Housekeeping The Fleet

All,

Housekeeping has many facets in the train room and this week I decided to take stock of the rollingstock roster with a view to thinning out the fleet...again... I guess like most modellers I have draws and boxes filled with "stuff" that was once a certainty to grace the layout...a time when there were no clear guidelines as to an era or location to be modelled.  It is only when we come to terms with these facts that we have a clearer picture of the silliness of some purchases.

I have always had a soft spot for grain trains and grain carrying wagons.  I suppose this may have had it's roots in the fact that as a young bloke living in Sydney it was my afternoon ritual to grab the dog and visit the sidings at  Kelloggs, Botany, only a stone's throw from home, with the sole purpose of perusing the grain wagons despatching their contents into the silos located there. ( and of course seeing the afternoon trip train offerings )  RU, BWHs and NGRXs were the mainstay of wagons and of course it was a bonus if a shunt was occurring at the time. Both railway and Kelloggs staff were only too happy to show a young bloke ( and hound ) how the whole shebang worked and many an afternoon was spent riding a 48 or other loco as it went about it's business.

In later years after purchasing a house directly behind the Cooks River staff hut the sightings were only made on passing trip trains or the occasional rake of grain wagons that for one reason or another would find themselves in Cooks River yard for transhipping.  And now of course living opposite the main south it is grain train heaven.

And so imagine the excitement when I found two packs of Auscision NGPFs that I had put away for the day when they might grace the layout.  These packs had started life as the undecorated variety and a start was made many moons ago to replicate what I was witnessing each day albeit without the graffiti.  At the height of my excitement it had dawned on me that these wagons ( especially the pack with modified loading hatches and no walkways ) would not fit into my chosen era and so excitement gave way to dismay as it was realised they would have to be liquidated.... Oh Well...

In the last couple of days i have spent some time completing the detailing, coding & weathering and have enjoyed this immensely as it has been a while since i cranked up the airbrush and got the juices flowing.  I have included some piccies of the nearly completed first pack ( without walkways ) and these will be committed to Ebay in the next day or so...


The wagons were given the teal end treatment, new codeboards, livery label ( some faded ) and then weathered to within an in of their tiny little lives...Jeezus there is some fragile detail on these things...Anyway Enjoy...