Author: Mick Bayliss

BR(ex GWR) 2301 class 0-6-0 Dean Goods no. 2538

Mick Bayliss Locos now sold
Dean Goods 2538
BR (ex GWR) Dean Goods 0-6-0 no. 2538. This model has been skillfully built from scratch, the loco in nickel silver and the tender in brass. It would seem that the unknown builder sadly passed away before he could finish it, as I found and bought it out of the Gauge O Guild Executors  in unpainted condition. A little TLC and a good clean, a coat of primer then black paint by myself together with a real wooden floor by Poppy’s to give a lovely realistic cab detail. She has made into a good looking and reliable loco, with weathering by Richard Pogson.
I have modeled her as the last member of the class to be withdrawn, in 1957 from Oswestry shed. She outlived her now preserved sister no. 2516 by a year, becoming something of a celebrity and being kept in reasonably clean condition for hauling special trains. The two locos had been retained principally for working the Abermule – Kerry branch line.
This model is for sale, if interested please visit the models for sale section of this website.

Barry Railway “K” class 0-6-2T no. 119

Mick Bayliss Locos now sold

Barry Railway "K" class 0-6-2T no, 119
Barry Railway “K” class 0-6-2T no. 119. Built from scratch by Ray Butcher, who usually used Alan Brackenborough to paint his models and I see no reason to doubt this model is not Alan’s work. It is an extremely well built and painted model of a very unusual prototype. Slaters wheels, compensated suspension and a very neat ABC mini gear and motor unit.
The class of five were assembled in 1899 from a kit of parts that had been designed by Mr.Hosgood and delivered to Barry Docks from America, giving them the nickname “Yankees”. Above the running plate they were typical Barry style, but American bar frames and Richardson balanced slide valves gave them a very powerful appearance. They were Swindonised in 1924, becoming GWR numbers 193-197.

LSWR Adams 380 class 4-4-0 no. 381

Mick Bayliss Model for sale, My loco collection
LSWR Steamroller 381
LSWR Steamroller 381
LSWR 380 class 4-4-0 no. 381. This class of 12 locomotives were the first tender locos designed by William Adams. They were built by Beyer Peacock & Co. at the Gorton Foundry, Manchester in 1879. Dubbed “Steamrollers” by reason of their disc bogie wheels and stovepipe chimneys. When built, Beatties’  umber passenger livery was used, with green and orange lining and with the London and South Western Railway Co. crest above the brass numbers on the cab side. From about 1885 they were repainted into the Adams mixed traffic loco livery of Holly green with black borders, edged by a fine bright green line.
This old but accurate model was built in 1955 to a high standard, from scratch by the Rob Dettmar/John Hart (who also produced the RM and early JH motor/gears) partnership. She is still mechanically very good. The original RM 3 pole motor, no. 577, gears and flywheel are smooth and quiet and move the model swiftly and elegantly. The wheels are good quality cast iron, verging on the coarse side of finescale. Since originally listed, she has been stripped of her original paint, which had turned very dark and the finish had deteriorated with age. Now expertly re-painted in the mixed traffic livery described above by Warren Haywood. She was also renumbered from her original 382 at the same time. For a press cutting which shows a photo of this model look for R.G.Dettmar & Co. in the following link https://www.milbromodelrailways.co.uk/vintagelocos.html

LNER Gresley K3 class 2-6-0 no. 1816

Mick Bayliss Locos now sold
LNER Gresley K3 class 2-6-0 no. 1816

LNER Gresley K3 class no.1816. Built from scratch by D. Miller and expertly painted by the late Robin Bell. Signed on the underside of the running plate “Built D. Miller 5/93” and “Painted R. Bell 5/93” giving provenance. The wheels are of the Slaters type and the motor and gears are of the MSC JH type. The bogie and drawbar are both sprung to the centre to guide the model around curves.

GWR Castle class 4-6-0 no. 5053 Bishop’s Castle

Mick Bayliss Locos now sold
Bishop's Castle

Bishop's Castle
GWR Castle class 4-6-0 no. 5053 Bishop’s Castle. A Masterpiece Model, bought from auction, lacking it’s original nameplates. As the full size 5053 carried two names in this livery, firstly as built Bishop’s Castle, renamed Earl Cairns after 15 months of service, I could make the choice. The former was chosen as I have a lovely photo of it with that name. The model has DCC control, performance and sound both in perfect working order.

Southern Railway (ex LSWR) N15 class 4-6-0 no. E736 Excalibur

Mick Bayliss Locos now sold
Southern Railway (ex LSWR) N15 class 4-6-0 no. E736 Excalibur

Southern Railway N15 class 4-6-0 no. E736 Excalibur. This model has been expertly built from scratch in brass by a person unknown. It has a Leakey motor and gears and uses the American method of power collection. Purchased from a Vectis auction in an unfinished and unpainted (tender primed) condition. After building, the model had been left to gather dust for many years. I have now stripped the tender of primer, replaced a Maunsell type chimney with this Urie type, coarse scale handrail knobs and handrail, rebuilt the cab and tender floors and generally completely overhauled the body and the motion to give a sound and powerful working model. Now painted in Robert Uries London & South Western Railway olive green by John Cockcroft. In my opinion he has the shade of green spot on. I asked him to match the colour of the jacket of D.L.Bradley’s book “LSWR Locomotives The Urie Classes” and he has done exactly what I asked.

LNER Gresley A3 class 4-6-2 no. 2744 Grand Parade

Mick Bayliss Locos now sold
Grand Parade

Grand Parade
LNER Gresley A3 class no. 2744 Grand Parade. I have recently acquired this lovely model from auction. It has been built and painted to a professional standard from the DJH kit. Judging from certain details, it could have been produced by one of the DJH factory team of builders themselves, although no certificates came with it as provenance. I am normally not a fan of DJH factory built LNER green models as I think their usual colour is too bright, https://www.djhmodelloco.co.uk/prodpage.asp?productid=3423 but this model is an exception as the colour is to my eyes very good for Doncaster green. Perhaps one built before they changed to the brighter green? Or perhaps produced by another very capable builder and painter? Powered by a motor with a delrin drive gearbox via plunger pickups. A modification to the bogie springing is all I have needed to make to enable it to travel around the Poachers test track without de-railing. This kit has been around a number of years now and I have built two others, Salmon Trout in LNER green and The White Knight in BR green. The kit is excellent and builds into a very proto-typical looking model. Fairly easy to build as well. You just need to shake the box of bits and they all fall into place. Just a shame that whoever the painter was, he originally made it no. 4480 Enterprise (very likely an example of the tail wagging the dog, or in this case the client wagging the painter). That loco was never a left hand drive loco whilst in LNER days. Carefully we have changed the cabside and buffer beam numbers to 2744 and the nameplates to Grand Parade, the name and number of one of the locos built at Doncaster in 1928 as left hand drive. As Peter Coster writes in Irwell Press’s fabulous “The Book of the A3 Pacifics” there were of course two Grand Parades, the first was destroyed in the Castlecary accident in 1937. This model depicts the second one, built in 1938 to replace the wrecked original loco. Mr. Coster writes that they “differ only in the boiler number and tender number” failing to spot that the second Grand Parade had steps behind the front buffer beam and the first did not.

GCR class 8B 4-4-2 Atlantic no. 264

Mick Bayliss Loco commissions
Jersey Lily no. 264

GCR class 8B 4-4-2 Atlantic no. 264. This model of a Jersey Lily has just been built by myself on commission from the Gladiator kit. The build was started on the 8th January 2019 and finished on the 24th May. Four and a half months and around 115 build hours. No major problems were encountered with building this kit, although to allow easier painting of the splasher tops, the boiler unit has been made to be removable. It has a non-working representation of the inside motion from the Laurie Griffin kit, an ABC motor and gear unit and the American method of power collection. Also many of the original white metal parts in the loco kit have been replaced with finely detailed parts of lost wax brass. Final testing was made at the Poachers test track on Sunday 19th May where it performed well with a seven coach train. She was handed over to Warren Haywood at Doncaster show for painting into fully lined Great Central green and crimson livery and Warren handed the finished model to a proud owner at Telford. Good going, less than 8 months from an unstarted kit of parts in a box to a beautiful working model locomotive, expertly painted in a complicated livery. A good team effort if I do say so myself.

LNER (ex NER) Y7 class 0-4-0T no. 982

Mick Bayliss Locos now sold

LNER no. 982
LNER (ex NER) Y7 class 0-4-0T no. 982. Scratch built by Ron C. Pearsall Models, a diamond makers plate on the underside “RCPM”. Expertly painted by Larry Goddard and signed on the underside “Paintwork L.W.Goddard ’82” all giving provenance. Until I acquired this model it had not turned a wheel in 37 years since painting. Just needing a little light oil on the bearings and worm drive, TLC and a minor adjustment and it is as good as new again. It has been built using the split axle system, power collection to the motor being through un-insulated wheels and the main frames. A system rarely used since the introduction of Slaters type insulated wheels. It runs superbly.