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Not sure why some videos are not showing a background image, at least on my iPad! They do still show however when the play button is pressed!

On the bext day, before returning to Liverpool St to Cambridge expresses D6704 is allocated to a more humble duty - the Buntingford branch goods. The service arrives at Buntingford today with only a single loaded van collected from the mill at Standon and a brake van. Having discussed shunting manoeuvres with the signalman, D6704 then shunts its meagre load into the passing loop before running round and pushing the van/brake further along the loop. The driver then draws forward over the mid-loop crossing before reversing into the Maltings siding to collect the loaded grain wagons that have been shunted into place by Anglia Maltings diminutive R&H shunter. Nore the ageing LNER wooden grain wagon still in use. I loved weathering these wagons (see earlier posts), copying from prototypical images. This photo highlights rather cruelly the different dimensions of the two brands of base model! The Maltings has recently concerted from coal to oil heating. The three filthy and ancient oil tankers have been turned out by a Thames-side refinery to transport the pilot delivery of fuel oil. Unloading has been a messy chore but the tankers will now return empty. Accordingly, the driver backs the train to collect the oil-covered trio. D6704 then draws forward the brake van, before reversing the rest of the train into the station area and completing shunting by attaching the brake van to the rear of the train, which is recessed in the loop to allow time for a well-earned cup of tea while a DMU service arrives and departs. Finally, and with a throaty roar, the Class 37 leads the train onto the branch heading for Temple Mills. Silence descends on the largely empty yard at Buntingord - a harbinger of forthcoming closure. 20240218_165317.mp4

The local railway enthusiast has now had his cine film developed to record the arrival of D6704 in Autumn, 1967 on a test run of the Stratford independent snowploughs. Only a few years earlier a train was trapped in snow drifts on the branch so hopefully these relatively new conversions offer enhanced winter security for the branch. This duty is not taxing the Type 3 too much but it still makes a wonderful growl! 20240218_144959.mp4 The driver and signalman agree to shunt the ploughs into the passing loop before the return journey. This will allow 20240218_145247.mp4 the crew to enjoy a cup of tea in a nearby cafe. Finally the train us shunted into the loop in front of the signal box. The guard prepares to move the tail light for the return trip along the branch. 20240218_145817.mp4

The net result is the train shown here stabled at Buntingford before returning to Stratford. The tail light has been added to the rear plough, ready for departure. Stratford has used this as a running in trip for D6704.

The independent snow ploughs have been sitting in their boxes for years. They are assumed to be based at Stratford, and the Buntingford branch provides an ideal route for autumnal test runs. There is a genuine need too - the branch was closed by heavy snow on occasions during the early-1960s, and this would still have been fresh in railway minds in 1967. The ploughs had been introduced in the mid-1960s, and the weathering is aimed at representing this. Inspiration has been gained from an excellent photo of a Tinsley plough in the excellent Paul Bartlett collection. Key elements include: *adding white metal brake hoses and couplings * prototypical rusting around axle guards * bare steel (‘Oilbrusher’) and rust on doors where crew had clearly kicked open sticking doors on a regular basis. What was the accommodation like inside!?) * bare steel on worn steps to doors * grease on the dumb buffers I was particularly pleased with the latter. Track dirt was followed by a ‘blob’ of weathered black paint, which has added a bit of 3d depth to the application. This was then topped with a graphite pencil from my daughter’s old GCSE Art kit, which added a greasy sheen.

Activity on Buntingford has been limited since the last post due to a variety of reasons that I won’t bore you with! Work has focused on detailing and weathering of the Accurascale Class 37 D6704 and the independent snow ploughs. First up is the Class 37. The aim was to represent the Type 3 in ‘ex-works’ condition having been through Stratford works to add full yellow ends, accompanied by a re-paint. This fits the date of the layout, in the Autumn of 1967 (although in reality D6704 was transferred north with small yellow panels! Rule 1 applies!). Work undertaken on the Class 37 includes: * adding frost screens supplied by Accurascale - it is Atumn at Buntingford so seemed appropriate! * adding, on one end for now, couplings and pipework supplied by Accurascale * weathering of bogies and tanks, using airbrushed Lifecolor Frame Dirt and some ‘old oil’ washes * installation of Accurascale crew * weathering of grills with various washes * ‘Oilbrusher’ steel to highlight wear on cab steps * weathering/soot added to roof and limited on top of bonnets * ‘grease’ added to buffer faces * Railtec shed code 3d transfers

And finally a quick look at initial ‘stage 1’ weathering of a pair of independent snow ploughs, with a view towards at last running these on the layout with the premise that Stratford have used an ex-works loco (D6704) on a pre-Winter trial run for the ploughs. Buntingford would have been a good destination for any ER-based ploughs as the branch was blocked by snow in the early-1960s. With the layout set in Autumn the timing is appropriate too! These ploughs were relatively new at the time in which the layout is (loosely) set, so weathering will aim to replicate the effects of being stored outside for much of the year - so starting with some weathered black/track dirt ‘fading’.

And a rare night shot in the Sam location. Rare because my iPad camera does not cope well in low light conditions, so a bit of floodlighting was necessary. It is nice to see the dim station lights, and this shot highlights the very appropriate level of headcode and cab lighting on the Accurascale model.

And here is D6704 burbling away and increasingly looking the part at Buntingford after some work installing the Accurascale crew, some amending of and adding at least some bufferbeam detail (with a wash of initial weathering here too). Boy those pipes are fiddly, and they never seem to quite fit into the holes provided! More could be added but eyesight and patience are not quite up to it! Next job is light weathering overall as this is going to be ex-works, resplendent in its new full yellow ends.

Thanks. Cant find any detailed pics of the Buntingford dock on ‘The Bunt’ so will resort to my Peter Paye book when I get back home!

Thank you for this detail. Outstanding work. Will need to take a deep breath before contemplating an upgrade for Buntingford! Do you happen to know how ‘standard’ this kind of dock was across GER stations?

Cracking job - are the wires soldered to rails or have you drilled holes through rails to accommodate wires? Have just noticed the drainage system too - that is real class

Love the rail and wire cattle pens- on Buntingford I used the Wills ones and they look clumsy in comparison. Did you make these yourself? Buntingord goods shed very similar to Elmleigh Market!

A death in the family and the demise of my Gaugemaster Prodigy base unit have necessarily limited opportunities to ‘get to know’ new Accurascale D6704. Today Buntingford has been treated to a visit by a 5-coach rail tour, chartered by The Branch Line Society to explore various branch lines in north and east London. Stratford have rostered freshly-repainted D6704 to give the Type 3 a run-out before its looming transfer up north. Unfortunately nobody remembered the limited length of the headshunt for run-round loop at Buntingford, and D6704 is too long and fouls the points! This led to some hastily-conceived shunting operations involving splitting the train and using the shorter loop in front of the signal box! (I will replicate this in another future post). Luckily passengers were able to enjoy the unplanned break in local hostelries. The reformed train is viewed departing Buntingford in late afternoon autumnal sunshine. Listen to that lovely EE noise! In the real world I still need to attach bufferbeam detail, install a crew, amend headcodes, and undertake some very light weathering. Such a lovely locomotive.

Am also loving the lighting - really subtle.