jhb171achil

The area in the foreground in the second last pic will be boggy swampland with turf-boggy-pools.

The extension from terminus shunting layout to one which goes somewhere is under way. Dugort Harbour is meant to be a 4 or 5 mile extension of a line to a larger town in the south-west, “Castletown West”. Beyond that, theoretically a meandering secondary route which eventually joins the main line to Cork, perhaps near Buttevant or somewhere on the South Kerry line. Here, the line meanders through what will become bogland between Dugort & Castletown West. Track now nearly complete - scenery next! An outbound goods in 1962 with A42, and an inbound one in 1964 with B141.

Love the BR blue era….. I recall seeing the “mixed” era on my first visits to the U.K. (in North Wales) late 1960s to mid 70s. Mostly BR blue, but more than a few green diesels and railcars, and maroon coaches…..

Well, no gypsum - but let’s hope that SOME day they’ll at least restore passenger services to Navan by either route…

Spare van in the former loco siding; JM Design kit. Couplings need to be adjusted; the van sits about 6ft behind the coach attached to it in scale terms!

I think I posted these a while back, though if I did i can't find them now; in any event, a few from the station end. Beyond the curve, it is being extended. It started life as a shunting layout, much as any pics I have already posted show. However, a house move 18 months ago has allowed expansion. Little progress has been made so far due to a range of reasons; most particularly the small matter of "life" getting in the way. However, the line now continues along an un-scenic-ed stretch which will be sceneried to resmble a somewhat bleak turf boggy area; the whole thing is meant to be set in some rain-soaked corner of West Cork or West Kerry. Track is now laid as far as the next station, which will be an altogether bigger place, supposedly a terminus of a meandering rural secondary route inspired by the erstwhile Mallow - Waterford route (one goods and two passenger a day each way sort of thing). There will be the odd sugar beet special in winter, and monthly cattle specials, as per typical lines of that type. Beyond that, the line goes through a tunnel mouth (or will, once it's made!) to a fiddle yard, which would represent "Cork". I've nothiong coherent to post on this right now but will in due course. The views below are of a Crossley "C" class appearing with the goods in the 1960s; a Cork, Bandon & South Coast 472 class saddle tank arriving with the goods about 1960, a GM 141 with the daily mixed again in the 1960s, and finally a B121 in original livery about to leave.

Indeed. Also, if you look at some of the older tinplate "bought" models, and even 1990s Bachmann or Hornby offerings in "heritage" liveries, lining and panelling can be printed onto smooth surfaces and still look quite good.

Correct - all his panelling on all his models is painted on! Come to Malahide and see the models.........!

I should add that Donaldson and Fry knew each other, and several of Donaldson's models were built for him by Fry.

You'll be very welcome! If you're at the model railway museum in Malahide, gimme a shout as I'm involved with it on a consultancy basis.

The models are to a standard that would grace many a finescale layout, but the actual wheels, equipment, 3rd rail stuff, etc., is very defitinetly coarse scale. If you are ever in Malahide ping me in advance and I'll show you round.

Perfect, Ben, many thanks! Dunno what I did...............

A couple more pics; at least they're the right way up in late 1962! J15 109 arrives with the goods, a fair few cattle trucks included, while a B121 in original livery awaits departure with the passenger train.

On a quiet day in 1965, the goods leaves Dugort Harbour......... However, it's upside down, despite my original pic being the right way up. Help!

That's the whole idea. I want it to look like somewhere vaguely in the south west, like West Kerry or Cork. Verdant enough, but wild and open too. If that impression can be achieved, it's as I want it!

The scenery was the work of Kevan McIntosh - a genius in all things scenic.

Arrival of the morning mixed train at Dugort Harbour, 1965

This is an absolutely superb website, especially for those of us lucky enough to remember main line steam in South Africa - but even if you dodn't, look it up. The authors have a quite unique and very informative style of writing, their own personal experiences really bringing this fascinating and complex system to life. Absolute gold dust for any modeller too.

And a perfect one for modelling a "micro-layout", perhaps with a railbus for passengers - or as a goods shunting layout.

Absolutely superb. These were an old GSWR design, though the MGWR had something very similar indeed.I have also seen versions with the main structural cross-bars shaped / \ as opposed to \ /. I was thinking of experimenting with this by turning the sides upside down....

I wonder if this will be connected with the Barcelona one, which has an extremely impressive loco collection?

Love the UTA coaches.

Correct.

Very many thanks, JimC. I will measure this up, though I suspect that a minimum 40ft scale might be needed. So this is just an ordinary Peco 2mm one with your 4mm track added? I will look that up too. What I am looking for is only for a fiddle yard, so I am not concerned with how it looks. But space dictates that I need some sort of similar contraption.

Hope she recovers well.