Additions to the roster, new locomotive 1919 et al

 My most recent post noted my propensity for purchasing additional items of rolling stock and thus compounding the space problems in my staging yards. Well, I succumbed again over the past few weeks.

At the recent Hills Model Railway Exhibition, IDR Models were running a special on its second run of BBW wagons. I purchased a set of three. It is the second set that I have purchased and it now completes my ballast train. They are impressive models from IDR.

The background to the second purchase is a bit more convoluted. The Mount Windeatt branch line which is currently being refurbished, has, in part, been inspired by the Dorrigo branch line in north eastern NSW. With this in mind, I began to consider if a 19 Class locomotive may be a suitable addition to the locomotive roster. Casula Hobbies had released such a model in 2022 and I had assumed that the the run would be sold out by now. However, a check of the website indicated that the 19 Class may still be available. A call to Joe confirmed this and an order was placed. I chose 1919 because of its links with the Dorrigo line.

From various sources, I understand that 1919 was first issued to traffic as A 114 of the A(93) class, becoming 1919 of the (Z)19 class at the NSWGR’s 1924 renumbering scheme. In the 1950s, it was allocated to South Grafton for use on the Dorrigo line during the 1950’s and features in contemporary photographs and recollections of Dorrigo line operations in Ron Preston’s book “Tender into Tank”. It was one of the last steam locomotives in service with the NSWGR. 1919 was withdrawn around 1972/73 when it was based at Darling Harbour and employed on shunting duties. It escaped scrapping and has been preserved. [Glenreagh Memorial Museum's Facebook post 5 Apr 24]

In my alternate history, after finishing on the Dorrigo line, it was reallocated to the Mount Windeatt branch line before ending its days at Darling Harbour. 

1919 is only my second locomotive fitted with sound, and again, I have been very impressed with both the sound and model itself. Hopefully, the short somewhat jerky 'out of the box' video clip gives a reasonable impression of this new addition to the Philip's Creek locomotive roster. I love the occasional sound of the shovel scraping.

 The final addition also came from Casula Hobbies, one of the recently released CX passenger coaches. I opted for one of two Ways and Works versions. I hope that it will be the genesis of  a more extensive Ways and Works train. Again, this is a great model from Casula Hobbies.

All of the new models have received a basic weathering before being pressed into service on the layout.

Although these purchases provide a bit of a distraction, work has continued on the refurbishment of the Mount Windeatt branch line. The branch line itself has been laid and is operational but the alignment for the narrow gauge logging railway continues to be developed.

  

 

Hopefully, there won't be any more temptations crossing my path in the near future - except perhaps a 53 class if it is ever gets manufactured!