Yet another view of the same coach, this time in a train being pulled by a Bing loco, made for the UK market, mid 1920s. The loco is 4-4-0 Mercury, one of the Bing 'George V' range, and an excellent performer. One of my favourites. This particular loco is somewhat tatty, or playworn, but that adds to the character of the loco. This was my first O gauge electric loco, and was supplied to me by a chap who inherited it from his father during his childhood, then, in turn, passed it to his own children and grandchildren. A history of love. The loco is a little battered and bent in places, the paintwork has certainly seen better days, but the motor runs flawlessly, and I could never bring myself to 'restore' it.
When I acquired the loco, I asked about a tender, but was told that, to his knowledge, there had never been one, so I searched for something suitable. Genuine Bing matching tenders are few and far bewteen, not to mention expensive, so an alternative was sought. eBay to the rescue, yet again. The tender I eventually found seems to be kit built brass and white metal, but a good few years old, and a little battered. The green paint is too dark for the loco, but the gold lining is perfect, as is the general air of age and much use. The finescale wheels were swiftly replaced with repro Hornby ones, and a Lionel drawbar was fitted to the front, with Hornby repro coupling at the rear.
