Hi all,

Good to be here. My name is Craig Ogden – originally from Grimsby, but have lived in Wrexham for the last 20 years.

I have a keen interest in engineering but haven't actually made any locos myself.

Apart from my interest in all things mechanical, I'm here regarding some close family members.

Jim (Arthur) and Gordon Bell (born and lived in Grimsby), were pretty good model engineers, and won a few awards in the 80s for their loco builds, including a B1 which i'll go into more shortly.

Gordon, the last surviving brother, died a few weeks back, and while going through his belongings, we found a photo album of three of the locos they built.

I was wondering if anyone was aware of them, and if any of their locos were still around /in steam?

I did a bit of google'ing, and believe i've found their B1. (Grimsby District best in show loco 1986) After comparing the photos of various details… the cab, features, unusual smokebox number-plate, i can be pretty confident it's their build.

https://www.stationroadsteam.com/5-inch-gauge-lner-b1-springbok-stock-code-9123/

I'm wondering if anyone is aware of any of the other locos (i'll add pics somehow):

5" Thompson B1 No. 8301 Springbok

5" LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T No. 1200

5" Simplex LMS 4972

5" 57XX 0-6-0T GWR 3799

Along with these, they built a Juliet (which i own), couple more paniers (numbers unknown), 5" 70013 Oliver Cromwell, 5" King Class – finished but unpainted/unnamed when it left the workshop, and more that i forget.

Let me know if anyone is interested copies of the photos if you happen to own any of these locos… unlikely i know.

Thanks and regards

Craig Ogden