Utterly And Ruthless

It's not usually my style but sometimes, if you're ever going to achieve your goals, there is a moment where you have to be ruthless.

For us that came a couple of weeks ago when we secured what I know to be the last pair of Backwoods 009 NGG16 kits produced.

To say that these are sought after since the business was closed down is a Garratt-sized understatement.

When, by chance, I discovered a seller who had these up for grabs it was clear to me that I had to ensure we secured them for Bron Hebog.

The layout, you see, has been a 20 year project, and we've never rushed or hurried.

We'd been merrily going along collecting the locomotive and rolling stock no faster than we were building them, so when Pete called time on Backwoods we were caught napping having only built 3 NGG16s, with only 2 of them finished as WHR examples (87 and 138).

This left us stuck in the herd chasing the finite number of unbuilt kits which very occasionally pop up for sale.

(Because, as friends of ours have discovered to their cost, you can never be sure what you're getting if you purchase one that someone else has completed....)

In this case the seller was getting out of model railways - indeed, getting out of the country - and having seen the prices that other Backwoods kits had sold for in online auctions was intending to throw these to the wolves on eBay as well.

Now, as well having a well-hidden ruthless streak I will also admit to not being too proud to beg.

I had to find a way to tie down a deal for these kits before they went on the open market, not only because there would be no limit on the price but also because of the jeopardy which goes with the timed-auction situation.

To cut a long story short, it was to my immense relief that the seller was eventually persuaded that the most fitting home for the last two Backwoods kits was for them to be completed to a high standard and run on Bron Hebog for everyone to enjoy at exhibitions, rather than gathering dust in a drawer or exploited for profit.

We still paid a very inflated price (compared to the nominal box prices for the kits) but we have no complaints - that's the reality of the market for them these days.

And can you put a price on getting the opportunity to see through a project you've put 20 years of your life into?

So what will we be doing with these two?

One of them will certainly be finished as 143 in its current green livery.

The other, depending of developments on the real railway, may be turned out as 130 which is coming towards the end of a major restoration at Dinas, or it could be that we convert our original ACR black-livered Garratt to represent it.

In which case the final kit could potentially be finished as 140 or 109, if either of them ever turn a wheel on the WHR.