Brian Broumpton scratchbuilt locos

Great Western Railway 517 class 0-4-2T no. 572

Mick Bayliss Brian Broumpton scratchbuilt locos, My loco collection 5th July 20265th July 2026

Scratch built by Brian Broumpton, Alan Harris wheels, painted by Alan Brackenborough, from the Michael Price collection. This site shows that I have had, and sold, four others of these lovely 517 class tanks. All of them well built from the superb Malcolm Mitchell kit that has been on the market for probably the last 30 years. All now restored into working and superb looking model locomotives. But this no. 572, being a Broompton/Brackenborouh masterpiece, will hopefully not be following the others for some years yet.

GWR Churchward Saint class 4-6-0 no. 2923 Saint George

GWR Churchward Saint class 4-6-0 no. 2923 Saint George. This is a special model for me. In 2008, at Mellors & Kirk auctioneers in Nottingham, it was sold with provenance, as part of the Simpson collection of 31 finescale model locomotives. All scratchbuilt, mostly by Peter Everton or Brian Broumpton and painted by Alan Brackenborough. Three of them had been built by Stanley Beeson. I attended the auction, with little available cash, and was very disappointed to come away with nothing. Advance in time now to January 2024 and this model (with another, a King 6024 by Mr. Everton) is again in the same auction house, but this time in a damaged condition. Nameplates missing, two scratches to the green paintwork and a damaged (and very crudely glued back together) cab. The buyer in 2008 has clearly not looked after his purchases (the King was also in a play worn condition) and has probably now passed away. After careful viewing, I decided that if it could be obtained at the right price, restoration could be achieved, and here is the result. Mechanically it did still run quite well. Parts of the tender brake gear were missing and have had to be replaced. The cab has been completely broken down to it’s individual parts, thoroughly cleaned of all glue deposits and rebuilt as a soldered together unit. Fortunately, Mr Broompton built this model with the cab screwed to the running plate and fitting around the firebox and backhead (just like the real thing and unlike kit built models these days), making the repair of the cab considerably easier and also the painting and lining of the cab spectacle plate considerably easier also. John Cockcroft has made a superb job of repainting the cab and restoring the rest of the paintwork to match Mr. Brackenborough’s original finish. New plates by Severnmill complete the rebuild of this fine model. I now get to own and enjoy one of the models that I disappointingly missed out on 16 years previously. I may have missed out, but attendance to that auction in 2008, gave me the ambition to collect fine scratchbuilt models like this.

GWR Star class no. 4026 King Richard

Mick Bayliss Brian Broumpton scratchbuilt locos, My loco collection 9th May 20181st August 2026

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? The previous owner, now deceased, was a man who lived in Ireland by the name of Peter Tray (or is it Trey?}.

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.