Doing it 'the right way'


Adam Meredith, the Transport Trust's 2007 Young Preservationist of the Year, is living proof that appropriately traditional skills, so necessary to deliver a completely accurate restoration, continue to emerge from within the transport preservation movement.

At eighteen, he has already established a thriving business to beautifully hand paint and coach line vehicles, as well as re-creating fairground artwork and original makers' transfer work.

Adam's comments on some of his past commissions make for fascinating reading. And as the images show, his craft skills have been well and truly honed, proving, yet again that the old way - as it so often is - is the right way.

If you would like to contact Adam to discuss a possible commission you can email him here.

Coach lining a
Marshall Road Roller



'This picture shows the lining of the front forks of the Marshall Road Roller 'Tutor'.

'The engine is based in Dorset and is looked after with enormous care by its owners. The re-painting of the engine had been work in progress since 2005 and completed to a very high standard by the owners. I was asked to complete this phase by adding all the coach lines.

'As you can see in the picture, the pattern is first of all marked out in white chalk and then the paint is applied over the chalk marks. By doing it this way, a far more accurate job is achieved. I must add that this is not the original 'correct' lining pattern for a Marshall, but was lined to the owner’s specification.'   ♠ Adam

To see this picture in greater detail, look here.

Burrell Traction Engine




'This second picture shows the correct lining for a Burrell Traction Engine. This particular engine was originally exported to Tasmania - hence the name 'Taz'.

'Lining a boiler barrel is a relatively straightforward job, as you have the brass bands to use as an edge when marking out the distances. However, being of such a large diameter, it takes a lot longer to go round with a lining brush than the smaller items.

'As the project comprised straight lines only, with no curves or corners, this job took no more than a day to complete.'   ♠ Adam

To see this picture in greater detail, look here.

4 inch scale
Burrell Traction Engine




'The challenge with this item - the flywheel from a 4" inch scale Burrell Traction Engine - is that it is constantly moving round.

'With items like this, lateral accuracy is very important, otherwise you end up with wavy lines going up and down as the flywheel goes round. To achieve the level of accuracy required I used a lining tool with a guide that could be set at the correct distance away from the brass ring. Then with the guide rubbing on the brass ring, the lining process is carried out.

'Items like this are a real challenge to get right, but once you have completed the task properly, it really does finish an engine off.'   ♠ Adam

To see this picture in greater detail, look here.

A wheel transformed




'This is a good example that proves that lining can transform a basic item.

'This is a wheel from a Marshall Traction Engine that is undergoing a full-scale painting and lining job. With old metal like this, I frequently find that, after years of neglect, as well as long periods standing derelict in fields, a great deal of pitting and erosion occurs.

'After shot blasting to remove surface scale and rust, a lot of effort goes into building the surface up with filler to achieve that desired coach finish portrayed here. In practical terms, it is impossible to line a rough piece of metal, as the lining brush does not touch the low spots - only the high points - so first rate surface preperation is essential.'   ♠ Adam

To see this picture in greater detail, look here.

Traction engine tender






'This picture clearly demonstrates the depth of reflection achieved after the final coat of varnish that has just been applied to a traction engine tender.

'A lot of people would say that the tender had been sprayed, but they would be wrong! All painting that I carry out is done with a good quality brush, with a great deal of preparation in between coats of paint. Hours of rubbing down and filling is carried out to achieve a mirror finish like this, but just look at the results!

'The effort was doubly worth it in this case - this particular engine is unique, a 5NHP Tasker 3 Speed Traction Engine.'   ♠ Adam

To see this picture in greater detail, look here.

Burrell Road Locomotive wheel




'Wheel spoke lining and T-ring lining are shown in this picture. They are for a 6" Burrell Road Locomotive that is currently under construction.

'Wheel spoke lining is not intrinsically difficult to get right, but it can get rather repetitive if you are faced with four wheels to do at once!

'If you study the spokes carefully you will notice the black central panel is not straight, as it swells at both ends. This is a detail that is normally impossible to incorporate using modern day techniques such as lining tape, because the central black is applied as a straight block.

'When the yellow is then applied it flows into and out of the black line giving the whole thing a wonderful flare. It is details like this that give the engines their completely Victorian look!'   ♠ Adam

To see this picture in greater detail, look here.

Gramophone horn






'This picture shows how lining can pick out different parts of objects. It’s the enormous horn from an early gramophone.

'The customer came to me because he had been to modern signwriters and they had tried lining the horn using masking tape. With masking tape you have to press the tape down firmly to achieve a uniform line - unfortunately, as anyone who has tried this technique knows, the applied paint does not bleed under the surface causing a jagged edge.

'Because of the pressure used to apply the tape, the signwriter had damaged the horn as it is constructed from very thin sheet metal. As you can imagine, the owner was not impressed when he got it back!

'The lining you see here only took an hour or so and I managed to complete the job while he waited. He was so pleased by the result he said that he deeply regretted not coming to me straight away. So another happy customer!'   ♠ Adam

To see this picture in greater detail, look here.

Garrett Living Van




'This picture shown large sacale signwriting, in this case on the side of a Garrett Living Van.

'The particular lettering being applied was first done when the van was with The Eddisons Steam Rolling Company. The letters were first set out with a chalk pencil before the paint was applied. After the block letters were finished, the shading was then completed in black.

'We decided to shade them along the bottom and along the right hand side of every face. This job was rather time consuming because of the numerous coats of paint that had to be applied over the letters, because modern signwriting paint doesn’t cover as well as the old stuff.'   ♠ Adam

To see this picture in greater detail, look here.

3 inch scale
Burrell Traction Engine




'In this final picture, which shows a 3" scale Burrell Traction Engine I painted recently, we see how lining can help to break up slabs of colour that would otherwise look extremely plain.

'It is a stange phenomenon that people can spend thousands of man hours building models of full size traction engines, and yet many, perhaps most, are spoilt by the final painting and lining. I often tell people a paint job either makes, or breaks, a model.

'I enjoy doing this sort of work because, as objects, they are easy to handle. However, when lining a model everything has to be far more accurate - precisely because they are so much smaller.

'So if you would like to be one of those very few people that have a correctly painted model, do get in touch. After all, you spend so much time making it, why not finish it off with a professional paint job!'   ♠ Adam

To see this picture in greater detail, look here.