Wrenn Trains & Railroads

G&R Wrenn Limited was a model railroad company in London, England. The company was founded in 1950 by George and Richard Wrenn and originally manufactured model railroad track. Products included two- and three- rail track for OO gauge model trains, and later, two-rail track for TT scale model trains. The track Wrenn produced was compatible with a number of model railroad products including Farish, Hornby, Tri-ang, Trix, Märklin, Rivarossi, and Universal pattern.

In 1966, Lines Bros. Ltd. purchased a 66% controlling interest in G&R Wrenn. Lines Bros. also owned Tri-ang Railways and Hornby Dublo. George Wrenn asked if he could use the Hornby Dublo tools to produce model railroad rolling stock and sell it under the Wrenn name. Lines Bros. agreed, and Wrenn began making its own model railroad locomotives and cars in addition to track.

In 1969, Lines Bros. decided to brand its model railroad products under the name Tri-ang Wrenn. This only lasted until 1972, when Lines Bros. went into receivership and G&R Wrenn became an independent company once again. Wrenn continued to produce model railroad products until 1992 when it ceased production and sold its tooling to Dapol Ltd.

Quick Facts

• While a subsidiary of Lines Bros., Wrenn sold off the remaining Hornby Dublo stock and the remaining Tri-ang TT scale stock. Tri-ang TT scale was sold under the name Wrenn Table Top
• Wrenn also produced a line of electric racing cars called Wrenn 152 as well as model boats including the Master Mariner set and the Wrenn Wonder Boat
• The Wrenn company enjoyed a revival in 2001 when three collectors of Wrenn products purchased the company from Dapol. While they did not intend to resume full factory production, they did preserve the identity of the company and began producing new model railroad products under the Wrenn name