News from the World of GWR Modelling

Seaton’s iconic model railway business PECO has been acknowledged for its resilience in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Insurance brokers Gallagher have launched a UK-wide initiative called “Tackling Tomorrow. Together” – aimed at supporting seven pioneering UK organisations that have shown tenacity and pioneering spirit during the Covid-19 crisis. PECO was selected to participate in the programme in recognition of their efforts and resilience during the pandemic. Covid-19 provided a huge challenge to PECO, with the factory closing for five weeks during the first lockdown. On top of this the business also had to deal with a cyber attack. Despite these challenges, PECO has been up and running since last April. With Gallagher’s help, they have managed to fully recover, with demand currently outstripping their ability to manufacture some of the products. The family company, which started trading in 1946 and is now in its third generation, has been paired with top flight rugby clubs Bristol and Gloucester, who play in the Gallagher-sponsored Premiership. PECO, along with the other participating organisations, will be given opportunities to promote their business within their local communities with the aim of getting in front of new audiences and potential customers. This includes in-stadia advertising such as big screen promotions and match programme adverts, regionspecific digital marketing and tickets to host a networking event when spectators are allowed to attend Premiership games again. PECO managing director Ben Arnold said: “PECO are delighted to be part of Gallagher’s “Tackling Tomorrow. Together” campaign. This past year has certainly brought many challenges but thanks to Gallagher’s help, particularly after being hit by the cyber-attack during the first Lockdown, we have been able to recover, and are proud to be keeping households engaged in their railway modelling interests and hobbies”

Dapol have unveiled a fully functioning engineering prototype of its OO Gauge Manor Class 4-6-0 locomotive. The model is motorised and has all of its electronics installed. When the Design Engineer and Technical Manager have finished their evaluation of the model it will be shipped to their Sound Engineer to help tweak the sound profile to the aesthetics of this specific model.

The tooling package for the Mogul from its very inception was designed to allow the production of the Manor Class. The model incorporates many of the features and benefits first showcased in Dapol’s very popular OO Gauge Mogul. The model will feature Dapol’s award winning slide out PCB and the tried and tested easy connect, wire free, tender to locomotive electrical draw bar. The inclusion these two features makes converting a model to DCC or DCC and sound very easy indeed.

In line with Dapol’s philosophy of continual improvement and in conjunction with listening to customer feedback, potential areas of improvement were identified with the Mogul. Dapol has addressed these opportunities in the new OO Gauge Manor tooling and they will also be incorporated into future production runs of the Mogul 2-6-0 and in the soon to be released Prairie 2-6-2. Some of the improvements we are making are listed below: Dapol has adjusted the gearing being in the Manor and the Prairie to a 30-1 ratio, this will provide excellent slow speed running as well as an accurate top speed. • The crosshead has an enhanced level of detail, along with the accurately portrayed die-cast motion bracket and slide-bars. A working representation of the vacuum pump is fitted as standard to the Manor Class model. • There have also been improvements made to the firebox glow to better showcase this feature of the model. This modification will

also appear in future releases of the Mogul and also in the new Prairie.

Many original GA drawings were used in the development of these accurate and authentic models. The locomotives will have : • die-cast compensated chassis • Detailed cab interior with screw reverse • Full profile cylinder – no cut away • The front Bogie is also sprung and operates on a cam so the model will negotiate R2 curves with ease. • Brass plated safety valve casing • Original (with capucheon) and redrafted chimneys fitted as appropriate. • Exquisite detailing on the buffer beam and footplate with prototypical overhang https://www.dapol.co.uk/ shop/preorder/OO-GaugePreorder/78xx-4-6-0-Manor

LM-TK14 Frets of 22, totalling 88 4mm scale sleepers, 1.6mm thick. High quality MIL spec fibreglass so they will never curl. Pre-etched so no cutting of copper to isolate rails. Pre-tinned for easy soldering and Suitable for use with both Bullhead rail with chairs and Flat bottom rail in Code 75 or Code 100. Easy and quick to remove from the fret. The tabs are cut so that any “dags” will only be at the bottom & invisible once ballast is added, so if you prefer, you can just leave them there rather than trim them off. For “end of track use” at baseboard ends, you can use many glues, but we recommend that you use epoxy to secure them permanently in place.

LM-TK222x 4mm scale sleepers, 1.6mm thick and 40 finely cast rail chairs. The Sleepers are high quality MIL spec fibreglass so they will never curl and pre-etched so no cutting of copper to isolate rails. Sleepers are pre-tinned for easy soldering. The Brass chairs are scaled from original drawings, finely cast and beautifully detailed. There is NO flash on these chairs which are created using fine jewellery techniques and no clean up is required. The LM-TK2 is an ideal pack to experiment with as it contains a little of everything!

LM-TK14 Frets of 22, totalling 88 4mm scale sleepers, 1.6mm thick. High quality MIL spec fibreglass so they will never curl. Pre-etched so no cutting of copper to isolate rails. Pre-tinned for easy soldering and Suitable for use with both Bullhead rail with chairs and Flat bottom rail in Code 75 or Code 100. Easy and quick to remove from the fret. The tabs are cut so that any “dags” will only be at the bottom & invisible once ballast is added, so if you prefer, you can just leave them there rather than trim them off. For “end of track use”

at baseboard ends, you can use many glues, but we recommend that you use epoxy to secure them permanently in place.

LM-TK222x 4mm scale sleepers, 1.6mm thick and 40 finely cast rail chairs. The Brass chairs are scaled from original drawings, finely cast and beautifully detailed. There is NO flash on these chairs which are created using fine jewellery techniques and no clean up is required. The LM-TK2 is an ideal pack to experiment with as it contains a little of everything!

Four pairs of precision baseboard alignment dowels. These are the BEST alignment dowels ever offered – now with POWER BUS CONNECTIVITY!

Easier to install accurately than any other… All that is needed is a pilot drill and a 13mm and 19mm spade bit. Hard alloy, heavily passivated for zero corrosion means very long life, and the tolerances are so fine there is NO movement possible once they are installed.

Four pairs is enough to make two joints (joins three baseboards together). Electrical connections are GOLD to guarantee fault-free performance every time!

Legacy Models PowerPoint Baseboard Dowels (4-pack) Price: £34.95 Inc

Flangeway and Dapol announce O Gauge Independent Snowplough – designed and produced in the UK!

Flangeway are pleased to announce in partnership with Dapol their latest new product which sees them expand into O Scale with their first ready to run model.

The OO Gauge Independent Snowplough has been widely received since its launch many years ago and its subsequent reruns. With the rise of O Scale ready to run in recent years, it is the natural progression for Flangeway to take and so they are pleased to make the next step in their range development.

Dapol are also pleased to announce that this will become a UK manufactured product and are extremely proud of the fact that the production will be moved to the UK once the initial release has been delivered.

Richard Barnett from Flangeway said: “We are extremely proud that we are able to bring this product to market. It has been much requested for a while now and with the encouragement from our friends at Dapol, the opportunity arose to develop this new product. We are particularly proud that we are helping to develop UK skills and assist in re-growing the UK manufacturing industry.”

Joel Bright, Dapol MD said: “We are very excited about this development, not only because Flangeway have put their trust in Dapol to bring this model to fruition for which we are exceptionally grateful, but it also marks a milestone in that this project is the first ever we have ever fully designed and drawn up from our base in Chirk. We hope this signifies the first of many.”

All CAD work is now complete on the model which will now enter the tooling stage with a view to bringing the Snowplough to market during 2021. Flangeway’s sister business, Footplate, has now opened expressions of interest which can be registered via the website.

Built in the 1960’s on modified tender frames from LNER steam locomotives, British Rail created around 40 of these large drift snowploughs, some of which continue in service today with Network Rail.

RRP is expected to be around the £95 mark with the initial variants to feature popular liveries including; Scottish, Network Rail and 1965 versions.

Bachmann Europe’s exclusive range of Thomas & Friends™ OO Gauge model railways arrived during January and the full range is available from Bachmann stockists now! Certified for use from age 3 upwards, young enthusiasts can find all of the characters they need to start building their own Island of Sodor! Our Train Set featuring Thomas with Annie & Clarabel is the perfect starting point, with easy-to-lay snap-fit track suitable for use on all surfaces and an easy-to-use controller with plug in connections, you’ll be playing trains in no time. There are plenty of options when it comes to expanding the Train Set too; the E-Z Track® Layout Expander Pack includes a selection of different track sections allowing you to create a variety of configurations. All of these locomotives have moving eyes and we’ve also incorporated Next18 DCC Decoder sockets for those wishing to give Digital Control a try.