The real Class 69 Diesel Locomotives have been created for GBRf through the conversion of redundant Class 56s and we are delighted to present this Bachmann Branchline OO scale model of Britain’s newest mainline diesel.
Produced under an exclusive agreement with GBRf, the Branchline model has been painstakingly developed hand-in-hand with the introduction of the GBRf fleet. With the Class 69s being built from donor locomotives that were first built by three different works and have themselves seen almost fifty years of use and modification, Bachmann has worked closely with GBRf to accommodate any detail differences that were present on the donors and have remained apparent on the rebuilt machines, along with any changes made to the final design of the Class 69 during the ongoing build programme.
This diligent approach has resulted in a truly magnificent model which befits the Branchline name, capturing the Class 56 shape to a tee alongside the modern adornments and many changes made to the locomotives to create the 69s.
The bodyshell features crisp, accurate mouldings to depict the main features along with separately fitted parts, including etched bodyside and roof fan grilles, metal windscreen wipers and separately fitted driver’s door handrails. Inside the cab there is interior detailing which will be decorated appropriately whilst machine room detailing is visible through the bodyside grilles. The underframe equipment is all present and correct, composed of many separate parts along with sandboxes and sandpipes and sprung metal buffers, but it is the bogies that really bring this model to life. It’s hard to describe these as anything but a work of art, using countless separate components to model every aspect of the bogie in full relief, from the brakes to the suspension, even down to the separately fitted bogie-body securing chains.
All of this detail, both inside and out, will be brought to life with an exquisite livery application using true-to-prototype colours, fonts and logos and with the help of GBRf official livery diagrams.
Under the body, the Branchline Class 69 features our proven drive system using a 5 pole motor with twin flywheels driving all axles on each bogie. Electrical pick-up comes from all wheels whilst DCC provision comes in the form of a Plux22 interface. Directional lighting is of course provided, along with cab and machine room lighting when used on DCC. Our Dual Fitted XL Speaker System is employed in the SOUND FITTED and SOUND FITTED DELUXE variants, backed up by the Bach-Up Stay Alive System which prevents stalling, light flicker and sound cut-outs when running on DCC. Talking of SOUND FITTED DELUXE, and this top of the range model allows you to enjoy the additional features of motorised radiator fans and DCC-uncoupling – thanks to the Bachmann Auto-release Coupling System!
