Kato - 51-251-A - Locomotive, Steam, 0-4-0, Tender - Ffestiniog Railway

Specific Item Information: The Ffestiniog Railway 0-4-0TT were six 0-4-0TT steam locomotives built by George England and Co. for the Festiniog Railway between 1863 and 1867.The first four of these locomotives were originally side tank locomotives and are collectively known as the Small England class. The Prince and Princess were two of these four engines and they remain in service to this day on the Narrow Gauge railway. These famous engines are some of the oldest of their kind still in operation in the world and have inspired a character design in a certain famous children’s talking train series.

Model Features: Fully motorized with coreless motor construction (DC Compatible only) --- 1:72 (00) -Scale Body -- N Gauge Wheelbase compatible with N Kato UNITRACK --- Fitted with PECO Couplers so as to be compatible with PECO rolling stock

Model Information: These Engines are 009 Scale, which means they are a Narrow Gauge scale – 1:76 (roughly HO) scale in size but with 9mm (N) wheel spacing, allowing them to run on N Gauge Track. These can be integrated into an HO Layout through the use of N Gauge track and will make a striking addition to any layout display! Both the Prince and Princess are powered by a newly designed coreless motor drive which operates the two powered axles – one of which is fitted with a traction tire. Electrical pickup is present both under the locomotive as well as the tender, and the engines will come with PECO couplers making them compatible with PECO’s line of 009 Scale products!

Prototype History: Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven. The wheels on the earliest four-coupled locomotives were connected by a single gear wheel, but from 1825 the wheels were usually connected with coupling rods to form a single driven set. The earliest 0-4-0 locomotives were tender engines and appeared as early as 1802. This version of this locomotive has its water and fuel is carried in an attached tender.

Under the UIC classification used in Europe and, in more recent years, in simplified form in the United States, an 0-4-0 is classified as B (German and Italian) if the axles are connected by side rods or gearing and 020 (French), independent of axle motoring. The UIC's Bo classification for electric and diesel-electric locomotives indicates that the axles are independently motored, which would be 0-2-2-0 under the Whyte notation.

Road Name History: The railway company is properly known as the "Festiniog Railway Company". The single F spelling is in the official title of the company in the local act (2 & 3 Will. 4 c.xlviii) that created the railway. It is the oldest surviving railway company in the world (although not the oldest working railway – a record that goes to the Middleton Railway, in West Yorkshire),having been founded by the Act of Parliament on 23 May 1832 with capital mostly raised in Dublin by Henry Archer, the company's first secretary and managing director. Most British railways were amalgamated into four large groups in 1921 and then into British Railways in 1948 but the Festiniog Railway Company, like most narrow-gauge railways, remained independent. In 1921, this was due to political influence, whereas in 1947 it was left out of British Railways because it was closed for traffic, despite vigorous local lobbying for it to be included.

The Ffestiniog Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Ffestiniog) is a heritage railway based on 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park.

The railway is roughly 13+1⁄2 miles (21.7 km) long and runs from the harbour at Porthmadog to the slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, travelling through forested and mountainous terrain. The line is single track throughout with four intermediate passing places. The first mile of the line out of Porthmadog runs atop an embankment called the Cob, which is the dyke of the polder known as Traeth Mawr.

The Festiniog Railway Company, which owns the railway, is the oldest surviving railway company in the world. It also owns the Welsh Highland Railway, which was re-opened fully in 2011. The two railways share the same track gauge and meet at Porthmadog station, with occasional trains working the entire 40-mile (64 km) route from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Caernarfon.From Wikipedia

Brand/Importer Information: Kato Precision Railroad Models (関水金属株式会社 Sekisui Kinzoku Kabushikigaisha) is a Japanese manufacturer of model railroad equipment in N and HO scales. The Tokyo-based company manufactures models based on Japanese prototypes (such as the Shinkansen bullet train) for the Japanese market, North American prototypes for the North American market and European high-speed trains for European market.
The Kato (pronounced kah-toe) model railroad companies were founded by Yuji Kato, father of current president Hiroshi Kato, of the parent company Sekisui Kinzoku Co., Ltd.

The design and distribution of models for the North American market are handled by their U.S. subsidiary, Kato USA, located in Schaumburg, Illinois.
The design of special models for the European market is handled for some of them by their partner, Lemke, whereas the general distribution of Kato products in Europe is handled by NOCH; both companies are located in Germany.
As a result, some Kato European models are sold as Kato Lemke and others as Kato (alone).