I am still waiting for the painting to be finished. Polly are hopeful that it is nearly done so maybe I will be picking it up soon.

In the meantime, I have been painting up the name plates.

I think they look pretty good and the effect is pleasing. It was actually fairly easy to achieve. You simply apply a few good coats of enamel (in this case Phoenix Precision Paints – GWR Signal Red) to the whole area and then sand back with wet and dry of ever increasing grit to get the final polish. It is essential to let the paint dry very well before sanding.

This weekend, I also substantially completed the board for transporting the loco. I was going to build a case, but this looked to be difficult and probably unnecessary. I haven’t seen many 5″ locos in cases, apart from Polly’s own. I have, therefore, gone for the more typical board approach.

My board is made with 12mm ply. It has a double thickness under the middle to reinforce and also to raise the board to the lip of the boot of the car. It also provides a means to get fingers underneath to lift the board. The “track” to guide the wheels is a thin strip of ply cut to the gauge inside the flanges. This is attached with glue and screws.

I have then “upholstered” a length of timber and fastened this to the board with two pairs of angle (you can’t see the second set in the photo). I am now building a removable block that will chock the wheels and will be pinned through from the buffer beam and attached to the board with four bolts. This is in progress and shown below.

I should have this finished over the next week.

I am on the lookout for a cheap hydraulic lifting trolley to keep the loco on when all this is finished. If any readers have some advice please let me know.