TCS member Dirk Hetel has contacted us to say with an update to his winning "Photo of the Year"
Dirk writes; "The TCS January 2017 Calendar Photo starred my more than 100 year old model of Samuel W. Johnson’s Midland Railway 4-2-2 class 115 “Spinners”, one of Bing’s most charming 0-gauge clockwork locomotives which were once sold by Gamages, a department store in Central London. When I bought the loco two years ago, the clockwork mechanism was inoperable, but Bearwood Models in England was there to help with a thorough mechanical restoration. After its return to New England, my “Spinner” makes a guest appearance at my friend Lew Schneider’s layout. I made this short video to share with you:
The video shows the ”Spinner” working a train of 3 short Midland Railway bogie coaches, made by Märklin for Gamages who advertised both Bing’s Midland Spinner and these coaches as a train set in their 1913 Christmas Bazaar catalogue. In the video the loco was only wound as much as necessary to get it from station to station, in keeping with the practice once taught by Bassett-Lowke and Ernest F. Carter. The Spinner also moved a much heavier train of 3 Bing and Carette for Bassett-Lowke coaches, but a slight incline in the layout required double-heading with my friend’s LMS 4-4-0 “George The Fifth”. This brings back to life the trains our great-grandfathers once have played with.
Thank you Dirk for the video and details.
