Gerry Balding dropped me an email (a while ago, I admit) saying: “This is the part finished loco I had at the Norwich exhibition last March. Taken long enough to do!” - EH

Photographs © Gerry Balding

The loco is based on the 18″ gauge tanks from the LNWR works at Crewe and Horwich. The mechanism is a Hornby ‘Percy’ and is constructed from plasticard, household scrap and wire. The only commercial fittings are the rivets and regulator (both Cambrian) and the safety valve, injector, gauge glass and lubricators which are all white metal castings.

I built the model from plans and photos in the Smithers book on 18″ gauge railways and some photos that I took last year of the surviving prototype in the NRM at York. Thanks must also go to Christopher Payne as I also used the various published photos of his similar loco on Sutton Wharf and the article on how he constructed it which was in a recent issue of Narrow Gauge World and Modelling. The photos were taken on my (still yet) unfinished layout.

The next project is to build the tender.