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Katalla

As with nearly all my custom characters, Katalla is an AB class 4-6-2 from New Zealand. Her number is 798, and she is the sister engine to AB 786, better known as Charlotte.

Charlotte and Katalla are inseparable, and loved to haul their own set of Pullman Heavyweight coaches on railtours throughout the lower North Island. Their favourite run is from Palmerston North to Waitara, which involves going through the towns of Hawera and Stratford. The coaches they pull are scaled-down versions of the original 4ft 8.5inch gauge cars in the United States. The two engines were - however - based in Tauranga for most of their life, and deeply miss their old home.

The two engines were sold to Urban Dance in early 2020, and now sit on permanent display at Dalton; the headquarters of the Dance Hall Days line.

Over the years, Katalla has carried four different liveries. First she was in an unsightly crimson livery, which was followed by dark blue and black. Now the engine is orange, in relation to her namesake's original hair colour.