Phoenix locos are UK based international distributors of high quality, affordable battery electric model locos,
rolling stock and loco bogies in 5 inch and 7.25 inch gauge that are ideal as club locos or in garden railways.

The Budgie Frequently Asked Questions

You offer the loco in two gauges, is that the only difference?

Budgie 5 is scaled at 75% of the larger Budgie 7 version. Although they look the same there are a few differences. The 5in version has all the controls located them on top of the bunker at the rear of the cab for easy access. The larger version has some of the controls on top of the bunker with the rest in a remote handset which plugs into a socket on the rear of the loco. The Budgie 5 has two 280w 24v motors and the Budgie 7 has a single 750w 24v motor as standard. The drive system is the same on both locos as are the wheels and axles etc.

I like the green loco with the yellow front panel is that available as an option?

Yes, we normally supply locos with black frames and cab roof, red buffer beams and your choice of colour for the bonnet and cab panels. Additional colours are available at £30 per colour. We can change the standard colours so if you would prefer grey frames with yellow buffer beam for example, just let us know.

Do all the locos come with the BUDGIE name plate?

We provide the nameplate as part of the kit, they are 3D printed. If you would prefer a different name let us know and we will see what we can do.

Can you fit a horn?

Yes we can supply a pair of electric horns as optional extra, they cost £25 and include all wiring, relays and fuses.

The Budgie 7 has a single 750w motor, why does it have the mounting for two motors?

We offer a second motor option on the 7¼in version, as we are occasionally asked for extra power. We decided to fit the twin motor mount as standard to give the owner the option of ordering a loco with two motors or to retro-fit the second motor at any time. The cost is the same regardless of when it is fitted.

We run at a club that uses safety chains can we fit them to the loco?

Both versions have safety chain anchors extended from the main frame through the buffer/drag beam. So you have anchor points at each corner of the loco.

Do the coupling heights comply with GL5 and 7¼in Society guidelines?

Both versions have coupling pockets that match the respective society standards.

Do you offer ready built locos?

We can build your loco for you, the additional cost is £450

What else will I need to complete the kit?

Just add batteries! Everything else is included. We recommend that you source batteries locally and can advise on type and size etc.

I have never built a loco before, would I be able to build the kit?

You do not need to be an engineer to build one of our locos, they are designed to be built! That is a very easy statement to make, but we do design our locos for ease of building. We use 3D cad to design all the panels that make up a loco. The software allows us to build a loco on the screen and check that each panel fits and that you can access the fasteners that hold them. Once you have fitted two panels together, you just repeat the process until you have finished the Loco. The illustrated manual will take you through the build stage by stage.