Garretts in the Gazette

[ksivils]

For those who would like to see a possible candidate for Bachmann to consider if an On30 Garratt is ever in the offing, the most recent issue of the Gazette of has some excellent photos of the famous NG-16 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratts.

Built for service in South Africa in 1958, these are two foot gauge locomotives, but they are handsome specimens of this type of locomotive.

[rayport]

Great article! They look big in photos but it is surprising how small they look when standing next to them on the platform. If you are interested in Garratts there is a great 2000 book published in the UK : The origins of the Garratt locomotive by Dr. Richard L Hills, published by Plateway press(ISBN 187198043-7). I got mine from Motorbooks in the UK, they have a website (www.motorbooks.co.uk) and may have copies still available it was 8.95 UK pounds when I bought my copy. Page 33 has a great picture of the earlier 2-6-0 + 0-6-2 NCG11 engines which has a simpler line. Page 31 has a photo of a nice genuine 30 inch 0-6-0 + 0-6-0 built in 1913 for use in Burma; and on page 30 a photo of a 750mm (29.8 inches) 0-6-0 + 0-6-0 one of many built for use in the Congo. A k-1 would be very nice for those of us who prefer small prototypes.
Thanks for bring the article to everyones attention, your note arrived before my copy of the Gazette and increased my usual anxiety about getting the latest goody from Uncle Bob. Always a truly great magazine.

[Hamish K]

For anyone interted in Garratts http://users.powernet.co.uk/hamilton/ has details of all Garratts made and many photos! A great reference site.

I would love to see a small ON30 Garratt of some type made - but I am not holding my breath.

Hamish

[Ken]

  For a intersting book on the K1 Garratts, "The Anatomy of a Garratt" is well worth
  taking a look at. Published by Peter Manning  Design & Drefting                             ISBN 978-0-9806212-0-4.

   Ken
    GWN

[tac]

Like many of the 'larger/smaller' NG locos. the NG/G16 Class Beyer-Garratts were built in UK and Belgium for one short-line in RSA - the Alfred County Railway in Natal Province.  As such, they have very little apeal to anybody who is not modelling this obscure line, or the Welsh Highland Railway where most of them have ended up, thankfully.

Here in UK there is one company, backwoods Miniatures, who makes a beautiful brass and resin kit/RTR version in the the UK NG scale of 7mm to the foot.  The only other versions are the now defunct LGB Swiss version made by Aster Hobbies - electrically-driven and to a scale of 16mm to the foot [British LS NG standard 1/19th scale], and the fantastic Accucraft live-steam version that I have, and that can be seen on Youtube many times over. 

This is from the website -

'SAR/WHR NGG16 Class 2-6-2+2-6-2T Beyer-Garratt
Built by Beyer Peacock in 1956 for South African Railways. Three of the class are now owned by the Welsh Highland Railway for use on its Caernarfon to Porthmadoc route. Includes 2 Faulhaber 2020 coreless motors and all wheels and gears. This kit is available for 0-16.5 and On30 and can also be supplied for On14 (14mm gauge).

Price: 360 GBP'
 
Sad to say, I think that you are more likely to see velociraptors for sale in your local pet-store than ever to see a Bachmann NG/G16...

Their dress-up and conversion kits for the already highly-detailed Bachmann models beggar belief - the detailed is nothing short of astonishing.

See the site here - http://www.backwoodsminiatures.com/xrr03.jpg

tac
www.ovgrs.org

[Hamish K]

In relatin to the Backwoods Miniatures NGG 16 360GBP (US$ 596) is the kit price, the ready-to-run version is 1300 GBP or US $2154. There are only a small number of ready-to-run  models being made. The kits are for serious modellers, not beginners.

True, apart from a few classes, generally in wider gauges (metre gauge, 42 inches or standard) each type of garratt was made in only a few examles, often for the same line. But much the same could be said about geared locomotives, Shays, Climaxes etc.  Garrats were quite widely used, would people , especially those modelling freelanced lines, accept a Garrat not the same as the ones that operated in their area? It does happen with geared locomotives.

I don't know whether there would be a sufficient market to justify a more mass produced model than those available to date (whether NGG 16 or some other) but I suspect the market  would be greater than just those modelling the prototype line of the model. I would buy any small garratt but I do not wish to tackle the kit and can't afford the Backwoods ready-to  model.  However, as I said before, I am not holding my breath.

Hamish

[tac]

Please note that those prices are at least four years old - the latest prices may well be far higher.

tac
www.ovgrs.org