The 'Standard Express Locomotive' was based on the 'Saint George' (1913) and quite likely was in preparation when the war started, which may explain why BL brought out a G2 loco after having abandoned the scale in 1917. They were still listing them in the 1930's so must have committed to a batch, maybe 50 or 100. Henry Greenly (Undoubtedly the designer) described the freelance loco, known as the '460' as representing the type of standard locomotive that might be produced by the amalgamated railway companies after the grouping in 1922.
Tbe Bing '460' (L) with the 1913 'Saint George).
'460' was the most advanced of the pot boiler Gauge 2 models and has the unique (for gauge 2) feature of a hand pump in the cab. Unfortunately it still did not have a 'chicken feed' fuel tank or axle pump. The lack of a pump is understandable since the boiler capacity is immense (about 1 litre) giving a run time of about 40 mins, but the fuel tank low down between the tender wheels is excricable. A tall filler tube allows it to be hugely over filled and overflow pipes (probably a modification) syphon the contents onto the track. You need a good fire extinguisher if you're running a '460'! The engine shares common Bing features of low pressure (15 - 25 psi) soft soldered boiler and lack of any piston or gland packing. This is countered by a vast smokebox oil tank which provides an oil film on the internal surfaces but also makes this a very messy loco to run! The household staff would have been busy scrubbing the oil off the ballroom floor the next morning. Because the pipework is soldered up at the front end these models are very difficult to maintain, something that clearly wasn't expected. This model still needs work on the valve gear, which can be heard clicking away in the video. Unusually for Bing, it has separate steam chests which may contain slide valves in place of the piston valves used in Saint George. Steam flow is very restricted because of the use of a reversing valve, which simply swaps inlet and exhaust pipes, and the very small piping used.
There's a YouTube video here:
On the plus side, the vaporising burner works well provided you don't mind scorching the paint The model is simple to operate and needs no blower. Of course, they were also affordable at £18 15' 0. Like all the pot boilers, it's very sensitive to weather when operated outside (you could use it indoors if you had good house insurance) and is very low powered. But it's also a great joy to see a loco from so long ago run again, especially in Gauge 2. Vive la '460'!