STEAM LOCOS IN PROFILE: IMLEC 2021 Special 

RIP Karl. That Brittania put on a great show

Glorious, the miniature stuff doesn't get enough attention. Good lord the chap with the Britannia at the start, what a sad story but what a lovely send off.

God my heart when I saw the RIP Karl headboard. She did him proud!

An hour-long episode of SLIPS? Am I in heaven?

Three things... 1) Welcome back SLIP! And what better way to kick off a new series, than going miniature for a change! 2) 11:08: R.I.P to Karl Midgley; thoughts and sympathies going out to his family, at their time of loss. 3) Well done to all who took part in the contest. A great, big thumbs up once again Chris; great to see SLIP finally resuming after many months of uncertainty.

- IMLEC 2021 DRINKING GAME - Drink whenever: - There is some kind of catastrophe that stops a run (e.g. blow out (running out of steam), derailment, or gears jamming etc etc). - Any passengers get off the train (either to lessen the weight carried and to let the run continue, or to enable to train to get back to the start so it can retire). - A loco retires or is disqualified. - Chris (the presenter), when interviewing a contestant, says "How do you think you'll get on?" (or variation thereof). - Onlookers clap for no reason other than because a small train is passing them (Easy mode: disregard clapping when a run starts or finishes). - The driver of Polly 6 (blue loco named "Bluebelle") blows his whistle, thus wasting steam. - A train drives backwards as part of a run (usually to have another go at the enormous hill that makes up like half the route). - An animal is on screen, front and centre. - You inevitably guess wrong as to how well a run/loco did when the ranking screen is shown. - Chris feigns surprise as to well a run/loco did when showing it's place in the rankings (as is the nature of post-production voice overs). - Lastly, raise a toast in Karl's honour.

I can't imagine how much work truly went into all this You and the crew must be so proud of yourself for such an amazing project

2:27 - No lie, when you revealed the venue for the event, my jaw hit the floor. All the memories came rushing back! I used to live out in Kent when I was a small child, firstly in Headcorn then in Gillingham. And trips to Maidstone and Mote Park were a regular occurrence - with that mighty railway at the bottom of the park being the holy grail for little me! There's plenty of photos in old albums in the loft of me and my folks riding the trains at Mote Park, it was like the best model railway I'd ever seen :) what a lovely event and video Chris!

RIP Graham and Karl. Your little engines put on big performances and are now immortalised on RU-vid.

I love seeing how passionate people are about there engines....if I even could make or afford one I'd probably get rather a model of Shannon, or an ivatt 2 mogul

What a great competition!! RIP Karl, his Britannia gave a great performance! I think my favorite engine was the P2, that engine was truly Awesome!

This is an incredible special, SLIP never fails to amaze me

A good performance done by all! I thoroughly enjoyed this, so IMLEC is basically a mini railway show? I was cheering for Karls Britianna, whilst it wasnt Top 5, i say that Top 10 is a great sendoff to Karl

RIP Karl. How lovely to see that Brittania and what a show

1:13:00 I’m just happy the P2 did as well as she did. It certainly bodes well for the full size version when she’s finished, assuming they can get the vibration fixed. Also, the tank engines: “Little engines can do big things”

It's the first time in nearly 2 years I've even able to watch this video ,I'm Karl's Nan we took him to all IMLECS since he was about 10, he couldn't wait for the day that he could enter with grandad Ben's locos and later with his own APOLLO, miss you our dear karl

This is a very impressive showcase of small gauge engine doing as well as standard gauge, The music at 1:10:54 fits the mood, and Karl's Britannia really put on a show, may he rest in peace

Brilliant video Chris - definitely one of the most enjoyable I’ve seen in ages. I adore miniature steam like 5inch and 3.5inch gauge, and this had me hooked from the start. I really loved your comments on the history of the locos, particularly more obscure ones such as the P1s (one of my favourites), and the soundtrack was brilliant. Amazing work as always: don’t ever stop being awesome mate!

I love how this contest shows pretty much all aspects of a steam engine, from strength to weakness. Utter shame about the some of the Retirees, and particularly about Karl, rest his soul. But his ‘Apollo’ did him proud, and really everyone did well

Holy shit Chris! I was today years old when I learned you are a member of 'Tugs the exhibition'!!!

33:03 “With a shrieking crack, something broke…”

33:05 I wasn't expecting that. This kind of reminds me of Top Gear's time trials and I love it.

That was great fun Chris! Would love to see you cover more IMLEC events in the future!

You guys were so on-top of the camerawork that each development was captured in real time and all the footage looks splendid. Without the availability of reshoots, that's impressive beyond words.

I wish my late Dad could have seen this. He built several locos in his time and as a little girl I spent a lot of time with him while he worked in his shed and when he ran his locos at various tracks/exhibitions in Dorset and Hampshire. (One of the first that he built from scratch, he named 'Bitza' - made from bitsa this and bitsa that!) This video brought back so many happy memories for me. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

I've stumbled upon this channel by accident and I'm really impressed by these beautiful machines and the people who made and operate them.

Really enjoyed this change of format, it's quite difficult to get miniature railways to be interesting on video and you've done it! Perhaps visit the 7 1/4 Gauge Society AGM or the Gilling Mainline Rally and do something similar?

What a wonderful episode! Maybe IMLEC SLIPs should become a yearly thing ;P Congratulations to all involved. And condolences to Karl’s family and friends, Rest In Peace..

my old man has a 5" scale brit, took him 8 years or so to complete, it looks fantastic and i often have a go, i often head up to gilling with him for a blast around there.

Good to see you back Chris. I missed yearly Slips content. Looking forward to seeing more in the future.

@8:20 😊 Definitely my favorite entry in the competition. I like the North British olive livery.

imagine having a run away train in miniature scale still scary but small

this was such an interesting video and change of pace! awesome seeing so many miniature models competing like this, though the competition aspect was surely less important than seeing everyone bring their best models to the track. excellent stuff!!!

This must be the finest video you have done Chris, the commentary, the music and particularly the videography was of the highest order for such a long video, I’m a great fan of your locomotive profile series, looking forward to more of the same from you. Thanks.( even if I do come from Southport.).

This would be the perfect event to go full Andre Chapelon and LD Porta on... Lempor exhausts, gas production systems in the smokebox, the whole works.

well done on great Film, well done to all the Runners ( finisher and DNF ),Sam Brown "Well it Just did an Tangmere" was Priceless

This just shows how powerful steam is

You've absolutely outdone yourself Chris, this is incredible! :D

Bit more of a 7.5 inch gauge fan myself, mostly from that being the main gauge of the place my grandfather used to take me when I was a kid, Long Island Live Steamers.

Dads good friend who he worked under at British Rail depot in Shirebrook spun about 17 of these Locomotives up on his lathe. Superb detail and great to see these works of art still running. He was also one of the "Go to" guys in the UK for the boiler test on these beauties. His name was "Uncle" Ted Hazlehurst lovely bloke RIP Ted & Dad, Roger Stansall. Dad built me an electric shunter with a car dynamo as the motor but we never laid the track.

Truly interesting. I always enjoy miniature stuff simply due to its availability and charm. Well done!

This was an amazing thing I did not know I needed to see until you showed it to us, so thank you very much for doing so.

Great to see SLIPs back and what an amazing special to return the series with!

Well that was surprisingly captivating! Was Mr Eden-Green's commentary was intended to be so side splittingly hilarious? I mean literally, LOL! Loved it. Can't wait for the 2022 coverage.

Such a good video this!! Great fun to watch, had this on a second time when I was working

Chris, all your videos are enjoyable, but this one is tops. Being a 3-1/2" gauge builder, and also just finishing up my elevated track after 12 years construction I enjoyed this film immensely. Most Excellent! Jack

Brilliant Chris, just brilliant. Enjoyed every minute of this 'different' SLIPs. More please in the same vein - model steam loco engineering. Though not necessarily as a competition. Perhaps about some of the miniature engineering aspects and interviews with builders? Nice change, though.

Well done to all the drivers and everyone else involved for putting on such a great competition and well done to you Chris for such a fantastic and informative video

This is a top video with interviews with the owners/builders, plenty of variety of locos and efficiency data for all to see!

WOW! These Locomotives are absolutely stunning, Well done to all owners/drivers, a joy to watch.

29:08 “Still, 90 mph is cruising speed for an A4” Flying Scotsman: Ahem! I went 100 mph! Mallard: AHEM! I did 126 mph! PRR T1 5550: I will do…. Sorry T1, you will not do any speed records in 2030

I was absolutely glued to this! I could only wonder how a large scaled Hunslet would do competitively...🤔😂

This was wonderful to see. The biggest surprise for me was seeing two local engines in the top 5, absolutely made my day!

Out of all the miniature locomotives in this competition, the LNER Gresley 'P1' Class 2-8-2 No. 2393 is my favourite as this locomotive's design was outlined for Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway's No. 9 "River Mite". It's great to see these lovely little engines in action especially as minimum gauge locomotives are very close to my heart. :)

What a wonderful hour and twenty. Some track maintenance seems in order. Beautiful colours.

Please do this again next year.

Well this was more interesting then I initially thought it was going to be. What a nice little film you put together here. Each machine was an sight to behold and each seemed to be an excellent examples of engineering. That two of these engineers had passed on is very sad to hear, but hopefully their lovely little engines will remain as examples of their skills and of the men themselves. Shame the Southern competitors didn't do well though...

Need another one of these, one of my favourite videos by far

Beautiful production! You've done a wonderful job presenting the event and it's participants with attention to both the details and the excitement of competition.

Honestly would love to see this in person. I was rooting for the large freight (goods) engines to at least get somewhere near the top

Please do this again next year!

Man that atlantic on its first try just chugged along nicely and cute

Thanks for a truly impressive production ,this sets new standards for IMLEC records .

A really wonderful edition of SLIPs. Thank you Chris. I’d love to have time and skill to make one of these wonderful scale locomotives.

That was GOOD. Sad tales, high drama, A a very clever juxtaposition of 2 Riddles 2-10-0s (Yes, we noticed...). and by Gad what a beast that P2 is....Looking forward to seeing the 12" / Ft model ! Thanks to all involved for a great Hr+ of entertainment .

Last time I was this early there was still a Great Western Railway

"Stop playing with your whistle!" ~ Arnold Thomas, Oh Dr Beeching!

I think Karl would've been proud of that run. Rest In Peace.

That 15XX looks absolutely gorgeous

This was an absolutely brilliant film!! Please do this again ☺️

Amazing work Chris. Well done and thank you for bringing the competition to YT.

A beautiful special! Thank you. Your cinematography is spot on.

Splendid account of what must've been a wonderful event...thank you so much, I loved it!

A fantastic video with so much technical engineering in miniature. Quite a competition. Cheers Chris.

I've often wondered how something like a Stirling Single would do at IMLEC, the large diameter driving wheels should mean rather low steam consumption since they'll run at a lower rpm, but I imagine the lack of tractive effort and thus lack of passenger load, would be the biggest hamper. You'd have to be very light on the fire to make up for it, and that's the other aspect that makes IMLEC interesting. Driver skill makes nearly as much a difference as the engine itself, as you need to balance using as little coal as you can, against risking a blowup, every shovel you toss in the fire lowers your score, so you really need to think about if you really need that shovel. And a good grasp of throttle regulation goes a long way in preventing wheel slips and wasting more steam. Judging efficiency over just raw power and speed is definitely a more skill based competition.

Please Chris do more content of this competition . I've watched this 5 times

Thanks for a fantastic video, really good to see and hear the stories behind the people & loco's. Looking forward to next year :-)

Great work as always. Perhaps something to consider is a grand tour of miniature Railways and clubs across the UK?

I really enjoyed this. Mostly because there was lots of engines and a brief history about there design. Thank you for making this :)

I really enjoyed seeing that, thank you. Now must find time to get our Polly back in running order

Your best film by far. More model engineering please!

a competition on steam live steamers !!! It's worth seeing this. Congratulations to everyone, thank you very much for the video you are the geniuses of steam !!! !!

Nice touch to dedicate the film to Karl. He would've been proud of what the engine achieved & how well this film portrayed the event.

Lovely to see a Southern U Class model!! An absolute stunner!!

Love it Chris, well done :) I definitely wouldn’t win the efficiency awarded. 😂

This is such a great video. No doubt an awful lot of work went into producing it. I want to say that this kind of video does the "old fashioned" part of the model engineering hobby an awful lot of good. More power to you. It's an old fashioned hobby, but the basic values and skills are all critical now and as modern as they ever were. I wish the IMLEC coverage were this good every year.🙂

Fantastic film. Also, props for the music from a fellow Quo Fan.

I know the gentleman who owns that 4mt Ben was running, the owner has told me all about the amount of work ben has put into it... needless to say my jaw hit the floor when I heard about all the little things he had to do to it to get it running right. A real credit to him and his work.

Well that was fantastic!! Let’s hope that a really good locomotive won the competition!!

That’s a great friend I dont know any of these guys but rip Karl and best wishes to you family and friends

Brilliant production! Beautiful models. Must go see for real one day soon.

Fantastic video. A sort of model railway meets robot wars. Brilliant idea, really well executed.

It all reminds me of old photos of Walt Disney's model railroad, especially that one where he's hauling Salvador Dalí around.

Great video, I got sucked in and watched the engine thing. Very well produced 👌

This locomotive is a fantastic piece of kit!! Pretty, easy to drive and a very good little locomotive!!

This vid really puts new light on the phrase, “The little engine that could!” Mostly. 😉

Really enjoyable. Well done Chris and team. Top quality.

Do enjoy a good miniature, do love that the winner was a Norwich engine at one point in it's life. But I do agree Chris, this hobby allows people of all backgrounds and dispensations and that is SO great about this hobby. Adding to the fact that we are catching up with the USA where it's becoming more socially acceptable to be involved in this hobby. But if I am honest, I am completely open about my hobby and if people aren't interested or think I'm weird for it... Then cool good for them, because at the end of the day I am happy and that's all that matters! Long may our hobby continue.

I wasn't expecting this to be on my notifications

I went into this video not knowing what to expect....now i want ALOT more of this kind of content! Like a mix of trains, too gear and F1 racing (at a slower pace of course!). Would love to see more of this kind a of coverage Chris!