Well here we go! Probably the most anticipated announcement for the narrow gauge range in a really long time, Peter Sam has finally arrived! As usual, here are my thoughts on this wonderful new addition to the narrow gauge range:
When it comes to the narrow gauge engines, for the most part they usually exceed my expectations. This was at least the case for Skarloey and Rheneas. Rusty on the other hand just barely met expectations, but didn’t necessarily exceed them, due to the small scaling that was incorporated onto the model. I can safely say that compared to Rusty, Peter Sam is a definite improvement and is on a pretty high tier list with Skarloey and Rheneas.
Just like Daisy, this model has taken almost 3 years to be released since its initial announcement in NMRA 2019. I don’t know if this is me personally, but I personally was more excited for Peter Sam than Daisy, that may be in part due to him being my favorite narrow gauge engine so there’s a little bit of bias there, and just like Daisy I think Peter Sam is one of the best models in the range.
The model itself, is definitely one of Bachman‘s best, I would argue that this is probably their best looking model in the whole narrow gauge range. It manages to replicate the overall accuracy from the CGI render and real life Tallylyn proportions beautifully, in addition to keeping some significant details from the CGI render, most notably the proper giesl funnel. The face is also really well done too, again gotta hand it to Bachmann for their accuracy with this model.
One thing that has been addressed on social media with this model is how part of the cab is covered due to the trailing wheels being powered on the model. Personally, considering how close Peter Sam’s actual driving wheels are with each other, it makes perfect sense that they would go this route by making the trailing wheels also powered. Otherwise the model would have very minimal hauling power and just would not run very well. It is no different than a model like Emily who needed to have a separate set of wheels powered in addition to her large drive wheels.
Unlike Rusty however, it doesn’t cover up the entire cab, so if you want to add a crew to Peter Sam’s cab like you could with Skarloey and Rheneas, you absolutely could! So this is definitely not a dealbreaker for me, and odds are it’s not a dealbreaker for many others as well. It’s still a pretty accurate chassis for his Talyllyn basis, Edward Thomas, so many people will purchase the model for that reason alone!
There really are no other major flaws with this model, if I am being completely honest. Aesthetically, this is exactly what many fans have expected when it came to this beautiful model. I know that there have been mixed feelings on some of the choices made with the recent HO models, (especially the tail lamp decals) but when it comes to narrow gauge, it’s really clear who Bachmann is aiming this particular model towards. Needless to say, regardless of age, the Peter Sam model will really have a good amount of appeal for both older and younger audiences.
Now it’s time to talk about running, remember what I said earlier about how the extra trailing wheels would make a huge difference, and they most definitely do when you run this model. Peter Sam is able to pull a decent amount on your layout, and looks great behind most rolling stock currently out in the range. I personally think he looks great with the blue narrow gauge coaches behind him. Hopefully the brake vans are not too far away since we saw the engineering samples recently.
He is both a very fast and a smooth runner with that additional traction. So, when I gave Peter Sam a little bit of extra weight to pull for a freight train, Peter Sam continue to carry on like that extra load was nothing. He probably could’ve pulled a lot more if only I had more layout space and more rolling stock.
On the whole, I am really really happy with how this model turned out. This model took almost 3 years to be released, but without a doubt, this is a major improvement over Rusty and in my opinion the best model currently in the narrow gauge line with Skarloey being a very close second. Followed by Rheneas and Rusty respectively. Regardless if you are a hard-core 009 modeler this model is highly recommended by me and if you are a Thomas modeler who collects narrow gauge, this model is an absolute must have! Thank you Bachmann for introducing this new model into the range and I look forward to all of the new narrow gauge rolling stock in addition to taking a look at Sir Handel and the N scale Toby in the future!
In the meantime I may have to buy a second one of these at some point to make into Stuart at some point in the future!
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