LNER D49 (Hunt) class no. 255 The Braes of Derwent. Bought from a Lacy, Scott & Knight auction in May 2017 as no. 288 The Percy. In LNER green with 3 rail and skate current collection. The paint had been applied by brush and although it looked reasonable from a distance, it didn’t stand close scrutiny. Looking through the paint however, it was clear and especially relevant that this coarse scale model had been very well scratch built. It looked like a D49. First of all the stripping of the original paintwork preceded the models complete refurbishment and conversion to 2 rail finescale by myself. Now expertly re-painted to LNER green fully lined livery by John Cockcroft. Current collection is by the American method. This is where the loco collects from one rail and the tender from the other. New insulated Slaters wheels have been carefully shorted by soldering thin wire behind a spoke on one or other side of the loco and tender. Consequently, this system works very well, however an insulated drawbar and fallplate are required. In conclusion, the purchase of a Slaters motor and gearbox unit and Severnmill nameplates completed the rebuild. One of my clients, James, had expressed a wish to me for a D49. A class that he remembered well from his spotting days. When I found “The Percy” at auction, I took a chance and made my bids with James’s words in mind. Most noteworthy he tells me the risk has certainly paid off. Maybe I should have kept it for myself? I wish I had. In the same auction and clearly from the same collection, were 37 other model locos. All unusual north of the country prototypes and all scratch built 3-rail. It seems that the previous owner (now deceased) lived in Carlisle, which explains his preference of Northern England or Scottish locos. A Caley 812 class was bought at the same time and for a description and images of this loco follow this link. Another example of a risky purchase that in my opinion has paid off. If only at the time I had the confidence (and the funds) to have bought more?
