MODEL FEATURES:

Bachmann Narrow Gauge OO9 Scale
Era 3
Pristine Penrhyn Quarry Lined Black (Early) livery
Named ‘Blanche’
Etched Name Plates and Works Plates included
Equipped with a Next18 DCC Decoder Socket – Recommend Decoder item No. 36-567A
Length 67mm
DETAIL VARIATIONS SPECIFIC TO THIS MODEL

Rivetted Saddle Tank
Round Cab Front Windows
Tool Brackets on Right Hand Side of Saddle Tank
No Sanding Pots
Single Piece Smokebox Handrail
MECHANISM:

Coreless motor with flywheel
Electrical pickup from all wheels
Separate metal bearings fitted to each axle
Diecast metal chassis block
9mm (OO9 narrow gauge) wheels to NEM310 standards with authentic profile and detailing
Coupling pockets to NEM355 standards, into which a standard OO9 coupling hook assembly is fitted (hook and loop coupling also supplied for optional fitting)
Designed to operate on curves of first radius (228.6mm) or greater
DETAILING:

Diecast metal cylinder block, frames, footplate and saddle tank
Precision moulded plastic smokebox and cab
Highly detailed and decorated cab interior including separately fitted regulator, reverser leaver, handbrake, and gauge frames and hinged firebox door which can be posed open/closed
Separately applied details including reverser, injectors, handrails, smokebox dart, whistle and tool brackets (where applicable)
Each model supplied with a set of authentically decorated etched name plates and works plates
Lighting:

Firebox Glow (on analogue) / Firebox Glow & Flicker (on DCC or when SOUND FITTED models are used on analogue)
DCC:

Next18 DCC decoder interface
SOUND:

Speaker installed in all models for optimum sound reproduction
Zimo MX659N18 DCC Sound Decoder fitted to SOUND FITTED versions
Sound files produced specifically for the Bachmann Narrow Gauge Mainline Hunslet using recordings from real locomotives
SOUND FITTED models operate on DCC and Analogue control as supplied
LIVERY APPLICATION:

Authentic liveries applied to all models
Multiple paint applications employed on each model
Logos, numerals and text added as appropriate using multi-stage tampo printing incorporating authentic typefaces, logos and colours


MAINLINE HUNSLET HISTORY

Most famous for their operation on the North Wales narrow gauge railways, the first main line Hunslet was built in 1882 by the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds for the Penrhyn Quarry Railway. Named ‘Charles’, the locomotive’s somewhat unconventional appearance, with steeply inclined cylinders and connecting rods located on the inside of the coupling rods, would be repeated eleven years later when ‘Linda’ and ‘Blanche’ were constructed. Known affectionately by many enthusiasts as ‘the Ladies’, they were ostensibly built to the same 0-4-0 saddle tank design as ‘Charles’, although the ‘Ladies’ did incorporate some differences when compared to their elder. They had larger fire grates for one, round spectacle glasses in the front cab sheet rather than the square ones fitted to ‘Charles’ for another, and were also fractionally longer.

Penrhyn Quarry was the largest slate quarry in the world at the end of the nineteenth century and the trio of Hunslets spent their days hauling slate trains over the Penrhyn main line from the vast quarry complex at Coed-y-Parc, near Bethesda, to Port Penrhyn, just a stone’s throw from Bangor on the North Wales coast. Here, slate products were transferred to standard gauge railway wagons or ships for onward transport around the UK and further afield. Whilst smaller locomotive such as the Quarry Hunslets were used to work the quarry’s internal railways, the larger, more powerful Mainline Hunslets worked the full trains from the quarry down to Port Penrhyn and brought the empty wagons back again – similar duties to those for which the Ffestiniog Railway employed the famous Double Fairlies.

During their working lives the three locomotives underwent several changes, all gained full-height rear cab sheets, replacing the original half-height sheets, welded tanks were fitted in place of the original rivetted versions and various sandbox arrangements were seen, amongst other improvements during their time on the Penrhyn line. By the mid-twentieth century traffic on the Penrhyn Quarry Railway was in decline and in 1962 the last trains ran. ‘Charles’ had already been retired in in the mid-1950s, but the Ladies worked on until the very end.

Offered for sale upon closure of the railway, ‘Linda’ was quickly loaned to the Ffestiniog Railway, arriving there only three days after hauling her last train on the Penrhyn Quarry Railway. In 1963 ‘Linda’ was purchased by the Ffestiniog Railway and ‘Blanche’ too was acquired in the same year, arriving at the railway in December 1963. Both Ladies have been modified by the Ffestiniog Railway since their acquisition, most notably with the fitting of front pony wheels and tenders, becoming 2-4-0ST+Ts (saddle tank tender engines). With 2023 marking 60 years since the pair were brought by the Ffestiniog Railway, they are unquestionably two of the most useful engines in the railway’s fleet and are as popular as ever with visitors, staff and volunteers alike.

‘Charles’ was also offered for sale, but with the boiler condemned, the Ffestiniog Railway declined. Instead, ‘Charles’ was loaned to the National Trust and is now displayed at Penrhyn Castle – once the family home of the owners of Penrhyn Quarry.