To Weather Your Locomotive and Stock Or Not ?

[IrishPeter]

I don't like thing overly clean. Even when the local staff were enthusiastic there was always a certain amount of dirty and decy to be seen, which is why preserved railways often look a bit too perfect to me. That said, the blokes had a bit of pride in the job, and things were kept up to a certain extent. Certainly a small line where a crews worked the same engines week-in; week-out would tend to be a cleaner place than a big shed where most or all the locomotives were common user.

Consequently, things on the Skebawn and Castleknox are kept reasonably clean, but muck and oil is allowed to accumulate where it won't do damage. I will weather rolling stock, but not locos as I figure they will weather enough working outside. Consequently, the locos get a whack with an oily rag to keep them shiny and the grit and sh*t is kept out of the moving parts. Every now and again a loco gets stripped down for a cleaning, but not often.

Peter in AZ

[Gremlin]

I like weathering on stock especially wagons but not had a go at my locos and probably wont. I think from use they will build up thier own weathering to a degree but will keep it clean where it matters and a gerneral wipe over.
The thing with painted weathering for outside use with oil and water is that it's got to be permanent and that's fine if done well. A bad job will look like what it is and will require a complete strip down and repaint.
I've just started building an Andel diesel kit, that will get a good weathering though.

[Very Old Geezer]

I like weathering on stock especially wagons but not had a go at my locos and probably wont. I think from use they will build up thier own weathering to a degree but will keep it clean where it matters and a gerneral wipe over.
The thing with painted weathering for outside use with oil and water is that it's got to be permanent and that's fine if done well. A bad job will look like what it is and will require a complete strip down and repaint.
I've just started building an Andel diesel kit, that will get a good weathering though.

Being new to this Forum, I missed the oportunity to include all motive power in this thread.
As a result, I have excluded quite by accident, a number of folk who only run electric-powered engines.  :oops:

Could this thread be moved to a place where it can be all inclusive:  all motive power, please ?


Mike.

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

There is no general motive power section so I have moved it to the general section...

[anythingsdr]

I hate to say it, but I got myselt a tin of brasso wadding, and have starting polishing my brass bits on my mamod, mainly because the bordum is getting to much!

[Pendo Pilot]

The CVLR is a struggling narrow gauge line. Whilst the drivers & fireman take pride in their locomotives it has to be noted that these engines are worked hard all day. A coating of grime & oil is common on them, not by paint brush, just from use. (rolling stock is painted down though). I'm ex BR, just find it wierd to see clean locos/rolling stock. I don't let it get as bad as BR in the 50's/60's though.

[Sir Clothem Cap]

I take the This is an enthusiasts line and my engines are cleaned and sometimes the brass gets polished. Paint is only added to add realism such as the cab and the body is only redone if it was bad when I got it.

I have never considered weathering on my line. The nearest I got to it was spraying a few brightly coloured skip wagons car primer red and open wagons grey on the inside only.

[Very Old Geezer]

The CVLR is a struggling narrow gauge line. Whilst the drivers & fireman take pride in their locomotives it has to be noted that these engines are worked hard all day. A coating of grime & oil is common on them, not by paint brush, just from use. (rolling stock is painted down though). I'm ex BR, just find it wierd to see clean locos/rolling stock. I don't let it get as bad as BR in the 50's/60's though.

You have confirmed what I felt strongly about and indicated as much in this thread's preamble.

BR were not earning any money from locomotives taken off line for a wash and brush-up - this surely hasn't anything to do with any possible pride the footplate crew may or may not have. Instead, just getting a train from one place to another, safely, and on time was the priority. It took long enough to prepare the engine for steaming; and, I imagine, even longer to clean her out ready for the next day's work.

I have come to the conclusion that, for my engines and stock, painting-on weathering effects are not necessary - I'll work the locomotives and just let nature take its course  :lol:

[Very Old Geezer]

I hate to say it, but I got myselt a tin of brasso wadding, and have starting polishing my brass bits on my mamod, mainly because the bordum is getting to much!

Now that is a bit drastic but not surprising with the weather we are having in South Devon .... groan.

[anythingsdr]

Double groan! Managed to clock up £200's worth of overtime this week, so Back2Bay6 for some track on payday!

[MuzTrem]

BR were not earning any money from locomotives taken off line for a wash and brush-up - this surely hasn't anything to do with any possible pride the footplate crew may or may not have. Instead, just getting a train from one place to another, safely, and on time was the priority. It took long enough to prepare the engine for steaming; and, I imagine, even longer to clean her out ready for the next day's work.

On the other hand, though, dirty trains were a constant bone of contention for passengers - especially when trains were not just dirty outside but also inside (with litter etc.). Dirty, old-fashioned, out-of-date: that was the public perception of railways before Beeching (and for a long time afterwards, in the eyes of many). Once people could afford to buy a clean, comfortable car, dirty trains contributed indirectly to the railways losing revenue.

The modern-day TOCs have to take a lot of flack, but most of them actually do a pretty good job of keeping trains clean (though admittedly they have train washers that make the job far easier than in the days of steam!). And before WWI, the larger railways made the effort to keep at least their passenger engines as clean as possible. In those days they could afford to, and it was essential if the railways were to maintain a respectable image in Victorian/Edwardian society.

In short, it's actually very much in a railway's interests to keep its engines clean. Unfortunately BR, and to a lesser extent the Big Four, were strapped for cash (and labour) and thus had no choice but to make short-term economies that actually did them more damage in the long run...!

[garrymartin]

BR were not earning any money from locomotives taken off line for a wash and brush-up - this surely hasn't anything to do with any possible pride the footplate crew may or may not have. Instead, just getting a train from one place to another, safely, and on time was the priority. It took long enough to prepare the engine for steaming; and, I imagine, even longer to clean her out ready for the next day's work.

On the other hand, though, dirty trains were a constant bone of contention for passengers - especially when trains were not just dirty outside but also inside (with litter etc.). Dirty, old-fashioned, out-of-date: that was the public perception of railways before Beeching (and for a long time afterwards, in the eyes of many). Once people could afford to buy a clean, comfortable car, dirty trains contributed indirectly to the railways losing revenue.

The modern-day TOCs have to take a lot of flack, but most of them actually do a pretty good job of keeping trains clean (though admittedly they have train washers that make the job far easier than in the days of steam!). And before WWI, the larger railways made the effort to keep at least their passenger engines as clean as possible. In those days they could afford to, and it was essential if the railways were to maintain a respectable image in Victorian/Edwardian society.

In short, it's actually very much in a railway's interests to keep its engines clean. Unfortunately BR, and to a lesser extent the Big Four, were strapped for cash (and labour) and thus had no choice but to make short-term economies that actually did them more damage in the long run...!

Exactly the point I was about to make , so much would depend on when in history your railway is supposed to exist.
Incidentally the best looking loco I have seen in years is the North Hampshire Minerals Lady Ann, which is definately not just an accumilation of grime!

[TonyW]

Incidentally the best looking loco I have seen in years is the North Hampshire Minerals Lady Ann, which is definately not just an accumilation of grime!

I could not agree more.

I clean my locos once a year with hot soapy water and a plastic brush, whether they need it or not.

[Pendo Pilot]

The modern-day TOCs have to take a lot of flack, but most of them actually do a pretty good job of keeping trains clean

But this is the biggest joke around. Modern TOC's do make there image/ livery look good & yes cleaner insides are usual. It's just the rest of it that is a joke. I used to drive for a TOC that made there trains "look" great. They also had tape holding together the desk, double flanged wheels from wear, bits isolated here & there, faults that had been reported months previous still not fixed. Terrible flat spots on all wheels damaging the track... It's just total & utter BS the modern privatised railway. They will spend millions on new liveries but struggle to turn a wheel true. Who I work for now actually do a good job balancing out image & stock servicing. But there are still plenty TOCs out there that run stuff into the ground with no sympathy for mechanical wear at all. BR steam days judging by first hand accounts was a lot more servicing & to hell with image & personally I would favour that.
Oh & a certain TOC which may have initials containing these letters "XAC" are currently still under investigation after a very serious spad that only luck made good on a set that had been reported for 4 months with weak brakes & yet they still put in service everyday. It was clean in & out though.. But that TOC has adopted a fix only policy, no maintainance, just fix as required in order to get a cheaper deal from the train owners.

[IrishPeter]

I favour the old Isle of Man Railway philosophy - look after it, patch it up, keep it running, if you have time, clean it, and if you need a part and don't have it in stock rob it off an engine that is no longer working. Looking at pictures from the 1950s, the locos that worked big mileages were grubby, those on light duty were clean. The carriages seemed to get cleaned periodically, but repainting was rarer. The goods stock that was in use was in OK condition, some of the rest was in the 'slap some paint on it to stop it falling apart category, and they had given up on the rest. The overall impression was of a railway that was trying to keep up appearences inspite of money being very tight.

My earliest personal memories of the Isle of Man are from 1976/7 just before the old company was wound up. Things were clean-ish, but far from immaculate. The carriages and stations looked as though they got a major wash and brush-up at the beginning of the season, and after that the sweeping brush treatment. Emptying the rubbish bins seemed to be a bit of an IMR fettish, and so, BTW, was metering out the toiler paper in the loos. The locos looked as though they got a wash and brush up every week or so - I have visions of drivers hiding down the engine shed away from the wives and kids on a Sunday afternoon giving them their weekly wash and brush up. The oily rag was liberally applied to the point where there were regularly 'bald spots' in the background paint on nameplates and maker's plates.

One of my memories of the late 70s was No.13 roaring up Keristal unassisted with 8 on because the spare engine just would not steam. The relief followed with the CDR railcars doing the honours (they were rough to ride in, but that my have been the track) as the spare's duff coal still hadn't burnt through. I think they eventually got the spare to steam, and she worked through at lunchtime ECS.

These days a lot of character has gone due to mainly necessary redevelopment, but there have been some incidents and developments that are difficult for us who remember the old IMR to live with.

Peter in AZ

[MuzTrem]

Incidentally the best looking loco I have seen in years is the North Hampshire Minerals Lady Ann, which is definately not just an accumilation of grime!

I could not agree more.

Me neither! Although I don't whether my own stock, I love that Lady Anne because it is just so evocative of industrial locos in the colonies. You look at her and know instantly what she was inspired by, even though she's not based on a specific prototype. So you see, I'm not totally adverse to weathering - I just wouldn't bother to do it myself

And Peter, I quite agree that the IMR has lost much of its character in recent years, and I'm very sorry that I was too young to go the the enthusiasts events of the 1990s; by all accounts, those really were golden years. Nevertheless, we should grateful that the railway survives at all.

[Endless, Nameless]

Peter's IoM memories reminded of another garden railwayists, some of which are on this here link...

GHW's Ramblings

Amused me anyway

[bessytractor]

I am a big fan of weathering on my smaller scale models.  All the locos on my On30 Colorado based layout are horrendously dirty, trying to portray the last knockings of American 3 foot steam.  However, as all my 16mm locos have been worked on in some way by myself, I find the idea of weathering them a bit too much.  I don't know, it just seems odd to want to weather a real steam loco, especially one I've either built or rebuilt.  I prefer to let them naturally get dirty, the coal burner has weathered itself as one would expect anyway.

The rolling stock on the other hand, well thats a different matter.  I like think that on my little railway kingdom, the passenger is well catered for (on a railway with no platform at the station ).  For that reason the coaches are spotless and well turned out.   Freight stock however is weathered artificially in places, with the exception of coal wagons, they are used as a tender for the coal burner so they get really dirty through actual use.

The only serious bits of weathering on my line are the Binnie tippers!

[Jerm]

I find that just running my equipment tends to weather them up enough as is. Such was more so the case back before the plants really bloomed and my track snaked through a sea of dirt. I've just been doing some touch up paint work and I was quite surprised just how much dust settles on.

Now, that said, what I was just painting was in fact some weathering, but that's because the model at hand is supposed to look very, very weather beaten - more than time will allow. I suppose the other exception for me (so far) is rust. That's not something I've had occur naturally to any great extent as of yet.