Loco commissions

LNER Gresley A4 class 4-6-2 no. 7 Sir Nigel Gresley

Mick Bayliss Loco commissions, Locos now sold

LNER Gresley A4 class 4-6-2 no. 7 Sir Nigel Gresley.

This is the second of my A4 restoration projects. “Kingfisher” is already elsewhere in these pages and another, (with skirts), is on the back burner awaiting its turn. I bought the three original models (all from Martin Finney kits) around the same time and they were in varying degrees of condition. One (Lord Farringdon) had been dropped and the resin body shell was seriously broken, but otherwise good and to scale 7 standards. I then found in an auction in Huddersfield a job lot of A4 parts. Again all Martin Finney. Two resin bodies and two tenders (both corridor type) included in the job lot. So I then had the parts to get on with “Project three Streaks”.

As I said earlier Sir Nigel here is the second and has turned out very well. It was originally “Merlin”. Bought from auction, in well built, but care worn condition, with a slightly damaged tender. An existing client of mine heard about my three streaks project and asked if one of them could be made into an LNER garter blue without skirts, and this is the result. Now with a new identity and a Huddersfield tender. Paintwork is by Warren Haywood. At a cost to him of roughly 50% of a Finney7 professional build and paint, I’m hopeful that my client will be as pleased with it as I am.

GWR de Glehn compound 4-4-2 no. 102 La France

Mick Bayliss Loco commissions

GWR de Glehn compound 4-4-2 no. 102 La France. Built from the superb Modern Outline Kit, with Slaters wheels and an ABC motor and gear unit. An existing client commissioned me to build this model for him. However, a colleague at Poachers and model builder himself, Bob Walker, had built one of these kits recently, quite honestly I bottled it and passed the buck onto him. I have no regrets as he has built this challenging kit brilliantly. Warren Haywood’s paintwork has made this into a stunning model, which has been tested with six coaches and just glides around the Poachers test track. I should take some of the credit as I did all of the organising, running around, added the coal in the tender and even put it in the box prior to handover. A very successful team effort!!

The full size locomotive was built in 1903 specifically for G.J.Churchward of the GWR by Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques for comparison with his own design two cylinder Saint/Scott class Atlantic locomotive Albion. It did not provide any significant improvement in either performance or economy.

La France was repainted into the standard GWR green livery in 1905, rebuilt with the GWR standard no.1 boiler in 1916 and was withdrawn in 1926.

Great Central Railway Robinson 8A (Tiny) class 0-8-0 no. 48

Mick Bayliss Loco commissions
Great Central Railway Robinson 8A (Tiny) class 0-8-0 no. 48

Great Central Railway Robinson 8A (Tiny) class 0-8-0 no. 48. I am still taking on commissions to build models and this is my latest. Built from the very good, but in some areas very difficult, Gladiator kit, with an RG7 Portescap motor and gear unit and Slaters wheels. Power collection is by my favoured American method, which uses the tender wheels to collect power from one side of the track and the loco wheels from the other, this method avoids the use of plunger pickups, which in my opinion often prove troublesome. The superb GCR fully lined black livery was applied by Warren Haywood.

Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Aspinal Highflyer class Atlantic no. 1403

Mick Bayliss Loco commissions, My loco collection

Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Aspinal Highflyer class Atlantic no. 1403. Built and basically painted by myself on commission from the Lanky kit and expertly lined out by John Cockcroft. The model has Slaters wheels, an ABC motor and gear unit and collects power by my favoured American method. The gentleman that asked me to build has now decided to sell his considerable collection of L&Y models, giving me the opportunity to buy this one back. It is a lovely model and I am very happy to be able to add it to my collection.

North Eastern Railway P2 class 0-6-0 no. 1098

Mick Bayliss Loco commissions

North Eastern Railway P2 class 0-6-0 no. 1098. Built by myself on commission from the very comprehensive Piercy Models kit, which includes static inside valve gear and a wealth of inside cab detail. With Slaters wheels, plunger pick-ups and a motor and gearbox combination by Premier Components. This model is now ready for testing at the Poachers test track in Lincoln, then if all’s well it will be handed to my client. Work was started on the build of this model on February 28th 2022 and finished to the stage shown on the 11th August. Build time 82 hours. 

North Eastern Railway Raven class D 4-4-4T no. 2143

Mick Bayliss Loco commissions
NER class D 4-4-4T no. 2143
North Eastern Railway Raven class D 4-4-4T no. 2143

Built on a commission basis from the very comprehensive DJH kit and fitted with Slaters wheels and the excellent Slaters GB30R-3M gearbox with a Mashima motor. Many parts of this model are cast in white metal, the smokebox/boiler/firebox has been usual for DJH kits for as long as I have been building, but this kit has the cab floor cast as a drop in from below casting, to which the backhead can be screwed, making a well detailed unit. The cab roof and splasher box castings are well detailed and everything fits together well. Each of the bogie frames are also one piece castings, the leading one has a very clever wiper power pickup idea, designed and incorporated into the kit. All in all making a quick to build model and recommended for the more inexperienced model builder. The superb paintwork is by Warren Hayward.

LNER Gresley A1 class Pacific no. 1470N Great Northern

Mick Bayliss Loco commissions, Locos now sold, Wally West scratchbuilt locos
Great Northern

Great Northern
LNER Gresley A1 class Pacific no. 1470N Great Northern. Built (to 95% completion) from scratch by Wally West circa 1980’s using driving wheel castings by Alan Harris and a massive Pittman gear and motor unit. For a reason unknown Great Northern (and his twin brother Robert the Devil, who appears on a separate posting on this site) were left unfinished until in early 2020, when I was commissioned by Wally’s family to complete the models. This entailed, in the main, the soldered assembly of cab parts and the fitting of all handrails on the boiler, cab and tender. It also entailed the preparation of the model for final painting by Warren Haywood. I am very proud to have completed the model to a standard worthy of the builder and honoured to have this fabulous model as part of my collection.

LNER Gresley A1 class Pacific no. 4479 Robert the Devil

Mick Bayliss Loco commissions, Wally West scratchbuilt locos
Robert the Devil

Robert the Devil
LNER Gresley A1 class Pacific no. 4479 Robert the Devil. Built (to 95% completion) from scratch by Wally West circa 1980’s using driving wheel castings by Alan Harris and a massive Pittman gear and motor unit. For a reason unknown Robert the Devil (and his twin brother Great Northern) were left unfinished until in early 2020, when I was commissioned by Wally’s family to complete the models. This entailed, in the main, the soldered assembly of cab parts and the fitting of all handrails on the boiler, cab and tender. It also entailed the preparation of the model for final painting by Warren Haywood. This model is now in the possession of Wally’s daughter Jane, as a memento of her father’s modelling skills.