The Hunslet Engine Company of Hunslet, Leeds, built steam locomotives from 1864 to 1971. It is now part of the LH Group and is again involved in building new steam locos, including Hunslet saddle tank NG engines. Many Hunslets are preserved on narrow gauge railways around the UK, and overseas, and are popular subjects for model engineering projects.

In 1870, Hunslet constructed the narrow gauge engine, Dinorwic, a diminutive 1 ft 10 3⁄4 in (578 mm) gauge 0-4-0 saddle tank for the Dinorwic Slate Quarry at Llanberis. This engine, later renamed Charlie, was the first of 20 engines built for this quarry and did much to help establish Hunslet.  This quarry was linked to Port Dinorwic by a 4 ft gauge line for which Hunslet built three 0-6-0T engines Dinorwic, Padarn and Velinheli. Much larger than the normal quarry type, 1 ft 10 3⁄4 in gauge 0-4-0ST engines Charles, Blanche and Linda were built in 1882/3 for use on the Penrhyn Quarry Railway 'main line' between Bethesda and Port Penrhyn in North Wales.

Wild Aster was built by Hunslet in 1904 for Dinorwic Quarry and re-boilered in 1934. The locomotive was dismantled, worn out, in 1962.

Andy Kiddell’s model is in 5” gauge built to a scale of 2.5” to the foot from Don Young’s drawings and the Hunslet Works GA for the Alice Class, plus measurements taken at Bala and Launceston Railways. It was photographed at the Bristol Exhibition.