Hunslet 102

Back again to more memories from the 70s. The troubles were never far away in 70s Belfast, with GVSt being a target for both actual and hoax devices. The 2 photos below show an army Westland Scout helicopter hovering close to the Boyne bridge,as the RUC and army deal with a suspect package on the abandoned Corporation bus on the bridge. All train services have been suspended until the all clear.

Nice finish,the hard work has paid off

Agreed. I was young when steam finished,so I too prefer the early NIR diesel era. The GNR section had the best variety of motive power,only in hindsight do I realise how lucky I was to witness it!

A friend sent me a great old photo of Great Victoria St station,back in its heyday. What a hub of a station it once must have been. Anyway,below are a couple of nostalgic photos of the station from the 60s, with a UG class arriving with a local from Lisburn,a Jeep with a semi fast Dublin service and an AEC railcar. Also present are Corporation and UTA buses passing over the station on the Boyne bridge. Murray's tobacco factory is on the right.

Nice motley batch there Kieran!,great modelling

Nice wee train Kieran

Nice conversation Kieran, 2 would probably be enough for the Baltic's!!

Going home! It is late Saturday afternoon and NIR DH No2 is returning to Grosvenor goods yard with an empty ballast train having done some upgrade work just outside Portadown. CIE B182 is returning to Dublin with a shoppers special,consisting of a mixture of Cravens,Bredin's and Park Royal coaches. Hopefully the shoppers picked up some good bargains in Belfast!

Nice video and photos,certainly one of the unique GNR loco's

Interesting project Kieran,are you doing them in BCDR or UTA liveries?

Yes a lovely looking brass kit,nice addition to the fleet

Just thinking of your video and your stock Kieran, you have enough in your locker to do the decades. GNR BUT for 50s, B121,B141s,Jeep and 70 class for 60s, 141,071s,Hunslet for 70s, 071 and 111s in 80s, 201s in the 90s and Dietrich in the 2000s. Look forward to seeing 50 years of change in a video soon!

Nice one Kieran,about 50 years apart from each set. Hard to believe that the journey time for both sets was pretty much the same. I know which one I would prefer to travel in!

The following photo was taken from the Boyne bridge looking into the platforms of GVSt. The Hunslet is heading to the carriage sidings having brought the Enterprise in earlier, while an MED and AEC await their next turn of duties. The photographer has now descended to platform level to photograph the MED and AEC. A very tired looking GVSt, as it was in the early 70s after constant bomb damage,can be clearly seen.

Think I will need to try something like that Colin to keep the whole structure rigid,thanks

Thanks Kieran, a lot of tidying up to do on the layout,the fluctuating temperatures in the loft have resulted in the platform surfaces starting to blister (just in front of the AEC) and a bit of warping of the tobacco factory,probably due to its length. A bit frustrating, but it is either the loft or nothing!!!

Hopefully the next two photos are the right way up! Belfast Great Victoria Street station as I remember it in the early 70s, with BUT and AEC railcars in NIR maroon/cream, Enteprise driving trailer in the new NIR maroon/blue and the ubiquitous DH shunter!

Great work Kieran,a great looking and powerful loco,well done

Yep,that sounds about par for the course for me! Next photo I take I will pay more attention, thanks

Covered well by Kieran's and Noel's replies,the level of experience is experienced, not something for a first time build, you need to have a good knowledge of what you are doing. Hopefully you are in the latter and can produce a top class model.

Great cab ride Noel,that is some size of a layout,certainly going to keep you busy for a while!

Strange,they are the right way up on my iPad?? First time I have ever taken and uploaded a photo from the iPad rather than a camera,any tips to follow would be appreciated.

So,as I am on a trip down memory lane of Adelaide,below are a couple more photos from the glory years of freight that had regular traffic between Dundalk and Adelaide. An A class has just crossed from the yard to the up main line heading back home to Dundalk. A B class is in the headshunt with a couple of fertiliser wagons,while in the yard 2 sister loco's assemble more wagons for a return trip south later. A C class can also be seen,they too done regular freight trips. (The A and C are currently being refurbished!). Lurking in the background was Adelaide's regular pilot loco, Hunslet 102. Although it was meant to marshal the wagons,it spent most of its time idling behind the cement silos while the CIE loco's marshalled their own trains! A close up of my favourite loco and livery (apart from the Hunslet of course)

Ha ha,quite probably! I think you said one time you stayed in Charlieville Avenue, while I stayed just down the street in Hugh Street! The bog meadows was out of bounds for me as a child as you had to cross the main lines to get to it, not that that was ever going to stop us!

Great movie,really like the view from inside the cab!