Fuel Transport Modernised (1/35)

In the early fifties Nystrup Gravel constructed a primitive wagon for fuel transport. A standard steel skip was cut down and brackets to hold a 200 l. oil barrel fitted. A hand pump was mounted on a simple stand welded up from steel profiles. The building and painting of the model was described in an earlier post.

The Hesketh Scale Model fuel bowser ready for service on my 1:35 scale model of Nystrup Gravel.

After having painted the little model in Vallejo acrylic paints I gave the frame and hand pump stand a wash with heavily diluted rust coloured oil paint. I concentrated the application of rust to the skip frame and wheel sets to give impression of them being the oldest parts in the construction. The barrel and hand pump had a  wash with black oil paint, while the handle was treated with white oil paint. Then the whole wagon was spayed with matt varnish. After drying I gave the complete wagon a very thin wash of black oil paint. I then sprayed a very light layer of thinned sand colour on selected parts of the frame and wheel sets to make the wagon look a little dusty. Fuel spills where touched up with black oil paint and when dried marked with gloss varnish to appear wet.

The little fuel bowser is a great way to create a little variety on a model railway mainly running trains made up from skips. 

I added coupling chains to the skip from brass chain links. To make coupling easier both end links in the two chains were home made from brass wire wound around a drill of a suitable diameter larger than the standard chain links. In this way it is far easier to couple wagons in 1:35 with prototypical chains. I use a pair of tweezers to manipulate the chains. The chains was chemically blackened with 'Ballistol' before being hung in place.

The fuel skip photographed outside the loco shed.