During the early 80's he produced several '0' gauge plastic wagon kits with very fine details of the Great Western Railway under the label 'WEBSTERS' which were later passed on to 'PECO' and still marketed by them.
He ran the Kader model train factory in Mainland China for five years producing Bachmann products. He designed the 1:20.3 'G' scale Shay and the following year the 'HO' Spectrum 2-8-0 locomotive which both won the manufacturers prize of 'Best Product Of The Year' for 1997 and 1998. The Bachmann America Spectrum 2-8-0 with its new design of chassis and extensive add-on fine detailing set a new standard which heralded the introduction of the Blue Riband range to the British '00' marketplace. He also totally redesigned a series of narrow gauge items for the American market to a scale of 1:48 designated ON30.
Richard was VP of engineering for Americas oldest model train company, Lionel that celebrated 100 years during his tenure. He designed and introduced a totally new track system, which was regarded as the best innovative product for ten years. He worked closely with Neil Young who when not playing his guitar was the genius behind Lionel's electronic control and sound system.
With his Chinese team of engineers he developed the most sophisticated ready to run product to enter the model railway market with a 1:48 scale copy of the American high speed train the 'Acela', with doors that opened and closed on command, directional squeaking pantographs, fully sprung bogies and tilting as it rounded curves, just like the real thing and hailed the most impressive piece of engineering the model train market has ever seen.
With strong financial backing, and extensive hands-on experience he is the person to operate this new venture and provide the '0' gauge enthusiast with some exciting true to scale and innovative ready to run products.
