To help celebrate the NGS’s 50th anniversary, the Society has produced its first powered ready-to-run offering – a model of the Hunslet industrial 0-6-0 Shunter. Many of these locomotives were built from the 1960s onwards and saw use in collieries, steelworks, refineries, quarries, paper mills and other industrial locations. The last loco was built in 1988 for Caledonian Paper in Irvine and at least 23 still survive in industrial use (with a further 6-10 in preservation).
The model’s specification includes 0-6-0 chassis with coreless motor and low gearing for smooth running plus stay-alive capacitor; wheels to NMRA standards and NEM couplers. All models are factory-fitted with a DCC decoder and are designed to run on either DC or DCC ‘out of the box’ and they also feature loco-specific handrails and bonnet details, along with flashing amber cab roof beacons where appropriate.
The Hunslets are being delivered from the factory in three batches. The first two of these batches has arrived and are now for sale at the NGS Shop. Liveries available for purchase are:
- NGSR0591 NE area two-tone green,
- NGSR0592 NCB Midlands maroon,
- NGSR0593 NCB Western area olive green,
- NGSR0598 British Steel yellow and
- NGSR059A RMS Locotec blue/grey
- NGSR059B ‘Black Agnes’ Lafarge green
- NGSR059C RfD sectorisation triple grey
- NGSR059D Harry Needle Railroad Co
- NGSR059E Caledonian pale blue
- NGSR059F ‘Big John’ blue
The third batch has arrived although with limited numbers of some models. Once pre-orders have been fulfilled these will also be made available for members to purchase.
The third batch includes:
- Esso red
- BP original white
- BP green
- CEGB Orange
- Port Authority blue/yellow
- Undecorated
