WD0-6-0

Thanks for your interest! More than happy to share my methods but I'm far from professional. I've been weathering my own rolling stock for a few years now but I only really consider things I've done recently to be up to a standard I can show off, for example here's some of my early work, a cheap Hornby wagon, not something I'm particularly proud of now but illustrates how far I've come! Anyway, here's my victim Generally on a wagon I'll begin with a wash of railmatch "Weathered Black", it helps to give a Matt surface to work on a well as to give a dirty base while still clearly retaining the livery below. (Here it gets messy!) Next I mix weathering powders into a paste with humbrol decalfix (I have two pots, one clean for transfers and one full of dirt and weathering powders and paint and all sorts specifically for weathering), any powders in any combination. Here I used a light rust, an earthy brown and a Smokey dark grey, single and mixed and just slapped them on. Putting on different layers and diff eerent colours in different places to make it deliberately uneven. Then after giving it a couple of minutes to dry, I dipped a handful of cotton buds into the decalfix and wiped the model over in a vertical motion, cleaning pretty much all of it back off again. Sometimes this is enough to leave a basic but pleasing effect but for this wagon I wasn't happy with it so dirt goes back on again... Acrylic paint this time, washes of weathered black again along with some whites and greys dry brushed or washed over the model. Then using scrunched up kitchen roll I dabbed gently to remove excess and stiple the finish, occasionally dragging vertically to create vertical streaking and then when the paint was dry gave it a light polish following the planks with more kitchen paper. Next using a very fine brush I added more rust powder paste to some of the strapping on one side and painted out a plank in black on the other. Most of my wagons have replacement planks, probably too many of them but I quite like the affect it creates, this is the first time I've used black rather than a bare wood colour but it's based on a real photograph. So there we have it, I find this method to be very versatile working well on all wooden bodied wagons and even steam locomotives. It starts to fall down however when it comes to flatter sided things like diesels and steel bodied wagons, coaches can be hit and miss but sometimes work. The wagons so far are all the usual suspects, Hornby, Bachmann and oxford lots of them with minimal modification. There is an oxford six plank with some planks replaced with steel section add per a recent model rail article though which I think looks quite good! It's in my last post so I won't repeat the photo here. Thanks again guys, this has been quite a long post but I hope is answered some questions and hopefully it won't be too long before I have a real layout update! Rhys

Well a dockside layout will require a lot of rolling stock, BR had thousands of wagons and I have spent some time attempting to represent some of these. I enjoy weathering wagons, I'm by no means an expert but here is a small example of some of my unfitted wagons which will be appearing on North Quay. These photos are poorly lit but I'll share some better ones of these and some of the others over the next few days. I'll be running most of my wagons on North Quay though as there are probably nearly 50 of them, not all at the same time of course! As you can see, the clean one will be my next unfortunate victim. An Ex Midland Brake Van, weathered and lamps added, I have a guard figure to finish painting and add shortly. Finally this ExLNER 7 plank has had a thin coat of BR grey and some planks replaced but the NE lettering is starting to show through again. Thanks again, I'll share some more of the wagon photos if there's any interest Rhys

Well, pay day has come, set me up nicely with a little set aside for new baseboard and before I can buy some my car throws another spanner in the works and a well hidden stone has written off my front left wheel, not the tyre but the alloy! So modelling funds are once again being directed to repairs for a car I'm beginning to think has it in for me. All is not lost, North Quay is not dead I just can't progress with the layout itself yet, nevertheless I'm practicing cutting card for inset concrete, testing filler and even laying matchstick to try out wooden boarding. Im also still weathering rolling stock and fiddling with locos. Sorry about the rather poor update guys, I was really hoping this post would be about laying track and testing electronics but perhaps next time. Thanks Rhys

Im looking for Bachmann crankpin bolts, 4 hex headed bolts and two flat head screws (as used where the connecting rod and valve gear meet the coupling rods) I would imagine that Bachmann use standard bolts anyway but these are for a BR STD4 tank in case that is important Thanks Rhys

My safety chains arrived intact so I have used my spares to upgrade my Ivatt atlantic

Quote "E-mails can only be answered if they have time. When I was working I tried to answer them all immediately as there is nothing worse than having a backlog when you have other important things to do. Unlike letters, people expect a prompt reply." Having worked in a shop mail room, In the time it took me to answer one email I could have packed and booked an average of three parcels. Having to answer emails really does slow things down significantly

I understand your frustration but if it's already been posted then it lands you in a rather silly predicament. You'll get your money back but if it's been posted it will arrive, then you'll end up with a model that you have either got to go to the hassle of returning or paying for again, if you find that you do really like it and suddenly want to keep it. Chances are both of which will incur a fee of either postage or exchange rates.I appreciate that being told to be patient can come across as patronising but is that not the best course of action? Rhys

Maybe I should haha Funny you should say that but along similar lines I have seen a box opening Video for the single, went up a few days ago. Rhys

Hi Nick Thanks for dropping in, I've got that book somewhere but I can't find it at the moment. I've been searching for it since starting the layout.it is an excellent book! Thanks Rhys

Here is the slightly altered track plan (minus one missing curve) as you can see the old headshunt/loco coaling point is gone, replaced by a track that leads to "other parts of the dock complex" (in reality nowhere) I may look into perhaps placing a water pipe for the locos elsewhere, perhaps beside one of the buildings but for now it's all gone. Thanks Rhys

Happy to oblige

Well the good news is the car is fixed but the damage to this months modelling budget has been done but fortunately there's plenty to be done that doesn't involve spending any money at all. I present to you a few more pictures of things posed on the boards, a slightly more complete crane and a few more wagons that will appear on the layout. I think the USA needs a dusting of dirt now though. I also found this building, I'm not sure if it could be modified to be suitable or not, at the very least it would require some restoration! Thanks Rhys

I do like the minimalist loco point, I'm thinking pile of ash and pile of coal, maybe a standpipe but nothing more however the changes I'm thinking of actually go through that area so it might have to go. (I'm away at the moment otherwise I would share a plan of my idea) I'm not sure what I'm going to do about building but I agree that it will be lots of run down warehouses. I've always fancied an excuse to use the scenecraft abandoned houses so they might appear somewhere. I have some of my Grandads old buildings, unfortunately that's all that's left of his layout, but if any of them fit I'll use them too. Thanks everyone Rhys

Thanks South Tyne for your interest, I do hope I don't disappoint you all! You're all inspiring me to keep it going! I'm away this weekend but I have a few hours on Tuesday to work on it before I go back to work, I hope to get the crane finished and tackle the boards though I won't finish them. I've had a lot of positive comments about the track plan which has really surprised me, I did expect a little revision to make it more realistic but I'm delighted it's received so much positivity. I am going to tweak it slightly to incorporate the idea of the tracks going further but that won't be much change. The sudden and unexpected expense has slowed things down but it won't stop me now! Thanks Rhys

Exactly my point, it is entirely unnecessary but it now seems to be the way. I would prefer that not to be the case and I'm not even old enough to remember when it wasn't. Yes mistakes have been made but they've been acknowledged and they're trying to fix them, all the while the very small team are trying to run a day to day business. I'm struggling with some people's desire for blind revenge against the NRM when seemingly the larger problem lies with APC

We have become a culture of blame and demanding compensation for the smallest problem, a stone cracked my windscreen yesterday but I'm not ordering a solicitor to sue the car in front, the council and the contractor that resurfaced the road. It happened, I got over it. I (like most) don't see any point in trying to damage the NRM, quite the opposite, why try to take money that's best used preserving the national collection? They're making the best of a bad situation. Does this have to be a blame game?

I used filler in a very basic practice diorama a few months ago but that was actually more to represent ash than concrete. I have seen some excellent and convincing concrete made out of card but it's softer and I've also seen a lot that just look like card and I'm not sure my efforts will be that convincing. Lastly I've thought about clay but that's kind of an adaption on the filler idea. I'm going to do some trials and see what I think and you all think but unfortunately that'll have to wait as this month the car needs a new windscreen...

As most of the track will be inset in concrete and possibly some cobbles/sets it is not finescale but it is peco code 100 flexi and the layout is approximately 2m X 2m

There's no scenery in place, the baseboard aren't even cut properly let alone fixed and half the track is missing yet I still see an impression of what I'm going for in this image. The crane is waiting for a deliberately thin grey top coat (leaving plenty of red primer showing through) and the wheels need fitting along with rails to run on.

I think the effect on that conflat is incredible! Very natural looking. I'd plan to model a preserved line myself at some point but with far less self control so I'm looking forward to seeing yours progress!

Very true Rivercider, I must admit the name is growing on me, I think North Quay will remain North Quay. I've found a Dapol dockside crane kit that I didn't even know I had so I'm going to build that up tonight, I've also got 3 short radius points today so I can make a start on the track work as soon as the frame and baseboard are complete. I'm not a fan of MDF but as the layout will be kept in doors and what I've got is in good condition I will use that. This is the first layout I'm building on my own so I'm not expecting greatness anyway it's more a practice piece (That's not to say I don't want it to be nice of course!) I like the idea of making it seem like tracks go off in multiple directions, I might see how I can adjust my track plan to include that. I might have enough space to model the whole ship but that'll be a long job and probably finished last! Thanks for your input everyone!

I didn't make it out of the car park before the loco box was out of the parcel... but now I'm home and it's out completely and looking amazing! I've nowhere to run or hear it today (gutted!) But just to look at it is incredible! My thanks, admiration and respect to everyone involved, Stuart and the Locomotion team and Jason and the other fine people at Rapido for a marvellous job on a fine loco!

Having seen my single had arrived at the delivery depot and given my excitement I thought I'd be cheeky and ask if I could collect from the depot rather than wait until after work Monday. Depot closed at 12 and I arrived at 11:58. I'm now sat in my car about to go home and open it!

Hi Tortuga Thanks for looking! I'm glad you like the layout with the crossing, that's my favourite too and was a little worried people would think it overcomplicated but I'm glad it makes you think Dock! I already had in mind to model the quayside and a little water at the bottom of frame level but I like your idea of a tramper and I hadn't even given a crane anything but I agree it would fit well! I agree about the run around, I think those sidings do need one to release any locos on that side though most locos will be run storage siding side of any stock. The layout is actually meant to be viewed from inside the L although the photos I've posted so far do seem to contradict that, I like the idea of one line running into a warehouse a lot but might have to swap to the other line. I've got a couple of ideas for the kickback, it's main purpose is as a headshunt but I think I'll include a minimalistic loco servicing point too, perhaps a small coal heap and standpipe next to a small office building? I may still change the name but it's beginning to grow on me Thanks Rhys