HR 53 Lybster Complete.

HR53 served on the Wick to Lybster Light Railway from the line's opening in 1903 to withdrawal in 1929 running the 13 miles between the two towns several times a day. I have modelled the engine in the plain unlined green livery of the Highland Railway in which she ran throughout her service on the Wick to Lybster until repainting in LMS passenger red after the grouping of 1923.

 

Lybster had her first outing on the club layout at Carlisle at the weekend and performed very well indeed apart from some squeaking which I'm sure is coming from the wire pick-ups. I'll need to fix this before she turns out again I can't keep attributing it to wonky wheels on other members' stock.
Almost the first remark that greeted Lybster's appearance at the club was one that called attention to the fact that the name transfer on the left hand side of the engine (out of sight) might be a bit high, and indeed much to my chagrin it proved to be so.  How that happened I just don't know but it'll have to be fixed. I've detailed the cab interior which shows up well in these pictures but have still to model the crew. 

An Open Wagon and a Covered Van

HR d.29 Covered Van

This d.29 van was built from a Lochgorm kit with a few improvements and a number plate printed on the inkjet as detailed in my last posting. I dispensed with the rather complicated inner structure of the roof supplied in the kit and simply thickened the edges with 1mm square nickel silver section and soldered the roof in place. I added a bracing piece inside at mid point to stiffen the structure too.

HR d.15 Open Wagon and d.29 Covered Van

As promised in my last posting here's the d.15 wagon and a Highland van to complement it. They're part of the train of goods stock I've been constructing for Lybster to turn out with at the club in Carlisle tomorrow. The wagons were painted with enamels with transfers from HMRS. Weathering was largely done by hand and entailed a lot of dry brush work finished off with a light weathering mix applied with the air brush.

You'll see the wagons at CDOGG, in action with Lybster, which I finished painting just today, in my next posting.