Have KATO cancelled their Double Fairlie?

[SL58654号]

I was looking forward to their new OO-9 range since I'm already quite enchanted by the Welsh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 narrow gauge railways, and since it's compatible with N gauge it's right up my alley.
So far we've gotten just two versions of the 'Small England' (Prince and Princess) in red and green liveries. I hope, since they might want to get more mileage out of the tooling, that they may make Welsh Pony as well. But there's been no mention or update on their Double Fairlie. Bachmann Europe beat them to the punch with theirs, so I wondered if maybe one by KATO was no longer on the table. What do you think? 
 

 

[katoftw]

Is that official or something someone threw together.

 

Never seen any info on Kato doing the fairly.

[SL58654号]

The advert was legitimate, and it was announced as official in several model railway magazines. Just the Small England engines and the Double Fairlie were announced, but perhaps in anticipation of the growing OO-9 market, Mr. Kato himself went to the Ffestiniog Railway and took photos and measurements of all their locomotives. I'd love it if KATO made the Single Fairlie Taliesin. 

[Kamome]

Possibly as Bachmann surprised the market by doing one, which got raving reviews, perhaps Peco and Kato put it on hold, or scrapped the plan.

 

It was definitely talked about  to be released after the small England but I’d imagine we won’t see it for a while, if at all.  I remember Peco put an ad about it in one of the British modelling magazines, possibly Hornby or Railway Modeller. 

 

The Bachmann one is pricey although very detailed which isn’t really Kato’s mentality. More balanced, weighing up product cost, detail and features. The problem is most of the British market seem happy paying a lot for models as long as they meet expectation. 

 

https://www.bachmann.co.uk/product/ffestiniog-railway-double-fairlie-'merddin-emrys'-fr-lined-green/391-100

 

If I speak to Mr. Kato again at this years Mini Diorama comp I’ll be cheeky and ask.

Edited August 10, 2023 by Kamome

[SL58654号]

That's too bad. A KATO Double Fairlie I thought would be much easier to acquire in Japan.

[ED75-775]

Mason,

 

I'll jump in and add my two cents' worth here too. First off, as @Kamome suggests, it's highly likely that Bachmann's announcement of their Double Fairlie would have killed off any plans for the Kato/Peco version. No point trying to compete with someone else unless you can do something different, which in Kato's case would likely be Earl of Merioneth, alias 'The Square' on account of its rather austere appearance which does not resemble the traditional FR Double Fairlie as modelled by Bachmann. Though as this locomotive is now worn out and stored pending reconstruction, I'm not sure how likely it would be to appear as a OO9 model.

 

Taliesin would be an interesting prospect, but if it were to appear in OO9, it would be likely from Bachmann who already have most of the tooling in place, and I say this in comparative ignorance since I've never been to Wales and seen the real thing, which to me does look like half of one of the Doubles.

 

As for Welsh Pony, I think you'll be waiting for a new tooling as it is/was (depending on your view of whether this locomotive was restored or replicated) one of the two 'Large England' 0-4-0STTs built in 1867 with improvements over the original four 'Small England' engines, namely larger cylinders, increased water capacity and a lengthened wheelbase in an attempt to check the oscillating motion created by the earlier engines' short wheelbases. To get it past the 'discerning' British modelling fraternity, Kato/Peco would need to provide a new tooling - which, could use key components from the existing 'Small England' model since the 'Large Englands' were, if I have read Wikipedia right, only modestly updated versions of the 'Small Englands' and were dimensionally the same in a number of other aspects.

 

If we were to see another Ffestiniog locomotive from Kato/Peco though, my money in the short-term would be on Palmerston, the third of the surviving trio of 'Small Englands'. Whether we would see any new toolings, I'm open to surprise, but I'd doubt it as Bachmann have pretty well got the FR steam fleet covered with the Fairlies and the earlier Quarry Hunslet 0-4-0ST's which I must profess a sneaking love of...

 

 

[Beaver]

21 hours ago, ED75-775 said:

Taliesin would be an interesting prospect, but if it were to appear in OO9, it would be likely from Bachmann who already have most of the tooling in place, and I say this in comparative ignorance since I've never been to Wales and seen the real thing, which to me does look like half of one of the Doubles.

 

It basically is, which is why there was only ever the one, and only one replica. It is not very powerful. The Ffestiniog people call it the 'Gentleman's Light Sporting Locomotive'.

[Beaver]

I note that Kato are now going to produce the Large England in addition to the existing Small England. Still no indication that they intend to produce any other classes, though between Kato and Bachmann most types are now covered except the single fairlie and some of the preservation era oddities such as Mountaineer. Between Peco and Fourdees and Dundas much of the rolling stock as well is covered and now there are even RTP buildings!

 

It's all a little alarming to see so much of the Ffestiniog available off the shelf!

[ED75-775]

Hmm, Mountaineer might well appear but again I'd say Bachmann will be the ones to do it. While it'd be a completely new tooling for the OO9 market, Bachmann in America do offer a On30 version of the unmodified (un-mutilated?) military version so I imagine all the research done for that could be used as a springboard for the eventual OO9 model when it does enter development.

 

I'm still not convinced that the Kato/Peco Double Fairlie will show up, if at all, but I'm open to being proven wrong. In the meantime I'm curious to see how Palmerston and Welsh Pony turn out; according to Railway Modeler and RMWeb Forum, both are being produced with the former supposedly being released later this year. I won't be getting one though, my Märklin H0 and Japanese N-gauge collections are already more than enough for me to be working with.

 

Alastair

[SL58654号]

@Beaver Really, the Large Englands (Welsh Pony, Palmerston, Little Giant) are on the way from KATO? Fantastic! 

Why would it be surprising to see RTR Festiniog stock readily available? It was the granddaddy of the narrow gauge railway worldwide, wasn't it?

 

 'Gentleman's Light Sporting Locomotive'. you say? The original 1876 Taliesin was quite popular with crews and liked on Mail trains. 

[Beaver]

The news was in the latest Railway Modeller, which is published by Peco, who produce the 009 locomotives jointly with Kato. There has been some predictable complaining that the large will cost more than the small. 'Early 2024' is the speculative release date.

 

Mail working is ideally suited to a faster and less powerful locomotive.

[SL58654号]

Ever seen a Ffestiniog Railway OO-9 locomotive pulling SL Hitoyoshi carriages? Well, now you have! 

My interest in 009 has heightened after hearing about the upcoming "Large England" KATO/PECO models.
So much so, that I may have to make an auxiliary, suitcase-sized British-themed layout for my growing 009 stock! Thanks to the size of the spaces you can fit these narrow gauge layouts in, I'll maybe want to design a layout that IS in a suitcase so it'll be even more portable than my "Sakuragi no Yu Sen".
The one downside is that, aside from the KATO-Ffestiniog locos, PECO coaches and wagons are extremely hard to come by in Japan, and I'd really like some of them! Like the Victorian FR "Bug Boxes".
Any suggestions that'll help mitigate shipping costs? 

[Beaver]

Do you mean suggestions for getting hold of the peco stuff more cheaply, or suggestions for alternatives to the peco?

 

Because if you are willing to build kits then there are many more options.

[katoftw]

The Peco cars have all been available in Japan way way way cheaper than British sellers. I'd stick with buying in Japan. And make sure you get on those pre-orders when they are announced.

[Beaver]

Way way cheaper if accounting for postage yes. Looks like Hobby Search have most of the range. But if you want anything that's not Peco and RTR you will have to import for sure.

Edited August 12, 2023 by Beaver

[Kamome]

Asked Mr Kato and the Double Fairlie has indeed been canned due to Bachmann beating them to it.

[SL58654号]

18 hours ago, Beaver said:

Do you mean suggestions for getting hold of the peco stuff more cheaply, or suggestions for alternatives to the peco?

 

Because if you are willing to build kits then there are many more options.

Well, I would like to get a hold of peco carriages, wagons, and track, too.
I have no experience with kits thus far, but I'm open to the possibility. I've always liked those white metal GEM kits.

Edited August 13, 2023 by SL58654Gō

[SL58654号]

11 hours ago, Kamome said:

Asked Mr Kato and the Double Fairlie has indeed been canned due to Bachmann beating them to it.

Wow, straight from the horse's mouth. What a shame. At least we'll get more 009 soon.
I would've liked a KATO Fairlie... 

[SL58654号]

14 hours ago, katoftw said:

The Peco cars have all been available in Japan way way way cheaper than British sellers. I'd stick with buying in Japan. And make sure you get on those pre-orders when they are announced.

Where? I'm all for buying in Japan for some delightful OO-9 Peco rolling stock. 
I really like those Lynton and Barnstaple, Ffestiniog and Glyn Valley Tramway coaches. On my wish list for a future 009 layout....whenever I finish my first...

[Kamome]

14 minutes ago, SL58654Gō said:

Where? I'm all for buying in Japan for some delightful OO-9 Peco rolling stock. 

You can buy them from HCK but in theory, any Kato stockist should be able to order them in. The online Kato shop have a comprehensive range of Peco 009 rolling stock and track. 

 

My local shop as the Kato small Englands and a handful of Peco slate wagons and coaches. 

[SL58654号]

@Kamome Interesting. My local hobby shop has the Small Englands, but nothing aside in OO-9. So, I could ask if they could bring more Peco stuff in since they're authorized KATO dealers? Though I'll try HCK. Link please?

[SL58654号]

What about Rails of Sheffield?
Are they at all an economic way of getting non-PECO RTR stock (like the Heljan OO-9 'Lyn') shipped this far?

[Kamome]

https://www.e-katomodels2.com/shop/goods/search.aspx?search=x&keyword=009

 

Failing that, Go to Kato website, scroll to the bottom and select online shop, オンラインショップ and type 009 into the search box, add items to basket, fill in your delivery and payment details and Robert’s your father’s brother 😂

[SL58654号]

Boy, do I over-complicate things! 😅

Well, now I've got all I need! Thanks. 

Whether of not I start a OO-9 layout soon, I'll have a field day accumulating those PECO coaches. 

Edited August 13, 2023 by SL58654Gō

[SL58654号]

Check it out! Peco have announced the OO-9 Large England FR engines by KATO. I'll be getting Welsh Pony and Little Giant for sure! 

When I get around to it, I hope to make a OO-9 layout based on the FR Minffordd Station.

Edited August 21, 2023 by SL58654Gō