The Rarest Engine In My Collection | Unboxing & Review 

A great friend of mine, who sadly passed away years ago, with his wife Shirley, designed the body of the loco in conjunction with Wrenn staff. I bought 3 unprepared bodies from him for a fiver each. As far as I can recall, these were the latest locos to be designed by Wrenn before their demise, and I bought a Plymouth for £30 and an Exeter for £35 from Hattons, definitely. Albert Goodall spent lots of time taking measurements, photos, and details from Barry Scrapyard in South Wales. Known as Mister Bulleid, he helped me with many things, and he is still revered today for his knowledge. He made corrected paper overlays for streamlined WC/BB, kits from Kitmaster / Airfix, original and late cab, whitemetal parts for Triang Bulleids, and even platform fencing, much of which I had, and released on several photocopy sheets, with other details as his "catalogue". Prices were always very reasonable. He was a real fount of knowledge, and when I told him I was going to build a 257 Squadron, he said "don't forget the centre driver has an incorrectly made wheel", and made me one to suit! Sadly, I divorced, and the whole collection of several hundred locos was sold, but at least I had made a great friend in Albert, Shirley too, of Sevenoaks in Kent. I pondered earlier taking over the business he had when he got too old to do it, but someone else did, and produces these parts to improve many older locos and perhaps some new. Albert in my estimation, was a great loss to the Bulleid community, as he was able to tell the quirks of each loco, which were modified and when, without referring to a book.

I think a vintage table would be a nice idea if you do more reviews like this in the future

Funny Story Sam I got a rebuild one of these for $30, the owner said that It didn't work but when I got home to test it, it ran beautifully ;) Cheers Jasper & Willow

Ahh a vintage OO loco review? Don't see a lot of those around here anymore. Not complaining, maybe you should do something like this every now and then! These old models have a certain charm to them. :)

You asked if we'd like some more of the older engines in your collection. YES PLEASE! Bring 'em on!

The danger of the Hornby/Wrenn ringfield motor was that it had a tendency to stall and burn out. I still have two, a Hornby Dublo Stanier 2-8-0 costing £1.50 in 1967 and a Wrenn West Country costing me £5.00 in 1972. The non-ringfield motor in Hornby Dublo was better than the ringfield in my 2-6-4 tank.

Since your model has orange lining I believe that means it was made between 1990 and 1992. So, if 1192 indicates the date, it may be one the very last made. I do agree that Wrenn (and Hornby Dublo) models do have a certain charisma. My fondness for them probably stems from me having several from the late 1960s, when I was a boy.

Is the Merchant Navy on the turntable the odd one out among a sea of West Countries?

Photos of both the West Country and the Royal Scot appear as locos "Coming Soon" in the 1976 Wrenn catalogue.The tender and motor are the same as supplied with the Hornby-Dublo rebuilt West Country which dates back to the 1950s.

I have a few Wrenn's. Their wagons hold up to the modern stuff in my opinion, I seek them out with their metal chassis's they run excellent and dont have derail problems. Their engines, I have the Brunswick Green Mallard and the 2-6-4 tank and they just feel like something special. Detail wise not really amazing mostly down to painted detail in my opinion, but to hold in the hand they feel like a miniaturised machine rather than a fragile plastic model.

Good to see this excellent item, I run Wrenn all the time on my vintage Tri-ang Super 4 layout. Please continue to occasionally feature some vintage items, there are a lot of us who still enjoy running them and modifying them too. All the best to you

Excellent. A West Country Class un-rebuilt and in proper Southern railway colours too! Love it! The Spam Cans were truly iconic, but rarely do we see them in Southern colours. I have the Hornby 00 version of Exeter and have to admit to it being my favourite.

Yes, would love to see more of older locos run and discussed again. Most of mine are from the 1970’s and 80’s. Just a few purchased over the past year.

Until I saw the box in your video, never knew Wrenn was based in Basildon. (family connection) All the years I saw Wrenn models at train fairs :D

An honest review and great to see. Thanks for sharing this with us.

From memory, Beatties, Holborn, late 1980's (ish), £108-00. I wanted one and didn't have the money, however I have one now, Fighter Pilot - Golden Arrow, with flags and goodness knows what. And yes, it's my favourite engine, having been professionally 3-railed and running on my Hornby-Dublo system. I totally agree with both your sentiments, it does not have the detail that a new loco would have but... I just love these things, loud, solid and they run. That 3 pole motor was introduced in 1938 ! Wrenn later did a 5 pole version. these motors used more current than modern locos and you really need a much more powerful controller, then it will go pretty well, and do wheel spins.

I bought the Wrenn LMS Pacific class ‘City of Stoke on Trent’ for £17.00 in 1977 from a model shop in Portsmouth, which is still there! According to the Bank of England inflation calculator, that equates to £93 in today’s money. You can’t get a large loco for that these days! BTW: Sold all my Wrenn locos (kept the rolling stock) a couple of years back when I decided to go DCC. Not regretted it.

Very interesting video. I love the history, so more of them I would find interesting. Thanks!

The différence between this and todays Chinese made super detailed models - and the Mainline models of the time - is that this will still be running in 70 years time, I doubt any of its older or more modern competitors will still be running at the turn of the 22nd century ! It would be nice to rate it compared to its peers of the 1980’s. Yes, reviews of old style stuff would be great, but you need to rate them according to the period they were produced.

Now you need a graham farish oo gauge one to complete the set !

It's lovely sam very nice thing to have do some retro reviews im sure you have many in your collection 🙂

in 1973 the rebuilt west country Wrenn had an RRP of £10.5 which put through the Bank of England inflation calculator is only £106. I remember in the early 1970s going to TOYS TOYS TOYS in N. London to buy a Triang class 08 shunter which cost 2 weeks of my pocket money! I'll try and find my late Wrenn pricelist. From memory they did start to get more expensive in real terms but not much more than Triang Hornby of the same year.

The spinning wheels on the track isn't an ideal way to measure torque to be honest. When you have a heavier loco, there is extra weight pushing down on the wheels, creating extra friction, in otherwords, the wheels grip the rails more, so they are less likely to slip. You will likely find, if measured with proper equipment, the Wrenn actually has the same, if not more, torque as the Hornby/Triang model does

Enjoying this bery much and haven't even got to the loco yet! Just the packaging! More vintage reviews please

Remember the time you put this loco into a YO-box as a sponsorship advert to demonstrate how well protected those boxes are? That was so long ago... 🥲

Love this loco, I have a Wrenn Duchess, worth about £200. Decent model for it's time. Interestingly it's branded "Tri-ang Wrenn" so maybe they were bought by Tri-Ang? I don't know. Great video as always.

Its the magic charm that those Wrenn Models are radiate.

She’s a beauty! One of these scared the living daylights out of me. I was about 10 and the loco lifted her safety valves as I was alongside it. Wow! What a noise.

9:30 This Wrenn West Country Locomotive Is A Bit Like Rebecca From Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends The Original Series. Thanks Sam'sTrains Dude Mate. X

That's amazing review Sam

Blimey and I thought my Rapido Apt-e was expensive 😂😮😮

I really enjoyed the review. To a certain degree, the Wren locomotives remind me of the American manufacturer Bowser. The old steam locos were all diecast, but they had a large dc71 open frame motor. With the weight, combined with the torque of the dc71 motors, these beasts will pull anything you put behind them. Detail was minimal, but brass detail kits were available. I was surprised that the Wren didn't pull better with its weight. Perhaps, with a different motor, they would have pulled the paint off the wall. Very interesting looking locomotive. Keep up the great reviews and congratulations on 10 YEARS !!!!

I love modern models, especially for their detail etc, but Dublo / Wrenn locos are still great. Considering the basic loco chassis and motors were designed in the late 1930s, they still work! I have a pre-war Dublo N2, that after a bit of TLC, runs perfectly well. These things are bomb proof! I do wonder how well a modern Hornby / Bachmann etc loco will run in 80+ years time? Great to see Wrenn being used.

Enjoyed the look back. Wouldn't mine seeing some more blasts from the past.

excellent video Sam... good to see the older locos ... more pls Sir

If memory serves me the Wrenn locos shot up in price after the factory in Wales burned down, with the loss of all tooling. I think this as around 95/96? I was England at the time and attending a couple of model loco auctions, and noticed the price jump.

I found the odd one out! Pause at 27:19 and you can see a blue WC/BOB class on the turntable. All the others were green.

I remember you pointing out this video in a live stream a while back. Please can we see more reviews of older models?

"I'm the kind of person who believe that models trains are made to be run", add me on the list ! And I really like your idea to review vintage models, it is always interesting to anyone, not only hardcore collectors or vintage-oriented modellers. Honestly, can you imagine a manufacturer building locomotives today with this basic level of details, just adding a DCC socket and NEM couplers compared to the Wrenn model, and sell that for GBP 100 retailer's price ? I think you have a market for basic detailed and low priced engines...

Hi Sam, Your engine and the Wrenn Royal Scot are two of the most expensive R+R vintage engines you can but. Both are wonderful. I would love to have them in my collection.

Loved this! Do more vintage locos they are great to see!

I did not know this model existed and the detail is very good for a Wrenn engine. I have a Wrenn 34042 Dorcester (rebuilt) - new and unused - on display and think it is delightful in a tactile sense.

keep up the great work Sam.

Wait whaaaat a Wrenn locomotive?! Oh god, I didn't think you would review one in 2023. I went back to watch some of your old Wrenn loco reviews, the Castle and the 4MT 2-6-4 tank. I didn't know they did a Light Pacific. I only know the common Wrenn locomotives, like the 8F, the N2, the Castle and the City. I got my first Hornby Dublo locomotive last November it was Cardiff Castle for 40£. This year I got a N2 and a 4MT BR Standard tank. I really love them. The weight is absolutely amazing it's like holding a real locomotive it's so heavy. I serviced mine and they still run like a dream even after so many years of sitting. A taste of oil and it goes pulling 30 wagons without any problem. They are also easy to service. Absolutely love Wrenn locomotives if the price is right (which it mostly isn't sadly) this is a model that just lasts and runs until the brushes die but even then replace em and there you go. Simple, heavy, durable, built to last. Absolutely love them 👌 great review, Sam 👍 Edit: Please do more vintage locomotive reviews. Maybe once a month a Tri-ang, vintage Airfix or old Hornby, I think its great to have a look back in time and see how far we've come from toy trains to super detail models. I think it would make a nice little series like Blast from the Past once a month for fun.

Good afternoon Sam. A fascinating, fantastic video. G and R Wrenn are the ROLEX of model railways when i was growing up. To own a locomotive, coach or wagon made by this company was a privilege and a pleasure. You had made it in the model railway world BECAUSE THIS COMPANY AND THE ROLLING STOCK THEY PRODUCED WERE FOR CONNOISSEUR'S AND COLLECTORS. BRITISH made in Basildon in Essex. Yes they are double the price of Hornby, Lima and Airfix but they were worth it. PROPER trains with die cast chassis. Proper transfers on wagons like Dunlop or Bisto. It's a scandal Hornby did not rescue them in 1992 which is a shame. But the locomotive you own is a beautiful top class quality BRITISH made model locomotive, PURE ROLEX. I have City of Wells in Golden Arrow regalia absolutely stunning. Thank you Sam for sharing your locomotive with me.🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟👍

Strictly speaking, Wrenn did not develop this motor. It's the Hornby Dublo mechanism first seen on the A4 "Sir Nigel Gresley" model in 1938. In fact, the Wrenn chassis under this loco is actually a development of the Dublo A4 chassis (slightly different casting, modified axle mounting, slightly different armature design and obviously different valvegear). Interestingly, this chassis was also used under the Wrenn Royal Scot, albeit with different valvegear, wheels and no pony truck. The tender shown here is also a standard Dublo WC tender (that isn't strictly prototypical for unrebuilt locos). The only genuinely 'new' thing about this loco is the body, which Wrenn developed. By contrast, the Rebuilt WC is just a straight continuation of the Dublo West Country class with minor modifications.

Hi Sam, lovely, lovely model. I'm surprised she is that sluggish, not been my finding at all. I was going to suggest the magnet but you say you have done that. Does it have the inductors to the motor? Outside chance one of them has some resistance. Cheers

Always great to watch…

Lovely Livery on this! I love me some green locos!

I had a 1970s Wrenn rebuilt Wrenn West Country in which the large motor was mounted on a slope so the top end filled the entire cab. Overall it was quite a crude model but it had a certain charm and adding details such as flush glazing, finer ladders and coupling hooks improved it a lot.

The driving wheels remind me of the JNR C62

Nice review Sam , i have a few Wrenn loco's my Duchess in BR express blue i have been offered a large amount of cash for it but since i have had it for over 45 years it ain't going no-where.

I've found vintage Wrenns don't like finer scale points like Trix C-track code 83 (2.1mm). Work fine on Peco code 100. The tyres are indeed course scale.

I have 3 Wrenn locos, all of them have been heavily modifiedwith new wheelsets, and motor gearbox units, they are the best running locos I have, when it comes to slow speed and pulling performance, One of mine is the Duchess of Hamilton, another is Silver link and the other is a 4-6-4 Tank. Apart from the slight whine from the gearboxes they are my best runners. The ladder is probably the most realistic part of your loco, how many loco's ladders would have remained in the shape they left the works in real life.

That was great Sam. With an engineering background, it was enjoyable to see the difference in build.

If you were up for it, you should find yourself a steam loco made by Bowser. They were primarily kits with a standard version or for a little extra, a super detail kit can be included, models prior to 1986 had their boilers cast in lead. They primarily made Pennsylvania Railroad prototypes along with a New York Central K-11 4-6-2, USRA heavy 4-8-2/ freelance 4-8-4, Union Pacific challenger and big boy. They have five pole open frame motors and although they may be a little temperamental at times, a well dialed bowser can outperform brand new models.

Glad to finally see you showing this guy off after you chickened out in the livestream series a while back XD In all seriousness, I did like the look of it. I thought the front end looked really cool

It’s pretty neat that the West Country/Battle of Britain class is actually the basis for the Thomas character Rebecca while the character Neville is a Bulleid Q1 both engine basis for both Rebecca and Neville were designed by Oliver Bulleid.

Awesome video Sam's trains

Interesting video - what distract d me was that Wrenn were from Basildon! I didn’t know my home town had a model railway company!

Yes please more vintage loco videos. And not clue what the "odd one out" is. Unless there is a Marchant Navey class in the sidings somewhere!

Hey Sam, I believe the odd one out was the BR blue Merchant Navy on the turntable

Man a old and expensive locomotive, looks pretty nice in southern green, can’t wait to see more when it comes to older engines

Nice loco sam I hope you don’t mind me asking here but do you know of any assembly instructions for the Hornby 9f loco driven loco as I’ve collected the parts needed to convert a tender driven chassis so looking for reference material love the channel bud

Hi Sam - beautiful old engine. I’ll be at TMC tomorrow, don’t think they’ll have many in stock 😉

Very interesting and nostalgiic video, Sam - brought a tear to the eye seeing the Wrenn model! Was the blue Merchant Navy class on the turntable the odd one out? Found a Wreen catalogue dated January 1978 which lists their new Royal Scot models W2260/1 at £29.50 (but available only after May) - no mention of the unrebuilt WC, so guess that must have come later still. The ex-Hornby Dublo rebuilt WC 'Barnstaple' in BR livery and 'Lyme Regis' in SR livery were priced at £25.95 each.

Loving the vintage review!

What a handsome locomotive. The flat pannels give it a sleek and modern look. I imagine they wash the trains with a brush on a long pole and a trolley of soapy water. Then another person going along behind hosing it off. But I could be completely wrong :-)

Why not do a review/ comparison of the Triang Princess locomotives over the years, I think there has been at least three, maybe four. I have an original 1950s and a much later 1970s version. We can then see how far production has improved.

Great to see a Wrenn review! They are very special aren't they! I've got a Wrenn City of Wells West Country, 3-railed for running with Hornby Dublo, along with several other Wrenn locos. I think you will probably get better performance with a more powerful controller, mine shows better torque. The other Wrenn models that they made 'new' as opposed to continuing Dublo models were the un-rebuilt Royal Scot and the Brighton Belle although the mechanisms were essential Dublo style still. The un-rebuilt WC/BofB tender was the same as the Dublo rebuilt West Country so the tooling dates from late 1961! Why they only put one ladder on the back I'll never know! One of my Dublo ones has had the 2nd added as per the 1:1 versions! How about getting hold of some old Dublo 3-rail track and locos and reviewing them - the Castle, dating from, I think 1957, was the 'gold standard' for many years and still stands up well. I also run more modern locos but I doubt if they will still be running when they are 60 to 70 years old and enjoy such a good spares availability!

Nice video Sam. To me there is something special about Wrenn and Dublo locos and certainly this loco is in the style of Dublo. Some other positives are that these locos are robustly built and wont fall apart in your hands like some finely detailed modern locos. Apart from the rare items like this generally good specimens can be had for more reasonable prices than modern alternatives. If we are honest Wrenn did do some strange things during their history with liveries and finishes of their locos although this particular model looks pretty good and not bad on accuracy. To me running Wrenn or Dublo is about running high quality toy trains more than model railways-I think, though, there is a place and fun to be had from both!

What an absolutely clean old model, even the motor is so tidy and clean! Ive never seen magnet plates that shiny and chrome

Sam I have an idea. As someone who has many points and switches on my layout I find some Engines struggle on my points with issues such as derailing or cutting out and I am most likely not the only one who has this issue. So for some people who may have many points you could add in your performance tests trying engines over points. Sorry if I seem Rude. However lovely to see another vintage Loco they have such a charm to them. Thanks.

As I live in Plymouth, I can appreciate this review. That crest is the city of Plymouths Coat of Arms. The black white and green are pretty synonymous with the city, and the 4 towers represents 4 forts around the city, dating back to the English Civil War.

12:45 Where are the cylinder blocks from spitfire?

My favourite are pre war 3 rail locos. Those are incredible.

01:55 I might have some bias here, but 82? Great year ;D

Hi Sam, Well done, it's great to see a Wrenn model 'up close & personal' - how about looking at some of their (and HD) rolling stock as well.. Cheers

Fab to see, I remember in the 60s when I was young I always wanted a Wrenn but could not afford one

We thoroughly enjoyed this. I can remember my dad having those boxes in the mid 1970's. How do you recharge a magnet ?

Wow Sam, she's beautiful! Very good quality for its age, but then again wren are known for locos that stand the test of time! Great video sam

Is the odd one out the blue West Country class on the turntable Sam? I say it’s that one as all the others are in some sort of green livery

Good video here Sam and what a really nice locomotive here, that is certainly an expensive price for one of those, the most I have ever spent on a model is about £395 and that was for my bachmann midland Pullman, not really sure what the rarest item I have in my collection is, I do have quite a few rare items though for example I recently picked up a heljan class 28 which from the looks of it those can be quite rare and one really interesting model I have which could be seen as rare is a HO Blackpool flexity 2 tram which also was bought recently and you don’t see those sold much nowadays.

I'm surprised you actually reviewed and ranked such an old locomotive! I remember the last time you did this, you only put out five vintage loco reviews that year, all in their own rankings book. Older model trains do have that charm to them, especially motor sounds over DCC sound systems.

I like Wrenn, probably my favorite OO locomotives, especially the ones based off of Hornby Dublo tooling.

This is like a famous celebrity being loved not for their performance in movies, but just because people like them

I would love to see more older models and also want to see more one minute wonders

Thanks for showing us that (again) Sam. Is the cab detail engraved rather than raised? Looks like it, but hard to tell in 2D. More of a show-and-tell than a normal review and I liked that. That model has a good caretaker!

The chassis design looks very like the original Hornby Dublo chassis on the Class 4 2-6-4T, Duchesses, A4s, 0-6-2Ts. Some of the Wrenn locos eg. City of Liverpool and City of London, had an open frame motor similar to some of the 8fs and Castles. These and others had the Dublo designed Ringfield motor. The reason I think Wrenn never used the Ringfield motor was probably so they vould measure the Backhead. The Ringfield and open frame motors both ran better and pulled more, so I'm very disappointed that that mechanism was used (I didnt know they did). That type of chassis was designed in the 1930s-40s. If you wanted to improve running, you can get a five pole armature for this type of loco. There are a few firms that can supply them!

I’ve seen the golden arrow version of this before the rebuild at bury Bolton street a couple of yours ago

i got my dad the Hornby R2215 LT Ed 18ct Gold Plated LMS 4-6-2 Princess Elizabeth Locomotive which he's kept in a display case & never run it. last i checked the value on one of them was around £1000-£2000 if never run & in pristine condition

Great videos, could you please tell us what train companies and the types of loads some of these wagons are, I thought I saw some Engineering trains , very interesting, David from New Zealand.

Blimey! I've got a couple of boxed Wrenn locos, I'd better check and see if they are worth a bit these days. They are awesome for their age, but I'm not a vintage loco collector so giving them a better home makes sense. And if I'm lucky I can afford a new loco or 2.

Great video! I do love these locomotives, especially the rebuilt ones. My only complaint is that the tenders of these engines look way too small for them. Maybe it's because I'm American and everything is bigger here, lol.

I bought a Wrenn A4 Gannet wartime livery brand new for £50 back in the day and still have it in it's box only run twice

I would love to see you review the triang/hornby Caledonian blue single wheeler

more vintage locos is a wonderful idea i say

Odd one out: Merchant Navy on the turntable

Hi Sam. Do any makers produce models of really early stuff. Pre Copper Knob? e.g. Beamish Museum, County Durham, England. Seen from the south, the locomotive Locomotion No. 1 stands at the east end of the single platform on the Pockerley Waggonway.

Very nice. Had a Hornby Flying Scotsman probably from the late 50s, early 60s. Very heavy and all metal.