ITALIAN RAILWAYS FIRST LOCO BAYARD
Giancarlo Mastrini
Giancarlo Mastrini has been a popular visitor to shows like the Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition bringing his exquisite G1 models from Italy. As the main construction material is polished stainless steel, the degree of difficulty is that little bit higher than usual. And that adds a ‘wow’ factor, too. The only paint to be found is on the wooden lagging of the oldest prototype engines like this model of Bayard, the first locomotive to run in Italy.
This 2-2-2 was designed by Stephenson and built in the UK by the Bedlington Engine and Iron Works in Northumberland in 1839. Another Bedlington loco, De Snelheid, was the first to run in Holland.
The Italian loco was named after a Frenchman who had the concession from the King of Two Sicilies to build a line from Naples to the royal palace at Portici, which stands at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. The initial track was 7.25 kilometers and made of wrought iron resting on large stone cubes. The King opened the line on October 3 and by the end of that year it had carried 131,116 passengers.
The model was built by Giancarlo over a period of 13 years, occupied some 3000 hours work and comprises 3688 individual parts.
Weighing in at just 1.5Kg, it measures 315 x 140 x 79mm.
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