One of the attractions of modelling the FR in the 1960s was the limited locomotive fleet we would need to put together, compared to the dozens of engines which fill the sheds in the 21st Century.
For most of the decade there were only six steam locomotives in traffic, and never all at the same time, which is where we using modeller's licence to present a blended picture of the whole decade.
THE FAIRLIES
These double-ended locomotives are synonymous with the Festiniog Railway and the appearance of the Bachmann ready-run models with their built-in sound speakers and DCC sockets was a major factor in what inspired us to build this layout.
The two survivors from the FR's heyday, Earl of Merioneth and Merddin Emrys, form the core of our fleet.
The Earl is pretty much in out-of-the-box condition whereas Merddin can only be depicted in 1960s condition after some radical alterations to the Bachmann model which require large parts of the body to be sawn off and reshaped.
I intended to describe the process in a future article on this site once it has appeared in print for members of the 009 Society in their magazine later this spring.
THE LADIES
Linda and Blanche are, rightly, regarded as the locomotives which kept the FR going in this period when booming traffic threatened to overwhelm the aged survivors of the original fleet.
Once again we have Bachmann to thank for producing a pair of excellent models, although it must be said many have found their tractive effort a little disappointing - certainly compared to the prototypes which have proven many times to be truly remarkable machines.
Linda is another model which the designers chose to depict in 1960s condition, but her (now non-identical) twin has only been available in more modern 2-4-0stt condition from the 1970s onwards.
To make Blanche look more like she did when she adopted into the FR fleet we had to buy a second Linda model and transplant the chassis onto the Blanche body so she could have her original slide valve cylinders and waddle around without a pony truck which I described in this post.
PRINCE
Once PECO and Kato entered the fray with the announcement of a model of a Small England engine we knew it would be possible to effectively model the full FR fleet of the 1960s with RTR models.
Prince remained in service through most of the 1960s, although increasingly replaced in front line passenger service by the Ladies.
This model is one of the most essential to the operation of our layout because the rubber traction tyres allow it to reliably haul full trans of waggons up the ramp from the exchange yard.
However, this is another model which required a lot of adaptation to be historically accurate,
In this post I've described how we had to reshape the frames to match its appearance through most of the decade, and unlike the Bachmann models it required considerable work to wire in a DCC chip and fit a speaker and stay-alive.
BRITOMART
This little bright blue engine is always a favourite at shows, and frequently draws comment when people notice that it, too, has been sound fitted (not that we can take any of the credit for that).
Just like on the real FR Britomart is one of our 'nice to have' engines.
It did see a fair bit of use in the period for small works trains or amusing little excursions.
On Minffordd it most often finds a role shunting the exchange yard.
The fitting of a stay-alive capacitor allows it to run reliably at slow speed through our points and board joints, even with its tiny wheelbase and only four electrical contact points.
It is another Bachmann locomotive, one of the range of Quarry Hunslets which been such good sellers, helping to prove the case for diversifying into 009 RTR.
MARY ANN
This is probably our favourite sound fitten loco in the fleet.
This strange looking engine is, in FR parlance, a 'tractor', also known by the brand name Simplex.
It came to Wales after service behind the Allied front lines in the Great War and was the first locomotive to turn a wheel when preservationists took control of the FR company and began efforts to reopen the line.
Our model uses a great deal of modellers licence. In this period it should not have the cab roof - that came in the early 1970s - and we should be using the diesel engine sound file instead of the original petrol motor.
But we think the petrol sounds a lot more fun!
The model itself was built from a very old white metal body kit for a 'Tin Turtle' (as they were also known) and so we could use it on Minfford we re-engineered it with a tiny Tomytec chassis which Himself was able to hook up to a DDC sound chip, stay-alive and speaker which he all managed to cram into the remaining space in the body somehow.
The stay-alive has remarkable longevity and the loco will continue to run for around 15 seconds after it has been lifted off the track, thus making it a delight to use as a shunter around the yard.
To hear it at work here's a short film of it under test when the layout was still being constructed.
How can you not smile when you hear that klaxon and the gear changes!
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