North British Railway Reid class A 0-6-2T no. 386

A recent auction buy and addition to my collection of pre-grouping liveried locos. Superbly built from the very good 62C Models kit, a quote from their website reads “George Dawson kindly agreed to do the artwork for the etches and the equally highly acclaimed Pete Westwater has made the patterns for the whitemetal components”. Beautifully painted, probably by Paul Moore (if you read this let me know please Paul). These locos were built by the North British Locomotive Company Ltd. in Glasgow. Number 386, (NBL 19165 of 1910), became no. 9386 of class N15 when the NBR became the LNER, and 69132 in BR days. George Dawson (now sadly deceased) was the proprietor of Majestic Models and he specialised in preparing the artwork for locos of the NBR. I first met George in 1989, when I bought a Connoisseur Models J71 class tank kit from him. That day was the start for me of my O gauge modelling journey. He became a great friend and I owe him for more model building knowledge than anyone else.

Great Central Railway Robinson 8K class 2-8-0 no. 102

Great Central Railway Robinson 8K class 2-8-0 no. 102. Built using the Gladiator kit as a basis, by Colin Garton of Lincoln, a model engineer of the highest calibre. This model features additional chassis improvements of a heavy machined brass frame spacer above the trailing drivers, and tender wheel wiper current collection to supplement the usual plunger pickups on the loco driving wheels, all added by Colin. painted by Conrad Cooper and signed on the underside “painting by C.L.Cooper” as provenance.

LNER Gresley V2 class 2-6-2 no. 4791

LNER Gresley V2 class 2-6-2 no. 4791
LNER Gresley V2 class 2-6-2 no. 4791. A DJH factory built and painted ready to run model in mint “plus” condition. This superb example features additional chassis details, eg a heavy machined brass frame spacer above the leading drivers, another machined brass spacer above the pony truck and tender wheel wiper current collection to supplement the usual plunger pickups on the loco driving wheels, all added by model engineer Colin Garton. The top quality motor and gear unit assembly is by Ron Chaplin.

BR (ex GER) Holden class F5 2-4-2T no. 67216

BR (ex GER) Holden class F5 2-4-2T no. 67216. Well built from one of my old friend Jim McGeown’s very good Connoisseur Models kits, this tank engine was built, but poorly finish painted by a person, now deceased. It was offered to me when I visited Shirebrook a year ago to collect a B12 (an Ebay purchase). I didn’t really want it, but under pressure, decided to take it with the intention to strip it and have it repainted into GER fully lined livery. Before I got around to doing that, the (scratchbuilt by Wally Mayhew) GER M15 class no. 650 came along, which deemed my intentions unnecessary. An image of that model is included here for comparison purposes. Now the once poorly painted model has been repainted by myself in the loco’s final livery. It runs very well with single stage gears and a Mashima motor as Jim recommends, with wiper pickups. Interesting in that no. 650 (of 1884) was the first built M15, and no. 67216 (of 1908) was the penultimate of 150 locomotives in the F4 (M15)/F5 (M15 rebuilt) class. Check out the accuracy of my model against the photo of 67216 on page 101 of Yeadons Register volume 39.

BR (exLSWR) Drummond M7 class 0-4-4T no. 30127

BR (exLSWR) Drummond M7 class 0-4-4T no. 30127
BR (exLSWR) Drummond M7 class 0-4-4T no. 30127. A recent purchase from Ebay in unfinished and unpainted condition. This model has been well built to a professional standard from the DJB kit by M. Jupp in 2007, with Slaters wheels and an ABC motor and gear unit. Power collection is by wiper pickups on the four driving wheels. Now completed by myself and beautifully painted by Warren Haywood, she runs as good as she looks.

Highland Railway Jones Loch class 4-4-0 no. 132 Loch Naver

Highland Railway Jones Loch class 4-4-0 no. 132 Loch Naver
Highland Railway Jones Loch class 4-4-0 no. 132 Loch Naver. A very unusual class of model loco to be offered for sale. This lovely model has been built and painted to top quality (provenance of the builder unknown at present) using a kit (probably Lochgorm) as a basis of construction. Slaters wheels and an ABC motor and gear unit, using current collection by the American (my preference) method, which uses the tender wheels to collect from one rail and the loco wheels to collect from the other. The gear unit is positioned on the fixed rear driving axle. The front driving axle has hornblocks and guides and is compensated with the trailing axle of the bogie. Very clever and works well. The kit is not designed like that, so a fair amount of scratch building has gone into this model by the very competent builder. The leading and centre axles of the tender are also compensated together. The trailing axle is fixed. The inside cab detail of the backhead is of a quality that most modellers (including me) can only dream of. I have models in my collection that have been built by names like Geoff Holt and Laurie Griffin. The quality of this model is up there with those names.

LMS Stanier Princess Coronation class Pacific no. 6231 Duchess of Atholl

LMS Stanier Princess Coronation class Pacific no. 6231 Duchess of Atholl. This model is by Masterpiece Models and was constructed and painted in South Korea with DCC control and sound. The paint finish is second to none, as with all Masterpiece Models. Bought second hand, with a known and obvious chuff fault to the sound. Other faults found after collection were a missing cinder guard and a damaged speedo drive with the drive arm missing completely. The model has since visited my good friend Richard Pogson to fit a new “Zimo MS 950” decoder and loudspeaker. At the same time he has made a superb repair to the speedo drive, along with the correction of various other faults and maintenance issues. This model, after some rough treatment from some of her previous owners, now performs and sounds as good as she looks. Even better sound and maintenance wise than she was when she was new. In my experience, Mr. Pogson is a very good chap to have on your side and I would recommend his work explicitly. 

Caledonian Railway McIntosh class 55 4-6-0 no. 55

Caledonian Railway McIntosh class 55 4-6-0 no. 55. A top rate scratch build, in nickel silver, by George Mckinnon-Ure. George is, together with Geoff Holt, part of the “elite of engineering artists” according to no other than Mr. Pete Waterman. He built for Pete some of his GWR gauge 1 models that were auctioned at Dreweatts in London in 2015. One of which sold for £25k. I feel very privileged to now own one of this great man’s lovely models. A very old model, built around a big old and ancient motor and gear assembly, which moves the model at a reasonably quiet and smooth, but sedate pace. The number plates are the original ones that have been on the model since building, no doubt the work of Mr. Beeson. Bought at an auction in Bourne recently (it’s wooden box adds to the provenance), together with the 782 class elsewhere on this website. The original paintwork had been damaged on both sides of the cab. Now stripped by myself, she has had a repaint by Mr. Warren Haywood. Thank you Warren for yet another job that I am very proud of.

The five original 55 class were mixed traffic locomotives, built at St.Rollox in 1902 and were intended for use on the Callender and Oban line and, along with some other classes were knicknamed “Oban Bogies”.