The ‘Curly Roof Van’ is one of the most distinctive and ornate vehicles that might be found operating on the Ffestiniog Railway (FR) today, and now for the first time, OO9 Scale models of this beautiful vehicle can be enjoyed thanks to Bachmann Narrow Gauge.
Three Curly Roof Vans were built between 1873 and 1876 and sadly none survive today in original form, yet thanks to the generosity of one of the railway’s donors we can once again enjoy the beauty of this Victorian design after an authentic replica was built in 2004.
The Bachmann Narrow Gauge model is formed from a finely-detailed, injection-moulded bodyshell featuring intricate panel engraving, along with hinge and door handle detailing. The ‘curly roof’ is integral to the bodyshell whilst the prominent duckets are fitted separately and are flush glazed too. The body is mounted onto a diecast metal underframe, with engraved planking on the guard’s platform and rivet detail along the solebar and at either end. Further external features include the prominent handrail provided for the guard along with the vacuum pipe support bracket and vacuum pipes at either end.
Within the guard’s compartment a handbrake wheel is fitted, whilst below the solebar the models run on detailed bogies fitted with metal wheelsets with curved spoke wheels. NEM couplings are mounted to the underframe, into which standard OO9 scale couplings are fitted.
Once you have seen the prototype in its striking lined plum livery it’s unforgettable, and the same can be said of the Bachmann Narrow Gauge model too. With more than 100 separately lined panels, the livery application on this model truly is a work of art, all of which is completed using authentic Ffestiniog Railway colours, logos and typefaces.
Read more about the Bachmann Narrow Gauge FR Curly Roof Van
 
MODEL FEATURES:
Bachmann Narrow Gauge OO9 Scale
Era 9
Vehicle is Preserved (Replica built during Preservation era)
Pristine Ffestiniog Railway Lined Plum livery
Running No. 1
Profiled Metal Wheels with Curved Spokes
NEM Coupling Pockets
Length 96mm (over couplings)
 
FFESTINIOG RAILWAY CURLY ROOF VAN HISTORY
Three bogie luggage vans entered traffic with the Ffestiniog Railway between 1873 and 1876, the bodies for which were built by Brown, Marshall & Co. and these were fitted with bogies and brake gear at the railway’s own Boston Lodge works. Known at the time as ‘Turtle Roof Vans’ owing to their uniquely shaped roofs, but now commonly termed ‘Curly Roof Vans’, each van comprised a guard’s compartment with end platform, a large luggage compartment and a small compartment for dogs.
Of the three original vans, numbered 1-3, No. 1 was broken up in 1921 and No. 3 suffered the same fate at the dawn of the preservation-era Ffestiniog Railway in 1955. Van No. 2 however was rebuilt in 1920/1, receiving a new body which incorporated two third class passenger compartments in place of the dog compartment. The resulting van retained its guard’s compartment and external platform but had a reduced luggage compartment and was built with a conventional curved roof. Van No. 2 was later renumbered to No. 10 and has subsequently carried both numbers at various points in history – the vehicle remains in service today, currently as No. 10.
With no surviving ‘Curly Roof Van’ to the original design, in 2004 a replica of Van No. 1 was built thanks to the support of a generous donor. The replica van sports all the hallmarks of the originals, including the wide handrails with curved side rails fitted to the guard’s platform. The same pattern of handrail was carried by the original vans, although an alternative narrower version with straight side rails is also known to have been fitted to Van No. 3, and possibly others.