The sleeper grime I use (ref 1406) is enamel but I don't know whether it's better than an acrylic

Hi all,

I'm about to brave weathering my track, but I'm after some advise - enamel or acrylic?

I'm planning to use Railmatch sleeper grime. Track is not ballasted yet. I will likely weather the track again once ballasted.

But, I'm at a cross road. Do I go enamel or acrylic?

Many thanks
Mac

Just  another surprise along with Norway beating Brazil

Actually, I've never enjoyed a game so much. Edge of the seat stuff!

I have some old poole/early Bachfar's steam locomotives. They didn't have traction tires, so they rely on heavy diecast shell. Did someone tried to replace diecast shelm with 3d one? Maybe filling weight(maybe lead, etc)is useful?

A nice relaxing, stress free game

  Excitement no matter what. Mexico in Mexico City is wild!

Go England! 2-1 halftime. Let's hope it doesn't go off the rails.

Excellent! I'm looking forward to the next part.

All good wishes.

John

The Tale of the Lost Railway (Part – 4)

A few days after my return from London Mary, my wife, had invited a friend to stay with us for a few days affording me the ideal opportunity to spend a bit of time down at the sea wall watching trains. It's the perfect relaxation although I'm  not really into collecting numbers, I just enjoy observing  the comings and goings and taking the odd photograph with my Box Brownie camera.

Down on the wall, the weather was beautifully sunny, pleasantly warm and with a very slight onshore breeze. Being a Saturday the usual gang of spotters were in attendance on the steps but I decided to walk along to Sprey Point where I planned to while away a couple of hours or so.

It was indeed a very rewarding spell. Being a Summer Saturday I witnessed a procession of Castles, Kings, Halls, Granges and a solitary County together with a couple of prairie tanks on local services thrown in for good measure. I wonder what the passengers, perhaps arriving for the start of a week long holiday,  are thinking as they gaze in awe at the glistening blue sea to their left.


Two of the trains on that busy Saturday morning as a Grange and a Castle pass each other at Sprey Point
Around half way through my session Archie Hardcastle arrived as usual greeting everyone around with a jovial good morning and a raising of his hat for the ladies. . I'd become much friendlier with Archie since my shy boyhood days. We were now good friends sometimes meeting up for a pint or two in The Ship.

"Good morning Archie. How are you this fine morning ? "

"Oh hello there my dear old fruit. I'm spiffingly well thank you" , he replied "And how about you?   I haven't seen you down here for a few days".

I told him  that I'd been away on business in London recently and also filled him in on the Baker Street incident although he had already read my report in the newspaper.

Knowing that Archie had an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things railways I thought that I'd tell him  about my childhood holiday up near Baskerville when I was a lad and my vague memories of a mysterious station. I asked him if he knew anything about a railway in the area.

Archie's response was remarkably swift. Perhaps a little too swift even. "I say old chap, I think that's your memory playing a few tricks. There's never been a railway up there although, I'd be the first to admit,  it would have made absolute sense to have a link between Moretonhampstead and Okehampton".

"I'm sure that you are quite right", I replied, "But nevertheless  I'm planning a little trip up there next week to have a good look around and perhaps jog my childhood memories.  I'm thinking of staying  a couple of  nights".

"Well, you take care up there old boy. It's rather remote and subject to thick fog at a moment's notice. Make sure you have a good map and don't get lost or you could be wandering around for days".

With that we were both distracted as a beautifully clean  number 6000 King George V rushed past with a down express, the bell on her buffer beam gleaming in the morning sun".
"What a fine sight", exclaimed Archie, "The Kings are such fine looking locomotives and by the look of her she's just out of the shops".

We chatted a bit more before it was time for me to head home for lunch.

"Enjoy Dartmoor my friend. It's lovely up there and you never know what you might find" said Archie as I left. I'm sure that I detected the merest twinkle in his eye as he tipped his hat to wish me goodbye. Did he perhaps know more than he was letting on?

I decided to spend a bit of time over the next week researching various old railway documents in a bid to find any reference to tracks beyond Moretonhampstead but despite visiting the local library and the county archivist's office there was nothing.

However I  couldn't get the memory of that gated tunnel at the end the line out of my mind and I determined to see if it was still in situ. Why was it there? What is, or was,  beyond those gates?

I could find absolutely no reference to that tunnel, if indeed that's what it was, ever being built but I'm sure it's what I'd seen beyond the station platform. Why, however, was no  one else intrigued and if it was a tunnel where did the tracks disappear to?

The next Saturday found me at Teignmouth station waiting for a local train to Newton Abbot from where I would catch the branch service up to Moretonhampstead.

To be continued.......