Jack’s American locomotive Virginia was already complete by February 1960, when it can be seen displayed on a shelf at his home in Bideford.
In December 1976 Jack photographed the engine on its own, noting that the photograph was taken to illustrate or catalogue it for Norman Spink of Chesterfield. Spink was a well-known supplier to model engineers, providing drawings and castings for a wide range of miniature steam locomotives.
Jack also associated this photograph or its purpose with his great American hero, Buffalo Bill. Exactly what that connection was is not yet clear. It may have related to the American prototype represented by Virginia, or to material being prepared for Spink, rather than to Spink personally.
For many years Virginia stood on the sideboard in Jack’s sitting room at Egham, where it remained one of the engines most familiar to the family.