TEBAY LAMENT


BR 4MT 4-6-0 Recreates Last Days at Northern Shed.

The current issue of Model Rail magazine features an article on various forms of banking locomotives employed in the UK over the years. To tie-in with the theme and mark 50 years since the closure of Tebay shed, on the uppermost reaches of the West Coast Main Line, I decided to upgrade a Hornby BR 4MT 4-6-0.


Working from colour images of Tebay’s 75039 during its last weeks in service, the already-excellent Hornby model was made even better with a few extra details and modifications. Most notable is the removal of the smokebox number and shedplates, with the numerals being reinstated with an ink pen, mimicking the hand-painting of the prototype. I assume the original cast plates had been sold or ‘liberated’ by that point.

I was very pleased with the outcome of the weathering job and, after a run of more modern subjects, it was nice to work on something ‘steamy’ for a change!



Comments

  1. George - another excellent scheme that really captures the state of things at that period. One little query - the coal looks to be nice clean large lumps - was it not rather poor quality ie lots of (nutty)slack, at that stage.

    Pete

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    Replies
    1. Hi Pete,
      I wasn't around at the time so I've no idea how good the coal was in 1967!! I often tone down the coal with a mist of weathered/dirty black from the airbrush, as a finishing touch, but ran out of time with this project - only managed to finish it a day or two before the magazine went to press.

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  2. Hi George. It looks fantastic! I am planning to do something similar to an N gauge BR Standard 5. Do the same rules apply with the smaller gauge? Would you still use pigments or powders, or would airbrushing be sufficient?
    Thanks,
    Tijjy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Tijjy, thanks for the kind comment. Yes, I'd use virtually the same approach with N gauge models, simply using smaller brushes and smaller quantities of dry pigments, lest they add too much surface texture. It's the contrasting textures of the airbrushed paint and dry powders that really bring the model to life.
      All the best,
      GD.

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