Today I have numbered and named a batch of Loco’s for myself and some mates. I did the research before adding the numbers to confirm position etc.
I hope to weather them later in the week depending on how cold and wet it gets.
They cover various eras and regions.
These are my final three Class 33’s for my 1993-5 era. They have all been numbered and named to my requirements. All this batch are to a light to medium standard.
Yesterday our group attended the GOG get together at Bury St Edmunds. It was our first outing together as a complete group since March 2020.
It was a great Day with our layouts ‘Little Sefton’ and ‘Grub Lane’. Lots of interaction and great conversations and we had several potential invites to more Exhibitions in 2022, covid permitting. They were Stowmarket, Bury St Eds, Norwich, GOG x 2 and finally one in Wexford Ireland!
I can also confirm that we will be appearing at the Great Electric Train Show 2021 at Milton Keynes with our 16mm Layout 4000 Yards – Area 5. Graham and Shaun will be there both days and Jaeson with be there on Saturday only, please, if you are going along, say hello.
My Son John and my Grandson Charlie operate ‘Grubb Lane’
Another arrival today is 20132, it is already weathered to a very good standard so all I will do is just enhance it a bit. Very pleased with my purchase.
This is a rake of four Dapol Banana Vans. They have all been weathered slightly differently to make a believable rake. They had the usual wash and wipe followed by airbrushing the chassis with Frame Dirt, Brake Dust and Matt Black. The last job was to dry brush the springs and joins with a little Dark Rust.
This is another recent arrival. It was already named and numbered, but was in as new condition. The Loco had already been very lightly weathered to a good standard.
After doing some research I found that the Inverness Depot did some little tweaks to the Large Logo livery in the late eighties. The nose grilles were painted black, the head codes were also painted black. The Highland Stag was added earlier, but strangely enough the Loco did not receive the usual orange cant rail stripe at this time.
I have re-weathered the Loco to a light – medium standard that was more akin to its late eighties condition.
This is a recent purchase and it has to be said it was a bit of a lemon! The reason I purchased it was that it was heavily modified and I wanted a close look at how this was achieved. The modifications were as follows:-
Buffer beam modified to ‘cut away’ example.
Twin Fuel Tank Modifications.
Roof Grilles with extra strengtheners.
Body Foot Steps modified.
Front Nose Doors changed to Welded Sheet.
Front Nose Headlight Fitted.
Full repaint to a very good standard.
Nose aerial.
NOW THE BAD NEWS:-
Buffers Glued Solid
Wheels/Gears very worn.
Buffer Beam pipes damaged or missing.
Bogie Frames glued on/hindering access.
All Pick-ups in a filthy condition causing problems.
Missing body to chassis screws.
One light not working.
After much thought I decided to keep my purchase and give the Loco a good spring clean and add all missing bits. I then weathered it to a light to medium standard to hide a few little blemishes. I still have to address the Stuck buffers and the gear problem, but I have some spares gears.
Anyway here are the results so far.
Today I have fitted most of my Class 33’s with snowploughs. I researched each loco to ensure it was carrying ploughs in the exact condition I am modelling them in. The only Loco that will remain without ploughs will be 33035 in NSE as I can not trace a photo of it in my modelled condition. Anyway leaving one without ploughs just gives that different look.
33050 and 33002 still to be weathered, and no plough 33035.
This is 33050 Isle of Grain that ran in this condition in the early 90’s. The nameplates are Fox, the depot plate and arrows are Protoneo and the transfers are Railtec. It will now join the list of locos still to be weathered.
This Loco ran in this condition in 2019/20 before being modified and then repainted into Colas livery. It was purchased out of preservation and used in ‘as preserved’ condition for some time on Network Rail test trains.
I have given the model a light weathering as it was kept in very good condition, abeit a bit faded towards the end.
