Rails/dapol ‘Terrier’ 0‑6‑0T

◆ GAUGE

◆ PRICE ere’s a little secret: while we were investigating the potential of offering the LBSCR ‘E1’ 0-6-0T, we considered its smaller cousin, the ‘A1’ or ‘Terrier’. Was it worth the risk, taking on Hornby? After all, Margate had, at that stage, shown no interest in replacing the by-now extremely dated ex-dapol model with a new one. Yes, we thought, it was worth the risk… but then Rails of Sheffield killed any aspirations we had when it announced that it was working with Dapol on an all new ‘Terrier’. Then our plans were well and truly sunk when Hornby announced that it already had a new ‘Terrier’ in the pipeline and that this would compete with the Rails/dapol model.

Hornby had clearly been working on its ‘Terrier’ for some time; it was announced in January 2019 and, a few months later, we were reviewing it. Although both the Stroudley ‘A1’ and Marsh ‘A1X’ versions weren’t perfect, they were light years ahead of the old Dapol model. But would the new

H◆ MODEL Rails/dapol 4S-010-005 Stroudley ‘A1X’ 0-6-0T No. 32655, BR lined black early emblem

◆ AVAILABILITY Rails of Sheffield Tel 01142 551436 Web www.railsofsheffield.com

Rails product be better than Hornby’s offering?

Now, roughly a year since Hornby’s ‘OO’ gauge version of ‘A1X’ No. 32655 in BR lined black appeared in print (MR261), we can now show you… ‘A1X’ No. 32655 in BR lined black! Obviously, whoever came second in the race to get their ‘Terrier’ to market was always going to have its product compared with the winner. It’s unfortunate that we have received the same model for it’s going to make direct comparisons between the two models extremely difficult to avoid.

First things first though. The Rails ‘Terrier’ comes in a much nicer box. The stout card lid and the subtle colours create that ‘old time toy box’ feeling of quality. Inside, nestling among the standard plastic clam-shell and sleeve and pieces of foam is a slim, 20-page instruction booklet, which is far removed from the bits of paper you get in a Hornby box. The contents range from the usual DCC installation guide to such topics as what part numbers you need in case you have to order any replacements.

First impressions are that Rails and Dapol have really done their homework and have both done a great job in producing what is a very refined model. Is this the