Inspiration from a first project built by a novice...

Welcome to the May edition of EIM and we are delighted to feature this month an excellent 5-inch gauge model of a London & North Eastern Railway B1 4-6-0 locomotive. I first spotted this engine in the newsletter of the Sydney Live Steam Locomotive Society, the editor commenting that member Simon Collier had compelted his loco and made a very good job of it, as the photos in the newsletter clearly showed.

It was only when Simon responded positively to my request and sent me a detailed description of the loco’s construction, that it was revealed just what a remarkable story this is. Simon describes the project in detail starting on page 6, but basically he decided he wanted his own loco by watching Sydney club members through the fence while on his way to do his weekly shopping. When he first went through the gate and started making enquiries he did not know anything about steam locomotives, down to how they worked, what safety valves were for and such like. And equally remarkably, he had no idea what a lathe or a milling machine was or what they were used for!

Simon’s project took him 15 years to complete, but he kept at it and when you look at the photos of it you will surely agree that he has clearly learnt his craft. Importantly, his loco is a prime example of how even if you are a complete novice, simply by learning your way, and showing some dedication, you can become the owner of a large model locomotive that you have built yourself – Simon is clearly proud of his model, as he should be!

Elsewhere this month, we’ve given Jan-eric Nystrom a rest from his traction engine build series, but he will be back next month. And we are certainly looking forward to the coming months – as we give a brief hint at on page 17, we have some exciting features and feature series coming up with a whole lot of building to be done.

That’s not to say, however, and yes you’ve heard this from me many times before, that we don’t want more! Let’s see your favourite project shared with your fellow readers in our pages, in the process earning you some funds for your next one...

We hope you enjoy your EIM and another reminder, we are always keen to hear what you want to see in these pages, so if you are looking for something specific, drop us a line and tell us about it, and we’ll see what we can do...

Andrew Charman – Editor

The June issue of Engineering in Miniature publishes on 19th May