Maker record
Wrenn
Wrenn was a British maker of model railway equipment. Its products included trackwork, locomotives and rolling stock, with ranges in 00, TT and N gauges. The company began with track and later produced 00-gauge locomotives and wagons based on Hornby Dublo designs and tooling. Wrenn locomotives used heavy die-cast bodies and were modelled at 4 mm to the foot for 00/HO track systems. The range also included the Brighton Belle motorised cars and Pullman coaches.
- Founded
- 1950
- Founders
- George Lines · Richard Lines
The story of Wrenn
G&R Wrenn began in 1950, making model railway track. It expanded into specialist railway products and introduced the Formula 152 slot-car system in 1960. In 1964, British Trix agreed to sell Formula 152 and invest in Wrenn. That arrangement was short-lived. After Lines Brothers took over Meccano in 1964, Wrenn acquired Hornby Dublo designs, tools and remaining stock, enabling it to manufacture its own 00-gauge railway equipment using the Dublo legacy. Lines Brothers took a two-thirds stake in Wrenn, and the company dropped its slot-car range.
Wrenn products appeared in Tri-ang catalogues from 1970 to 1972 as heavy die-cast locomotives and private-owner wagons. After Lines Brothers collapsed in 1972, Wrenn bought itself out and continued as Wrenn Railways, extending the Dublo-based range with new locomotives and Brighton Belle motorised cars. The company later developed railway products in TT and N gauges as well as 00. In 1992, Dapol owner David Boyle took over Wrenn; the factory and production equipment moved from Winsford to Llangollen. The Brighton Toy and Model Index records that G&R Wrenn ceased trading in October 2015.