Hunslet 102

What might have been It’s 1971, and British Rail has decided that the main commuter line from Glasgow Great Queen Street to Edinburgh needed upgrading, to replace the ageing dmu fleet. A push/pull locomotive operation was decided upon, and suitable test trains started appearing for evaluation. Already established Class 37s and 27s were put through their paces, but some engineers cast their eyes across the water to Northern Ireland, where a push/pull operation involving the NIR DL Hunslet class had proved very successful on the Belfast to Dublin route since introduction in 1970. This push/pull operation involved 2 locomotives with 8 mk2 coaches, but also operated with 1 locomotive and 5 or 6 coaches with a driving trailer coach at one end. The Hunslet locomotives of NIR had been built by BREL in Doncaster, the work subbed to them from Hunslet. They also shared the same EE engine type as the Class 20, which was proving to be the most successful and reliable of the early type 1 locomotives. NIR for their part were also looking to improve their service between Belfast and L’Derry, but with capital at a premium, they needed a cheaper alternative. Casting their eyes over to Eastfield depot in Glasgow, they realised that the recently getting withdrawn Class 29 locomotives could be a cheaper alternative that would meet their needs. Agreement was thus reached, that NIR would send a Hunslet and driving trailer to Eastfield for trial and Eastfield would send a Class 29 in the opposite direction. Below, are some rare photos of the respective trial trains on different metals. The Class 29 in Belfast on trial passing Adelaide station, with an NIR Hunslet in push/pull mode heading in the opposite direction. The trials on the Great Queen Street to Edinburgh line see the NIR Hunslet with Mk2 BR stock passing a Class 27 in push/pull mode going in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, despite the Hunslet and Class 29 performing well in their trials, neither option was taken up. Costs prohibited NIR from pursuing the Class 29 option, and the whole class ended up being scrapped with none preserved. The Hunslet option was only rejected by BR as they did not want to have another small batch of locomotives, and thus went with the Class 27 option.

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.

A mighty impressive ‘back’ conversion, great job and really looks the part

Lovely layout and fantastic models and modelling, the detail is superb

Thanks Clive for your encouraging comments, much appreciated and thanks to everyone who has liked the various photos so far.

Sheer class Kieran, a blast from the past as a reminder of the cement traffic at Adelaide

Thank you for your comment on the layout saxokid, much appreciated

A Class 40 powers past the terrace houses with a service to Aberdeen. A Class 25 heads in the opposite direction with a service from Dundee and is about to pass the Class 24 with a parcels service for Great Queen Street. All services are seen passing the church and more terrace houses in the foreground. This area of the layout is still in build mode, with the back scene pretty much complete with occupied and derelict housing, while in front of the church and houses, footpaths etc are required, while a bus depot opposite the church is also planned.

Hi Kevin Well I have got the thread back and have not had any problems so far, but do not have a clue how it happened! I don’t have a pc, so I done what you suggested on my phone, not expecting any success! The ones I tried were not on expanded, but when I went into the exhibition layout thread, again it wasn’t on expanded, I put it on to expanded and tried it with no joy, took it off expanded again and tried it and hey presto, I could access the layout thread again! So no idea how it happened, but at least I didn’t have to go through every single thread! Andy

A Class 27 is at the head of MK1 coaching stock with a service to Fort William, passing a Class 101 DMU with a service from Stirling. In the background is an invacar production factory. The cameraman managed to get a front and tail end view without trespassing on the line! And a side view of the same trains from the safety of the meadow!

What an awe inspiring layout, absolutely stunning in every aspect. Going to take me a while to get through all 169 pages, but looking forward to doing so!

Superb thread and superb modelling, and in 3mm to boot! Really enjoyed the cover story,, the realism you have achieved is brilliant

It’s the early 1970s and a North British Class 29 trundle’s into Great High Street goods yard with a short freight. Both locomotive and yard are in their final year of existence and will soon be confined to history. In the foreground, a Class 24 has been shunting some empty wagons for its own departure very shortly. Loose coupled freight was also coming to an end! Andy

Glasgow Great Queen Street Having got some great information from members on the forum about the type of locomotives and stock that would be found in Glasgow Queen Street in the early 70s, and having always been a fan of the BR blue/grey era, I decided to do a fictitious layout, using my already partly built Irish themed layout based on Belfast Great Victoria Street, the original that closed in 1976, hence the Great in the name! Obviously, a lot of modellers licence will be in use, but hopefully a feel of the time can be created! The terminus station is in rebuild mode, the overall roof not surviving a relocation move! Below are a couple of photos of blue/grey stock from the early 70s. More photos and updates will follow, although if it is anything like my Irish themed thread, it will be somewhat sporadic! A Class 27 heads the recently introduced push/pull service from Glasgow to Edinburgh, passing a Class 40 with Mk1 stock heading to Glasgow from Aberdeen.

Always enjoy your videos Kieran, a unique wee wagon

Nice mixture of stock Kieran, just as it was back then

Ahh thanks Kevin, I will give that a try and hopefully get some success Andy

Thanks, but not on expanded and still the same problem. Strangely, I can access the sub thread exhibition layouts and all the other threads in that section, but not the main layout thread. No problems with any of the other sub forums either. Andy

Hi all Last few days I have been unable to access the above thread on my phone, I just get a blank screen. Every other thread I have went into has been fine and if I sign out and go to the thread as a guest, I can get the topics and be able to view them! Any ideas?

Nice job Kieran

Thanks Joseph, yes a forward view in a DMU was something special!

Thanks again GordonC, your input to the thread has been invaluable, really enjoying the conversations and learning about the history of the railways around Glasgow

Once again many thanks for your detailed response and information Legend . You are certainly keeping me well informed. The book sounds like one right up my street, I will have a look about for a copy. Blue electric trains taking directly over from steam, that is some transformation! A thought of a blue electric train beside a steam locomotive under electric power lines just sounds incredible to me!

Thanks Matt and pH for your detailed information and links, greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the info and link JeremyC