Gaugemaster and Piko launch British Railways G scale starter set

Gaugemaster put a British Railways-themed G scale starter set into its Collection on June 26, pairing a four-wheel shunter with a Piko controller and a 1.2-metre-diameter circle of track. The package is aimed at modellers who want a working outdoor layout without piecing together a first G gauge system from scratch.

The locomotive carries the classic Lion and Wheel emblem and comes with wheel pick-ups and metal shoes to help maintain electrical contact while it runs. Gaugemaster also said the engine’s head and tail lights change with direction of travel, a useful detail on a set that is clearly built for actual operation rather than shelf display. The front coupling is compatible with most leading G gauge manufacturers, which gives the shunter room to fit into a larger fleet later.

The track is brass and Gaugemaster says it can be laid outside and left out all year, with only occasional cleaning. That matters in G scale, where garden railways live with weather, dirt and long runs between maintenance sessions. The starter set’s 1.2-metre circle gives buyers a defined operating base, while the option to expand the layout using either Piko or LGB track systems makes the package more flexible than a fixed-box starter train.

Gaugemaster said it worked closely with Piko to produce the set, and it is being sold as a Gaugemaster Collection item. That line is pitched as a curated range of locomotives, coaches and wagons made with leading brands including Dapol, Heljan, Piko, Minitrix and Kato to bring less common models to market. The collaboration gives this release a different feel from a generic train-set bundle: it is meant to open the door to outdoor running while still leaning on prototype appeal.

The company’s own background helps explain the approach. Gaugemaster Controls was formed in Worthing in 1975 as an electronic sub-assembly business, and its first controller followed in 1977. That history sits neatly behind a starter set that arrives with the controller in the box and tries to make G scale feel less like a leap and more like a first operating session in the garden.