Friday Update: Seven Eight Twenty-six...

Welcome to Friday! A chance to reflect back on a busy week, two narrow gauge train trips and a few project updates. You know the routine now, so if the kettle isn’t on, give yourselves a minute to sort that before we start…

Sunday seems a long time ago now - but it is where we start this morning. A lovely trip on the Corris - somewhere I’ve not visited for some time. It appears not much has changed and that is good with me - as the size, character, warmth and friendliness of this little railway is one of its biggest assets. Trundling along at barely walking pace you find yourself drifting off to another time, another world - it is like a Time Machine, not taking you back, just slowing things down… wonderful.

Back home the birthday Budd has helped crystallise ideas for a Canadian cameo - I seem to have come full circle on this project, no bad thing - I’ve got a better idea of what I want to achieve but not identified a permanent home yet, so to finalise it’s size… the Budd now features this non-working Giro light and since, has had numbers fitted and the weathering started. Don’t tell anyone, but a few more items are on there way too… a Walthers (ex Lifelike) GP38-2 (to convert to a Canadian example), a Kaslo CP plywood van and some more Prairie Shadows cylindrical hoppers - enough for a short CP Rail branch freight, at least in my imagination. 

Earlier in the week I shared photos of the Rapido LRS Sirdars - these are lovely little models that I have enjoyed working on - my own example has yet to materialise though - but a ‘chassis’ has…

Which leads me on to this…

Joan. 

I’m planning a ‘mini Joan’ for the L&L - my usual multi-media kit. We have a stock of chassis so will be doing these as completes, a one batch wonder, when the time comes. Don’t ask about the 00-12, it’s languishing on my bench, I need to remind myself what I was planning to do before release… 

This photo of Joan indicates my second train this week - a trip to Welshpool to meet friend Jonathan, Ribbons regular and fresh convert to narrow gauge modelling! A lovely trip, and we enjoyed the Diema (although perhaps not as much as steam) as well as the rolling stock - the European feel really makes this railway something very special. Perhaps I’ll head back for the gala in September…

 

On the bench one of the NGG16 is slightly further ahead than the other - the red one (below) has had the plates fitted and a lacquer coat applied. You can see the glue-n-glaze curing in the windows - hopefully she’ll be on her way to my customer on Monday.

Continuing the narrow gauge theme, the layout commission has escalated somewhat! Track down, wired and tested. Sleepers and rails painted and basic scenic foundations in place - things are moving with pace! Ballasting and rough mock up of the quay face should be complete today - it has been deeply enjoyable working on this, reminding me of how well 009 works on a 4x1 shelf. You’ll note all the track is near the centre or back… this is due to the cameo lighting, which can leave the front face of models in shadow if you’re not careful. Always consider the whole layout, not just the track plan…

We’ll close with an exciting photo of a the ‘latest’ 08 project. 08994 is looking almost finished here; just a few more steps before I can start weathering. I think it’s interesting, when I started this project the blue 08s vs the red and grey hoppers were my desired aesthetic, but, now under layout lighting, this little piece of Railfreight grey really pops and I’m so pleased I have challenged myself to produce her…

I seem to be surrounded by projects again and am slightly concerned I’m distracting myself from jobs I don’t want to do, but know will push things forwards to more of what I do want to do… I expect that sounds familiar. We’ll see what this weekend brings, but for now, that’s a wrap. Until next time, more soon…

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