951008 WSL Rapido GWR 44xx No.4401 BR Early Crest Plain Black

We have taken a little longer than planned to check over the designs and artwork, but we are confident that this diligent approach has given us the time we need to produce a gorgeous Great Western Railway classic. Better known to its fans as the Small Prairie, this delightful little 2-6-2T is the perfect locomotive for the ever-popular Great Western Railway branch line layout. Despite being a small class, the 44XXs found work in many different parts of the Great Western network, including around Birmingham and South Wales, but they are perhaps best known for their performances in Devon and Cornwall. Often seen alongside B-set coaches or a variety of light freight, this tank engine is the perfect addition to our gradually expanding range of Great Western Railway stock.

Rapido Trains UK will be releasing eight highly detailed variants, which cover everything from the clearly recognisable Great Western livery of the 1920s right up to its final British Railways guise before the last of the 44XX sadly got sent to the scrapyard. To represent the subtle changes that the class experienced throughout its lifetime, we have included some rather nice little features, so they stand out from their counterparts, such as early and late-era buffers, inside and outside steam pipe versions, parallel and tapered chimneys, and probably the most riveting addition, two different patterns for the rivets on the side tanks.Crammed full of the usual Rapido Trains UK awesome locomotive features, such as a combination of die-cast metal and injection moulded plastic construction, firebox flicker, a Next18 decoder socket, NEM coupler pockets, sprung buffers, and a high-quality motor and mechanism, this little Prairie is lining itself up to be quite the big dog.It will also be the first small prairie produced in ready-to-run to have a straight footplate and separately fitted cab shutters."