Tim Watson
Western Thunderer
It is with great sadness that Dean Rogers has announced that Steve Baldock, his partner and friend at Steam Traction World, has died from prostate cancer.
Without Steve’s unique skills, his unflappable temperament and his great sense of humour, so many of us would not have been able to enjoy the hobby of miniature road steam: his legacy will be seen on roads and rally fields for years to come. The picture below was taken at the Great Dorset Steam Fair this year. Steve had made it possible for me to charity-run over 225 road miles with my engine, Frederick, on behalf of Parkinson’s UK.
I first met Steve at the London MEE at Ally Pally about 15 years ago. I built one of the first ModelWorks 4” scale Burrell agricultural engines and then moved onto the showman’s road locomotive shown above; one of the first engines completed from the excellent kits that Steve designed. Steve’s efforts have allowed, literally, thousands of individuals to enjoy large scale steam road locomotives. His talents in model engineering for steam will be recorded elsewhere, but his massive Hornsby steam caterpillar was truly a tour-de-force, whilst he latterly (re)built two full size Stanley steamers.
We had discussed over the years his interest in model railways, but more recently, this forum is where his skills and expertise really blossomed with his uniquely realistic ‘steaming’ S7 locos. I greatly regret that I have not seen these models working.
Truly an individual who I will always remember with great fondness and respect for his awesome abilities.
Tim
Without Steve’s unique skills, his unflappable temperament and his great sense of humour, so many of us would not have been able to enjoy the hobby of miniature road steam: his legacy will be seen on roads and rally fields for years to come. The picture below was taken at the Great Dorset Steam Fair this year. Steve had made it possible for me to charity-run over 225 road miles with my engine, Frederick, on behalf of Parkinson’s UK.
I first met Steve at the London MEE at Ally Pally about 15 years ago. I built one of the first ModelWorks 4” scale Burrell agricultural engines and then moved onto the showman’s road locomotive shown above; one of the first engines completed from the excellent kits that Steve designed. Steve’s efforts have allowed, literally, thousands of individuals to enjoy large scale steam road locomotives. His talents in model engineering for steam will be recorded elsewhere, but his massive Hornsby steam caterpillar was truly a tour-de-force, whilst he latterly (re)built two full size Stanley steamers.
We had discussed over the years his interest in model railways, but more recently, this forum is where his skills and expertise really blossomed with his uniquely realistic ‘steaming’ S7 locos. I greatly regret that I have not seen these models working.
Truly an individual who I will always remember with great fondness and respect for his awesome abilities.
Tim
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