G & R Wrenn
Encyclopedia
G & R Wrenn was a toy company specialising in the manufacture of model railways. It was founded in 1950 by George & Richard Wrenn
.
Initially located at Lee Green in southeast London
, the company moved in 1955 to new larger premises in Basildon
in Essex
, where it remained until its final dissolution in 1992. In October 1957 the family partnership was formed into the Limited Company G & R Wrenn Ltd.
toys similar to Scalextric
but whereas Scalextric adopted the popular 1/32 scale, Wrenn produced their "Formula 152 model racing system" to 1/52, and with a twin conductor rail on each side of the 'slot' the system was capable of running three cars at a time on each track. The smaller scale meant that quite comprehensive circuits could be fitted on to an 8' x 4' baseboard, but generally, electrical conductivity was quite fragile, so many users adopted a practice of a second conductor track piece on the far side of the circuit.
Some accessories were marketed, such at track barriers, lap counters, pit buildings etc., but as the only proponents of the 1/52 scale, the system was never popular,
The original cars were a Ferrari
and a Cooper
and used an electromagnetic ratchet and pawl system and a contact breaker, rather than the more traditional wound electric motors. This first motor could be run on 16v AC or 12v DC current, with AC current providing slightly more power. Power was either 'on' or 'off' and cars would freewheel around corners, needing a totally different driving technique to variable speed motors. Cars could only run for a short time as they were rather prone to overheating, and performances varied wildly, according to contact and brush settings. Later developments moved on to more traditional DC motors with a variable speed control, and the addition of Vanwall
, Maserati
, BRM and Porsche
to the rather limited range.
Wrenn set up a '152 Drivers club' complete with metal badge and a short lived newsletter.
Other products included battery-operated boats.
(operating as Tri-ang) bought up the Hornby Dublo line in 1964 after the collapse of the Meccano Ltd
empire and a year and a half later bought a controlling share
in G & R Wrenn. Wrenn acquired the old Hornby Dublo moulds
and from 1967 continued to produce these models under the Wrenn name as well as acting as the distributor for the remaining unsold Dublo stocks. Around the same time the Wrenn car racing system—which competed with Lines Bros.-owned Scalextric—disappeared. Speculation has always been rife as to whether a deal was cut involving the Dublo moulds and the disappearance of the Wrenn racing system; but no details of any such arrangement have ever emerged in surviving records from the time. In 1968 Wrenn took on the same role with TT as it had with Dublo, and the 'Wrenn Table Top' name was used to sell off the remaining stocks of the abandoned Tri-ang 'TT' 3 mm scale models. From late 1969 the company adopted the styling "Triang Wrenn" for its products; but this was to last for less than three years.
group collapsed into receivership
. Wrenn bought itself free from the receiver and continued to trade as G & R Wrenn Ltd., primarily selling mostly die-cast products from the former 'Hornby Dublo' line. Although they obtained rights and the tooling for most of the Hornby Dublo models, they did not acquire the Hornby
brandname. Lines Bros had obtained this name as a result of buying up Hornby Dublo and used it as part of the name 'Tri-ang Hornby'. The Hornby name was subsequently sold to Rovex Ltd.
G & R Wrenn also had a sideline reselling Lima
N scale models into the United Kingdom
under the name 'Wrenn Micro-models'.
In 1992 G & R Wrenn Ltd at Basildon finally closed down. In addition to the models made from the original Hornby Dublo tooling, during the 1980s the Company introduced brand new models in the form of the Air Smoothed or 'Spam Can' Bulleid Pacifis, the L.M.S. Royal Scot and the Brighton Belle sets. 1992 was not to be the end however. Even as the closedown took place, Dapol
was busy purchasing the remaining materials.
Dapol made little use of the inherited Wrenn material, selling a few wagons and reusing some of the designs in N gauge. In 2001 Dapol sold the G & R Wrenn Ltd. Company to new owners - three avid Wrenn collectors, who have kept the Company alive and have since launched a Collectors Club run by the Company themselves, launched a Company web-site at www.gandr-wrenn.co.uk where brand new models and parts and spares can be bought. Some of the original wagon body moulds did not form part of the sale and they have now been absorbed into the Dapol production line.
In 2009 the Company ran a new 'hot metal' production run of the most popular Wrenn loco body - the Bulleid 'Spam Can' and this and the Rebuilt Bulleid loco bodies now form part of brand new Loco body models available to collectors through the Company web-site.
.
Origins
G & R Wrenn's first product line was trackwork for 00 gauge model railway equipment, producing a variety of points and crossings for both 2- and 3-rail formats.Initially located at Lee Green in southeast London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the company moved in 1955 to new larger premises in Basildon
Basildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, where it remained until its final dissolution in 1992. In October 1957 the family partnership was formed into the Limited Company G & R Wrenn Ltd.
Slot-car racing
In 1960, the company branched out into electric car racingSlot car
A slot car is a powered miniature auto or other vehicle that is guided by a groove or slot in the track on which it runs. A pin or blade extends from the bottom of the car into the slot...
toys similar to Scalextric
Scalextric
Scalextric is a toy brand for a range of slot car racing sets which first appeared in the late 1950s, as a creation of British firm Minimodels. The brand is currently owned and distributed by Hornby.-History:...
but whereas Scalextric adopted the popular 1/32 scale, Wrenn produced their "Formula 152 model racing system" to 1/52, and with a twin conductor rail on each side of the 'slot' the system was capable of running three cars at a time on each track. The smaller scale meant that quite comprehensive circuits could be fitted on to an 8' x 4' baseboard, but generally, electrical conductivity was quite fragile, so many users adopted a practice of a second conductor track piece on the far side of the circuit.
Some accessories were marketed, such at track barriers, lap counters, pit buildings etc., but as the only proponents of the 1/52 scale, the system was never popular,
The original cars were a Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
and a Cooper
Cooper Car Company
The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
and used an electromagnetic ratchet and pawl system and a contact breaker, rather than the more traditional wound electric motors. This first motor could be run on 16v AC or 12v DC current, with AC current providing slightly more power. Power was either 'on' or 'off' and cars would freewheel around corners, needing a totally different driving technique to variable speed motors. Cars could only run for a short time as they were rather prone to overheating, and performances varied wildly, according to contact and brush settings. Later developments moved on to more traditional DC motors with a variable speed control, and the addition of Vanwall
Vanwall
Vanwall was a Formula One motor racing team that competed in the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall bearings produced at the Vandervell Products factory at Acton, London...
, Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
, BRM and Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
to the rather limited range.
Wrenn set up a '152 Drivers club' complete with metal badge and a short lived newsletter.
Other products included battery-operated boats.
Triang Wrenn
The mid 1960s were a bad time for the model trade and several companies collapsed. Lines Bros LtdLines Bros Ltd
Lines Bros Ltd was a British toy manufacturer of the 20th century, operating under the Tri-ang brand name.Lines Bros Ltd, at its peak, was claimed to be the largest toy maker in the world.-History:...
(operating as Tri-ang) bought up the Hornby Dublo line in 1964 after the collapse of the Meccano Ltd
Meccano Ltd
Meccano Ltd was a British toy company established in 1908 by Frank Hornby in England to manufacture and distribute Meccano and other model toys and kits created by the company...
empire and a year and a half later bought a controlling share
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
in G & R Wrenn. Wrenn acquired the old Hornby Dublo moulds
Molding (process)
Molding or moulding is the process of manufacturing by shaping pliable raw material using a rigid frame or model called a pattern....
and from 1967 continued to produce these models under the Wrenn name as well as acting as the distributor for the remaining unsold Dublo stocks. Around the same time the Wrenn car racing system—which competed with Lines Bros.-owned Scalextric—disappeared. Speculation has always been rife as to whether a deal was cut involving the Dublo moulds and the disappearance of the Wrenn racing system; but no details of any such arrangement have ever emerged in surviving records from the time. In 1968 Wrenn took on the same role with TT as it had with Dublo, and the 'Wrenn Table Top' name was used to sell off the remaining stocks of the abandoned Tri-ang 'TT' 3 mm scale models. From late 1969 the company adopted the styling "Triang Wrenn" for its products; but this was to last for less than three years.
Post Triang
In 1971 the Lines Bros LtdLines Bros Ltd
Lines Bros Ltd was a British toy manufacturer of the 20th century, operating under the Tri-ang brand name.Lines Bros Ltd, at its peak, was claimed to be the largest toy maker in the world.-History:...
group collapsed into receivership
Official Receiver
An officer of the Insolvency Service of the United Kingdom, the Official Receiver is an officer of the court to which he is attached. The OR is therefore answerable to the courts for carrying out the courts' orders and for fulfilling his duties under law...
. Wrenn bought itself free from the receiver and continued to trade as G & R Wrenn Ltd., primarily selling mostly die-cast products from the former 'Hornby Dublo' line. Although they obtained rights and the tooling for most of the Hornby Dublo models, they did not acquire the Hornby
Hornby Railways
Hornby Railways is the leading brand of model railway in the United Kingdom. Its roots date back to 1901, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first 00 gauge train...
brandname. Lines Bros had obtained this name as a result of buying up Hornby Dublo and used it as part of the name 'Tri-ang Hornby'. The Hornby name was subsequently sold to Rovex Ltd.
G & R Wrenn also had a sideline reselling Lima
Lima (models)
Lima S.p.A was a brand of railway models made in Vicenza, Italy, for almost 50 years, from the early 1950s until the company ceased trading in 2004...
N scale models into the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
under the name 'Wrenn Micro-models'.
In 1992 G & R Wrenn Ltd at Basildon finally closed down. In addition to the models made from the original Hornby Dublo tooling, during the 1980s the Company introduced brand new models in the form of the Air Smoothed or 'Spam Can' Bulleid Pacifis, the L.M.S. Royal Scot and the Brighton Belle sets. 1992 was not to be the end however. Even as the closedown took place, Dapol
Dapol
Dapol Ltd is a Welsh model railway manufacturer based in Chirk, Wales. The factory where design and manufacturing take place is just over the border in England.The Dapol trading name is known for its model railway products in N and OO gauges.-History:...
was busy purchasing the remaining materials.
Dapol made little use of the inherited Wrenn material, selling a few wagons and reusing some of the designs in N gauge. In 2001 Dapol sold the G & R Wrenn Ltd. Company to new owners - three avid Wrenn collectors, who have kept the Company alive and have since launched a Collectors Club run by the Company themselves, launched a Company web-site at www.gandr-wrenn.co.uk where brand new models and parts and spares can be bought. Some of the original wagon body moulds did not form part of the sale and they have now been absorbed into the Dapol production line.
In 2009 the Company ran a new 'hot metal' production run of the most popular Wrenn loco body - the Bulleid 'Spam Can' and this and the Rebuilt Bulleid loco bodies now form part of brand new Loco body models available to collectors through the Company web-site.
Further reading
- Maurice Gunter (2004), The Story of Wrenn: From Binns Road to Basildon, Irwell Press. ISBN 1903266424. Accompanying 1200-page CD also available. http://www.moorwrenn.co.uk/wrenn_title.htm
External links
- G & R Wrenn Ltd Official site
- Wrenn model railways Tribute site
- Official Wrenn Collectors Club
- Wrenn railways collectors club
- Wrenn Formula 1 HO Slot Cars