Rapido Stirling 8-ft Single
Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2025 2:22 pm
Report of first operation of Rapido Stirling 8-ft Single
Rapido Trains' model of the Great Northern Railway's Stirling 8-Foot Single was eagerly awaited once the release of the engine with the original small tender was announced. The model was brought home from England and, after the usual RTFM, was run in at low speed and tested on the points and crossings of my layout.
Because the makers say to avoid feedback controllers, the engine was powered by a Codar TEC-88 of 1970s vintage (a bit older than recommended but there was no problem). As the makers say, the loco is sensitive to voltage fluctuations and this was ably demonstrated on sections of rail that are switched by the old SM3s that power some of my points. OK, that's not the loco's fault. Using the inertia simulation of the TEC-88, she moved away very smoothly from a stand and came to a nice gentle halt.
At no point did the engine hesitate on dead-frog points or crossings. Thanks to an extended live wheelsbase, current pickup is faultless.
Once run in, No.1 was quite at home pulling seven Hattons Genesis 6-wheeled coaches along the continuous headshunt, which ls level all the way, achieving a scale 75 mph with no effort and ghostly quiet. The loudest sound was the wheels clattering over the railjoints.
When I sent her down the main line, with its 1 in 68 ruling gradient, it was a different story. At one location, where there is a 36-inch radius curve, this, combined with the gradient, caused her to slip to a standstill. Reducing the load to five coaches brought the train almost within her capabilities, but she still picked up her feet a bit at that spot. It was however a stroke of genius on Rapido's part to have the motor drive the trailing wheels. Without this feature, she'd've been all but useless.
Otherwise, going along, she really is poetry in motion, although not being, by any stretch of the imagination, an expert on Doncaster locos, I cannot comment on the accuracy, or otherwise, of the detailing.
Several conclusions can be drawn from these tests:
1. The haulage capacity of the engine is severely restricted by her lack of traction tyres (I know I'm going on about this but experience bears me out).
2. Full praise for Rapido for detailing, running quality and choice of prototype (and that powered trailing axle).
3. That comment in the RTFM about running in before attaching a full load is, I find, a bit rich. There is no way this loco can be overloaded with such lousy adhesion (maybe that's the idea).
In addition, it looks as if this is the end of my acquisitions of British-ouline models. My layout was designed to accommodate trains of plausible scale length, i.e. ten to twelve coaches or twenty to thirty wagons and few, if any, of my British locos are capable of pulling such a load up that 1 in 68 ruling gradient. My European engines are, with few exceptions, complete masters of the task. There seem to be only two British-outline models available with traction tyres on alternative wheelsets, which I feel is quite a let-down, considering the scope of the entire range of production.
Test run videos can be viewed on flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/188026976 ... ed-public/
Cheers,
Artur
Rapido Trains' model of the Great Northern Railway's Stirling 8-Foot Single was eagerly awaited once the release of the engine with the original small tender was announced. The model was brought home from England and, after the usual RTFM, was run in at low speed and tested on the points and crossings of my layout.
Because the makers say to avoid feedback controllers, the engine was powered by a Codar TEC-88 of 1970s vintage (a bit older than recommended but there was no problem). As the makers say, the loco is sensitive to voltage fluctuations and this was ably demonstrated on sections of rail that are switched by the old SM3s that power some of my points. OK, that's not the loco's fault. Using the inertia simulation of the TEC-88, she moved away very smoothly from a stand and came to a nice gentle halt.
At no point did the engine hesitate on dead-frog points or crossings. Thanks to an extended live wheelsbase, current pickup is faultless.
Once run in, No.1 was quite at home pulling seven Hattons Genesis 6-wheeled coaches along the continuous headshunt, which ls level all the way, achieving a scale 75 mph with no effort and ghostly quiet. The loudest sound was the wheels clattering over the railjoints.
When I sent her down the main line, with its 1 in 68 ruling gradient, it was a different story. At one location, where there is a 36-inch radius curve, this, combined with the gradient, caused her to slip to a standstill. Reducing the load to five coaches brought the train almost within her capabilities, but she still picked up her feet a bit at that spot. It was however a stroke of genius on Rapido's part to have the motor drive the trailing wheels. Without this feature, she'd've been all but useless.
Otherwise, going along, she really is poetry in motion, although not being, by any stretch of the imagination, an expert on Doncaster locos, I cannot comment on the accuracy, or otherwise, of the detailing.
Several conclusions can be drawn from these tests:
1. The haulage capacity of the engine is severely restricted by her lack of traction tyres (I know I'm going on about this but experience bears me out).
2. Full praise for Rapido for detailing, running quality and choice of prototype (and that powered trailing axle).
3. That comment in the RTFM about running in before attaching a full load is, I find, a bit rich. There is no way this loco can be overloaded with such lousy adhesion (maybe that's the idea).
In addition, it looks as if this is the end of my acquisitions of British-ouline models. My layout was designed to accommodate trains of plausible scale length, i.e. ten to twelve coaches or twenty to thirty wagons and few, if any, of my British locos are capable of pulling such a load up that 1 in 68 ruling gradient. My European engines are, with few exceptions, complete masters of the task. There seem to be only two British-outline models available with traction tyres on alternative wheelsets, which I feel is quite a let-down, considering the scope of the entire range of production.
Test run videos can be viewed on flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/188026976 ... ed-public/
Cheers,
Artur