David Jackson

Very atmospheric picture Andy. I have a fleet of BCT Daimlers, all going to the same places, either Malone Road, or Bloomfield, but no depot as yet. Incidently, route 16 has me a little puzzled. The only route 16 I know of, or can find any trace of, is to Dundonald. Can anybody explain why this excellent model of a Belfast Corporation Daimler bus is showing route 16 to Malone Road? Even tram route 16 did not go to Malone Road.

Have done a little research into differences between U2 locomotives. All the Glasgow built locos, 74,75,76,77,78,82,83 had the pipe in question. None of the Belfast built locos seem to have had it. All the Glasgow locos had Fowler style chimneys, the Belfast locos had a mixture of Fowler and Stanier chimneys. The Glasgow locos all had Fowler tenders, the Belfast locos had a mixture of Fowler and 'Breadcart' tenders. Some of the Belfast locos carried jacks on the running board next to the smokebox, but none of the Glasgow locos had them. The cab roofs were mentioned earlier, Glasgow locos had the rear corners cut away, Belfast locos had square corners. Do bear in mind that the photographs consulted were a moment in time, and details like chimneys and tenders could have been different before or after the picture was taken. The best thing, when modelling a particular loco, is to consult pictures of it. At least your model will be correct for the moment the picture was taken.

The Glasgow built U2 locos had cab roofs with the cut away rear corners as per Kirley's loco, whereas the Belfast built locos had the extended cab roofs with square corners. Dunluce Castle, in the photograph, was built in Glasgow, and has the cut away cab roof corners.

New info has come to light regarding K15 145. It seems it was renumbered 416 until 1962 when it was again renumbered, to 580. No 580 is, in fact, an AEC trailer, but whether it was a trailer before 1962 is not recorded in the new info. As stated previously, there were only two other K15 AEC trailers transferred to the UTA, 98 and 186. I do not have any info on CIE AEC trailers.

Thanks antony, now we know.

There is, what appears to be, a metal plate on the coach end, which seems to have a large K on it, plus other smaller lettering. I would say it is probably some sort of builders plate showing the coach class with the build date and possibly the place of build, namely Dundalk. All GNR coaches have a plate in this position, but none I have looked at are readable.

Nos 98 & 186 were definitely K15 AEC trailers, but 145 was not renumbered in the railcar series by the UTA, unlike 98 & 186, which would suggest it was not a railcar trailer. There is a good picture of K15 176 in railcar livery, in Norman Johnston's 'The GNRI in Colour' on page 24. It is running as a BUT trailer, but the livery, and positioning of decals should be the same.

I have to say, I am really pleased the way it has turned out, even down to only having the lining on one side. Don't know the reasoning behind that. The RPSI can't be short of lining, as later vehicles have been fully lined out.

Almost completed. Just glazing and underframe detail to do.

I have sent you a PM on the subject.

Thanks Hairy Bear for the link. Very useful picture. However, as usual, if you want to build a model, get a picture of the actual vehicle you want to build. The roof detail on the van in the vid is actually different to that on the van I have almost finished. I did manage to get a good picture of the roof detail on the RPSI van, and used that. The difference is not major, and most people would never notice, but it would have bugged me had I got it wrong. David

After three months of being on the back burner, while looking for suitable materials, and looking for decent views of the roof detail, the 'steam heat' Dutch van has now received it's coat of primer. The grey primer, from Halfords, would normally reveal any imperfections in the construction of the vehicle, but I am glad to say the primer has revealed nothing worth talking about. The next step is to finish it off in RPSI livery, glaze it and finish the underframe. The ETH version has also been on the back burner, for much the same reasons, and work has restarted on it, but it is a lot further behind. From refrigerator van to heating van:-

Progress to date of the GSV. The GSV is not entirely scratchbuilt, rather it is part recycled. Last year at an exhibition, I picked up an old Triang Track Cleaning wagon, with no roof and a broken bogie, for £1.00. Later in the year at another exhibition, I picked up an old Triang Transcontinental Reefer Boxcar with a broken roof also for £1.00. The bogies were used to repair the track cleaning wagon, and the roof, after repair and adjustment, was also used on the track cleaner. That left a perfectly good Reefer body. After checking the dimensions, it was found to be 1mm longer than a Dutch Van, but the width was fine. A bit of work with a fine saw and a file, saw the height reduced and the raised detail on the sides and ends removed, leaving a very useable shell for a Dutch Van. Construction then followed that as described for the EGV. The GSV is currently sitting on Jouef MK3 coach bogies, but these will ultimately be replaced with something more suitable at a later date.

I am currently building a pair of 'Dutch' Vans. One is to be of the original steam generator type, one of which is now running with the RPSI. The other is to be of the modified EGV type for use with the ex BR Mk 2 coaches. I have plenty of information regarding the original steam generator vans, including roof detail, but I have no roof details of the EGV version. If anyone can help with any pictures with roof detail for the EGV vans, I would be most grateful. Progress to date for the EGV. Built entirely from plasticard, except for the roof, which utilises two Triang Hornby LWB goods brake van roofs to get the basic arc for the roof. Plastic strip makes up the extra width.

More 80 Class from the 1990s. The first clip is an attempt to record a complete journey on the Portrush branch with 82. Unfortunately time ran out at Portstewart. The second clip is again at Killagan with 90 on a Service working to Belfast. Check out the bouncing front bogie on the jointed track.

Very interesting. With my InterCity/Corporate livery, I have gone the other way. I dislike using transfers over raised detail like door handles, hinges etc., as they never seem to want to lie flat. I have tried using all sorts of transfer softening fluids, but without the success I would like. With one exception, all my InterCity/Corporate liveried coaches have had the yellow and white stripes masked and sprayed on, with the black being a Letraset stripe.

Superb models. I am glad to see that the livery includes the black band along the bottom of the sides. So many good models in this livery, and some not so good, have this black band missing, which spoils the whole perspective of the livery. Too much grey. Like 33lima, I also built an 80 Class in the early 1990s when I was living in Portrush, but the InterCity paint job went horribly wrong, and to this day the unit has never been completed. I live in hope though, that one day it will get finished. To remind us of what things used to be like in the mid 1990s, here are links to some video taken back then. This was in pre digital days, so the quality is not particularly good, but the nostalgia is. Enjoy.