LB&SCR Stroudley B1 class 0-4-2 no. 179. This model was bought off of Ebay, superbly part built, from scratch in brass. I do not buy many models from auction unless I can handle them and see them with my own eyes. But the build quality of this looked so good that I could not resist it. The tender was pretty well complete, as was the chassis and cab. All wheels (Slaters) were supplied and the boiler was supplied as a cut-out flat sheet. All I had to do was fit an ABC motor and gear unit, roll the boiler, make it fit (which wasn’t easy) and then make it all work. Doesn’t sound much, does it? But I can tell you it gave me some headaches. Warren Haywood has expertly added the paint for me. She runs like a dream, so all’s well with Ebay and well worth the risk.
The model is of course of one of the famous and very successful “Gladstone” class express passenger locomotives, designed by William Stroudley. When running in it’s original livery no. 179 was named “Sandown”, but after Stroudleys’ death, his successor Earl Marsh had it repainted in his own very attractive umber livery, without the painted name. It also carries Marsh’s design of smokebox door, continuous handrail over the smokebox and tender fenders. Otherwise she is in as built condition, including the very attractive brass cab side number plates, as running circa 1906.
Midland Railway class 4 Compound 4-4-0 no. 1009. Bought part built, basically from the well known and excellent Slaters kit, but with many additional features, for example the early type Deeley tender with straight edges to the base of the tank. Rarely modelled, but historically correct for the prototype. Only ten of these tenders were built and originally fitted to numbers 1005 to 1014. Now finished by myself and in full working order with wiper pick-ups and side springing to the bogie. The model is fitted with the excellent Ron Chaplin Gold gears and motor unit and has been superbly painted and lined with bow-pen by John Cockcroft.
BR(MR) Princess Coronation class Pacific no. 46245 City of London. Very well built from the Gladiator kit with Slaters wheels and a very smooth, quiet and powerful Crailcrest motor and gear unit. This model was bought from auction in a painted condition that, lets say, was not very sympathetic to such a well loved class of locomotive. It had originally been built to a professional quality and painted in British Railways crimson lake livery as no. 46245 City of London, complete with cabside yellow stripe. A condition that I well remember seeing the full size loco at Derby works open day in 1964. The model must have looked truly wonderful and would have been the envy of most O gauge modellers……….. until someone saw fit to overspray it in silver paint. Apparently for a film set. Fortunately and the one saving grace, they masked off the chassis, cylinders, wheels and motion of the loco. Over the past few months I have stripped off all of the paint from the main body of the loco and tender. I have ensured that the model is now in fully working condition and repaired any areas and added extra detail that the model needed to bring it up to my own personal exacting standards. John Cockcroft has made a wonderful job of repainting (less yellow stripe) and she is now in better than original condition. As a passionate collector of fine scale models I am very proud to be responsible for buying and restoring to it’s former glory this fine model.
LMS (ex Caledonian Railway) Macintosh 0-4-4T no.15128. A top quality model. Built from scratch, signed and dated on the underside “Painted Larry Goddard ’79”. The wheels are cast metal with telescopic axles, pinned to set the quartering. Look at the profile of the spokes of the drivers. These are of Alan Harris quality. The motor and gears are a Buhler/JH unit. No provenance as to who the builder was, but I would lay a pound to a penny that this model made the short trip “down the road” from Geoff Holt’s workshop to be painted.
GWR (ex Cambrian Railway) 2-4-0T no.1196. This lovely little loco has been expertly built by Ray Butcher from the Agenoria kit and painted by Alan Brackenborough. It uses the superb ABC mini gearbox, has compensated suspension and as such runs extremely smoothly and is very powerful for such a small loco.
There were originally three of these small tank engines, built by Sharp Stewart in the early 1860’s and in Cambrian days they carried the names Magnolia, Gladys and Seaham. In 1922 they arrived at Swindon for rebuilding and didn’t the GWR make them look smart? Renumbered 1192, 1196 and 1197 they returned to the Cambrian system in 1923/4. This loco 1196 (shame it didn’t retain it’s Gladys name) was transferred to work the Hemyock branch for a short spell before returning to Oswestry to work the Tanat Valley line, until withdrawal in 1948 after putting in a remarkable million miles for such a small loco.
BR Standard class 4 4-6-0 no. 75068. Very well built by a person unknown from the very good but challenging DJB kit. This loco was originally expertly painted by Conrad Cooper as 75069 in fully lined BR green livery as the loco had ran on the Severn Valley Railway in preservation. Bought on-line from an Eldreds of Plymouth auction via the-saleroom.com. Normally I prefer to handle and be able to closely inspect models before purchase at auction. But this day I must have been up for taking chances, buying Ingleborough, The Great Marquess and 75069 on the same day. The K4 and Peak have both proved to be excellent buys and well worth the risk. 75069 had however been well worked by its previous owner. It was what could be termed play worn, with lamp irons and handrails missing and steps lost. However the paintwork was still stable with few chips and the mechanics are good. I bought this model with the intention of having it repainted as an example of the class that is not preserved and that is exactly what I have done with the expert help of John Cockcroft, who has repainted her as shown above. In my opinion she now looks absolutely fabulous.
BR (ex LMS) Rebuilt Jubilee Class no. 45735 Comet. I bought the kit that this fine model was built, from David Andrews, donkeys years ago. The intention was to construct it for myself, as I clearly remember seeing 45735 (unnamed by then and in a poor state) many times whilst it was allocated to Annesley in the mid-sixties. As now, my own work takes the back burner to other peoples work and the box remained unopened for years. Then on a return from a Poachers running session one Sunday, my old mate George Dawson (Majestic George as many people remember him) commented that he fancied adding a rebuilt Jubilee to his collection and he bought the kit from me. He had another old mate of mine, Derek Pike build it for him, but poor Derek passed away before it could be painted. It then remained unpainted for years more until George passed away. George’s daughter Gaynor then sold it back to me. I made some improvements, such as fitting side springs to the bogie, before asking John Cockcroft to give it a well deserved coat of paint. It now runs superbly, even on my own restricted curves test track in my loft.
BR Peak class Derby built 1CO-CO1 diesel electric loco no. D7 Ingleborough. (Became no. 44007 under the British Rail TOPS numbering scheme). This model has been built and painted by persons unknown from the Just Like the Real Thing kit. It has an ABC gears power bogie. Since purchase, as a running model, Ingleborough has needed very little work. It ran very well as soon as I opened the box and placed it on the track. Visually though, it needed work to get it to my liking, as I remember them in the late sixties, working coal trains out of Toton depot, on the old Midland route through Leicestershire. The paint wasn’t bad, but the detailing left something to be desired. I have replaced the nameplates and builders plates (it originally had representations of English Electric builders plates, believe it or not), added the yellow warning panels and overhead warning labels and replaced the “D7” numbers with transfers that are the correct size. Then to blend these changes together it has been expertly weathered by Richard Pogson, as well as being converted to switchable DCC/DC operation, with a Zimo MX699KS sound decoder. Using DCC address 7, she now sounds, as well as looks fabulous.
A very famous model with cast iron provenance, the LMS Royal Scot class no. 6102 Black Watch. This very fine model was built by the late Geoff Holt in 1993. Featured in the late lamented Modellers Back Track magazines of April-May and June-July 1993, edited by David Jenkinson. (Volume 3 numbers 1 & 2). In the article, called “The Red Scots”, Geoff builds three at the same time, 6148 The Manchester Regiment, for himself, 6170 British Legion, for David Jenkinson and my loco, 6102 Black Watch. Quality large images in colour by Tony Wright, of all three models, both in their nickel silver unpainted and painted states are featured. The beautiful LMS Crimson Lake and straw lining was expertly applied by Larry Goddard and the model has been signed “G.Holt L.Goddard ’93 6102” under the cab. Both the loco and tender carry nameplates on the underside “Built by Geoff Holt”. The wheels are of Alan Harris manufacture and have been expertly machined by Steve Ross with solid stepped axles to give a back to back of 29mm, with a tight fit to the wheels on the insulated side and a push fit on the non-insulated side. This information, obtained from the magazine article which was written by Geoff himself, became very useful to me only the day after taking delivery of the model. The motor and gears that the model was using, which I have no reason to doubt were the original fitment, were not to my standard. As I had a spare ABC gear unit with a Maxon motor, it was not a difficult decision to make the replacement. The new unit fitted like a glove and as the axles are not of the telescopic type, the fitting of the new unit was not difficult either. Black Watch now runs as good as it looks.
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