Another Garratt - But What Colour??

Santa was very good to Himself this year and he found what he really, really wanted lying under the tree.

It wasn't a Furby or an iPad, or whatever this year's must-have present is, but another Backwoods Miniatures NGG16 kit.

An unlike so many toys which are tossed aside out of boredom, or broken, on Boxing Day you can be sure that this one will be played with for many weeks to come - because that's how long it takes to put them together.

Of course, given his long record of building beautifully smooth running Backwoods kits I have no doubt at all that he will make a first class job of this third one, but the big question is what to make it as?

Those who are familiar with Bron Hebog will know that we have one Garratt that depicts number 87 in the temporary grey livery in which it first worked on the WHR.

And a second (which was the first he built) which doesn't actually represent any of the 3 NGG16's in Wales as it was made up in South African condition.

Being black it does look a little quite like 143 used to do. But, of course, 143 was an oil burner at that time and this one has a bunker full of coal.

On the other hand it does have the big headlamps which are now fitted to 138, which also burns coal but is currently painted red.

To complicate matters further 143 is now a coal burner but is painted green but still has the small SAR spotlights.

So answering the question about which loco we build this new kit into also determines which one our existing black Garratt should be rebuilt into.

It is a bit of a knotty one.