraggled soldiers, or busy dock workers; we know that these wagons are going to be a great vessel to set your layout theme with the addition of detailed figures. 

Narrow gauge railways often transported hazardous materials, and there are few examples of suitable, ready-to-run 009 Gauge wagons that fit this description. Here you can see our prototypes of both the Cylindrical Tank Wagon and Gun Powder Van. The rivet detailing has come out really sharply on both, and the added details, such as the external brake lever on the Gunpowder Van and tap/valve on the tank wagon, bring these intriguing wagons to life.  

Some minerals were also quite hazardous or were prone to dissolving if transported in open wagons, so peaked roof wagons were used to transport them. We've included these smart hinge effect roofs on ours. What do you think? 

Stake wagons were used across the world, transporting lumber, sugar cane, and a variety of other crops. We think these samples look great and will open the doors to some really interesting layout ideas. They are also going to pair nicely with our upcoming Kerr, Stuart & Co. Sirdar (Long-Tank), which has some versions fitted with cane bins and spark arrestor chimneys. Trains like this were commonplace on a variety of industrial railways. 

Throughout the range, we have included a nice selection of tongue-in-cheek private owner liveries. We are sure that there will be one or two that might tickle your funny bone, and they will certainly look at home alongside your existing rolling stock. 

Order books are open for all our 009 Narrow Lines Range. In addition to today's newly announced ‘What If’ Short-Tank variant, you can place your pre-orders for the Kerr, Stuart & Co. Sirdar (Long-Tank), and All-Purpose Wagons either via our website or any of our Official Retailers. 

Bryn Stwffwl – Rapido Trains Own 009 Layout

Some of our eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that many of our 009 preview photos have been on a rather fetching Welsh slate quarry layout. So, we thought it was about time that we formally introduced you to our very own 009 layout. 

In preparation for the upcoming 009 Gauge range, we commissioned Dan Everson at Tunnel Lane Model Railways to build us a modest-sized (4ft by 2ft) 009 layout. It needed to be perfect for photographs and creating videos of these pending projects. We gave Dan a basic brief and let him run riot with his creativity. We think you’ll agree that Dan has done a cracking job on this project. 

Bryn Stwffwl, which loosely translates as Rapido’s hometown, Staplehurst, is what he presented us with. We were over the moon. With a continuous loop, sidings and engine shed on the lower level, and an end-to-end section on the upper level, we got exactly what we asked for and more. 

As the 009 Gauge projects progress, you will be seeing more of this lovely layout, and you will be able to see it in person if you are attending Rapido Railex later this month. Come and grab some pictures of its first exhibition outing yourself. We're going to have to remember to speak to attendees of the event and resist the temptation to play with our trains all weekend!

Don’t forget, if you want to see these lovely 009 Gauge prototypes, they will be making their public debut at Rapido Railex on the 19th and 20th of this month. Grab yourself a ticket and come and join in the festivities!