Matary Class - Joan

Inspired by the Hunslet Engine Company locomotive built in 1905 for the Leeds Corporation Waterworks Railway (Yorkshire). This 2' gauge railway had some 6 miles of track in the Yorkshire Dales to the west of the village of Masham, to aid the construction of 2 reservoirs in the Colsterdale Valley. During the First World War, the line was also used by the military to supply the Breary Banks training camp used by the Leeds Pals.

Since arriving back in the UK, the locomotive has resided on the Welshpool and Llanfair light Railway in Powys, Wales. There she remained operational until 1991, when the locomotive suffered a major failure and became a static exhibit. In 2005 a project to restore the locomotive began, including the fitting of a new boiler, tanks, smokebox and chimney. Joan finally returned to service in 2011. She is the last of the Matary Class locomotives to be built by Kerr Stuart, before Bagnall and later Hunslet offered similar machines upon Kerr Stuarts’ demise. 

These models are equipped with NEM coupling pockets fitted with Peco GR-102 couplings. Each model is packaged with detailed instructions and collectors booklet on the Matary/Barretto class, giving details of the model, the prototype and an anatomy of the features of the design.