Rapido Trains UK will produce Ivor the Engine packs in OO gauge

Contributed by: Graham Muspratt

18 Sep 2024 00:00am

Following the 'Titfield Thunderbolt’ range Rapido Trains UK have announced that working alongside Daniel Postgate under an exclusive worldwide license, they will produce two Ivor the Engine packs and rolling stock pack in OO gauge.

In 1959 Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, working under their Smallfilms name, brought Ivor the Engine to life in a series of six 10-minute black and white films. The animations were created using cut-out painted cardboard items held together with pins and Blutack. A single frame camera controlled by a small electric motor with some Meccano, a rubber band drive and a manual clicker allowed frames to be made in quick succession - a good thing as five minutes of animation required 8000 frames to be recorded. On a good day two minutes of animation could be recorded; 12 times faster than most stop frame animation studios of their time. All of this was created in the pair’s workshop (a converted cow shed) at Firmin’s home in Blean near Canterbury, Kent. Postgate wrote the stories, narrated and voiced many of the characters which were brought to life by Firmin’s illustrations.

The original series was regularly shown by Associated-Rediffusion Ltd on ITV who had acquired the original rights, until their demise in 1968. In 1975 the creators re-acquired the rights and started producing the original episodes, alongside new episodes as a series of forty 5-minute episodes this time aired over the following two years on the BBC.

The two loco packs being produced are as follows:
980001 Ivor the Engine Train Pack
• Ivor the Engine - with working headlamps and glowing dragon egg in the firebox (and Next 18 DCC socket).
• Two open/sheep wagons
• 2D cardboard figures with bases for Jones the Steam, Dai Station, Idris the Dragon and three sheep all produced from the original animation artwork
• Fold-up cardboard engine shed and water tower.
• A brand-new Ivor the Engine story written and illustrated by Daniel Postgate.

980501 Ivor the Engine Train Pack - DCC Sound Fitted.
As per 9800001 Train pack above but with a full range of sounds and dialogue from the original colour animations.


Ivor the Engine Rolling Stock Pack
980002 Ivor the Engine Rolling Stock Pack
• Passenger coach
• Coal hopper
• 1-plank wagon with crate load
• 2D cardboard figures and bases for Evans the Song, the Choir, Mrs Porty and Bluebell the Donkey produced from the original animation artwork.
• Fold-up station building and platform

This range of models is in tooling and engineering samples are expected early in 2025. Each pack is available to pre-order now by clicking the links above.

Subject to alteration.

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