Weathering a
steam locomotive IN
PanPastels and a sponge make
it easy to simulate the dirt
and grime of railroading
By Tony Koester • Photos by the author
A
sizeable fleet of rolling stock is
both a benefit and a liability for
modelers who have a relatively
large model railroad. Each car
or locomotive is an actor in an ensemble
cast, instead of a star performer as on a
small railroad. Since my primary goal is
realistic operation, I tend to take reason-
able shortcuts when it comes to building
up a necessarily large car roster for my
Nickel Plate Road layout.
Many of my friends have a rigid rule:
Nothing goes on the railroad until it’s
weathered. Shiny freight cars and loco-
motives, especially steam locomotives,
don’t convince anyone that we’re striving
to model a time when everything even
remotely close to the railroad was cov-
ered with soot and cinders. And even to-
day’s hordes of diesels and freight cars
40
These before-and-after photos of a Walthers Proto 2000 Nickel
Plate Road Berkshire show the results of Tony’s investment of
just over seven minutes to highlight details and show some
evidence of the locomotive’s daily toils. The trailing gondola
was in the fleet of 20 cars he weathered in 45 minutes.
are usually anything but spic-and-span
when you take a close look.
I’d like to emulate their example, but
my first goal is to populate the railroad
with enough locomotives and cars to
achieve my operating objectives. That
said, I fully acknowledge that too much
shiny stuff is an eyesore.
What to do?
An art product to the rescue
Sometimes need and fate join hands
to solve our modeling problems. A cou-
ple of years ago, I saw a demonstration of
a new product called PanPastels at the
annual Railroad Prototype Modelers
meet in Naperville, Ill. These products
aren’t quite like the popular and very
useful weathering powders in that they
tend to bond to the matte surface being
Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com
weathered. I don’t even need to apply a
fixative (clear coat) after applying them.
PanPastels look a lot like makeup and
are applied in similar ways, but they’re
formulated for artists to use as they
would pastel chalks. The manufacturer,
Colorfin (www.colorfin.com) of Kutz-
town, Pa., sells a variety of applicators,
mainly soft sponges in various shapes
but also small trowel-like tools. After
Colorfin saw how popular this product
was with hobbyists, it produced a num-
ber of colors and even weathering kits
with us in mind. A list of local art supply
dealers who sell PanPastels can be found
on the firm’s website.
Quick and, um, dirty weathering
When I activated a spur into a gravel
company on my HO railroad, I needed a