Clark Railworks are proud to announce our first OO gauge 1:76.2 - 4mm scale steam locomotive. The War Department Austerity 2-10-0.

When we entered the OO market with the Quads, we said we wanted to make an impact. That’s the exact reason for choosing a loco as striking and impressive as the WD 2-10-0.

As you can see from the CADs, and just like our Black 5 in O gauge, the detailing and quality of components was of paramount importance - as I’m sure you can see from the multitude of pipes, separately fitted parts and underside detailing.

The model has been fully designed and engineered in the UK and will feature a high quality coreless motor and a high quality gear train, alongside catering for left and right hand drive variants, we will also be producing a range of liveries including LMR Blue, WD Khaki Green, BR Black Early & Late Crest, and Brunswick Green. 

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway Society (M&GN), the volunteers and staff at the North Norfolk Railway, Ian Foot and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, The Severn Valley Railway (SVR) and the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (KWVR).

Without their invaluable help and passion for their respective engines, this project would not have been what it is.

All versions are available to pre-order with no upfront costs at www.clarkrailworks.com

DCC Ready - £295

DCC sound models expected to be  £395 - £425

Due Q2 2025

Specification

DC/DCC Ready

Die-cast Boiler, Smokebox & Chassis

Brass & Plastic Constructed Tender

Injection Moulded Cab & Fine Details

High Quality Coreless Motor

Finely Applied Separate Pipework

Separately Fitted Cab Backhead Detailing

Individual Specific Locomotive Details

Fully Detailed Wheels & Axles

Working Sprung Screw Link Couplings

Sprung Buffers

Left & Right Hand Drive Locomotives

Factory Fitted DCC Sound Versions Available

Finely detailed external and underside detailing

Brass Bearings fitted to all Axles

Firebox Glow

Metal Cylinder Liners for Smooth Operation & Longevity

Plug “N” Play 18-Pin DCC Easy Access Harness

Fully Removable Front & Rear Tension Lock Coupling

Liveries

WD Green

Longmoor Military Railway Blue 

BR Black

BR Black Early Crest

BR Black Late Crest

Brunswick Green

Pre-order yours now at: www.clarkrailworks.com

Doing small things in a big way is our bread and butter. We’ve been teasing the prospect of a new O Gauge engine for some time, and we’re delighted to announce the next addition to our fleet: the Lancashire and Yorkshire Class 21 ‘Pug’. But when we set to work, we fell so head over heels for these pint-sized characters that we just couldn’t resist cranking up the shrink ray and giving them a OO Gauge little sister.

Small Talk: a Little Bit of History

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway had some rather twisted outposts – twisted as in tightly curved, that is! The sprawling docks at Liverpool, Fleetwood and Goole all had extensive and sinuous railway systems, as did many shunting yards in the Manchester area. These demanded compact, short-wheelbase engines and until the later years of the nineteenth century employed a rag-tag selection of decrepit examples that were no longer fit for purpose. When John Aspinall became the L&Y’s Chief Mechanical Engineer in 1886, he soon set about modernising – and standardising – the company’s shunting fleet.

Aspinall’s first in-house 0-4-0 emerged from Horwich Works in 1891, with a further 11 entering service that decade. A total of 57 L&Y ‘Pugs’ were scuttling about their business by the time construction ended in 1910. Initially known as ‘1153 Class’ (the number of the first engine), they were redesignated Class 21 in 1920. 

All L&Y Pugs were inherited by the LMS in 1923, and it was during the Grouping period that they started to wander, slogging their little hearts out at factories and power stations from Somerset to Scotland. Pugs were resilient, and a lack of dinky diesel shunters meant that many worked into the 1960s. 

Two L&Y Pugs survive today in preservation – one at the East Lancs Railway and the other just over the hills at Yorkshire’s Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.

Small Differences: A Sprinkling of Variety
Although all L&Y Pugs were built to the same design, cosmetic differences crept into the fleet throughout their production, often related to where specific engines worked. Some Pugs had bells connected to their inside motion, for docks and yards where engines shared the road with motor vehicles. Engines working in the Liverpool area had smoke deflectors fitted over their chimneys for when they worked into warehouses (now there’s a cool modelling idea…) or beneath the Liverpool Overhead Railway. And those that worked in Ormskirk’s munition factory during WW1 – where a stray spark could be somewhat ‘problematic’ – sported substantial haystack spark arresters, giving them a definite ‘yankee’ vibe! 

Pugs built in the 1890s had circular sprung buffers, but later examples had ‘dumb’ buffers made from wood and rubber, which were a better match for the often-ancient wagons found in docks and yards. Earlier engines were subsequently ‘dumbed down’ as standard in this way.

L&Y Pugs didn’t have bunkers – so the coal upon which they feasted had to be carried in the cab.

O Gauge Pug Specifications

All Models

• Opening smokebox door with full interior detail
• Full inside working motion
• Highly detailed backhead and cab
• Mostly die-cast construction
• Tank and cab variations
• Removable cab roof
• Removable slide bar covers
• Coreless high power motor with superior quality gearbox
• Firebox and ashpan glow
• Sprung buffers where appropriate
• Full detailing pack
• Plux22 socket in ‘DCC Ready’ models
• All Pug eras depicted
• Etched plates and separately fitted finely etched detail

DCC Sound Fitted Models

• Two high-quality speakers fitted inside the tank
• DCC controlled firebox & ashpan lighting
• Stay-alive on board

OO Gauge Pug Specification

All Models

• Sprung buffers where appropriate
• Mostly die-cast construction
• Semi-open die-cast chassis
• Tank and cab variations
• Highly detailed backhead and cab
• Removable NEM coupling and pocket
• Space for EM/P4 Conversion
• Firebox glow
• Full detailing pack
• Etched plates and separately fitted finely etched detail
• Plux12 socket in ‘DCC Ready’ models
• Coreless motor with superior quality gearbox 

DCC Sound Fitted Models

• High quality speaker
• Stay-alive on board
• DCC controlled firebox lighting with sound and movement

Prices & Release

O Gauge

• DCC Ready: £325.00
• DCC Sound: TBC (To be Confirmed)
• Release Date: Q3 2026

OO Gauge

• DCC Ready: £150.00
• DCC Sound: TBC (To be Confirmed)
• Release Date: Q4 2026/Q1 2027

OO Gauge SKUs

O Gauge SKUs

That’s right, we’ve been working on our latest announcement for some time now and it’s probably not what you were expecting!

We (Ellis Clark Trains) are producing these models exclusively for our sister company Clark Railworks, who are our OO wing of the family.

These stunning models follow in the footsteps of our multi-award-winning Presflos, the Wickhams and the soon to be released Black 5, with the detail and quality we have become known for.

We have worked very closely both with the M&GN Society and the NNR (North Norfolk Railway), who have been invaluable throughout the whole process.

We'd like to express our sincere thanks to both, for all the advice, info, history and help they have given us to date.

We've travelled down to the railway countless times over the past 18 months and simply couldn't have done it without them.

It's humbling that they have enabled us to do these magnificent coaches justice in model form and we look forward to delivering the first models to them in person.

Our Quad Arts are priced at £325 per set (4 coaches) and you can pre-order with no upfront payments.

We’re expecting these coaches to be in stock by Q3 2024.

You can head over to Clark Railworks to place your pre-order.

Here’s a full spec list… if you fancy spending the time reading it!

Bogies 

Finely detailed including wheel, brake rigging and underframe details

Brass bearings

Separate bogie variations for centre and end bogies

Sprung centre bogie fixing so coaches run prototypically close

Insert for end bogies if the coupling is removed

Electrical pickups for lighting

Chassis 

Fully detailed diecast chassis 

Detailed fittings and pipework under chassis

Sprung centre connectors for radius 2 curves and points 

Unclippable NEM pocket

Sprung buffers on Brake end coach

Accurate and detailed paint and printing detail

Separately fitted vacuum and battery box details

EM/P4 on axle

Spare brake sets for EM P4

Body

Detailed bodies with separate door grab rails

Highly detailed coach ends with lit destination boards on brake ends

Fully “low glow” interior lighting with hidden circuit boards

Fully detailed interior with etched luggage racks and correct height seats

Fully detailed roofs with separately fitted vents and magnetic and push fit roofs

Magnetic switched lighting in each carriage

Accurate and detailed paint and printing detail

Liveries 

LNER Teak

BR Crimson

BR Maroon

This is the same version as the Airfix/Dapol kit. Will have diecast chassis and brass bearings for axles. Two pre tops and four Tops packs are available, all with 3 wagons of different numbers.

They are due to enter production shortly and slated for distribution in November this year.

Now that we have our own manufacturer section within the forum, we will be posting all our project updates and announcements here.

Please find below specifications, variants table, CADs and the first EP!

All the best,

Ellis.
 

Specifications

Super-fine detailing throughout

Carefully researched and designed using original drawings and dimensions, cross referenced with pictures of original and rebuilt wagons.

Super-fine pipework, handles and small detailed parts in plastic and metal

Die-cast chassis

Sprung buffers

3-link couplings

Sprung axle boxes

Will run on Peco 2nd radius curves (1028mm)

We are producing 6 different liveries, with a choice of running numbers and, for each livery, an un-numbered version with a transfer sheet

Expected Release: Q1 2021

Retail Price: £69.99

Multibuy Prices: £67 each when buying 5 -7 wagons or £65 each for 8 or more!

Clark Railworks is proud to announce its first 4mm scale/OO gauge wagon: the LNER/BR Lowmac. Available now, our Lowmacs build on the success of our award-winning O gauge Presflos, with the sophisticated design and superb specification you’ve come to expect from our products. With an RRP of £40 each and a range of liveries, the Lowmacs are a perfect addition to any 4mm layout portraying the mid-1940s onwards. 

In stock and available to buy now at clarkrailworks.com

Price - £40.00

History

The Lowmac (or ‘low-machinery’) family tree can be traced back to the mid-nineteenth century. As the cogs of Britain’s industry turned ever faster – fuelled by the arrival of railways – so the need for larger machinery increased. Transporting this on the country’s often-restricted loading gauge presented a challenge, but altering the infrastructure would have proved costly. Thus the wagon-with-a-well was born: by enabling loads to sit lower, bulky machinery and vehicles could be transported without the risk of embarrassing conflicts with tunnels and bridges.

The design of such wagons was refined over the following decades to accommodate heavier loads, but it was the demands of war that led to their ultimate evolution in the form of the Diagram 173 variant – and it’s these vehicles that our models depict. Constructed at Shildon in 1944, their 25-ton capacity provided the muscle required to transport large military vehicles, and they were quickly drafted to assist in the Allied forces’ liberation of Europe.

After the war, Lowmacs adapted well to life on Civvy Street. So useful were they in transporting awkward loads that British Railways ordered an identical batch (known as Diagram 242/2 and also covered by our models) in 1950. Serving the construction industry and agriculture as well as the needs of the railway itself, many soldiered on into the 1990s, with a few entering the brave new world of privatisation, primarily for moving heavy components around train manufacturers’ premises. 

So what can you do with your Lowmacs? Well, they clearly make great bedfellows for ‘Austerity’ engines on wartime traffic – including, of course, our forthcoming 2-10-0s. Peacetime saw them shackled behind a variety of heavy freight and mixed traffic engines and saddled with all manner of awkwardly-shaped cargoes, from farm and engineering machinery to oil tanks and even injured wagons en route to Works for a spot of TLC. Some were modified with an internal frame in the 1960s to support containers, in a precursor to ‘Freightliner’ trains; these were later used as ‘runner’ wagons between bogie flats transporting long sections of rail or concrete beams with an overhang. As we’ve already mentioned, train builders have long realised the value of a Lowmac, while many vehicles today enjoy a quieter life in preservation at sites around the UK.

Their function meant that more often than not post-war Lowmacs would be marshalled singly or as pairs in mixed freight trains – making for an interesting spectacle as well as a useful modelling ruse. And as a decidedly unglamorous member of the railway family, Lowmacs were often overlooked by 20th-century photographers, which meant that much of their regular work went undocumented. This is, of course, the perfect excuse to employ a little lateral thinking when it comes to loading up your ‘Macs; if you can imagine it, they probably carried it – so almost anything goes!

Model Features

Fully detailed diecast frame

Detailed end fittings and pipework

NEM pocket combined with vacuum cylinder, replaceable with a fully detailed cylinder

Sprung metal buffers

Optional EM brake shoes - supplied in detail pack 

Finely detailed etched brass detail parts

Separately fitted etched brass tie down rings

Brass bearings with pin point axles

Fully detailed chassis

Originally, this loco/post came under the Darstaed forum area, however after a number of changes and updates (listed below), this model will now come under the Ellis Clark Trains brand name.

Nothing has changed with the relationship between ourselves and Darstaed, as we will continue to work very closely on a number of different projects over the coming years.

As you may or may not know, we operate with a very "hands-on" approach, acting on all feedback we receive, with the end goal of supplying the best possible product we can.

Back in December 2019 we released our latest CADs and received superb constructive criticism from many of you.

We listened.

So much so, that in January of this year we made the decision to bring a full-time CAD designer to the team, and shortly after doing so, we began to re-design the Black 5 from scratch.

Below, you can find the specifications, production variants and most importantly, the brand new CADs!

Specifications
Super detailed die-cast construction
Genuine ABC Helical Gearbox - built, fitted and tested in the UK
Maxon motor with ball bearing racers
Super detailed cab
Compensating axles
Removable working loco lamps
Firebox glow
DCC ready

DCC Sound & Smoke Variants

Zimo MX699 Decoder
Boom box double speaker
Synchronised sound and smoke
Zimo exclusive sound project with 20+ functions

All the best,

Ellis.

May we present to you the Pullman all steel type Ks!

Working closer then ever before, with ourselves researching these iconic vehicles and the CAD team collaborating on the design, we feel we can deliver what will be a remarkable model.

For more information on our project including CAD images and the range please click the link below 

https://www.ellisclarktrains.co.uk/blogs/projects/all-steel-type-k-pullmans

I have contacted Ellis Clark and told them of the problem, but I would advise anyone who has an unfulfilled order for a complete 8-car set to request that they be sent as two separate packages, each of which will be quite legally under the $A1000 threshold, and avoid duty/taxes.

I am awaiting a reply from GE, but I will probably ask for the parcel to be returned to sender and repacked as two separate packages if possible.

Hope this saves people some cash!

Cheers from WestOz,

Peter C.

They don't have too much pre-owned N Stuff, but the prices are very fair, the website very well presented, and - as I say - excellent service standards.

Recommended

Wondering if there’s any chance of you guys in the future doing a payment scheme similar to what Accurascale offer with Partial.ly? Some of your O gauge stuff is mind blowing but would be good to be able to pay it off in smaller increments over 6-12 months. Just a thought. 
 

Cheers, Ryan 

May we present to you the Seacow, Sealion and Shark Ballast wagons!

These new wagons are designed with a wealth of features, including full internal, underside and pipework detailing

Release date is set for Q1/2 2024, with no upfront payments for pre-orders.

Prices are as follows:

Hopper Wagons

£150 each or £140 each when buying 3 or more

Shark Wagons

£120 each

Ballast Train Pack

£800 - This includes 5 hopper wagons and 1 shark wagon

Thanks

OzzyO.

Just seen these have been announced.

Here are a couple of pics of these in the faux painted teak livery and one in blood and custard as seen today at Warley.

Cheers, Ade.

Afternoon all,

Since our last update it's been a manic few months.....

We hosted the Ellis Clark Trains Summer O Gauge Show in September, which was a huge success and enjoyed by all, for those of you that may have attended, thank you! Shortly after this, we attended the 'Hornby Great Electric Train Show', alongside our Ellis Clark Trains stand and this was equally enjoyed by staff and punters alike.

Below is a little update on our opening hours, upcoming exhibitions, pre-owned stock and the next feature of the team behind Clark Railworks.

Christmas Opening Hours

We've decided to open 10am - 4pm every Saturday, from this weekend, in the run-up to Christmas. The last Saturday we will be open is 18th December, this is alongside our standard opening hours of Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm.

For anyone wanting to avoid the Christmas/Royal Mail rush, why not pop in and see us! Or alternatively, we have our snazzy new gift vouchers which we can ship directly to the recipient.

Please also see below our opening hours for over the Christmas period.

Friday 24th December | 9am - 1pm
Saturday 25th December | Closed
Sunday 26th December | Closed
Monday 27th December | Closed
Tuesday 28th December | Closed
Wednesday 29th December | 10am - 4pm
Thursday 30th December | 10am - 4pm
Friday 31st December | 10am - 1pm
Saturday 1st January | Closed
Sunday 2nd January | Closed
Monday 3rd January | Closed
Tuesday 4th January | Back Open as Usual (9am - 5pm) 

Exhibitions

With 2022 looking ever more promising for shows returning we thought we'd update you with a list of confirmed events to date.

Model Rail Scotland
Friday 25th - Sunday 27th February 2022
https://modelrail-scotland.co.uk

The London Festival of Railway Modelling
Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th March 2022
www.warners-shows.co.uk/indoor-shows/the-london-festival-of-railway-modelling/

Warley National 2022
Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th November 2022
www.thewarleyshow.co.uk

We'll start to update the website to match this list shortly, so stay tuned for further updates.

Latest Pre-owned Stock

Excuse us for being somewhat quiet recently regarding our pre-owned stock. The good news is that the website is full of lovely recently added stock after a very busy week of listing.

Below is a small selection of some of our recent favourites!

The Team Behind Clark Railworks

We thought it might be a nice idea to do a small feature each month on the team behind Clark Railworks.

This month it's Neils turn...

Neil joined us in September 2019, but you may have already known him as he had been weathering models for us on a freelance basis for over two years prior.

Neil can often be found in the middle of our test track, tinkering, servicing and of course, weathering!

He has been into model railways for over 30 years now, and when not modelling O gauge here, he can be found at Keighley Model Railway Club working on his EM gauge layout, Cowgill, depicting the transition period of steam to diesel

Leave us a review...

Recently we've received some lovely feedback from both new and returning customers and we can't tell you how much it means to us!

As a thank you for anyone who would be so kind as to share their feedback to our Facebook or Google page we'd like to offer a £5.00 voucher to redeem on the website.

To gain the voucher please email amey@ellisclarktrains.com upon leaving a review and you will then be sent a voucher code to redeem online or over the phone

Contact us

Thank you as always for taking time to read our recent news, we look forward to seeing those of you who can make it at the Great Electric Train Show.

As always myself (Amey) and the team are always happy to help and we are now back to full strength in the office. Please feel free to get in touch, either via email by clicking here, or calling the office on 01756 701451.
 

Good afternoon all,

I know its been a while since our last newsletter, in which we launched the OO/HO storage boxes, but January has flown by for us here at Clark Railworks and we've hardly had chance to catch our breaths since returning from the Christmas break.

Latest Pre-owned Stock

Over the last few months we've been lucky enough to have a constant stream of new pre-owned stock arriving. 

The most recent stock to arrive to the website, along with the usual Hornby/Bachmann models, is a rare collection of Rapido HO Canadian Coaches and an array of Continental HO Building Kits, featuring brands such as Faller, Pola and Vollmer, just to name a few.

This particular collection of buildings has all come from a collector who did not have a layout and bought purely to collect. The majority are sealed/As-new.

To view the collection please click here.
 

Leave us a review...

We've had some fantastic feedback lately over email and it would be massively appreciated if we could show some reviews on Facebook/Google too. As a little incentive we'd like to offer a £5.00 voucher for any feedback given.

To gain the voucher please email amey@ellisclarktrains.com upon leaving a review and you will then be sent a voucher code to redeem online or over the phone.

Tannoy Announcements

In terms of announcements we don't have much to report on at the moment, there are a couple of exciting pieces of news but we're not quite ready to release those just yet. 

As its felt a little like Groundhog Day since the January lockdown started we've been trying really hard to get out and enjoy our local area - the fantastic Yorkshire Dales! This has certainly been much appreciated by Albert, who also happens to love the snow, in which we've recently had our fair share with apparently more still to come.

Contact us

As always myself (Amey) and the team are always happy to help and we are now back to full strength in the office. Please feel free to get in touch, either via email by clicking here, or calling the office on 01756 701451.

Featuring

A NEW Product announcement

Eagerly awaited samples of our forth coming products

6 Layouts covering most UK eras and also US 

Trade Support including

Omen Miniatures

Uncommon Kit's

Made in Manchester Models

Demo Stands from 

MIOG (Modern Image O Gauge)

Keighley Model Railway Club 

Gauge O Guild 

There will be a complimentary Hog Roast

Due to lack of immediate parking (street parking is available) 

We are running a free Bus service between Bolton Abbey on the Embsay Railway, Skipton Train Station and the Showroom (timings to be confirmed)

Ellis Clark Trains,

Toller Court,

Skipton

BD23 2HG

RSVP - Amey@ellisclarktrains.com

I haven't purchased any but they look quite good if you need to transport single locomotives, coaches etc