CWJ

The theme of this post is very poor photography from my early efforts with a primitive digital camera, but I'm including them in case they happen to capture anything of interest to 57 fans... Birth of a 57 as an unidentified GWR example is fitted with headlights at Brush Traction on 29th November 2004. 57605 stands on the blocks at Paddington after arriving with the Night Riviera on 4th April 2007. Another 57 has already dropped onto the country end to take the empty stock on to Old Oak Common, but unfortunately I didn't note its number. West Coast Railways' 57601 stands at Perth with The Green Express railtour on 8th May 2004. A closer shot of the same loco. Regards, Will

A few of my amateur photos in case they are of use to someone. Starting with DRS locos: 57304 basks in the sunshine at Preston on 6th May 2014. 57308 'County of Staffordshire' awaits its next Thunderbird duty at Crewe on 12th November 2013. 57003 and 004 with subtly different headcode box panels, seen at York on 9th December 2010... ...from the other end... ...and the coupled cabs. And finally, a teeny-tiny DRS 57 on a fairly rare container working at Colton Junction, showing what happens if you try to be greedy and photograph two trains at once: a poor picture of each! 3rd August 2012. Cheers, Will

Whether he likes it or not, the driver of 158793 joins in with the spirit of things upon returning to Skipton with the evening music train from Ribblehead on 13th June 2009. Four years previously, the music train returns from Blea Moor where it had reversed after depositing passengers at Ribblehead station. On this occasion, 16th July 2005, the train is made up of a 142 containing the real ale bar and a 156 carrying a jazz band. A great way to spend a summer's evening. The 2-foot gauge track of the Ffestiniog Railway gives away the location as 153312 waits to return to Llandudno on 24th August 2004. I'm not sure if the livery blends in very well with the beautiful scenery of the Conwy Valley, but it brightens up the grey hillsides of Blaenau Ffestiniog. And you'll be relieved to hear that's the last of my Class 15x photos worthy of posting on here, but if anyone needs images of a specific unit/time/place please feel free to ask. Cheers, Will

OK, arguably not very helpful for modellers of Class 158s, but here's one crossing Ribblehead Viaduct, photographed from the summit of Whernside on 30th May 2011. Another unusual angle: the interior of East Midlands Trains' 153379 while waiting to depart from Matlock on 25th July 2011. Much more recently, with apologies for my phone camera's efforts in low light, a GWR-liveried (but de-branded) 153373 was spotted at Huddersfield on 24th January 2020. At least six 153s are seen stabled at Huddersfield station on 9th March 2021. I'm not sure if these units had been taken out of service pending modification to comply with accessibilty regulations, or if they were surplus to requirements because of emergency Covid timetables. But if you like 153s, Huddersfield was the place to be. On 24th March 2009 158770 sits in the bay platform at the East end of Nottingham Midland, bearing evidence of its Northern Spirit and Central Trains ancestry in addition to EMT branding. Cheers, Will

158752 negotiates the station throat at the south end of York on 25th June 2009, probably on it way to Blackpool North via Bradford and Burnley. The very rare (at least in those days) sight of a 156 at York. 480 waits in Platform 1 for its next run to Hull on 21st March 2009. At the other end of the station, and indeed the calendar, a pair of 150s led by 150274 departs from Platform 8 towards Leeds, via Harrogate. The livery was promoting various attractions if I remember correctly, and the date was 29th November 2010. On 16th November 2011, 150214 stands in Platform 8 at York with another two units on top of it. I sincerely hope the guard was testing the doors at the time, as they're open on the non-platform side! I'm not sure if this counts but I'll just leave it here and see what happens 🙂 York, 6th December 2011. I have more of this unit if anyone needs them. Cheers, Will

The romance is palpable as this pair of 158s emerge from the sunset at York on 14th January 2007. It's a shame about the lighting actually, as the leading unit is in former First North Western blue with gold stars, very rare at York, and the rear unit in West Yorkshire Metro red with silver circles. 158769 makes for a colourful picture as it passes Creech St Michael near Taunton on 28th April 2009. A Class 156 approaches Platform 13 at Manchester Piccadilly while a 150/2 departs from Platform 14 on 16th February 2011. The 156's weathering would seem to be the inspiration for EFE Rail's new Class 143/144... 158788 reverses at Sheffield with a Liverpool-Norwich service on 4th January 2009. I seem to have been fascinated by ex-Central Trains units judging by my photos. A close-up of the above unit's cab. I've just made a mental note that a spot of Humbrol Metalcote would look good on that footstep of my Bachmann 158s. Cheers, Will

158865 is still wearing Alphaline Wessex Trains livery as it passes Grindleford on 30th August 2009 with a Liverpool to Norwich service. The photographer can vouch for the impressive breakfast credentials of the station cafe across the bridge from which this was taken. The same day, at the other end of Totley tunnel, a pair of 158s wearing Northern-Spirit-thinly-disguised-as-Central-Trains livery approach Sheffield with a train from the Nottingham direction, probably a Norwich to Liverpool service. The single line chord in the foreground allows trains from the south to access the Hope Valley line and is mostly used, I believe, by freight from Hope Cement Works. 150268 still sports Regional Railways livery, albeit with Arriva Trains Northern branding, at Leeds on 10th September 2004. If I remember rightly I had just arrived on it from Sheffield after a very badly disrupted journey involving sitting for an hour at Castleford. The photograph was as much to celebrate my arrival as the vintage colour scheme. On the same night, another ex-BR livery could still be found at Leeds in the form of 155347, inspiration for my Class 155 conversion reported on RMWeb about 11 years ago. A few years later on New Year's Day 2010, 158888 sits at Leeds wearing SouthWest Trains livery. Presumably it had just been transferred to Northern. Cheers, Will

A few of my photos (of varying photographic proficiency) for anyone who's interested: With apologies for the low-res image, I proudly present 158750 as seen at Leeds on 7th February 2005. As some of you may remember, this was one of the most awful units in the North of England at the time, with patched-up livery, worn interior and strange growling noises from the engine. I doubt very much that the yellow cantrail stripe at this end represented much in the way of additional comfort. Fast-forward to 26th July 2019 and a much better-presented 16456 leads a 4-car departure from Mallaig, with The Jacobite steam special on the opposite platform. 158860 was decorated in a special livery promoting my home town of Keighley (can I get a 'Yay'? No? OK, fair enough.) and named after local historian Ian Dewhirst. I could have sworn I had a photo of it actually at Keighley, but here it is not too far away in the sidings at Huddersfield on 7th July 2013. During the re-building of Derby station on 21st March 2009, the crew of 153385 prepare themselves emotionally for the long stopping journey to Crewe. The unit is still in Central Trains livery but I think that's white East Midlands Trains branding on the lower bodyside. ...and here's 384 in the same livery at Doncaster alongside another quality product of similar vintage. Note how one of the 153's horns has been bent downwards, perhaps by impact damage - a little example of how our models don't all have to be identical. 23rd December 2009. Also at Doncaster, 158794 awaits passengers for Hull and Scarborough on 19th June 2009. The vinyls were promoting Sheffield if I remember correctly. Cheers, Will

'On My Workbench'... 43075 being sprayed into Midland Mainline's ocean blue livery in Neville Hill depot's paint shop on 27th March 2006. Insert joke about Maskol here. A MML set hired to Virgin CrossCountry on 20th December 2005 operated one of their York-Plymouth services. 43049 was sufficient to attract a number of photographers along the lineside in the South-West, despite the time of year. Seen here at Exeter... ... Birmingham New Street... ...and Bristol. With my apologies for the poor photo but I had a very primitive digital camera at the time - 43048 brings up the rear of a very short HST set as a test run regains the Midland Main Line at Syston Junction on 29th November 2004. The acceleration of a pair of back-to-back power cars was something to experience, especially after making an unofficial stop to drop off the traction inspector at his local station without losing too much time. 43157 on the NMT at Wellingborough on 13th October 2005. This power car can't have been in service with NR for long, as I didn't see it on the NMT very often. 43013 at the other end of the same train, this time at Bedford accompanied by contemporary rolling stock. Strange to think that the Thameslink units are no longer on their home patch. Some of us still have a double-take when we see 319s in the North-West! I'd better leave it at that, but I have a few more HST photos if anyone needs something in particular. Cheers, Will

This view from 16th January 2012 may be handy for anyone modelling the bufferbeam area and the front of the bogie. The power car is 43467. An unidentified HST in National Express East Coast livery near Temple Hirst Junction on the ECML, 1st September 2011. 43062 'John Armitt' at Crewe on 24th August 2011. Close-up detail of this Virgin-liveried power car at Nottingham on 27th October 2004. The newly-refurbished cab desk of Midland Mainline's 43075 on 17th May 2006. 43049 'Neville Hill' takes a ride on the jacks at its namesake depot, 19th January 2006. Cheers, Will

43014 leads the New Measurement Train into York from the North on 7th June 2010. I didn't note the rear power car's number but an educated guess would be 43062 'John Armitt'. The same NR power car occupies the same piece of track two weeks later on 21st June 2010, while Grand Central's 43067 heads North. Taken shortly before the last photo, even the dappled sunlight beneath York station's roof can't prevent 43067 looking a little drab. With apologies to 43304 for chopping off her nose end, I still included this photo for its 'prototype for everything' value - an empty stock movement of just one coach at York on 24th June 2009. Same place, different weather. You can feel the cold as 43468 brings a GC service into York from Sunderland three days before Christmas 2010. Cheers, Will

An ice-covered train would make an interesting modelling project! Sheffield, 2nd February 2009. An unidentified HST thunders through Creech St Michael near Taunton on 16th April 2009. 43037 'Penydarren' passes Fairwater Yard, Taunton with a Down service on 1st August 2007. Note that half the horn grille is missing; these were only made of plastic and prone to impact damage. A defect like this, with horns visible behind, would look good on a model. Also at Fairwater Yard but a couple of years later on 21st May 2009, 43144 sports a plainer livery and new headlights. The smoke from 43044 lends a theatrical air to York station on 26th January 2011. East Midlands Trains (and previously Midland Mainline) ran a daily St Pancras to York service, extended to Scarborough in summer, but I suspect this set was on loan to whichever ECML operator was on duty that week. Cheers, Will

An assortment of my amateur photos, in case they are of interest to someone... Grand Central 43084 at Colton Junction on 23rd February 2009. 43055 lurks in the sidings at Derby on 29th November 2004. 43007 sporting the then-new Midland Mainline livery of ocean blue, but with the serif lettering and deer logo of the previous teal livery. Taken on 10th September 2009. A particularly enthusiastic wave from the driver of 43123 near Edale on 10th September 2004. Midland Mainline was operating their 'Project Rio' service from St Pancras to Manchester while the WCML was undergoing its lengthy and expensive upgrade. Prototype power car 41001 cosmetically restored at the National Railway Museum, 12th February 2009. 43321 pulls into Sheffield with a southbound CrossCountry service on 8th March 2009. 43048 'TBC Miller MBE' at Sheffield on 27th June 2008 when the Stagecoach livery was still new. Cheers, Will

66701 delivers ex-Gatwick Express Mk2 coaches to the Great Central Railway (North) on 2nd February 2005. 66 007 - licensed to leak - trundles along the through road at Nottingham on 24th March 2009. A poor photo but that soaked fuel tank would be fun to recreate on a model. Freightliner 66s parked up at Midland Road depot, Leeds on 22nd July 2007. Colas Rail 66847 heads up a rake of MFS ballast hopper wagons through Bristol Temple Meads on what the photo metadata says was 15th August 2013, although I don't know why I'd have been in Bristol that summer so I can't guarantee the date is correct. 66097 in what I recall was then the 'newfangled' DB Schenker livery at Kilmarnock on 24th October 2011. Cheers, Will

At Overton, a few miles North of York, 66189 leads a southbound empty steel train on 6th July 2009. 66421 must be either new, or newly-painted as it waits for its next job at York on 9th December 2010. This location is now transformed by the presence of the Rail Operating Centre situated where the bushes are on the left. A short distance from the previous photo, but in very different weather, 66611 approaches Holgate Junction where the avoiding lines converge with those from York station. Both the station roof and York Minster can be seen in the background of this photo from 25th June 2009. 66303 passes Milton Keynes with a WCML container train on 11th May 2011. The Fastline Freight operation and livery turned out to be short-lived. Emerging from the Autumn mist like a twee lyric from Puff the Magic Dragon, 66617 approaches a rural level crossing somewhere near March, Cambridgeshire, with the High Output Ballast Cleaner on 29th October 2009. Cheers, Will

An unidentifiable DRS 66 approaches Crewe from the South on 24th January 2008. I can't remember exactly where this was... I just had some spare time while at Crewe, so I looked at the map and drove somewhere near the WCML. On 19th March 2008, 66614 basks in the sunshine at Fairwater Yard, Taunton, in between High Output Track Renewal shifts. (I had permission to be there.) 66623 pulls away from Norton Fitzwarren near Taunton on 30th July 2009. Spoil from the High Output Ballast Cleaner was (and possibly still is) being donated to the West Somerset Railway for the construction of their turning triangle here. 66161 heads North after passing under the York ring road near Skelton Junction on 22nd June 2010. The climate and flat landscape around York was great for shots like this; I wish I'd taken more while I lived there. Cheers, Will

A few of my photos from the mid-privatisation era: 66154 with an unusual train consisting of 71000 'Duke of Gloucester' and support coach pauses at Platform 11 of York station on 26th April 2011. Freightliner's 66515 on a Northbound coal train (remember those?) approaching Colton Junction on 11th February 2009. This view has now disappeared under overhead lines. Coincidentally the same loco as in the previous shot, 66515 gets the road towards the West Midlands from Derby station on 21st March 2009. 66549 crosses over the fast lines at Doncaster station with coal empties returning from one of the East Yorkshire power stations to... well, wherever coal was coming from at the time. Taken on 23rd August 2008. 66117 rumbles through Platform 1 at Sheffield on 16th June 2010 with what I assume is a scrap metal train. Cheers, Will

One last one: 31459 'Cerebus' leads what I believe was a very unusual formation into York on 17th March 2009. I don't believe NR's HST power cars were ever wired to work in multiple with a 31 so this was probably just a stock movement rather than a top-and-tail operation. Cheers, Will

A few more: 31601 propels a very short test train through Platform 3 at York on 5th June 2010. 31285 and 31465 pause at York on a light engine(s) movement on 4th May 2011. 285 again, this time at Doncaster on 26th November 2011. Cheers, Will

I'm not really into 31s, but for those of you who are, here are a few of my very amateur photos from the privatisation era... 31602 burbles away in the sidings at Derby Station on 19th June 2009. BR green-liveried 31190 stabled at Doncaster with an infrastructure monitoring train on 27th March 2008. I didn't note the number of the loco, which I believe is in Fragonset livery. 31018 as preserved in the National Railway Museum, taken on 12th February 2009. 31106 propels an infrastructure monitoring train Northbound from York station on 7th June 2010, controlled from the leading DBSO. Cheers, Will

It's always good to see some good, old-fashioned kit-bashing, and considering the exotic range of ingredients this came out as a very good likeness of a 310. Wish I'd done more modelling during the 'loads of time but no money' phase of my life. Cheers, Will

That's interesting, Ian, I had always assumed the photoresist had to be painted onto the brass in liquid form. That film would be easier to use. If I do end up photo-etching, I'll give it a try 👍 The thing that draws me to toner transfer, as opposed to photo-exposure, is that in theory it involves fewer stages and no need for developing chemicals or a UV lightbox. Of course that theory is only of any use if it works reliably! Your post prompted me to have a good browse on PCB etching forums to find out if there have been any developments, and I found this one which was particularly helpful: https://hackaday.com/2016/09/12/take-your-pcbs-from-good-to-great-toner-transfer/ Basically this chap's first photo shows the difference between rubbish toner transfer like mine, and the kind of standard I'm trying to achieve. Combining his experience and some other feedback in his comments section at the end, there are a few things I could try: 1. Preheating the brass beforehand. 2. Applying heavy pressure using a rolling pin. 3. Go back to using the iron, but using low temperature and high pressure. 4. Pre-etching the brass to help the toner adhere to the different surface chemistry (although this extra stage would kind of defeat the object of keeping this process simple). If I get time this weekend I might tinker with some of these options before I start etching the frets from my previous post next week. Wtach this space! Cheers, Will

I was hoping to have an update by now, but I can't start cutting holes in the bodyshell, or build the trucks/bogies, until I've etched some brass parts. If anyone is interested in the emotional rollercoaster that is my etching 'journey', here's a link: Cheers, Will

So, what have I learnt so far? Positives: The laminator doesn't 'melt' the image like the iron did, so the shape of the fine detail is really good. It is possible to transfer a reasonably usable image onto brass this way (even if I only managed it once!) I'm convinced that by tweaking different parts of the process until everything is as good as it can be, I could eventually get decent results. Never as good as a professional photo-etch of course, but useable for parts that will be viewed from a safe distance 😉 Negatives: Even my best examples are scattered with little flecks of missing toner. I'm not sure what might cure this, as it doesn't seem related to the finish of the brass... perhaps the waxed surface of the paper has bits that are more sticky than others, and don't like to let go of the toner, or perhaps I'm not softening all of the toner enough and need more heat? One edge of each fret is noticeably worse than the rest of it. See the right-hand side of each in the photo below. These were all on the leading edge as the brass entered the laminator, so perhaps something to do with temperature, pressure of the roller, or the paper lifting. The only one which didn't have this problem was the last photo in my previous post, which had more of a border of 'spare brass' around it. Next time I could perhaps try cutting the brass a bit larger than the image and see if that helps. What next? I'll see if I can tidy up some of these with a fine permanent marker and have a go at etching. The bogie frames will need to be re-done though so I might have another go with the laser printer, laminator and a bigger sheet of brass. In the meantime if anyone has any experience of this method it would be great to hear how you got on! Cheers, Will

So if 3 runs through the laminator worked better than 2, surely 4 would be even better? And my toner would be neatly transferred to the brass without all those little missing flecks? Here we go... Ah. Useless. At first I couldn't think why this would be so much worse than my last attempt. Surely a little extra time in the laminator couldn't actually prevent the toner from sticking to the brass? Then I realised my error. Before my first two attempts I'd rubbed the brass down with wet and dry, but before this one I'd only removed the toner with a (used) pan scrub in the kitchen sink and then dried it on the tea towel. Presumably that had left a little greasy residue on the surface. Onwards and upwards! Out came the 1200-grit wet and dry, and I prepared another paper mask. This one's for a future DMU project and contains some grilles, footsteps and headlight cluster surrounds. I'd run out of defective ones so this is a decent print-out. I went back to 3 passes through the laminator this time, as that had worked fairly well. This time, I watched closely and could actually see the paper waving up and down as it was squeezed through the machine, preventing it from staying put on the brass. So the result wasn't great: I had noticed by this stage that all my results seemed to have one edge worse than the rest of the image, like the LHS of the one above. The penny dropped, and I realised that the side where the paper is folded might be trying to unfold, causing the paper to pop up off the surface of the brass as soon as it comes out of the laminator. ...and so, with my patience not quite expired yet but with no more spare masks to play with, I decided to take the plunge and transfer my 'good' images onto the brass. I had nothing to lose. Off came the Eileen's Emporium sticker so I could produce all three frets. Again I ran all three through the laminator 3 times, but this time I cut the folded edge off the masks after wrapping them around the brass and securing with tape. The results were mixed. In order of worst to best: The bogie frames (right, with an unused printed mask on the left) are not useable. The LH side could be salvageable by touching in with a marker pen, but not on the right! The main detail etch is not a complete disaster actually. With a fine marker pen I could touch in the speckly bits, where they matter. I couldn't use the tram controller which is on the top-left, but that wouldn't be difficult to knock up out of plastic bits and pieces anyway. The things I could only possibly make out of etched metal are the window frames, and they're OK. And finally, finishing on a high, I'm really happy with how this one came out. I know it looks scruffy close up, but you have to remember this thing's less than an inch wide, and none of the scruffy bits are too fine to be touched in with a marker pen.