Rapido 960007 Manning Wardle ‘L’ Class 0-6-0 ‘Bombay’

Rapido 960007 Manning Wardle ‘L’ Class 0-6-0 ‘Bombay’

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 will cater for many of these differences and 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.

Specifications:

• Manning Wardle ‘L’ Class – ‘Bombay’
• Works No. 1674 of 1906
• Samuel Williams (Dagenham) condition
• Full cab
• Curve-ended Frames
• Single boss wheels
• Tapered buffer stock
• Next-18 DCC socket
• Factory-fitted speaker in all models
• NEM coupler pockets
• High quality motor and mechanism
• High level of detail with plenty of separately fitted parts