G & R Wrenn - Post Triang

Post Triang

In 1971 the Lines Bros Ltd 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 Pacifics, 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.