Brief Overview
IMLEC 2021 was held at Mote Park, home of Maidstone MES. The competition should have taken place in 2020, but a little thing called COVID-19 had something to say about that. The track was originally built in 1949, it was extended in 1961 to its present length of 1826ft.
The winner this time out was Billy Stock from Urmston with his Britannia "William Wordsworth". This loco has been heavily modified from a Winson kit with changes including the cylinders being bored out to 2 in., the addition of steel tyres and some (well hidden) weight added. I spent some time admiring the loco in the steaming bays, and you would be hard pressed to recognise it as a Winson kit, once on the track it has a lovely even beat and runs like a Swiss watch.
Before the competition began I had picked out Billy's run as a potential winner, alongside seasoned IMLEC champions John Cottam and Alan Crossfield. Britannia's have a healthy history in the competition with Len Steel (1997), Steve Eaton (2007 and 2010) and Ben Pavier (2011) winning IMLEC with this class of locomotive, so I was expecting a table topping run from the off. Billy took drove locomotive to 3rd place in IMLEC 2019 and he started his 2021 bid with confidence, easing the regulator open and controlling a small amount of slipping as he got his train moving. Load consisted of driver, observer and seven passengers, which were soon up to speed and lapping the track near (or occasionally over!) the speed limit, having received 2 speed warnings the last few lap must have been a bit nervous, Billy not wanting to join the very short list of those disqualified for speeding! Consistent was the word to describe the run as a whole, each lap nearly identical to the next, and after 32 minutes, applause was heard as Billy crossed the finish line. Having covered the most distance of the weekend, and burning only 1.73Ib of coal, Billy took his place at the top of the leaderboard. With David Mayall, John Cottam and Alan Crossfield still to run, 1st place was by no means guaranteed, but despite the best efforts of the aforementioned trio, Billy remained top and took home his first IMLEC title and became (I believe) the youngest ever IMLEC champion!
Interesting Facts
The weekend began with the devastating news that IMLEC regular Karl Midgeley had passed away that morning. Karl's uncle Andy Healey ran Karl's Britannia as a tribute with the headboard "RIP KARL", at the culmination of the run, a minute silence was held in Karl's memory.
Billy Stock became the youngest ever IMLEC champion, a record to go alongside his record of youngest ever IMLEC entrant.
Some quick repair work involving a hammer helped Judith Bellamy raise steam after her B1's smokebox door was not sealing tightly.
The whole event was recorded by YouTuber Chris Eden-Green and can be found by searching "Steam locos in profile: IMLEC 2021 special", this includes footage, commentary and interviews from the competition