Loco commissions

North Eastern Railway W class 4-6-2T (Whitby Tank) no. 688

Mick Bayliss Loco commissions
Whitby Tank no. 688
Whitby Tank no. 688
North Eastern Railway class W 4-6-2T no. 688. Built by myself, predominantly from a spare set of nickel silver etchings from Nick Dunhill, but as is always the case, a fair amount of the build had to be from scratch. Most lost wax castings are from the Laurie Griffin range, including the representation of static inside motion. Wheels are Slaters and the motor and gearbox unit are from ABC. The lovely paintwork, with lining by bow pen, has been expertly applied by John Cockcroft. Number plates by Diane Carney. The etches were collected from Nick at Kettering 2019, work started on the 28th May 2019 and was completed on the 10th February 2020, with 125 hours booked for the build, exclusive of painting.

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.

BR(SR) Maunsell Schools class 4-4-0 no. 30925 Cheltenham

Mick Bayliss Loco commissions
Cheltenham

Cheltenham
BR(SR) Maunsell Schools class 4-4-0 no. 30925 Cheltenham, This model has just been built by myself on commission from the excellent David Andrews kit. The build was started on the 10th April 2018 and finished on the 13th August. Just over four months and around 145 build hours. No major problems were encountered with building this kit, although being a very comprehensive kit of a complicated prototype, tackling one of these as a build project should not be for the beginner or the fainthearted. It presently has a Portescap motor and gears, but as it is proving a little slow, the client has ordered an ABC unit as a replacement and I will be upgrading the model when that is to hand. Final testing will be taking place at the Poachers test track on Sunday 19th August and all being well it will be handed to Warren Haywood for painting at Telford into BR lined green livery.

Prince of Wales, Director class

Mick Bayliss Loco commissions
GCR Prince of Wales.

GCR Prince of Wales.
GCR 11F Improved Director class no. 508 Prince of Wales. This model was built on commission by myself from the very good David Andrews kit, which includes parts to build a non-working representation of the inside motion. A motor and gearbox unit and wheels by Slaters Plasticard have been used in the build. The loco has been superbly painted and lined out in Great Central Railway passenger livery by Warren Haywood of Ossett. Number and nameplates supplied by Severnmill. Work started on the build on 30th September 2017 and finished on 8th March 2018. Build time 90 hours. Current collection is by the American method, where the loco collects from one rail and the tender from the other. The insulated wheels have been shorted by thin wire carefully soldered behind a spoke on one or other side of the loco and tender. An insulated drawbar and fallplate are needed with this system and in my experience, with care, it works very well. Handed over to a delighted client on the 24th March 2018.

The Improved Director class (LNER class D11) was designed by John G. Robinson for express passenger work on the Great Central main line between London Marylebone and Sheffield and Manchester. An improved version of the 11E Director class (LNER class D10). No. 508 was built in March 1920 as the third member of the class. It had an operational life of over 40 years, being withdrawn in 1960. One member of the class, no. 506 Butler Henderson, is fortunately preserved, but unfortunately in static condition, at Barrow Hill.