colmflanagan

i've been doing some scenic work on the last significant bit of bare board on the layout, the lifting section beyond Coleraine The main lines run behind my ferry at one end of the room), as below. After a good bit of humming and hawing I decided to re-use the "Eden Cottage" Mk1 which had been displaced from our "Bleach Green" layout as it was basically a tweaked Metcalfe farm house. I decided to give it some nice grounds around, with a terrace, gardens and lawn at the front, garage etc behind, and a drive curving up from the road. A very enjoyable project- he's got a bit of money this guy, hence the golden Jaguar Mk2 at the front door! His wife has the blue mini. (the sky behind is thanks to photoshop, in reality the harbour area and ship can be seen!) The semi toppled flower point to left of front door has been sorted, it got hit by a visitor!! The lawn mower is scratch built and based one one my dad had in the late 1950's. It took about an hour and a half to build. The washing is on the line to the right, the greenhouse by Bachmann. The Ratio spear fencing adds a bit of class with it's golden tips....(just like a large house I saw recently!) I find most scatters too coarse from things like driveways so have used some genuine Ballywalter silver sand sprinkled on thinly. The back garden, the hedgerow disguises the gap between the lifting section and main board behind. The potting shed came as a free kit with a magazine, the corrugated iron garage is built from plastic card. There's some more work to do, I'll post some more details when it happens!.

“THE GANZ” ULSTER TRANSPORT AUTHORITY No5 The story of an experiment. The subtitle above could refer to either the real thing or my model. Nearly twenty years ago, when I was researching “Diesel Dawn” I was fortunate to acquire some drawings of UTA railcars.. My interest at the time was in the MPD cars, and I generally paid little heed to the rest. Sadly all these drawings got lost in my recent house move. However, I recalled a railcar drawing with the intriguing name of “ Ganz”, UTA No 5. It was a single unit with double cab anda definitely unusual look. When I started to look into it, I discovered that it had been bought by the UTA in 1951.The railcar was a prototype based on a Hungarian design known as “Arpad”, and had been used for trials on the LMS, then stored in England since 1938. The name “Ganz” is explained by the fact that the diesel engine which powered it, was made under licence from Ganz, the manufacturers. The UTA regauged the railcar and gave it the number 5 following on from the NCC cars. No 5 ran on and off until about 1961. It then lay out of service and decaying in a shed at Adelaide, being scrapped about 1965. Mostly, it has been forgotten. Now, my approach to these projects is based on a simple question. Can I chop something out of plastic which will be a reasonable representation? I can cope with tiny bits of plasticard, but I don’t like doing chassis, and metal work isn’t on my agenda, apart from using etched sides if there are any available. To the best of my knowledge, no-one has as yet done a model of the Ganz” railcar in any scale. I was fortunate in getting another copy of the drawing I’d had, from Ian Sinclair, though it was a pretty poor reproduction; still it confirmed what I’d originally thought – the Ganz wasn’t really like anything else that ran in Ireland (or even the UK!) – it even had a very long power bogie of 13’ (52mm in 00). A one off indeed. PLAN PICTURE Forget it, I thought. Then, I was browsing one of my railcar books and had an idea. One of the batches of GWR railcars looked interesting - about the a same length as the Ganz, and Lima made a model W22, on a chassis which was a bit noisy but reliable. Maybe…..just maybe it might be possible if one allowed a good bit of leeway..at least it would look “different”. I decided the only thing to do was to buy a Lima one and inspect it to see what could and could not be done. I duly acquired a W22 at a reasonable price. And Spent quite a while looking at it. Yes, the bogies were (both) wrong – being 9’ ish. But who peers closely at bogies? I’d try and make them look different someway. It was cla ear that the windows were too big and set too high for the Ganz, but I could rearrange them to be roughly the correct number with doors at the appropriate places. I’d need to chop two cars up to get the number I’d need. The cabs would need to be built from strip and filler, and the roof had an odd profile. But I reckoned some coarse sandpaper and elbow work might deal with the latter. Should I go ahead? LIMA MODEL I went for it, bought another Lima railcar, and set to work. I decided to accept that the inaccuracies above would have to be lived with, otherwise the project was a dead duck for me. Anyway, I thought, even if it’s not 100% right , how many other people alive even remember the thing, or know of it’s existence? In the end, it was my time and should it be a disaster then I had a couple of spare Lima motors and bogie which might come in useful. So I began by counting windows and cutting up sides – straight away compromise was the order of the day. I ended up with the toilet nearer the engine than it actually was, and the opaque windows help disguise the big motor behind! One cab was a half cab, and there were little triangular windows at each end. I had to build the thing and still be able to access the chassis in case of motor problems. This meant I had to retain parts of the Lima one untouched and I know from bitter experience that a flimsy cab end construction is a very bad idea…so I accepted that the Lima underframe, cab interiors, and buffers would need to stay. And it’s hard to see into the cabs anyway. The drawing is my "working" one, with the windows as they will be, rather than the original; it was cut off at one end, and i inked in the left hand cab. Gradually No 5 took shape. I fixed the sides to the Lima underframe to give them some strength – there were five “panels” on each side and they are a bit flimsy when hacked into smallish panels. This meant I had to keep the roof removable, it’s held by two screws which come up from beneath. I had a lot of trouble with the little windows at the ends but finally got somewhere near – by the way the two cabs have different numbers of glass panes in them and they were more curved than mine. That just would have been a step too far! Using my two interiors, I did the seating, I have 16 first and 20 second as opposed to 18 first and 22 second in the real thing which isn’t bad! The roof was usable after some heavy sanding. I have no information about what type of ventilators were used, so went with a type used on a number of early BR and UTA trains. The Ganz was powered by a single diesel situated behind a full width driver’s cab; it was apparently quite big and stood tall inside a wooden “box” with narrow access corridor down one side. Naturally this was the end to keep the Lima pancake motor in. I disguised it as best I could by blacking up inside windows, which looks perfectly fine from a couple of feet way. As for the bogies, I happened to stumble on a set of Bulleid pattern “Commonwealth” bogie sides- they look quite chunky and different so I filed down the Lima bogie sides and glued these on! Information on what went underneath is sketchy so I did “improvise” a bit.The Lima model has deep “skirts” but these had to be removed, and replaced by the items any diesel railcar needs - a fuel tank, radiators, battery, and at least one electrical panel. The Ganz had air brakes so I added a compressor and cylinders (which show in the drawing and photos.) i omitted the fuel tank at first! It replaced the battery at top right corner. Nearly there! I used the livery the Ganz carried from about 1960, with yellow ends and black stripes. The railcar never carried the UTA “crest” but retained its “red hand” until the end. The railcar runs well – the Ganz did on occasions pull a trailer which the UTA built for it, but for now my model has no working couplings. I obviously removed the huge Lima hook and bar ones to get the ends looking something like the real thing. – the piping was added for the trailer but of course No 5 had to “run round” when it was in use as the trailer had no cab. Finally, “Before” and “After” pictures. If nothing else, my Ganz looks very different from the original model. And it was fun building it –most of the time I am hoping soon to make a model of Nos 6 & 7 (using Allen doherty's etches which will give me 1, 4, 5, 6 &7, MED 12, and a number of MPDs - samples of the way railcars developed in N. Ireland between 1930 and 1961. Colm

Another "fun" video witha beyer garratt and Flying Scotsman pulling really long trains. Try counting the wagons and coaches if you suffer from insomnia. There's a few Irish wagons in the freight train. My next post (coming soon) will return to the UTA theme., with UTA railcar No 5.

The bridges are mostly Wills - the nearer narrow gauge one is the occupation bridge with stonework,(heightened), two of the others are the "Varigirder" with stone/brick abutments, and the far right one (on the standard gauge line) is a Peco "N" gauge girder with Slaters brick plasticard. I just wanted them to be all a bit different!! I expect a real engineer would be very worried about the lack of supporting depth on the underside of some of these bridges but clearances are very tight in this area and I "gauged" them to the minimum clearance possible. (Some of you will know I have one or two "non Irish" large locomotives and I was determined to be able to run them with reasonable freedom. None will fall down anyway! Colm

Some of you may subscribe to "New Irish Lines", a bi-annual magazine produced by Alan O Rourke. It is a "must" for anyone interested in Irish railway modelling no matter what era or scale, or even semi freelance! With the latter in mind I am reproducing here a picture which appeared in the most recent edition. In colour, with some more explanation about the stock depicted. The engine with the number plate (it's no 6) is essentially the closest i can get to the attractive little NCC narrow gauge compound 2-4-2 tanks with using an r-t-r chassis, and plasticard top. I rather liked the S1 class with slightly extended bunker, i think this made them more "balanced" looking. Now, of course it's got lots of compromises; because it runs on 9mm track I have narrowed it and slightly shortened it so it doesn't appear to be too "big". The actual motion etc came from the Graham Farish 2-6-4 BR 4MT tank, so it runs well.- I studied quite a few N gauge locos for a donor and it was the best i could find. Actually in this picture the front set of wheels are obscured by the cylinder so it almost appears like a 2-4-2! the livery is fictional, a school friend of mine devised it many years ago for his 009 railway which i inherited many years later, and I like it. It's actually BR southern region green which is a very attractive shade; lining is yellow. The two coaches were both made from Mainline LMS panelled stock suitably cut down - I wanted originally to get as close to the size of the ones built by the LMS for the Ballymena-Larne boat trains but at 50' scale length they were too long and wide for my tracks, so they also were "shrunk"! Even as it is they run on small 009 Peco bogies and are a bit fussy on some of the points - slow and smooth driving is necessary and they are pigs to re-rail. The MPD lurking in the background is No 46, one of the non corridor UTA MPDs which i found myself on on Sunday evenings returning to boarding school ,from Belfast to Coleraine. Dimly lit, without corridors and with sad green upholstery, they did not improve my mood in those days, but i let bygones be bygones and built a two car set. Anyway, that's the story behind the picture!

Just a bit of fun - I do like to see a fast heavy passenger train with that "rail joint" noise, which now we miss on today's railways. The signal box is for the "Fenaghy Junction" layout which has it's own page in this group. For anyone who's interested the "Flyng Scotsman" is a DJH kit beautifully built by some unknown person, it's heavy which helps the sound! the "Clayton" Class 17 was made by a firm called Techcad years ago, I did the painting myself, it has never gained an actual number. In the background a Lima repaint in National Express / Scotrail livery. i know, just "playing trains" and why not? Enjoy

That's a unusual one, with no green in it. Prototype for everything department again! I think the red window frame one may actually have used the very faint green/white as used on the buses for the paned ls under the windows but it looked white in some lights and may well have looked grey in others! Certainly there were ncc cabins such as Kells water which had an overall grey paint job. As I say there's no definitive right or wrong in this one! Colm

The signal Box completed; it will live here on my home layout until it is possible to take it to be placed on Fenaghy Junction platform, whenever that may be! The colour scheme is based on that I saw in a photo of Ballyclare junction in 1963.

A few more pics, it's now completed except for one or two details, like downpipes and roof brackets (if I can work up the enthusiasm to make eight of them, (not all NCC boxes had them anyway). Painting still to be done; there'll not be name board on it as it will be sitting right next to a "Fenaghy Junction" station name board. The interior can be seen by anyone prepared to stoop and is roughly what I think the layout might have been; made from bits & scraps! There is a light inside too, it's in the ceiling as part of the roof structure and the wires go down the chimney! Still worth doing as you can see something through the "glass". I don't like seeing empty signal boxes at shows! And they are enjoyable things to make - even if they are also very time consuming and fiddly at times! A couple of firms i think do interior kits and they would certainly save a lot of time. The tablet machines are maybe a bit tall but it's all pretty small scale stuff and no-one is likely to get this close in real life as their head would be resting on the track! The roof closer up; I use Slaters Plasticard embossed slates but I don't overlap them as they intend; I used to, but over more recent years felt they looked too "thick": I am sure they used to be thinner! Anyway, I like the look -the offcut pieces do well for roof ridge tiles!

Some progress on the signal box; it has windows all around to give as good an outlook as possible, with four diverging lines under it's control. I am painting it in UTA colours with red window frames (which have to be painted before glazing went on, obviously!), and dark green trim otherwise; Ballyclare Junction cabin was done in this style, it wasn't that common. This is the only face with brick insert, for behind the stove/fireplace (haven;t decided which yet). The door is to the left. I always feel it is a shame when you can't see the box interior (which i enjoy making)- but given the overhand of the roof, lighting is needed. I used a very small filament bulb recessed above the ceiling in a small cardboard "box" and it will probably run at about 9 volts. This arrangement means that light doesn't beam out like a lighthouse! Also, plasticard is not that dense and can sometimes "glow" in the dark, though few exhibitions are in darkness! And finally, for now, the roof goes on., temporarily of course, I still have the interior to fit out, roof slates, steps up...etc

Just to prove that Ken isn't doing ALL the work, the signal box has been started, and here are the bits & pieces for walls and windows. I use the ratio MR windows but they do need quite a lot of delicate chopping to get closer to the BNCR/NCC look - chiefly that the Midland window comes as two panes across , whereas the BNCR/NCC has three. So some very delicate cutting is needed. There's also one more row of panes (the BNCR windows are deeper) - just to add to the fun. Don't try this if you are impatient or have very shaky hands! And you need a nice sharp craft knife. Anyway, they're done now, and further construction will happen soon. A wee bit of final trimming to do but you need to peer closely at them to spot the joins. If you're really up for punishment you can try and cut out tiny triangular corner pieces. But remember,they're only about 20mm high! And, along with typical NCC things like the roof overhanging eaves, the box should look the part when completed.

Too late to do anything about it now, the layout has morphed.... But I appreciate the compliment1

A few more pictures; how much more ken is going to be able to do before we get to meet up to do the electrics, i don't know! I MUST get started on the signalbox for this layout, but I got kinda sidetracked by my "other" layout (see Ballycrochan Line topic on this forum if you're interested.) Work underway, Ken uses brown paper and cardboard a lot! A general view of the goods shed area The siding boasts a store; this is, i think, a Wills provender store. Some detailing at the engine shed and two locos (out of steam for now...)

Some more pictures of progress at the Stranraer end of the layout, the motive power depot if now pretty well finished - using some of the structures at Coleraine (because there's not room for a significant Coleraine on this layout). The water tower is new and is the ancient Dapol kit, which still, I think, looks great - oddly one thing missing from the original kit is a water bag, so i have added one! This view shows "Ballylumford Halt on the narrow gauge with No 5 on a local service. Nearest the camera is the diesel fuelling point - pretty rudmientary and freelance. Some more views of this area A Stranraer based Black 5 is on shed at the moment. I just love the little Bachmann Wickham inspection trolley, mine is in "UTA" green and the area looked a bit "bare" so a very short siding was added to my original plans. Behind are the comprehensive toilet facilities for staff and a "tarry" for other refreshment... Clearances are quite tight round here, withe the branch line to Ardglass curving round, the tightest curve on the layout, but I got it all squeezed in. The background seems a bit misty today. The cutting carries the main lines behind. And finally looking from "behind " the coal/water area. the whole fenced off "hill" on the left as far as the wall/parapet of the tunnel mouth, can be lifted off to gain access underneath to the main lines, if I don't allow for this sort of event I will have a nightmare the first time anything derails.... Colm

I did think of alternatives but decided in the end, that as i had the station buildings and signal cabin, I kept thinking of the place as "Stranraer" ( to which I've always had a soft spot) - and the backscene to the harbour has I think a distinctly Scottish feel, so I just left it! I've lots of SW Scotland based locos (including jubilee 45739 "Ulster", ) and stock to run a timetable based on departures in 1965. Call it an "Ulster Scots" layout if you think that helps! Colm

A bit of "pottering" around, mainly on the narrow gauge. I decided to have a proper little station building at the Ardglass end. There wasn't any narrow gauge infrastructure at the platform; I decided it was too narrow and the fence too high, so did this and then re-used a little structure I'd built years ago for my first Newcastle layout; I added a toilet, and an awning, and it looks quite well, I think. And a small temporary terminus building for the Stranaer end of the narrow gauge; this was originally a shelter at Ballynoe Station on the BCDR, which I once modelled many years ago..waste not want not being my motto; it#s actually one of the "Culverwell shelters" which were quite distinctive on the county Down. In due course a more pretentious building will occupy this site.

I Gosh, think of the damages we'd have to pay! I've been busy too, this is the control panel for the layout; simple DC cab control with lights to make it easy to figure which of the two controllers is on which track! Cullybackey and Portglenone branch on left, Ballymena and long siding on right. Next up an NCC style platform mounted signal cabin.

Hi Dan, First of all, yes indeed it is a "Clan"; I've two of them, one the relatively recent Hornby one and the other a kit/r-t-r one based on an old model Hornby Britannia. I've also a couple of "Britannia's" one of which "Lord Rowallane" was photographed on a rare occasion shunting the coaches of the sleeper at the Town station. The builder of my ship was one Carl Fisher, at the time he lived in Scotland but he has moved and I have had no contact with him now for years, so can't help with an address. I attach a pic of the "Caley P" at her new berth - the station is at right angles now on the new layout, but I have a much better diorama behind her than before. Colm

Ken is keeping busy... The engine shed is a ratio one, it's not unlike the shed at the long closed Draperstown. The loco is a contractor's one leased from the SDJR (Strangford & Downpatrick Junction Railway); the river is culverted in under the line, and joins the river Maine further down.

Hi, I just found this topic, it's a very interesting project. Very few modellers have "had a go" at Stranraer. Given that it's an isolated location and the fact that the Town station closed in 1965, and the service was pretty sparse, the principal trains running often in winter darkness very early in the morning or late at night, that's not surprising. I do still have a "Stranraer" on my present layout "The Ballycrochan Line" using buildings I built before for a previous layout, "The Stranraer Coleraine and Donaghadee Railway" which existed from 2011 -2018. Two of the stations in the title are in Northern Ireland, which is where I live, but Stranraer is our closest UK mainland station! You might find it interesting -it is in the "Irish Railways Group" which you'll find under "european" headings on RM Web because the group also contains material about railways in the South of Ireland also. (As is my current railway, which has some more pics of the actual station building). I modelled the landward side of the station, and left out the part which sticks out on the quayside beyond the station buildings, as I wanted to concentrate on the ferry and its facilities! Colm Flanagan

I certainy hope my model of No1 will feature from time to time, as it did on previous layouts, as long as she doesn't baulk at the tight curves. I make my railcars with a coupling at one end to allow them to pull a van or a small carriage - occasionally an old composite was attached to provide extra 1st class accomodation, as in the picture. There were only 6 1st class seats on board and they were "tram style" down the length of the vehicle, opposite the driver's position. It seemed to be a very cramped area,which I wouldn't have thought would be all that comfortable, though one passenger at the window would have had a good view!! There were six second class seats (in the same space!) at the other end. colm

some photos of the layout; beginning at the front The station would have been on a section of the line going north and west from Ballymena, with the branch diverging at the Cullybackey end, (left in photo) where the station buildings will be. We are using code 75 on the front boards, code 100 on the sidings. Unlike "Bleach green" this layout is designed to be easily transportable in our two cars. Ken used birch ply for the tops, which is very strong but also much lighter than regular ply. The legs fold up underneath the boards for storage and travel. the layout is 10'6" across and for the first time we can set a layout up where we are building it, which means testing can be done BEFORE we arrive at the exhibition venue. A closer look at the eastern end, the branch line engine shed is here and also a small /distillerymill/works on the long industrial siding And looking from the eastern end towards the west; the "water" and quayside are pure fiction even by our standards as Fenaghy Junction would actually have been about a mile from the River Maine. however we think this looks well at the front of the layout, and we both like inlaid track, so it stays! General view of the sidings and loops behind the backscene; we have made them as long and as flexible as possible. Passenger trains usually a maximum of maybe 3-4 depending on loco type. back at the western end, the two tracks (branch on right, main line on left) curve under the backscene on set track 4th radius (roughly 22"). Some of my stock was designed for a minimum of 24 but hopefully it can navigate this; otherwise we'll have to restrict the stock used. There are actually two complete circuits available ont his layout; the inner one the main line which goes through four loops, the outer one comprised of (a) the Portglenone branch and (b) the "long siding" at the other end of the station. Trains on the outer circuit cannot access the platform, but the arrangement does allow us more operating scope. The crossovers at either end allow longer trains to be stabled on a loop. This view shows the loops; as you can see the outer loops are much longer than the inner, and can hold our 5 carriage "North Atlantic Express" or "Royal Train"! Also on the outer loop on the left there are two kickback sidings for use by "branch" railcars or short goods trains. More to follow as we progress.

Greetings to everyone; if you want to know where "Fenaghy Junction" is/ was, then read on. It's name of the station based 00 gauge Northern Irish layout which Ken Gillen and I are currently working on - separately of course due to the coronavirus pandemic. And as most of you who read my topics will already know, I enjoy a bit of a history lesson to kick things off..well, here it is: The Ballymena & Portglenone Railway; A brief history Portglenone is a small settlement on the banks of the River Bann, about 5 miles west of Ballymena, the nearest large town in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland. Attempts to link it by rail to the latter town had been made by the narrow gauge Ballymena and Larne Railway. In 1879, eyes were cast at the possibility for reaching the city of Londonderry from Larne by means of a bridge at Portglenone, but the mountainous terrain of the western side proved to be an insurmountable obstacle, far beyond any steam railway's capabilities, except one employing a rack system! And furthermore, there were no settlements of any size on the route to justify the costs on route of nearly fifty miles. Perhaps unsurprisingly to us today, this project did not get through Parliament. But not everyone had given up hope and some years later a new company appeared, backed by a number of well off mill owners and other business owners in the Maine Valley, as well as merchants from Ballymena who thought there might be a useful river based link for their products through Portglenone to the north, and hence to Scotland. A rail link would greatly facilitate this. The proposed line would use the Irish standard gauge, and as surveyed, would diverge from the main line just 2 miles to the north west of Ballymena. The railway would then turn south for two reasons. First, if the line headed straight for Portglenone, there was a high saddle of hills immediately to the west and gradients would have to be steep as a result. Secondly, the villages of Ahoghill and Gracehill could be served by this deviation and would, it was hoped, generate some extra traffic, as well as allowing much easier gradients, at most 1 in 50. Less major earthworks would be required so this was literally the way to go. As always in Ireland, capital was slow coming in and the directors approached the BNCR to run their line; this was agreed and work began. THE BALLYMENA AND PORTGLENONE RAILWAY COMPANY MAP The railway opened in 1885. Portglenone station had a single passenger platform, with the usual goods facilities, and a siding to the river’s edge for a transhipment facility. The only passing station, Ahoghill, also had a single platform though there was a loop which allowed goods trains to pass; here a simple loading dock sufficed for freight. Space was left for the construction of a second platform if needed. The junction station was named “Fenaghy Junction” after a big house nearby, and the occupant was a major supporter and financier of the railway. Part of the arrangement was that all local trains would stop there for his and his family’s convenience; there was just a scattering of cottages in the area, and a public house, but the company went to some expense on the station infrastructure. An engine shed was provided for the branch train, as well as a platform face on the main line, at which some trains stopped, though the major BNCR expresses did not. A long siding curved away to the south east, where, it was believed, several industries were hoping to begin operations. Among them was Gallagher’s cigarette and tobacco factory. Fenaghy Junction also had a goods shed. The pattern of services on the branch was six passenger trains a day, an ambitious timetable for such a small railway; two of these were “through” trains to and from Ballymena. There were two regular goods workings which shunted at the junction and Ahoghill, with occasional specials. Motive power was largely in the hands of BNCR 2-4-0 AND 4-4-0 engines and some of the company’s other smaller engines, and in due course NCC diesel railcars made their appearance.. On one occasion the Belfast docks pilot engine, No 16, had a spell on the branch working to and from Fenaghy Junction only, as it’s very limited top speed would be inadequate on the section to Ballymena. When the UTA took over the running of the network in 1949 they immediately announced the closure of the branch. However, a legal loophole meant that services had to be maintained and this was cheaper than a long drawn out legal battle; the details are unclear as why this line should have been spared in this way. However, time and social change brought about the inevitable closure of the whole system in 1962. By this time Fenaghy Junction was served by only one train each way per day, with a single railcar connecting trip to Portglenone and back. It is doubtful if many people missed the train. So much for the supposed historical background of our new exhibition layout. “Fenaghy Junction”. I will post some "work in progress" pictures soon. The layout is being built in a shed in Ken's garden.

I thought I'd put up an update on progress on the railway; after concentrating on the "standard" gauge I got an urge to finish off the narrow gauge, which was pretty well as it was in s autumn 2018. Ardglass NG station had track laid but it didn't go very far. And control used the same controller as the standard gauge and I wanted it to be separate. So, here are some pics starting at Stranraer NG and finishing up at Ardglass NG, a single track U shaped run of approximately 30 feet /10 metres. The base for the platforms at Stranraer and at Ardglass is raised by 1/4 of an inch (6mm) as much of my stock is HOe, running on 9mm track. They'd look ridiculously small beside a 4mm train - this helps quite a bit! No 1 seen here is a Roco 0-6-0T heavily carved and chopped into a semblance of a small industrial style narrow gauge loco. a view along the line at Stranraer - a loop, two platforms and a siding (on the left). I used the peco "mainline" points where i could and they help running a lot If the camera was pointed backwards from here you might see the base of "Ballylumford" Halt opposite the main lien engine shed - it needs some work and isn't shown here - then the line curves round through 90 degrees and splits before entering Northbrook Station. Originally i had planned thispassing station as a junction with a branch falling down to Coleraine Station. This would have left the track where the railcar is standing and curved down quite steeply to the right. However I realized that it would run far too close the goods shed loading area and make the station look too cluttered. So this section was abandoned. The railcar is an Eggerbahn one repainted and with a new Kato N gauge power bogie. This has transformed it's performance - I spent a lot of narrow gauge time tweaking and fiddling with the original power unit and finally gave up when it fell off one day! Over the two bridges to Nendrum. I am not sure I like the green rustic bus shelter building. Some thing more dilapitaded might be better.... The line then curves round again to enter Ardglass NG station, where the loco works and shed facilities will be (right hand foreground) are. There's also a carriage siding and a goods siding which will eventually have some form of transfer facility with the standard gauge. The signal box is now over forty years old having started life on a friend's 009 layout in 1981.....naturally there's lots of work still to be done on finishing the scenery and structures. And finally, arrival at Ardglass. Control is by two Gaugemaster hand held units at Stranraer and Ardglass, with a form of cab control allowing single or two operators to control the complete line. But Regular track cleaning is essential otherwise 009 gets very jerky and things don't go well. I I really enjoy operating these little engines etc., they do have a different kind of appeal. Colm

I'd have no problem in your posting the info on this thread, in truth I had forgotten it as a few years later a scale model of the wagons was produced as a limited run and I have the models I wanted! Look forward to seeing the results of your work in due course Colm