This picture shows the unlikely scene of a Stephenson 'Patentee' being piloted by a Bury 0-4-0 on the London & Birmingham railway. Robert Stephenson tried very hard to have his 'Patentee' locomotives adopted for the London & Birmingham, but the directors used the argument of a 'conflict of interest' to award the contract to Edward Bury instead. In the event, only one Patentee ran on the L&BR and that was this one, called 'Harvey Combe', which Stephenson supplied to William Cubitt for use in construction of the Berkampstead section. The models are shown here running on the G1MRA (Gauge 1 Model Railway Association) Northern Group's track "Dobson Bridge" at Market Bosworth, Leics, on 19th October 2019. Both locomotives are one-piece 3D prints in SLS Nylon and built to 10mm / ft scale for Gauge 1 (45mm) track. The rolling stock is also 3D printed in SLS nylon and is contemporary with the L&BR, being drawn from the very limited supply of contemporary engravings that survive, illustrating vehicles running on the Grand Junction and Birmingham & Gloucester as well as the L&BR itself. The 'Patentee' is festooned in experimental electronics, testing out one of several concepts for low cost powering of 3D printed models. Amongst the maze of wiring is a Watt-Hour meter, measuring the (very modest) power consuption of the locomotive. The goal of this work is to eventually bring the overall cost of 3D printed locomotives within the reach of younger modellers.
Photo Richard Tremaine