Friday Update: Eighteen Three Twenty-two…

Covid strikes again, yes, I think my daughter brought it home but after a night of no sleep and not being able to get warm a LFT test confirmed the worst. I spent all of yesterday in bed with a terrible splitting headache and shivers, then sweats, bringing home the reality that we’re not out of the woods yet…

So whereas usually my Friday update includes what customer models I’m working on, I’m afraid I haven’t taken at photos this week! The first pair of Ruston LB are heading through the paint shop, Taliesin is heading to it’s new home and I’ve been working on the book. In the evenings progress on the BC Rail CRS20 (above) sees the red and blue paint applied over the gloss white. This all seems very garish right now but will tone down as I move it through the paint shop. The next step is to apply silver to the pilots and underframe before I can start detail painting the walk ways, hoses, grabs etc. I notice a few areas a cock tail stick soaked in IPA will be needed to tidy up overspray, especially the red.

The big exciting news was the arrival of the ScaleTrains SDL39 on these shores. I think the branding ‘Museum Quality’ is somewhat misleading. The quality of assembly, of even design, does not warrant that moniker. However, that said, where else are you going to get a ready to run model of a class of 10 prototypes? I’ve loved SDL39s with their top heavy stature on the tiny export trucks, and compact length (similar in size to a CF7, rather than a longer GP9), packing 2300hp in a model with an axle weight broadly comparable to the RSC-14 and GMD1. Small big for sure. A short running session and I’m really happy with her, and look forward to getting some grime on in due course.

I picked up a second Bachmann GE70 tonner before Christmas and have been pondering what to do with it. Apart from replacing the truck frames with some of my own design, I had wanted to tackle the mould lines and window frames on the cab. I used a sharp blade to cut an angle on each raised frame, fooling the eye to think these are rounded, before sanding these down to reduce their impact. Next step is to measure the arpeture and get some laser cut acrylic cut to fit. That still leaves a question over the models eventual identity, freelance, logging inspired or the old San Luis Central?

Another new arrival is this pair of American Limited Trinity 2 bay hoppers, which complete the cement cars I need for the project. This pair of Winchester and Western cars will be weathered and patched for the fictional HMLX fleet. The ability to run different scenarios on the same track plan is something I’m really happy with Beaverbrook.

That leaves us with just this Wiking front bucket loader, which I intend to modify to represent one the Co-op uses in reality to shunt cars back and forth at the feed mill. Removing the wheel arches and a repaint will produce something broadly similar, certainly enough for my interpretation of Beaverbrook. It’s been a rather Beaverbrook heavy Friday update this week, let’s hope that rest and plenty of Lemsip have me on the mend before too long. Perhaps even back on my feet Sunday? Until next time, more soon…