To Weather Your Locomotive and Stock Or Not ?

[Very Old Geezer]

Where would we be without Railway Preservation
Beeching chopped so many routes and many are lost for good. Thankfully though, we have a plethora of preserved lines run by societies passionate about keeping them alive.

Shiny Locomotives and Rolling Stock cleaned and polished, all to be seen and admired by an ever-increasing fan base.

Then there are Main Line Steam Days. A pristine Castle hauling an equally pristine train to the West Country coast - shiny spit and polish, looking to my eyes, at least, bling-like.

So What's Not To Like?

There's no doubting that they look lovely, but doesn't that lovely shiny look belong in a museum ?

I am probably a purist. If I visit a preserved line, I like to see it working, not as a museum spectacle.

Why ?
British Rail were not very good at keeping their Stock clean, and, locomotives were a tool. They did their job of hauling trains round the country - greasy, oily caked in soot and grime. If they spent time in the sheds for a spit and polish, they weren't earning their keep.
What about the goods service? grime, soot, oil and grease to write home about !

Then we have the private industrial lines, they too are likey to be less than clean and will certainly be weathered too.

Narrow Gauge Passenger lines may be cleaner, but they will certainly be weathered.

Should we Weather our Loco's and Stock?

Currently, I have just one Locomotive, a highly polished very clean Lawley. I want her to be dirty missis

I say yes we should if we really seek Authenticity.

It is after all a matter of taste, but for me, a working train is not a clean one.

[anythingsdr]

as long as its not dirty fingerprints, i agree they should be grimey!

[Very Old Geezer]

as long as its not dirty fingerprints, i agree they should be grimey!

Dirty finger prints to scale wouldn't look out of place on the full scale real thing, providing the line was operated by the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk

[anythingsdr]

Haha!

[Endless, Nameless]

Definitely!

They should all have wasp stripes too...

When my Lawley/ Merlin hybrid is build I'm hoping to get it weathered by someone who knows what they are doing- hopefully bribe a friend who has done a very nice job of some of his G scale electric stuff.

[anythingsdr]

They should all have wasp stripes too...

My Mamod Nearly did! Except I couldn't get it marked out right

[taliesin001]

I try and weather most of my stock, although apart from a a mamod I haven't tried a loco.

[Very Old Geezer]

Definitely!

They should all have wasp stripes too...

When my Lawley/ Merlin hybrid is build I'm hoping to get it weathered by someone who knows what they are doing- hopefully bribe a friend who has done a very nice job of some of his G scale electric stuff.

Matt,

I love that photo of your greasy dirty looking loco avec wasp-stripes you posted on my 'Waist-High' thread'.
How DID you get it to look so wonderfully ... err .. industrial ?

Mike.

[MuzTrem]

I say yes we should if we really seek Authenticity.

I'm not sure I really do seek authenticity...for me, the joy of garden railways is having the power to create your own perfect world! I consider the MVR to be an idealised narrow gauge line, and in any case, our fictitious history places it firmly within the preservation era.

In any case, most live steam locos soon build up a patina of grime if they are used regularly, so they never look absolubtely spotless. I've just taken my Russell apart and cleaned her properly for the first time in ten years; that was hard work, I can tell you!

[Very Old Geezer]

I say yes we should if we really seek Authenticity.

I'm not sure I really do seek authenticity...for me, the joy of garden railways is having the power to create your own perfect world! I consider the MVR to be an idealised narrow gauge line, and in any case, our fictitious history places it firmly within the preservation era.

In any case, most live steam locos soon build up a patina of grime if they are used regularly, so they never look absolubtely spotless. I've just taken my Russell apart and cleaned her properly for the first time in ten years; that was hard work, I can tell you!  :lol:

Creating your own perfect world is OK too. In any case, keeping moving parts free from grit and dirt will, of course, prolong active life: PAL

For me, that perfect world would be rural branch-line, dirty engines grotty rolling stock, and even BR-style sandwhich or two.

[Endless, Nameless]

I think I'll draw the line at a BR sandwich- too young to have had the opportunity to appreciate one, something I think I'll be eternally grateful for

Onto locos... the black Caradoc was bought second hand (from someone who seemingly didn't have a clue, but that's another story). Apparently they had had an attempt at weathering it, which failed miserably. It was then sent to Mike Ousby for mechanical remedial work and to do a better job of the painting. No idea what Mike did but it looked brilliant. It then went back to the chap I bought it from, before I acquired it.

The wasp stripes were painted by myself on that one. I took the bufferbeams and their support brackets off, measured out where I wanted the stripes and then ran a stanley knife along a ruler held where I wanted the edges to be. This stopped one colour running into the next- applied very carefully with a small brush- without having to faff with masking tape.

That loco is now sold on (final electric bill in my 2nd year of uni, it was that or the car and I couldn't drive the Caradoc home), has had lining and a crest added and weathered in, the bufferbeams painted back to red and weathered and loads of detailing and looks ace.

The next year I replaced it with the green loco. This is an Edrig chassis and- thanks to Tag- a Caradoc body. Sprayed a thinned down humbrol matt light green (can't remember the exact shade), and a few detailing bits. Wasp stripes using the above method but painted all over white then the red stripes on top, and with more care on the marking out! Oh, and I got my young lady to paint them, she has a steadier hand than me. Cheating I know

That one wasn't weathered but still looks very workaday. I also painted the dome, and took the spectacle rings out, painted them black on all but the front face and put them in backwards!

Now owned by my boss' partner, so I still get to play with it. My Lawley/ Merlin hybrid will be painted to match.

[Sir Clothem Cap]

To weather or not has always been debated in modelling circles and it all boils down to this. It is your railway it can be as realistic or as fanciful as you like and we all enjoy the variety even if its something we wouldn't do to one of ours.

You brought it you can make it appear in any form that pleases you. Some engines were kept clean others weren't.

"vive la difference" as a bad spelling frenchman might put it.

[Steven.T]

I prefer locos that have a glossy finish on them to stay clean, but if they are a dull-ish colour anyway, I'd be all for weathering them up, not that I have ever weathered anything before!

[garrymartin]

I don't have the skills so I am not going to attempt it, but I must admit if its done well then for me the loco looks much better for it.

[Narrow Minded]

Should we Weather our Loco's and Stock?

It's your railway.......................................

For me, a live steam loco (and stock) working outdoors in 16mm is much closer to "the real thing" than anything in the smaller scales and so, as a driver (and owner/fireman/cleaner/guard) I tend to take more pride in my fleet and like to turn them out at their best - you know, like they used to!

[Keith S]

I think a real steam engine with real dirt on it looks authentic, but I personally think that painting on dirt that can't be washed off is not authentic on a real steam engine. I'm all for not washing a grubby little engine but my engine spends most of its time "in the museum"(a shelf in my music room) so when it's in there I think it should be clean. If I ever have space for a proper railway in a nice place where it's safe to leave the locomotive outside for a while I will be perfectly happy to watch it get oily and dirty. Oddly, I don't feel the same way about wagons, and I admire a good weathering job on the unpowered stuff as much as anyone. But the live steam engines are special and it seems a shame tomake them permanently filthy with paints.

I was considering painting my Billy black, and my brother said "seems a shame to spend all that money on it just to paint it black". I didn't necessarily agree with him (although I did paint it red) but I share his sentiment when it comes to weathering a live steam engine with paints: you should be able to clean it once in a while.

[DolwyddelanLightRail]

On my (very small line) I have 4 operational* steam locos, out of the 4 I allow 2 to get dirty and mucky. The original mamod that I inhereted off the Grandfather and the new Lady Anne will always be clean and spotless, but the other Mamod (Britomart) and the Accucraft Edrig** I allow to get dirty, and the outcome of this means that the Edrig now looks like a work worn, battered loco from the quarries and really does look the part, and while standing next to the Lady Anne, it makes the Lady Anne look pristine! I'll get a photo later on to show the comparison!

*out of the 4 operational steam locos, usually only 2 are running, the mamods are usually out of action in one way or another, and currently, they both are!

**The Edrig has a serious problem of over oiling itself, so if I were to clean it all properly, I would need to strip the whole thing down every 3-4 runs, and I simply can't be bothered, so I give it all a quick wipe over while its warming up

[Very Old Geezer]

I think a real steam engine with real dirt on it looks authentic, but I personally think that painting on dirt that can't be washed off is not authentic on a real steam engine. I'm all for not washing a grubby little engine but my engine spends most of its time "in the museum"(a shelf in my music room) so when it's in there I think it should be clean. If I ever have space for a proper railway in a nice place where it's safe to leave the locomotive outside for a while I will be perfectly happy to watch it get oily and dirty. Oddly, I don't feel the same way about wagons, and I admire a good weathering job on the unpowered stuff as much as anyone. But the live steam engines are special and it seems a shame tomake them permanently filthy with paints.

I was considering painting my Billy black, and my brother said "seems a shame to spend all that money on it just to paint it black". I didn't necessarily agree with him (although I did paint it red) but I share his sentiment when it comes to weathering a live steam engine with paints: you should be able to clean it once in a while.

Coincidentally, that is were my Lawley spends its time: in the 'museum' which, like yours, is in my Music Room (Actually, a Music Studio).
Because currently I do not own a railway, and also because I only steam her on an rolling road, she doesn't get very dirty.
That said, I will always keep all moving parts as clean as possible; and, once I have built my railway and my engine is worked, I will every 6-8 months, strip down the valve gear and associated couplings and place it all in an ultrasonic tank to loosen-off grit, etc..

Other than that, she's a girl that'll get dirty !
Mike.

[maxnod]

It's YOUR railway, YOUR loco, YOUR stock, do as you wish!!

YOUR railway, YOUR rules!

Seemples !!!

Well, that's just my thoughts.

[Very Old Geezer]

It's YOUR railway, YOUR loco, YOUR stock, do as you wish!!

YOUR railway, YOUR rules!

Seemples  !!!

Well, that's just my thoughts.

Thank you for your thoughts.

However, you don't actually say what your thoughts are in respect of the thread, and what YOU do on YOUR line - can you be more specific about your thoughts, please