Good evening,

It's been a while since I posted a blog entry so thought I would add a little update. I have now almost finished the third rail on one side and painted it. I think a lesson has been learnt here as next time I will wipe down the top of the third rail as I paint as the peco track cleaner is a bit harsh on the third rail as the supports are only every 5 sleepers so it tends to bend it and loosen it. I'm also considering painting it a slightly darker shade as per the prototype, which I think I mentioned last time.

I've also had a little experiment with ballasting. Same method as TomE's excellent Ropley, Normandy earth ground cover sealed with Johnsons Klear. I wanted to experiment this to see whether the Klear would lift the suede tan paint that I had sprayed onto the concrete sleepers. I did this last night and have just checked, everything is ok. However, there seems to be a discolouration of the ballast in places which, while annoying, isn't a bad thing as it looks more prototypical!

Here's some photos.

Third rail in place and painted. Still needs some touching in. Cruel little camera!

Small area of test ballasting.

Having carried out some research, I wasn't aware that there was a slight variation on the 4CEP as some units included buffet cars and were called 4BEP's. So here's my take on it, I've added a RMB buffet car which has commonwealth bogies like the 4BEP's did. A lot of cut and shutting would need to take place to get it accurate but this isn't a bad compromise and adds a little variation. I now have two 4CEP's which look quite impressive as an 8 car consist.

Any comments always welcome!

Best regards,

Jeremy