Since Rapido Trains UK started, we have been asked to produce a small steam locomotive suitable for industrial and light railway use. With our General Manager, Andy, interested in such things, we didn’t need asking twice. Fifteen years ago, Andy passed his steam loco driving test on Matthew Murray, an L Class built by Manning Wardle in 1903 and residing on the Middleton Railway, a stone’s throw from its birthplace. The railway is also home to a sister L class Sir Berkeley. This type has never appeared in OO gauge in any form so it’s no surprise that we opted to produce it.

The L class were dainty and attractive little locomotives, often with double-bossed wheels and a variety of bolt-on options the purchaser could add. The resulting engines were unmistakably Manning Wardle.

The L class was a loco that was favoured by civil engineering contractors and also worked on several light railways, with two versions surviving into preservation.

Originally intended to be a smaller version of the larger M class, the L class design was changed so it became a souped-up version of the K class, and inherited the K’s wheelbase, barrel length and cylinder diameter. However, it received a larger boiler diameter and cylinder stroke. This gave the Ls a greater tractive effort, while still retaining an unmistakably Manning Wardle aesthetic.

Although standard locomotives had a similar frame, boiler and overall size and power to their classmates, there was a multitude of detail and cosmetic differences that could be chosen by the new owner. Our model caters for many of these differences and features a smooth-running mechanism, a factory-installed speaker, NEM coupler pockets, and an ESU Next18 decoder socket. Individual models include variations of the cab, cab steps, frames, wheels, buffers and buffer beams, smokebox and smokebox doors, valves, tanks and backhead. 

Models can also be personalised with a selection of interesting optional parts such as vacuum pipes, coupling chains and dumb buffers.

Order your model now by clicking on the item below:

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