Garden Railway Forum

Looks good, very neat and consistent curves.

That's lovely - love the cab!

Andrew.

Thanks all

The mojo has been lacking recently but I have completed the cab and put the finishing touches on the Manning Wardle, now named 'Gellihaf'. My painting seems to be getting worse not better so I will have to get to grips with spray cans for the next loco!


Boot Lane Works Lilibet by Stuart, on Flickr


Boot Lane Works Lilibet by Stuart, on Flickr


Boot Lane Works Lilibet by Stuart, on Flickr

I can't see anything wrong with your painting Stuart, looks just right to me.

Peter Butler wrote: Mon May 19, 2025 10:35 am I can't see anything wrong with your painting Stuart, looks just right to me.

Me too. I love that Matt finish.

Rik

Peter Butler wrote: Mon May 19, 2025 10:35 am I can't see anything wrong with your painting Stuart, looks just right to me.

I agree with Peter, the paint job looks fine.

Thanks guys. The photos are actually hiding the worst of the brush marks! I live in a small flat so have always assumes that spray painting was not possible; however I successfully used spray primer on the brass cab out on the exterior landing, so I will investigate further for the next loco.

It's surprising what you can do in unorthodox spaces.

Loco looks great, the flat, grimy finish is just right.

I had a very enjoyable weekend away at the Llechfan Garden Railway open weekend at Tywyn a couple of weeks ago (https://www.facebook.com/llechfan/?locale=en_GB). I had intended to finish the tram coach for this but that wasn't going to happen so used the time to make some storage/travel boxes for the latest stock in order to travel safely to Tywyn on the big railway:

16mm carrying boxes by Stuart, on Flickr

The cardboard box is that which the Boot Lane Manning Wardle kit came in; sadly it isn't quite deep enough for the finished loco but it is fine for waggons. The loco box is a £5 plywood box from The Works with a hinged lid and catch. Interior in both is some quality corrugated card liberated from the weekly fruit box at work stuck together with my 40+ year old hot glue gun!

This was the first time that most of this stock had run, but there were only a few minor issues. The Talyllyn slate wagons proved to be slightly under gauge and also narrow of tread; on Saturday they kept falling in on a wooden bridge on the lower circuit with longitudinal sleepers that may have warped over the years. The back to back was corrected in the B&B early Sunday morning and they were fine after that.

The top circuit in particular at Llechfan is a long run with a few cheeky gradients and the AAA batteries in the Manning Wardle could only cope with about five or so laps before starting to fail. I will need to see if an equivalent AA holder will fit in the space for some more oompf and longevity.

Llechfan Garden Railway by Stuart, on Flickr

Llechfan Garden Railway by Stuart, on Flickr


Llechfan Garden Railway by Stuart, on Flickr

Llechfan Garden Railway by Stuart, on Flickr **CLICK THROUGH FOR VIDEO**

Looks like you had a good time.

StuartJ wrote: Fri Jul 31, 2026 9:33 am I will need to see if an equivalent AA holder will fit in the space for some more oompf and longevity.

You could try using an AA battery pack, would almost certainly save a lot of space compared to using a plastic holder. If you have an awkward space, you could make up your own to suit the space available - you just need to find/buy "tagged" AA cells and then solder the tags together as needed.