Belfast Great Victoria Street Station and Adelaide-lookalike tribute

[Hunslet 102]

The first meaningful progress on the GVST station building area has finally begun, with a new backscene added an the appropriately named Victoria Mills, as Belfast was famous for its mills, as a backdrop to the station. The running lines have received ballast also. Once the station and its canopy are back in place, the mill will only be able to be viewed from a tight angle from the right hand side! 
 

[kirley]

Delighted to see progress Andy, keep it up please

[Hunslet 102]

A scene from 50 years ago- aka 1973!

 

A 3 car MED set, which had been transferred to the GNR metals as the old AEC sets had become unreliable and were being withdrawn, trundles into Adelaide with an all stations from Lisburn to Great Victoria Street. 
Heading in the opposite direction, is a CIE A class, at the head of a mixed rake of coaches with the Enterprise to Dublin. These old coach sets were reintroduced by CIE on the Enterprise, replacing the newer AC stock that had been introduced earlier, due to the increased terrorist activity the railway was sustaining at the time. 
 

[Hunslet 102]

An unidentified A class powers through Adelaide heading south with a CIE mixed goods. 
This would be the end of an era for many things in the early 70s period in this area. Grosvenor freight yard was closing, with a new freight yard at Adelaide replacing it. Adelaide station itself would soon become soulless concrete platforms in line with NIR modernisation and the mixed goods themselves were soon to be replaced.

The joy of running up and down the wooden platforms and the noise it made with the smell of creosote filling the air was soon to be no more!

 

[kirley]

Excellent script to go with the picture Andy.

[Legend]

Just caught up with this Hunslet 102, after your queries on Glasgow Queen St . Very nice . I like your dmu 

 

 

[Hunslet 102]

12 hours ago, Legend said:

Just caught up with this Hunslet 102, after your queries on Glasgow Queen St . Very nice . I like your dmu 

 

 

Thanks for your comments Legend.

The dmu (railcar) is an MED (multi engined diesel) . These units were synonymous with the Bangor line until their withdrawal in 1978.

[Darius43]

On 12/02/2023 at 22:30, Hunslet 102 said:

An unidentified A class powers through Adelaide heading south with a CIE mixed goods. 
This would be the end of an era for many things in the early 70s period in this area. Grosvenor freight yard was closing, with a new freight yard at Adelaide replacing it. Adelaide station itself would soon become soulless concrete platforms in line with NIR modernisation and the mixed goods themselves were soon to be replaced.

The joy of running up and down the wooden platforms and the noise it made with the smell of creosote filling the air was soon to be no more!

 

Love the Citibus collection!!!
 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Hunslet 102]

7 hours ago, Darius43 said:

Love the Citibus collection!!!
 

Cheers

 

Darius

Thanks Darius, Belfast Corporation double deckers, many of which suffered badly with highjacking and burning during the height of the troubles.

[Darius43]

Indeed.  I used to take them to school in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Still got my collection of tickets…

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Hunslet 102]

Thanks Darius, I remember when they brought those tickets out in place of the tokens. Many a one on our school bus got more use from a ticket than they should have!

[Hunslet 102]

Hi all 

Well still not much new modelling has happened since my last post, Belfast Great Victoria Street station is still in rebuild mode!

However, there is an addition to the modelling scene!

Those that follow the thread will know the back story to GVSt and Adelaide, but before my Irish modelling, my first train set was a BR blue Hymek freightliner set. I have always retained my interest in the BR blue era and having lived in Glasgow for over 30 years now beside the main Glasgow to Edinburgh line and travelled to Queen Street station many times, the compactness of the station always intrigued me. Long story short, I got great information from guys on this forum in the modelling questions section on the locomotives and rolling stock that ran in the early 70s.

So, my plan is that GVSt will double as a fictitious station known as Glasgow Great Queen Street! It will give me the opportunity to run either my Irish themed or BR blue themed era’s from the 70s!

Sorry for the ramble, but to kick things off, below are a couple of shots of a Class 27 at the head of a Glasgow-Edinburgh train, passing a Class 40 heading to Glasgow from Aberdeen!

 

 

 

 

Edited July 7, 2023 by Hunslet 102

[kirley]

I see Colm Flannigan's influence of a multi country layout (Arglass, Coleraine and Stranraer) has spread, and why not.  Will some parts of your layout reflect a Scottish track scene Andy?

[Colin_McLeod]

NIR never part of BR, but if it was maybe these blue and grey trains would have gone through Adelaide.😀

 

Looks good.

[Hunslet 102]

9 hours ago, kirley said:

I see Colm Flannigan's influence of a multi country layout (Arglass, Coleraine and Stranraer) has spread, and why not.  Will some parts of your layout reflect a Scottish track scene Andy?

Thanks Kieran. Hopefully I will be able to include something Scottish, to at least keep the family happy!

 I intend to use Grosvenor freight yard as Bishopbriggs oil depot, which was still in use when I moved to the area in 91. I remember watching class 37s at work in it until it closed a few years later. Not sure if class 47s worked the depot, but did see them occasionally on freight trains on the line.

[Hunslet 102]

8 minutes ago, Colin_McLeod said:

NIR never part of BR, but if it was maybe these blue and grey trains would have gone through Adelaide.😀

 

Looks good.

Thanks Colin. Haha, don’t think that that hadn’t crossed my mind! In fact, for the period in question in the early 70s, before NIR settled on the purchase of the 3 Hunslet locomotives for the Enterprise service, they trialled a class 25 and class 27 along with the Hunslet! The MK2 stock that entered service on the Enterprise, originally came over in blue/grey, before being repainted maroon/blue!!

[Colin_McLeod]

12 hours ago, Hunslet 102 said:

The MK2 stock that entered service on the Enterprise, originally came over in blue/grey, before being repainted maroon/blue!!

 

I'll just leave these pics here lol.

[Legend]

4 hours ago, Colin_McLeod said:

 

I'll just leave these pics here lol.

 

Wow . Prototype for everything !

 

Nice Blue stock Hunslet 

[Hunslet 102]

8 hours ago, Colin_McLeod said:

 

I'll just leave these pics here lol.

Thanks Colin, great photos! I remember seeing that coach in one of Jim Edgar’s markle dvds just outside Lisburn. Never saw it in that guise in the flesh.

So an NIR coach behind a class 27 or a BR coach behind a Hunslet not beyond the realms of possibility!

[Hunslet 102]

4 hours ago, Legend said:

 

Wow . Prototype for everything !

 

Nice Blue stock Hunslet 

Thanks Legend. Your advice on the prototypes and the models available has been a great help and inspiration 

[Robert Shrives]

Tucked away I have an N  gauge 071 3D  printed body in BR large blue logo.  Historically inspired what ifs always offer some harmless fun  and the idea of power trials  with re gauged  Type 2  offers some great images in my little mind!  Of course the Mk2s that came via Vic Berry in exchange  for C class were followed by some NIR Mk2s that ended up in the North West - now scrapped I guess and the gauge challenged APT buffet prototype  is now in Chocolate and cream and sometimes steam hauled - coach will not rust away given how many coats of paint it has had.

Robert   

[Hunslet 102]

Indeed Robert, you are only confined by your own imagination!

The possibilities of what if’s could be endless!

 I think there is an interesting comparison between the 70s Belfast Great Victoria Street and Glasgow Queen Street.

NIR bought the Hunslet’s in 1970 for the Enterprise service to Dublin, with them topping and tailing between the two major cities. A year later, BR introduced a revised service between Glasgow and Edinburgh with Class 27s topping and tailing. Both sets replaced railcars (dmu’s) on their respective services!

Hunslet’s in corporate blue with FYE, 27s in NIR maroon…….hmmm

 

Railway modelling should be fun whatever we do!

[Hunslet 102]

What might have been 

 

Following the recent announcement of a revamp of the railway network in Ireland and the proposed new route to L’Derry via Portadown, my thoughts were transported back 50+ years to 1971 and the what might have been!

NIR, having only been formed 4 years earlier, had already made great strides in upgrading the railway in Northern Ireland. The first diesel locomotives, the 0-6-0 DH class appeared in 1969, but it was the arrival of the Hunslet DL class in 1970 to replace the railcars for the upgraded Enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin that caused the biggest stir.

The 1350hp Hunslet’s in a push/pull, top/tail formation, transformed the service between the two major cities for NIR.

 

Not wanting to rest on their laurels, NIR looked to pursue a better service between the two major cities in Northern Ireland, Belfast and L’Derry. A proposal was made to reopen the line between Lisburn and Antrim via Crumlin, with a link to Belfast International Airport, which was getting busier and would soon have the Heathrow to Belfast shuttle starting.

Initial plans were to have 4 locomotive hauled trains departing hourly from each station, calling at Lisburn, the airport, Antrim, Ballymena and Coleraine, with railcar services supplementing in between from Belfast, terminating at the airport rather than Lisburn.

4 more Hunslet’s were preferred, but funding and delivery time were a problem, it would have to be done more cheaply!

NIR looked across the water to their near neighbours Scotland, namely Eastfield depot in Glasgow. British Rail had decided to withdraw the small batch of Class 29 locomotives in Scotland, despite having recently upgraded them. At 1350hp they had the same power as the Hunslet’s. Being withdrawn, immediately available and at a fraction of the cost of a Hunslet, agreement was reached that a Class 29 would be sent for trials.

Below are a few rare photos of the Class 29 with some BR coaches on trial passing Adelaide station. A Hunslet on the tail end of the Enterprise is heading in the opposite direction for GVST.
 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, despite impressing on trial, no funding was forthcoming, as costs of a link to the airport were too prohibitive. NIR did get the link between Lisburn and Antrim reopened, eventually, and investment was approved a few years later for more railcars with the 80 class.

Sadly, all the Class 29s were scrapped, with none preserved.

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by Hunslet 102

[Colin_McLeod]

Nice 'might have been' story. 

The convenience of 16.5 mm track both sides of the water is a lot easier than dealing with the different gauges of 5ft 3" and the narrow gauge 4' 8.5" 😀

[Hunslet 102]

11 hours ago, Colin_McLeod said:

Nice 'might have been' story. 

The convenience of 16.5 mm track both sides of the water is a lot easier than dealing with the different gauges of 5ft 3" and the narrow gauge 4' 8.5" 😀

Thanks Colin, yes a possible might have been, aided with being able to do it in model form!