Rapido Trains UK 960004 Manning Wardle L Class 'Sir Berkeley (Cranford Condition) in Green 0-6-0ST Steam Tank Locomotive

Manning Wardle is a manufacturer held dear by many industrial railway enthusiasts. With a long tenure building some of the world's most eye-catching and often somewhat quaint-looking engines, Manning Wardle's origins go back to the earliest days of railway history.

With Manning Wardle sending locos around the globe, an element of standardisation within their design and manufacturing process was deemed a sensible step forward. So, the Manning Wardle designers conceived these standard classes, a selection of locomotives of varying sizes and power. This allowed contractors and private owners to choose suitable locos for their needs. Each class was simply given a different letter to denote its type.

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. Our General Manager passed his steam locomotive driving test on one of the preserved engines, so it was the obvious choice when we decided to produce a ready-to-run Manning Wardle in OO Gauge.

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 were a multitude of detail and cosmetic differences that could be chosen by the new owner. These included alternate wheels, buffers, steps, smoke boxes, lubricators and options with or without a covered cab. The L Class is no different.

Around 100 L Class Manning Wardles were built, with examples being shipped to places such as Sweden, Mexico, Hong Kong and China. Of course, we can't forget the eclectic mix of British contractors that also had L classes on their books, completing a multitude of work the length and breadth of the nation.

Despite their modest size and range, the Manning Wardle’s distinctive look has always been popular with industrial railway enthusiasts. This popularity favoured them in the preservation era and a healthy number of standard and narrow-gauge locos survived across the world, with 2 Class Ls amongst them. Both of these engines can now be found at the Middleton Railway in Leeds.

The Rapido L Class model will feature a smooth-running mechanism, a factory- installed speaker, NEM coupler pockets, and an ESU Next18 decoder socket. Individual models will include variations of the cab, cab steps, frames, wheels, buffers and buffer beams, smokebox and smokebox doors, valves, tanks and backhead.

The models can be personalised with a selection of interesting extra parts in the accessory bag such as vacuum pipes, coupling chains and dumb buffers.