Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
How about blackening the rails before assembly? This is worthwhile because (a) the blackening acts as a primer / basecoat for subsequent dry-brushing and (b) doing all of the rail prevents any shiny / unpainted bits showing if the rail moves in the chairs at a later date.
Hi Graham, you can't see it in the photo and I forgot to mention it but I did blacken the rails before I started.
I spent 10 minutes later last night running my tram engine up and down the section to test all was well and I can confirm that it runs fine even when running very slowly with both the wheel treads on the tram and the top of the rail blackened.
![Thumbs up :thumbs: :thumbs:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/thumbsup.png)
Next in the saga is to firm up my track plan and see what else I need to make.