Mostly working actually. But I did spend a little time on Somercombe and now I have a week of annual leave starting tomorrow, I hope to get more done.

Firstly I purchased a granite pestle and mortar from Tesco for the princely sum of ??7. Then, in return for a helping hand, I got hold of a tubfull of fine coal from one of my neighbours. Some of this has been ground up and graded, first through a cheap metal tea-strainer to get the dust out, then through some 1mm mesh for something that can be used to represent anthracite or phurnacite nuts, the rest can be used as household coal, with any larger pieces going back to the pestle and mortar.

Then different grades were put into the coal staithes.

On the truck I have used Pecoscene(Ex-Merit) coal sacks, glued in place with Bostik, dry brushed with a dark brown. When dry I lightly brush the tops with PVA and sprinkled some of the 1mm coal over.

The coal in these wagons is the same grade glued over the top of either the Dapol/Airfix coal load or the ones from Parkside.

Made a start on putting real coal in all my steam loco's

St4 2-6-0, Fairburn tank behind.

T9

Westward Ho!

Super D

I have used a mixture of sizes on these. I am about halfway through the fleet at present. I think the most diehard enemy of coal must admit that the real thing scales very well and looks so much better than any of the artificial alternatives.

Finally, my one modern loco has to haul something. For this I have a rake of 7 HHAs. I have added weight using liquid lead, put in plasticard tops for the false load, represented the humps using modelling clay then PVA'd it when dry and used the finest coal dust over it with just the odd bits of larger sizes. Also added a little spillage over the sides and ends. They now weigh-in at 250gms and do sound the real deal rumbling around the layout.

I would just like to add that when grinding and sieving the coal, it is best done outdoors so as not to breath in the dust.