Rapido N Gauge OAA open wagon

[AY Mod]

Rapido UK announces all-new ‘N’ gauge ‘OAA’ wagon

 

·       First modern ‘N’ gauge wagon from Rapido

·       Highly detailed, including the underframe

·       SIX triple-packs to choose from

 

 

Rapido Trains UK is to produce an ‘N’ gauge version of the 45t Open AB open wagon, better known as ‘OAA’.

 

This was BR’s first fully air-braked wagon. Ashford Works built the 100 new OAAs (Nos. 100000-100099) in 1971. These wagons were long for a four-wheel open, with a 20ft 9in wheelbase. They were BR’s first fully air-braked wagon and had upgraded running gear to cope with higher operating speeds.

 

Sales & Marketing Manager Richard Foster said, “We’re delighted with how well our ‘OO’ model has scaled down to ‘N’. The CAD files show that the ‘N’ gauge model captures the distinctive look of the real thing, with its mix of steel ends and wooden doors. Despite being much smaller, we’ve been able to include a fully detailed underframe too.”

 

The ’OAA’ will be available in triple packs and there are six different packs to choose from, with a seventh pack available exclusively from Rainbow Railways. The order book is now open and tooling work should start early in 2023 with delivery due either later in the year or early 2024.

 

 

Model Factfile: ‘N’ gauge OAA open wagon
What liveries are we making?

·        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 (with Corpach Pool lettering) Triple Pack EXCLUSIVE TO RAINBOW RAILWAYS

 

Price? £69.95 per pack

What stage is it at? In tooling

When’s it due? 2023/2024

Where can I find out more? www.rapidotrains.co.uk

[bmthtrains - David]

An interesting choose given Farish already produce one (though not been issued for quite a few years I think).

 

Good to see more N gauge from Rapido though.

 

David

[John M Upton]

35 minutes ago, bmthtrains - David said:

An interesting choose given Farish already produce one (though not been issued for quite a few years I think).

 

The Farish one is ancient Poole Era tooling, very dated as is the VBA van equivalent so a all new OAA is most welcome. 

[Davexoc]

Farish one is an OBA, subtle differences between the two.

[Padishar Creel]

Excellent news

es grüßt

pc 

[John M Upton]

3 hours ago, Davexoc said:

Farish one is an OBA, subtle differences between the two.

 

Farish do/did do an OAA but it is a very ancient Poole Era tooling and hasn't been produced for many years now, the OBA and OCA are to modern standards but they never went back and added a new OAA despite already having a chassis. 

 

Looks like they just lost the race.

 

I'll definitely take a few of these and batter them up. It us quite surprising how many are still rattling around even now.

[maq1988]

Another nice addition - thank you Rapido for continuing to support this scale. I'll have a few of these.

[D9020 Nimbus]

I'd have bought one if it could go round radius 1 curves. But it can't.

 

Note to manufacturers — radius 1 curves in N are slightly more generous in scale terms than radius 2 curves in OO, which all manufacturers including Rapido target in that scale. Setrack points in OO are radius 2, but in N they are radius 1.

[bmthtrains - David]

What would these wagons be used for today? 
 

David

[Steadfast]

9 minutes ago, bmthtrains - David said:

What would these wagons be used for today? 
 

David

Literally today, not a lot as there's only one left in traffic, and it has mesh doors.

The last 30 years or so, they were used on engineers trains, often carrying drainage material, sleepers and other sundries for work sites.

They also were used until the mid 2010s on Mendip traffic, tacked on the back of a jumbo from Merehead to Acton carrying concrete blocks. Originally this was the wooden side ones, but they got upgraded to have mesh sides. This was the first use of the mesh side conversion, which later spread to OAA and OBA wagons in engineers use.

 

Jo

Edited November 26, 2022 by Steadfast

[Crepello]

Hopefully some air-bra led vans will follow.

[Hamm 69]

Two packs ordered along with class 44 Ingleborough to go with skiddaw which I ordered early on.thanks for supporting the n gauge market guys and wish you nothing but success in the future.😀

[Jim Martin]

These look very nice. As has been said, the Farish OBA and OCA are both good models, but it looks like they've missed the bus with the OAA.

 

THE 20'9" wheelbase vans are also on the table: the Farish VAA is very dated; the ex-TPM / now-NGS VCA, while as good as the VAA, is similarly aged; and there's no accurate VDA at all (although that's obviously linked to the different underframe, so it's not a gimme for Rapido even if they've done the OAA). That's a fair bit for an enterprising manufacturer to go at.

 

Jim

[montyburns56]

3 hours ago, Crepello said:

Hopefully some air-bra led vans will follow.

 

In DD scale?

[Steven B]

Lovely choice. Hopefully they'll be successful and VAA, VBA, VDA and OTA will follow!

 

 

Steven B.

[Steadfast]

Don't know what to hang off the back of your Revolution 59? Linked from Flickr, these were usually tagged on the back of a jumbo, but on this day there must have been no aggregate traffic.

 

 

Jo

[Steven B]

(Stephen Stubbs on Flickr)

 

[Benn]

Nice, a very useful wagon, definitely up for a few of these, especially with their pre-TOPS introduction date.
Would be good if the coupling pocket situation could be tidied up a touch though, I can see those getting broken off with that thin spine. It would probably be a bit neater if it didn't poke out beyond the end of the wagon as well, if not set back a touch from the end so it's a bit more hidden underneath. There should be loads of room under there to shift things back a bit with a simpler pocket design.

[woodenhead]

1 hour ago, Benn said:

Nice, a very useful wagon, definitely up for a few of these, especially with their pre-TOPS introduction date.
Would be good if the coupling pocket situation could be tidied up a touch though, I can see those getting broken off with that thin spine. It would probably be a bit neater if it didn't poke out beyond the end of the wagon as well, if not set back a touch from the end so it's a bit more hidden underneath. There should be loads of room under there to shift things back a bit with a simpler pocket design.

Removing the spine might place the socket where it needs to be.

 

I am about to start ripping out (gently of course) rapidos from much of my stock to fit easi-shunts, that part seems the least risk of destruction. But pushing home an easi-shunt and getting it to bite in the socket looks like a risk to the spine mechanism.  It's hard enough with the Farish floating coach NEM sockets let alone something so thin as the render above.

[Benn]

On 21/12/2022 at 00:30, woodenhead said:

Removing the spine might place the socket where it needs to be.

 

I am about to start ripping out (gently of course) rapidos from much of my stock to fit easi-shunts, that part seems the least risk of destruction. But pushing home an easi-shunt and getting it to bite in the socket looks like a risk to the spine mechanism.  It's hard enough with the Farish floating coach NEM sockets let alone something so thin as the render above.

 

Yes, I agree, potential recipe for many a broken pocket... I think something akin to the 2-piece 'pocket and case' situation that Dapol sell as a retro-fit NEM pocket would be perfectly adequate, I can't see any reason why it needs to be more complicated than that. That pocket is a simple design, robust, fits neatly between the back-to-backs of N gauge wheels and has a centre pivot for side-to-side movement if you need it. Plus, if you do damage the pocket, you can unclip it and install another one as it's a push fit into the case.

[Crepello]

On 21/12/2022 at 00:30, woodenhead said:

Removing the spine might place the socket where it needs to be.

 

I am about to start ripping out (gently of course) rapidos from much of my stock to fit easi-shunts, that part seems the least risk of destruction. But pushing home an easi-shunt and getting it to bite in the socket looks like a risk to the spine mechanism.  It's hard enough with the Farish floating coach NEM sockets let alone something so thin as the render above.

Don’t worry, all my stock has easi-shunts or nemcoups and nothing got broken. Just bear in mind that Farish coaches are difficult and you may need to cut some ‘horizontals’ off the couplings to get them to fit the pockets.

[woodenhead]

11 hours ago, Crepello said:

Don’t worry, all my stock has easi-shunts or nemcoups and nothing got broken. Just bear in mind that Farish coaches are difficult and you may need to cut some ‘horizontals’ off the couplings to get them to fit the pockets.

Horizontals?

[Crepello]

A look at the couplings will show you what I mean. The shaft that goes into the pocket could be termed  the ‘vertical’!

[03060]

Could this be the end for my Farish wagons ..... ??

 

 

Photo expertly taken by Keith Long, 1985.

Edited December 26, 2022 by 03060

[John M Upton]

Indeed, I have just withdrawn the first Farish OAA from my fleet, now sent to the works to have a West Coast Models ZCA body fitted so it will live again!!