Take me to Your Leader!

Leader Progress

It’s been a little bit longer in coming than we had hoped, but the wait is nearly over as the Leader has reached final assembly. When the running EP sample of the Leader arrived for testing at the beginning of the year, we weren’t happy with the positioning of the DCC socket and the functioning of the lighting. So we sent it back and asked for some changes to be made to address the issues we identified.

Plux22 Upgrade and Better Lighting

Working with ESU’s engineers, the circuit board in the Leader has been completely redesigned. A new and smaller Plux22 socket has now replaced the 21pin version that was there. This allows better placement and in turn allows the socket to be sited away from the motor better so that it gets less heat in operation. The sound and fitted options are now therefore upgraded to ESU’s Plux22 versions of their decoders. For those who wish to source their own decoders, other brands are available on the market including Train-o-matic, Zimo and a forthcoming version from DCCconcepts.

The functionality of the lighting was addressed to ensure that it works perfectly on both DC and DCC. DCC users now have full control of all lighting and this will be set up to work out of the box with the factory fitted versions with no user input required (other brands of Plux22 decoders may require function mapping of some AUX functions)

Stay Alive Now as Standard

The most exciting addition to the specification is that all models now come with a DCC stay-alive integrated into the circuit board. This will allow trouble-free running without problems caused by momentary loss of track power, for example when your model encounters point frogs or dirty spots. This is of particular benefit for those opting for factory-fitted sound as a momentary loss of power to a sound decoder can cause the sound to stop and either have to be manually restarted, or the locomotive to begin its start up procedure again.

Order Your Leader Now!

A message from CEO Keith Revell

We have had a few emails about the ‘lack of communication’. For this, we humbly apologise. Since the start of 2024, we have been working on the production of three models: The Shay; The Leader and; 4DD, and there hasn’t been anything of note to report.

Sometimes no news is good news, and we felt that bombarding your inbox with newsletters that said nothing of importance would quickly begin to irritate. So we kept our heads down and concentrated on the unglamorous process that goes on behind the scenes to get these models to you.

We have suffered from a worldwide shortage of certain components that have delayed us in the final manufacturing process, but these have now been rectified. We know that we are not the only model manufacturer that has had this issue and it has affected far more than just the model rail industry – anyone trying to buy a new car has also seen lead times extend and extend too!

But we have worked hard and got everything on stream so that the models can progress. So it’s now full steam ahead.

Both sound files have been completed for the Leader and 4DD. We have made a few small tweaks to both models to address minor items that were discovered during extensive testing of pre-production samples. So right now the first models are in final production and will be delivered very soon. Once we have them in our warehouse you will receive an email with your tracking number so you can follow it’s journey to you.

Many thanks for your patience and understanding with the difficulties that we have faced.

Kind regards,
Keith Revell

News on the 4DD Project

For those eagerly awaiting our 4DD model, this will be following the Leader models into our warehouse for distribution. Please note that this model has been exceptionally popular with ALL VERSIONS NOW SOLD OUT TO PRE-ORDER.

KR Models stockists may still have some models available from their allocated stock, but hurry because these have proven to be our most popular model yet and they won’t hang around!

Check Availability and Order now at Rails of Sheffield

Palbricks now Sold Out

Our original Palbricks are now completely sold out at our warehouse, and we would like to thank all of our customers who have supported this project by buying their triple packs of these distinctive wagons.