Introduction

Col.Robert Stout: Tell our British cousins to hustle up some Bailey crap….

Lt. Colonel J.O.E. Vandeleur:When you refer to Bailey crap I take it you mean that glorious, precision-made, British-built bridge which is the envy of the civilized world?

That exchange in the movie A Bridge Too Far was my introduction to the legendary Bailey bridge. An ingenious design of modular heavy engineering equipment, in World War Two soldiers said the three best-known names were Eisenhower, Montgomery and Bailey. Indeed, the Bailey bridge is still in use in hundreds of locations around the world.

The system was the brainchild of Sir Donald Coleman Bailey. The English army entered the war with bridges of only 17-ton capacity. Sir Bailey created a modular portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge design of35-70 tons capacity that could be carried on light trucks and erected manually.

Bailey bridges continue to be extensively used in civil engineering construction projects and to provide temporary crossings for foot and vehicle traffic. There is even a company in Alabama that builds Bailey bridges. The design was even used during Desert Storm, by SFOR in Yugoslavia, and even in Afghanistan.

WESPE/STOK Bailey Bridge

Wespe credits this model to Mr. Joris Stok and family, in memorial of the late Mr. J.M.G.L Stok, who developed this model.

The model is packed in a stout lid-opening box, decorated front and back with a montage of Bailey bridges from around the world. Inside are 83 injection molded parts on four identical olive sprues of bridge structural members, seven identical tan road deck pieces, and a 16-page booklet. Each sprue is protected by a foam sheet. The parts are:

• 7 x Deck Pieces
• 12 x Transoms
• 40 x Panels
• 8 x End Posts, Male/Female
• 4 x Base Plates & Bearings
• 12 x Bracing Frames

The parts are cleanly molded without flash or noticeable seam lines. Many pieces have shallow ejector circles that are visible when the bridge is built. I also found a couple of very faint sink marks but these are not on every piece.

The assembled structure is five panels long with a ramp on each end, for an approximate length of 70 feet.

Details

The parts are cleanly molded with a faint texture that resembles metal. Except for the end posts it appears that Bailey components were welded, lacking rivets and bolts.

The timber decking, called chess, lacks wood grain detail. The rib band (curb) beams do feature nut and bolt detail. However, most of the bolt stems are broken off above the nuts.

One problem is that each base plate & bearing has “STOKVAST” molded onto the face! Unless you intend to hide it with dirt in a diorama, it will take some careful chiseling to remove it.

Booklet

The 16-page booklet is very impressive, lavishly illustrated with artwork and photographs of the model and prototypes. The text is good although the translations are imprecise in some sentences, and even though I do not see anything to be confusing, take your time reading. It features three sections, A, B, and C. Section A is nine pages of history and system descriptions, very well illustrated. Section B is three pages of text and photos of the model guides you through the assembly process. Wespe includes building tips and warnings. It even discusses what is needed should you decide to build a triple truss Bailey. Several more pages discuss building of ramps, and longer, more complex Baileys. Wespe lists how many kits you need to construct the different categories of Baileys out to their maximum length (9 kits to build a 200-ton TT class 40 Bailey).

Additionally, it advertises that WESPE/STOK offers bridge piers and buttresses for your model.

No painting information is provided; wartime Baileys wore a basic camouflage color, the parts are molded in color so painting is not required. However, I dare say the model will look better with some paint and weathering. Civilian Baileys can be in a host of colors, as you can see for yourself at the various Bailey picture sites.

The last page hosts section C: Further information and thanks. It directs you to the website of former Bailey Bridge instructor Mr. Patrick Claeys, owner of a Bailey bridge website:
baileybrug

Also, it acknowledges the Stok family.

Finally, your reviewer found a link to a 1986 US Army Bailey Bridge Field Manual:
Bailey Bridge Field Manual

Conclusion

WESPE/STOK has created an impressive model for quarter scalers of any genre: military, civilian, railroading. The parts are cleanly molded and appear to be in-scale. Components are molded more or less in color. The instruction booklet is excellent despite some imprecise translations.

The main drawbacks are many ejector circles and the broken bolt stems above the nuts on the curb planks.

Overall, I think this is an interesting and good looking model and I look forward to building it. Recommended!