Month: May 2018

BR(ER) Gresley V2 class No. 60964 The Durham Light Infantry

Mick Bayliss Early builds
The Durham Light Infantry
BR(ER) Gresley V2 class No. 60964 The Durham Light Infantry. Built and painted by myself circa 1996, from the DJH “Limited Edition” kit (a massive investment at the time for me). Slaters wheels and an RG7 Portescap motor and gears unit. The lining was achieved quite successfully using transfers. I was very pleased with the finished model for a couple of years until I needed cash for another project and I placed it for sale at a guild show. Stuart Tebbett bought it, which was the start of a good friendship which lasted until he sadly passed away. I have Stuart to thank for the quality of collection that I have today. He and Ebay, (I am “thedurhamlightinfantry”) taught me how to successfully buy and sell and strive with every sale or purchase for continual improvement.

GWR Star class no. 4026 King Richard

Mick Bayliss My loco collection
King Richard
King Richard
GWR Star class no. 4026 King Richard. Built from scratch to an exceptional standard with fully working inside motion by a person unknown. Painted, (also exceptionally, as always?) by Alan Brackenborough.

I was lucky enough, to firstly find and again to be able to buy, this very fine model at a Special Auction Services auction in Newbury. It’s condition was not great, with minor rusting to all of the wheels and other bright-work a little tarnished. Additionally two small repairs have needed to be made to the working of the inside motion. All’s well now though. Of more importance to me was that there was no damage to the paintwork.

These are typical of the risks needed to be taken when buying in auction. It goes without saying that you do not get a chance to test the working of models before bidding. You are lucky if you get a box to carry it home in. Therefore confidence in your own ability to be able to repair any faults is obviously a necessity.

In the same auction there were many more fine models, including my Experiment and Precursor class models. There were also two other Stars which I didn’t buy – Dog Star and Princess Helena. Both of the same original build and paint quality as King Richard, although Dog Star looked to have had a slightly tougher working life. I wonder if the buyer of those models is as pleased as I am with this? I wonder if he had any surprises when he got them home and placed them on the track? Has he had to make any repairs? More interestingly for me, does he know who the builder is? The previous owner, now deceased, was a man by the name of Peter Trey, who apparently lived in Ireland. If anyone reading this has any further knowledge of this model, eg. who the builder is, please let me know.

Princess Helena was missing a nameplate. That doesn’t sound a great issue as a replacement can easily be acquired and stuck on with superglue. But the nameplates on these models were cleverly designed and mounted to the splasher with a slot and tab fixing of great craftsmanship. A real shame to have lost one and that was the only reason that I chose to go for King Richard instead.

These models, clearly came from a true connoisseur of model trains and an avid enthusiast of the GWR and L&NWR.

GWR 43xx class no. 4302

Mick Bayliss Locos now sold
GWR Churchward mogul
GWR Churchward mogul
GWR Churchward mogul 43xx class no. 4302. Built by Malcolm Mitchell from his own kit. Additionally, the model carries a small nameplate of the builder on the underside to give that provenance. Painted to an exceptional standard by Alan Brackenborough.

I was lucky enough, to firstly find and again to be able to buy this model at auction. But it was in less than good condition as it had rusting to all of the wheels. On the positive side however and very importantly, the paintwork was still in very good condition. After cleaning and lubrication, placing the model on the track and she was away. Non the worse for her spell in a location of damp atmosphere and change of ownership.

It goes without saying what a risky business it is when buying models in auction. You do not get a chance to test the working of models before bidding. You are lucky if you get a box to carry it home in. Therefore confidence in your own ability to be able to repair any faults is obviously a necessity.

In the same auction there were many more fine models, including my Experiment, Precursor and Star King Richard. These models, came from the collection of Peter Trey, in Ireland. Obviously a true connoisseur of model trains and an avid enthusiast of the GWR and L&NWR.

LNWR George the Fifth class no. 1489 Wolfhound

Mick Bayliss Locos now sold
Wolfhound
Wolfhound
LNWR George the Fifth class No. 1489 Wolfhound: Built and expertly painted by Ian Rathbone from a Javelin Models kit. Additionally, the model carries a small nameplate of the builder on the underside of the running plate to give that provenance. Used in the build are wheels that have been finely cast, possibly by Alan Harris. The drivers having telescopic axles with a tapered pin to fix the quartering.

I was lucky enough, to firstly find and again to be able to buy Wolfhound at auction. But it was in less than good condition as it had rusting to all of the wheels. On the positive side however and very importantly, the paintwork was still in very good condition. After cleaning and lubrication, placing the model on the track and she was away. Non the worse for her spell in a location of damp atmosphere and change of ownership.

It goes without saying what a risky business it is when buying models in auction. You do not get a chance to test the working of models before bidding. You are lucky if you get a box to carry it home in. Therefore confidence in your own ability to be able to repair any faults is obviously a necessity.

In the same auction there were many more fine models, including my Experiment, Precursor and Star King Richard. These models, came from the collection of Peter Trey, in Ireland. Obviously a true connoisseur of model trains and an avid enthusiast of the GWR and L&NWR.

A full size George the Fifth steam loco, Prince George, is presently being built. Follow this link for the website.

Charles Bowen Cooke became Locomotive Superintendent of the London and North Western Railway in 1909. He introduced this class by taking the design of Whale’s Precursor class and incorporating a superheated boiler and piston valves. Straight nameplates, continuous splasher, a longer smokebox and smaller bogie wheels identify these locos from the Precursor class. Follow this link for a comparison with one of these locos, Victor.

LNWR divided drive compound Experiment class no. 307 Victor

Mick Bayliss Locos now sold
Experiment Victor
Experiment no. 307 Victor
LNWR Experiment class no. 307 Victor. Built from scratch by Michael Edge of Carlton in 2004 and painted by Ian Rathbone. Metal wheels, which have been finely cast, possibly by Alan Harris, were used in the build. The drivers having telescopic axles with a tapered pin to fix the quartering. Additionally, the model carries small nameplates of both the builder and the painter on the underside to give that provenance. F.W.Webb designed the full size loco using his patent divided drive compound system. Built at Crewe in 1883 as a 2-(2-2)-0. Two outside high pressure cylinders driving the rear wheels and one  low pressure cylinder between the frames driving the forward wheels. To replicate that working on the model, Michael has expertly fitted two independent motor and gearbox units into the model loco. One driving the forward wheels, in addition to the other driving the rear wheels. It works perfectly, just like the real thing. A credit to the builder. I was lucky enough, to firstly find and again to be able to buy, this very fine model at auction. But it was in a poor state. It had considerable rusting to all of the wheels and other brightwork. The chimney, smokebox door and a tender toolbox had become detached. On the positive side however and very importantly, the paintwork was still in very good condition and the loose parts have been easily refitted with no detriment. After repair, cleaning and lubrication, placing the model on the track and he was away, non the worse for his spell in a location of damp atmosphere and change of ownership. It is now perfect motive power to my rake of Peter Cowling built London & North Western Railway and West Coast Joint Stock coaches. In conclusion, working models of divided drive Webb Compounds are very rare. Pete Waterman has a superb model of Apollo, built from scratch by James Harwood in scale 7. Warren Haywood has painted a model of Jeannie Deans, featured in his website gallery. I wonder if these models have independently powered divided drive like Victor?

 

 

 

 

For a further image of this model follow this link

LNWR Whale Precursor class 4-4-0 no. 1430 Victor

Mick Bayliss My loco collection
Precursor Victor

 

 

Precursor no.1430 Victor
LNWR Precursor class no. 1430 Victor. Built from the Javelin Models kit by Michael Edge of Carlton in 2003 and painted by Ian Rathbone. The wheels used in the build are finely cast, possibly by Alan Harris. The drivers having telescopic axles with a tapered pin to fix the quartering. Additionally, the model carries small nameplates of both the builder and the painter on the underside to give that provenance. George Whale followed F.W.Webb as Locomotive Superintendent of the London and North Western Railway in 1903. His first loco design was the Precursor class, basically an enlarged version of Webb’s Precedent class. Built at Crewe in 1905 as a two cylinder saturated steam 4-4-0 with slide valves, Victor has here been modelled in that condition. Many of the class were later rebuilt by Charles Bowen Cooke who replaced Whale in 1909. He incorporated superheated boilers and piston valves to bring them into line with his more powerful George the Fifth class. A longer smokebox and smaller bogie wheels identify these locos from the unrebuilt members of the class. I have built a model of one of the rebuilds, Velocipede. For a description and images of this loco follow this link. I was lucky enough, to firstly find and again to be able to buy, this very fine model at auction. But it was in less than good condition as it had rusting to all of the wheels. On the positive side however and very importantly, the paintwork was still in very good condition. After cleaning and lubrication, placing the model on the track and he was away. Non the worse for his spell in a location of damp atmosphere and change of ownership. It is now perfect motive power to my rake of Peter Cowling built London & North Western Railway and West Coast Joint Stock coaches.

For a further image of this loco follow this link