Gopher

15xx Pannier on a parcels trains heads towards Dewchurch

Thanks so much for the kind comment. The B&W photo does add a bit more realism to the scene Best Wishes Clive

Beware of the trains - especially the Collett Goods

Variety of locos on shed including a BR 2mt, G2, ex GWR 43xx Mogul, and a 47xx lurking in the background

I've come to the conclusion there must be a human body in the crate. Has LM ever had a murder ? 😱

Collett Goods heading towards Dewchurch with a train of military equipment

64XX Pannier shunting

I agree John, and absolutely no criticism taken. It seems particularly bad with some Dapol and some Rapido rolling stock. In this photo the coach and loco are both Dapol. I started to standardise on the short straight Bachmann NEM tension lock couplers, but these still leave quite a gap with some rolling stock. Mainly because the NEM socket is quite long on the rolling stock. I could of course cut the NEM socket or shaft of the coupling and superglue it to the NEM socket. I have just bought some Hunt magnetic couplers for my BR ex LMS corridor rake. These definitely give a closer coupling, and there appears to be a variety of couplings to cater for different gaps sizes track geometry. So I think I'll start using these for my coaching stock. Thanks and Best Wishes Clive P.S I'm astounded by your great modelling on your own layout. It is a huge project. I came across an article in one of my old Railway Modellers (1980s) - which I think was one of your previous layouts.

Large Prairie with a very short local passenger train, pauses at Harewood Halt

Heart of the Sunrise - Yes

Deltic on an inter regional passenger train.

Time for a chat before hitting the road

Roisin Dubh (Black Rose) - Thin Lizzy

Pannier shunting in the goods yard.

Mogul arrives at Platform 1 with a local passenger train

You Shook Me All Night Long - AC-DC

Nothing Else Matters - Metallica

Ex LNWR G2 heads towards Dewchurch with a fitted van train

Auto train about to leave Harewood Halt

Very true , and just as well looking at my results😃

Thanks Rob. I have to say that I do not always get consistent results, even though I must have weathered loads of rolling stock and locos over the years using this technique. These wagons turned out pretty well. Clive

Phase 3 - Airbrush time. I airbrush diluted NATO black on the van roof, and underframes of the wagons. Whilst the underframe is still wet, I airbrush (one at a time) diluted Lifecolour Track Dirt, Frame dirt, sleeper grime. So quite a mixture. I also mist frame dirt and/or track dirt on the wagon bodies to tone down the whole thing. I let the paint dry and then see if I am happy with the effect. If not I repeat, but possibly use more of one colour. It is all trial and error. When that is dry, I may have to use the calligraphy pen again to make sure the planks/raised areas are defined. I then dry brush a very light grey onto some of the woodwork and chassis - to represent water staining, start of rot on the woodwork etc. I applied a matt acrylic varnish to these wagons because the original paint scheme had a satin finish, which was still evident in places. A bit of gun metal, or other metallic colour on the buffer heads to represent grease stains - and job done. Well done until I look at it the following day, and decide whether I am still happy with my efforts

Got two new Rapido wagons which needed weathering. So photos below show my three phase weathering process (other and better weathering processes are available) First phase - I paint odd planks in various shades of wood brown. All looks pretty awful at this stage. I've also applied a MIG dark wash to the van roof, and then removed most of it with a tissue (not terribly evident from the photo below). I have not touched the underframe at this stage. Phase 2 - I then use a calligraphy pen to apply a diluted Tamiya Nato Black to all the panel/plank lines, and edges of the metal supporting struts, plus the drip bars on the van roof. This simply gives more definition to the wood work and any other raised areas on the wagon/van bodies

Ah thanks for that, I'd not considered the lack of electrical load. Got it sorted after a bit of head scratching. 😄

Old meets new on the Welsh Marches. Class 122 DMU, and 16xx Pannier on a short local passenger