This delightful little model created a lot of interest and received much admiration from visitors to the 2010 Model Engineer Exhibition. It is a 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 place 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 already carried 131,116 passengers.

The model was built by Giancarlo Mastrini over a period of 13 years and occupied some 3000 hours work. it is to a scale of 1:32 (O-gauge). It is a complex piece of work comprising 3688 individual parts.

Weighing in at just 1.5Kg, it measures 315 x 140 x 79mm.

It is quite exquisite.