Large Scale Central

Puffing Billy #5 - the Class NA 2-6-2 Baldwin

General Discussion
#1

is due to make a show sometime next year from the combined efforts of AccuCraft UK and Gordon Watson over/down in Australia. This iconic locomotive will be availabe in live steam AND electric, in green as running on the PBR, Indian red and and unlettered black.

Quote from AccuCraft UK’s site - http://www.accucraft.uk.com/2012/10/accucraft-october-news/

'Victorian Railways NA 2-6-2T
In association with Accucraft, our Australian colleagues at Argyle Locomotive Works have decided to develop a Victorian Railways NA Class 2-6-2T in 1:19 scale – live steam and electric, 45mm and 32mm gauge. Planned liveries – Green, Indian Red, plain Black with appropriate numbers. These models will only be available from Accucraft (UK) and reservations now being taken.

These iconic locomotives are the main motive power on the Puffing Billy Railway and in some respects are an enlarged 2-6-2 version of ‘Lyn’ of Lynton & Barnstaple fame.

This is the loco running right now in OZ -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gwCtiZKejk&feature=related

No price yet, but I’m betting it will be the thick end of $2000 or so.

Beautuful, eh?

Can’t wait, us.

tac, ig & The Drop Bear Boys

#2

Hi Tac.
Actually it is now Mike Ragg who is the main man at Argyle Sales. Gordon concentrates on the service side and still is fabricating a few of his own locos.
I was helping Mike at the recent Sydney Model Railway Show where he had drawings and plans,drawn by David Fletcher,on show. Very keen interest from the attendees.
The Na’s are actually quite big locos and will look fantastic on a layout that can handle them.

#3

I am not into 1:19 scale but that will be a nice engine, I hope Peter L buys one so we can see it at the club LOL

Wayne

#4

Tony - thanks for the info - not sure what I’ll do with it, but you never know. You’re right about the size - it will be a mighty little loco indeed at 16mm scale - hopefully we’ll see them over here running on 32mm track - something that I don’t have.

As my layout has 13.5 and 14 foot radius curves, it will be no trouble there, I’m sure, and the other two tracks that I run on are actually bigger. IF it is anything like the recent offerings 99.9% true scale models from AccuCraft - ‘Peveril’ and ‘Caledonian’, it will look like a museum piece, but run like a train.

Green for me, IF I win the lottery.

Best

tac, ig & The Daytime Banjo Boys

#5

Tac.
The Na will be dual gaugeable. Both in Live Steam and Electric.

#6

Yup, read it on the site - sadly, the prospect of me laying my tentacles on one has receded into Never-neverland - word on the block is £2000 a pop.

Worth it, I’m sure, but IF I ever went in that direction, where the heck am I going to find 16mm scale drop-bears and kookaburras?

Best from upo here and around the corner.

tac, ig & The Jolly Jumpbuck boys

#7

You could always opt for the electric version. That will be lower cost.

#8

Chaps,
This not a large prototype, not by US standards. While the model is 1:19 scale, the size is still smaller than many of the 20.3 models out there.
Note length is approx 448mm beam face to beam face, width at front beam is 134mm, but the width of the cab is 115mm, height of cab to top of arc is only 158mm, with height of cab wall to eave at 145mm
Compare that to the 20.3, 30" gauge Mexican 2-8-0 from Bachmann, she’s lower, narrowerer and shorter. In terms of size, actually she’ll fit right into 1:20.3 railroads. This is about the size of the Bachmann 4-6-0 less tender. The chosen scale enables 45mm gauge to equate to 2’ 9" gauge, which also enabled the engineering to set the Cylinder and frame setout to match prototype and not be widenned. She doesn’t really look right when the frames are wider, cylinders further out than they should be.

Hope this helps.

David.

#9

Mr Fletcher, Sir, I take off my hat to you for this stunning model. Like a fair number of other folks over the years, I’ve admired Gordon’s versions - rare, but always crowd-pullers. This will be the same, of that I have no doubt, especially in the lined-out green livery. No doubt Ivan Prior of IP Engineering will leap on the band wagon with his affordable passenger cars, too.

Anyhow, it’s not a intended to be a bragging match about whose locos are bigger than anybody else’s - it’s clearly understood by most that this is a smaller loco than most Fn3 steamers, fer gosh sakes. However, by UK standards, it IS a handful of a locomotive, and would look well as a ‘visitor’ to any model of the Welsh highland line [the one with all the ex-SAR Garrats] or Welshpool line - where they had a HUGE 2-6-2 on long loan from the Jokioisten Forest Railway in Finland. Come to think of it, it’s about the same size as ‘Orion’, as it was called while here in Wales. The target market is the ever-increasing number of 16mm scale fans who who are taking up modelling large-scale steam [or electric] to run in their smaller than US-size backyards, not a layout like that of Dr Rivet.

@Tony - sorry, I don’t do electric any more. It’s steam or nothing now.

tac, ig & The Wolumboola Base Boys

#10

Thanks Tac,
Start saving! I’m sure one of us will do something about the cars for it.

David.

#11

Hmm, looling at Me Fletcher’s coloured drawings on another site, and for those who know about such things, this Na loco is not far off the same size as the Roundhouse ‘A E Calthrop’ from the now-defunct Leek & Manifold Rlwy in Staffordshire.

Of course, the AccuCraft model will have neither slot-headed screws in evidence on the pilot beam nor stamped tin side-rods…just making a point here.

tac, ig & The Anonymous Boys