rapidoandy

Rapido Trains UK is to answer the calls of ‘N’ gauge modellers by scaling down four of its popular ‘OO’ gauge South Eastern & Chatham Railway wagons to 2mm:1ft scale. Rapido’s new ‘N’ gauge range of SECR wagons comprises the Diagram. 1349 five-plank open, the Dia. 1355 seven-plank open, the Dia. 1426 10t van and the six-wheel dual-veranda brake van. The entry point to the range are the four ‘Freight Train Packs’, which contain 1x Dia. 1349 five-plank, 1x Dia. 1355 seven-plank, 1x Dia. 1426 van and 1x dual veranda brake van. The five-plank, seven-plank and 10t van are also available in triple packs so that modellers can increase the length of a goods train at a stroke. Each model will have a unique running number. Each pack will be available in SECR, SR (pre-’36 & post-36) and BR liveries. Sales & Marketing Manager Richard Foster said, “Sales of our ‘OO’ gauge SECR wagons have exceeded our expectations and we hope that the same will be true in ‘N’, particularly as so many ‘N’ gauge modellers have asked us if we’ll scale down our wagons. If these packs are successful, then we’ll consider doing the same with models from other regions. With the ‘Iron Mink’, GWR four-plank and Dia. AA20 ‘Toad’, we’ve already got the makings of a GWR-themed pack! “This is a bit of a different approach to take but we think that it’s the simplest way to build up accurate SECR and Southern Region goods trains in ‘N’.” RRP for the freight train pack is £99.95 RRP for the triple packs is £69.95

and.... its very nice. Don't worry you all won't have long to wait.....

Thanks everyone. I will continue to post some photos of the EPs as they arrive. It would be sad not to show you the unannounced product that has arrived on my desk...

Oh dear! I wonder why I bother looking on a Sunday evening. Recognising the limitations of when to use metal handrails is also very important. If you look at the prototypes construction you will see that you cannot really mimic it in model form. The handrail ‘knobs’ are just bracket supports and incredibly hard to mould - let alone assemble and would result in being drastically over scale. We share photos of our EPs - warts and all - to get feedback. If people don’t want us too just let me know. I quantified my statement saying there were things that need sorting. Surprise, surprise the handrails are one of them. Yes we have used the images on the advertising spaces - we don’t see a problem with that. EPs are used in print advertising a lot… Someone also pointed out the advertising in the Hornby section. Actually quite coincidental - we took out a package for advertising that includes exclusive rights to our area and then a number of other areas with the highest traffic rate including the forum index and new content pages. It doesn’t make sense to me to advertise on the lowest traffic pages… Maybe it’s time to take a break for a bit. Andy

Paul, We really struggled to find photos and all the usual sources we asked turned up blanks - if you can put us in touch with anyone that can help we would be most grateful! I agree about the holes - I asked my man to try and look for them but they couldn't see anything that made sense. I have not been able to get there myself to take a look. Andy

Your quiet correct. Brain foggy at the moment for various reasons. The vehicle was certainly piped but we don’t know how. The only photos we have are yours. It’s possible they went along the other side. We asked our contacts at the SVR if they found any evidence but they couldn’t be sure the location of the pipe runs either. Andy

Tomorrow is order deadline folks!

Please remember this photo shows the model "as received" from China. Here is the underside of the Loriot. The underside frame sections are metal - its the only place we can get some weight in! As built it was an unfitted vehicle but later (possibly) gained some through pipes. Sadly there isn't enough space to get these underneath,

A little too worn for my liking - its on my list...

Bedford OB/Duple Vista coach Rapido Trains UK is delighted to add the Bedford OB coach to our growing range of 1:76 scale road vehicles. This design became the classic post-war British coach and its rugged simplicity meant that it became the first choice for coach operators long after more modern designs came on the scene. Bedford, the commercial vehicle arm of General Motors’ British operation, introduced three new lorry chassis, the ‘K’, the ‘M’ and the ‘O’, in the summer of 1939, with the latter being the largest. The new range intended to maintain Bedford’s grip on the commercial vehicle market. As over 50% of all British small bus/coach chassis sold in the 1930s were Bedfords, a passenger version, dubbed ‘OB’, quickly followed the new lorries. The outbreak of war curtailed OB production, although a wartime version, the OWB, was introduced 1941. OB production resumed in October 1945 and by the time production ceased in 1951, thousands of chassis had rolled off the Luton production line. Coachbuilder Duple bodied over 8,700 OBs and 3,864 carried the famous Vista body. This combination gave rise to the classic OB look and it forms the basis of our model. We’re delighted to announce that we’re producing three versions of the ‘OB’: the original body style, with extended boot doors and the revised design that was introduced in mid-1949 with larger rear bumper and revised rear light panels plus this same body side but with roof windows. Our ‘OB’ follows the high standards set by our critically-acclaimed 1:76 scale BCT ‘New Look’ Guys and WMPTE Fleetlines. Plastic body construction means we can incorporate a wealth of detail, both inside and out, plus rubber tyres and poseable front wheels. Our OBs come with a choice of wing mirrors and rear lights so that you can configure your model to re-create your favourite coach. Unfortunately, due to the exposed nature of the headlamps and the fact that we’re offering two different styles, we regret that we’ve not been able to include lights in our model. RRP for the model is £44.95. Ten liveries are planned for the first batch as follows: · 920001: GAM338, Pearce & Crump · 920002: LKM55, East Kent Road Car Co · 920003: HOD75, Western National Omnibus Co · 920004: LTA750, Royal Blue Coach Services · 920005:EDL638, Southern Vectis (dark green) · 920006: GWS468, Edinburgh Corporation · 920007: FWO615, British Railways crimson/cream · 920008: HAA874, Hants & Sussex · 920009: FWW596, West Yorkshire Road Car · 920010: LRO296, The Mountain Goat You can order yours today direct from us or any Official Retailer.

Well I rather like this...

Well a rather hefty OAA wagon has arrived!

This has got a lot of rivets... Yes they have all been counted...

A sample has landed.... A number of things to sort but we are very pleased with this! Andy

Well our latest newsletter is currently travelling out to all of its recipients. It includes a first look at this: Please note this is the first engineering prototype. We use this to evaluate the functionality and general fit of the model prior to all the final details being added - we know there are lots of rivets missing! If anyone is attending the Tonbridge club open day this Saturday you might even see it strutting its stuff on our demo track. Have a good weekend! Andy

Hmmmm….. I passed my firing test on an MSC long tank and even organised an MSC themed gala once…

The steam effects technology is really interesting. I have an O gauge Terrier which has been kitted out and it is brilliant. This model has yet to reach me but it really is great when trundling along. More videos to follow next week...

A few weeks until the next newsletter i'm afraid...

Well people only have to ask…. We have tooled… One body. One chassis with oil boxes One roof Standard doors. Planked doors. GPV doors Short vents Long vents GPV played over vents (etch) Single sided double shoe brakes. Additional single single brake shoe for the opposite side. The two shoe brake will fit on both sides to allow for both side double shoe as found on some. Door retention fixings are planned to be in a polybag to fit as required. I would say that is fairly comprehensive and covers an awful lot 😃. Andy

One of the problems I am finding with a ‘widespread’ bus is that there were umpteen variations and each operator did their own thing slightly differently. I can see the £££ disappearing in the tooling. If we only produced one variant etc we get told it’s not right for me and my operator. It’s a hard balance.

Afternoon! Well all I will say is watch this space - it may be sooner than you think. Buses are a harder sell in some ways so we wont see them overtaking the railway offerings but I think there will always be a place for a project or two on the go. If people spend money on Rapido buses it certainly will persuade us to make more! Thanks, Andy

Back to something a little more serious then - we often get asked - how does it sound? We thought it best to make a video.... Andy

Fancy something a little different? We are asking for expressions of interest through our website. If we receive enough we will make it! Andy

Rapido Trains UK has immortalised BR’s first ‘new generation’ wagon in ‘OO’ gauge. BR undertook much research to produce a new wagon underframe suitable for the 1970s railway and the first vehicle to benefit from this research was the 45t Open AB open wagon, better known as OAA. Ashford Works built the 100 OAAs (Nos. 100000-100099) in 1971.The new 20ft 9in wheelbase underframe, with air brakes and upgraded running gear, would go on to be used on the VBA and VDA vans as well as on developments of the OAA, including the OBA and OCA opens. As part of BR’s air-braked network (a fore runner of Speedlink), the OAAs could be found across the network. But as newer wagons were introduced some were relegated to departmental duties or were adapted for other duties, such as those modified to carry Redland roof tiles. The OAAs continued to be useful, however, particularly for carrying concrete blocks from Foster Yeoman’s Merehead quarry to Acton. EWS rebuilt a batch of OAAs in the late 1990s for this work, replacing worn wooden doors with mesh. We’re particularly proud of the planned decoration on these models. We’ve gone to great lengths to not only replicate the different positions of the numbers and logos but we’re also replicating models that have received ‘bodged’ repaints. That extends to repainting the odd replaced door timber to whole ends that have been repaired to one wagon where nearly the whole body has received a non-standard colour. It’s available to order now. RRP is £39.95. The order book closes on July 1st 2022.

Have a great Easter weekend everybody. I shall just leave this here.... Please note this is the first engineering sample - there is lot still to do! Andy