The all-new Bachmann Branchline Class 20/0 broke cover in 2021, our first New Tooling project to be unveiled in the quarterly British Railway Announcements, and now we have more new models to share with you. Sporting BR Blue livery, with white roof and red solebar as applied by its home depot ‘Thornaby’, we have No. 20173 ‘Wensleydale’.

This latest generation Bo-Bo diesel locomotive from Bachmann Branchline brings the classic BR Class 20/0 right up to date, capturing the subtle lines of these distinctive locomotives. The high level of detail is brought to life by the intricate livery application, whilst the powerful drive mechanism, Plux22 DCC interface and a full suite of lighting offers the perfect complement to the model’s good looks.

• Bachmann Branchline OO Scale
• Era 8
• Pristine BR Blue (Red Solebar) livery
• Running No. 20173
• Named ‘Wensleydale’
• Equipped with a Plux22 DCC Decoder Socket – recommended Decoder item No. 36-570A
• Length 190mm

DETAIL VARIATIONS SPECIFIC TO THIS MODEL

·       Headcode Boxes

·       Small Cab Side Windows

·       One Piece Radiator Shutter

·       One Piece Bodyside Handrail (RHS)

·       Drilled Bogie Equalising Beams

·       Electrical Speedo Drive

·       Battery Box Clips Fitted

·       Two Sandboxes per Bogie

·       Round Oleo Buffers

·       Buffer Tube Lamp Brackets

·       Scottish-Style Bufferbeam

·       Chassis Inspection Light Socket

·       Nose-end Solebar Handles

·       Snowploughs (optional part supplied in the Accessory Pack)

BACHMANN BRANCHLINE CLASS 20 SPECIFICATION

MECHANISM:

·       Five pole, twin shaft motor with two flywheels providing drive to both bogies

·       All axle drive

·       Electrical pickup from all wheels

·       Separate metal bearings fitted to each axle

·       Diecast metal chassis block and bogie towers

·       Diecast metal gearboxes, with gearing arranged for prototypical running speeds and haulage capabilities

·       16.5mm (OO gauge) wheels to NEM310 & NEM311 standards with authentic profile and detailing

·       Detachable coupling pockets to NEM362 standards fitted to each bogie

·       Designed to operate on curves of second radius (438mm) or greater

DETAILING:

·       Bogies constructed from multiple components featuring full relief detail

·       Rotating radiator fan (un-motorised)

·       Separately applied metal detail parts, including handrails, grab handles, sand pipes and etched fan grilles

·       Sprung metal buffers

·       Each model supplied with a full set of decorated, model-specific bufferbeam pipework and accessory parts

LIGHTING:

·       Directional lighting, including headlights and high intensity headlights where applicable, switchable on/off at either end on DCC or Analogue control

·       Authentic light colours and temperatures selected for each model based on era and application

DCC:

·       Plux22 DCC decoder interface 

SOUND:

·       Speaker installed in all models for optimum sound reproduction

·       Zimo MS450P22 DCC Sound Decoder fitted to SOUND FITTED versions

·       Sound files produced specifically for the Bachmann Branchline Class 20 using recordings from real locomotives

·       SOUND FITTED models operate on DCC and Analogue control as supplied. On Analogue, an authentic engine start up sequence and running sounds are produced when power is applied

LIVERY APPLICATION:

·       Authentic liveries applied to all models

·       Multiple paint applications employed on each model using BR and corporate specification colours

·       Logos, numerals and text added as appropriate using multi-stage tampo printing using authentic typefaces, logos and colours

·       In addition, where applicable Etched Nameplates and Plaques are also provided

CLASS 20/0 HISTORY

The British Railways Board's (BRB) 1955 modernisation plan called for a change to alternative forms of traction and manufacturers were asked to produce trial or initial designs for evaluation. English Electric adapted an existing design based on an export model for a 1,000bhp diesel and 20 were built as a pilot scheme for assessment. 

The first batch was built in 1957 and the diesels were assigned to work from Devon's Road depot, East London. The