Coach In Service

It has been almost a full month since I last posted here. Not much have happened modelling wise and I have been working and helping out keeping the 1:1 scale narrow gauge vintage railway running. Having an unfinished project on the shelf for too long, isn't the best recipe for my appetite for new progress, so I settled for a quick process for finishing the four wheel coach.

The Nystrup Gravel coach no. 3 pushed by loco no. 3. With a vigilant lookout on the front platform, the short train has travelled the light track safely and is now ready for a photo session before moving on.

Not much work remained when I last left the coach and the buffers had arrived. While figured out how to mount the buffers I prepared the large platform ends. The wooden end pieces were left soaking in water for 1½ hour to make them workable. I fitted them in a homemade jig and held them down with clamps for a day. While they didn't come out fitting precisely, they certainly are acceptable for a well used coach on a small industrial railway. The end plates were fitted with hand rails, primed and the plates painted black and the hand rails red. With the buffers painted black, all that missed was a number on the coach's sides. I found an etched metal stencil and positioned  it roughly central on the coach's side and stippeled red paint over the stencil. I removed it before the paint dried (which would have 'glued' the stencil to the coach).

The lookout has gone (he remembered to close the sliding door) and the Lister is ready to pull away to allow the coach to be photographed on its own.

The polished windows are a marked contrast to the otherwise rather worn coach. This section of the Nystrup Gravel line used very light rail.

As usual for all my models the coach was weathered with a mix of oil and acrylic paint, pastel chalk and physical effects with wire brush and knife blade. While the coach is now labelled as finished and ready for service, I am planning to replace the couplings. Readers of the blog have already been advising me on alternatives that may work, even if not in 1:19 scale.

End view showing some of the interior which is kept more tidy than the outside.