Interest in narrow gauge railways is on the increase, particularly with the arrival of ready-to-run locomotives and rolling stock from Bachmann, Heljan and Peco. MIKE WILD reviews the current state of play.
Narrow gauge railways have a fascinating array of styles ranging from the smallest industrial lines to extensive systems like the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways. Until recently, ready-to-run products were very rare of British origin – although there were plenty of choices for the continental scene in ‘HOe' including locomotives and rolling stock.Otherwise, the choice was kits - and happily the narrow gauge scene is well catered for on that score.
However, we are now seeing gradual growth in the availablity of ready-to-run British narrow gauge motive power and rolling stock for the ‘OO9’ scene – that’s ‘OO’, 4mm:1ft scale, models running on 9mm gauge track. It’s a catchall for all the railways which use track gauges in the region of 2ft. Currently working on new projects for the scale are Bachmann, Heljan and Peco/Kato.
BACHMANN
Bachmann’s entry to the ‘OO9’ narrow gauge market has already reaped rewards. Its first models for narrow gauge were the Baldwin 10-12-D 4-6-0T together with matching bogie open and closed wag…
