colmflanagan

Hi,

Which Parkside kit did you use? I think I may have a go at a couple.

Colm

The old station is now a social club next door to the Pier 36 restaurant &  rooms.  

I haven't been able to trace them, my understanding is that the production ceased due to mashima motors folding about 4-5 years ago. Anyway, I have followed UTA practice and pinched one from one of my MPDs, so 6&7 now run well. I had a "spare" BB which is half power as only one axle is driven, so MPD 45 got that, and is not very powerful, can just about haul one trailer on the level.....with a bit of slipping. I'm not planning any more railcars at present.

Colm

Greetings,

It's a while since I posted anything on this forum, here are a few pics of my most recent and almost finished project.  UTA No6 & 7 AEC railcar.

These two cars were really a pre production MED, though they had AEC engines and different transmission systems from the later cars.  The doors was also

unchanged. However the main thing which separated them from the earlier railcars was that the engines were mounted horizontally ; This  made full use of the

alignment, obviously keeping a flat floor, but also being easier to maintain, and this engine position later became universal.

They proved successful in service though the seating seemed pretty short of legroom!  The two cars were in service until 1966, (for many years with an intermediate) and were destroyed in a fire in 1968.

My models use Allen Doherty etched sides, Br class 105 front cabs (with headboard removed) and chassis from a Dapol/Airfix LMS 60 composite. The originals were converted from two xLMSNCC coaches.

Power on the model is a Tenshodo "spud"; this (and the similar Black beetle). These are now unobtainable but I got one a few years ago - however, it's not great, and doesn't like some of my trackwork, as well as

occasionally jamming and needing a shove. Not very satisfactory, but I was committed to the type when cutting holes in the carriage floor, so for now it remains.

Which is why the roofs have not been glued to the sides - I think I will need access unless the power bogie improves with use...! 

Anyway, here it is; I now have models of UTA (exNNC) No 1 & 4, No 5 " Ganz" and  6&7  + An MED set and a number of MPDs.  This all started in 2001 when I built an MPD ...

Colm Flanagan

On 28/06/2022 at 17:59, Irish Padre said:

Great stuff. Know what you mean - intriguing cars. Remember seeing one as a kid in Dixon Park c1979. Almost something Trabant-ish about them.

When I passed one of these invacars I used to think they must have been a death trap in an accident with a car/van/truck!   Colm

The latest loco on the Ardglass, Northbrook  & Stranraer narrow gauge - Ffestiniog Double Fairlie "Earl of Merioneth". A trifle "buzzy" sounding but that may smooth out in time, it's not so noticeable in "real life" as it is on the video.  It really needs a crew in the cab though. Very tall and /or corpulent 4mm figures need not apply!

Definitely worth getting, especially if you model that era:lots of useful backgrounds! Colm

Hi,

yes, indeed they did, I have a rake of three late versions (metal wheels etc) to go with my Caledonian Single 123. They are 64' long and are a vaguely generic model as som many r-t-r coaches were in those days - the roof and underframe are pure BR Mk1.....and no interiors yet either.   I have seen some excellent conversions to more realistic Caledonian ones using the sides (or part of them) in conjunction with old mainline LMS 57' panelled coaches - but other projects have had a higher priority.-

Just a short video of the latest acquisition, Rails of Sheffield put this out for order in March 2018 and I got mine yesterday.

Aye, 'tis a bonny wee engine.

The coaches are GN&SR (Railway Children file livery)  by Bachmann but they look not unlike Caledonian livery.  They are recognisable as the LMS coaches Mainline introduced about 30 or more years ago...still produced by Bachmann with few visible changes.

Apologies for the editing, or lack of it.  I have now not got my  well loved "move maker" software, so have had to start learning a new programme which will I am sure,  work well once I get the hang of it.

Colm

Very cunning...! 

On 24/11/2021 at 20:14, kirley said:

KIRLEY JUNCTION

Tablet Snatcher posts installed at Clonmel and the Junction station. Kit from Owen O' Neill, with small delicate parts which replicates this signalling apparatus.

 

 

 

 

 

An unusual looking beast, I can't figure out how the two snatcher jaws on the post work out. The NCC ones only have a single set of jaws. But there were different patterns. By

Northbrook station has been "officially" opened and the fist trains have run through it; signalling is still rudimentary -manual staff is exchanged at the station for the sections to Ardglass and Stranraer.   The buildings were peco, the signal box scratch built (and a bit rough close up - well they bought it secondhand from another railway which didn't want it!)

3 people waiting and one official - quite a crowd for a narrow gauge railway.  

However, the small signal box is ready for the point rodding and signal wires, and this work will be done as soon as possible....

No 4 loco is a Liliput model with most of it's European additions removed and the cab remade to look a bit more "british/irish"";

No 5 is a Lynton& Barnstaple kit on a Minitrix "n" gauge chassis -much cruder than the recent exquisite Heljan models -however, tests with one of those showed it would not cope with the gradients/curves on this line- thankfully i had't bought it!  

That's it for a wee while now, got other things to do...

On 11/11/2021 at 20:15, Glen Arriff said:

Colm

You are doing a great job there. I also have an Egger articulated railcar which I was planning to make over as an Irish outline one. I still have to lay the track and this is a ten year project so far. (!) Too busy with the normal gauge so far.

Mine runs OK under test. I hear that they are difficult to keep going, being inclined to slip. Do you find this? I am in two minds as to how to use it. I might even convert it to DCC if it is worth keeping faith with.

I did ask a guy with one running on a layout at the Glasgow show and he said I might be better spending my time on a more practical project than getting an Egger railcar to work.

There is someone in the Netherlands who specialises in remotoring Egger models and maybe I need to try him first.

Jim

I put a Kato twin axle power bogie under the railcar after the original unreliable power unit fell out onto the track one day after me spending hours tweaking it to run properly... That was the last straw.  Colm

I do know the answer to the TARDIS, but am not letting ON! 

Some modest progress at Northbrook.   Ballasting complete, with some weeds....The new platforms are built and edging etc done, still more work to do .

No expensive footbridge here, a barrow wooden crossing will suffice. warning notices will be fitted in due course, before the Board of Trade arrive to inspect the line! The new buildings will be on the right hand side.

A new shelter has appeared on the Up platform. It's a Peco product, a shed which is part of the "manyways" kits, for a small station shelter. here it' is a even smaller shelter, the door is the station toilet.  Signage needed here too, the wee place looks quite nice , I think.

And just down the line towards Ardglass, i have done some little details at Nendrum halt. more to come at both locations.

No 2 with a short midday train; the shelter has been provided -an ancient Tri-ang well covering I had lurking in a box for about forty years....repainted, and a little peco seat, a tree provides extra interest to the quiet country scene.

And below, the same scene looking towards Nendrum on the hill. the bus will wait until the steam railcar (Eggerbhan repaint)  departs but I doubt if there'll be much traffic!  And, in this picture there's one item which shouldn't be there....or did someone call for a doctor?

Nendrum will need a bit of fencing - the cottage isn't railway property - a station nameboard, and maybe a person waiting for a train. And that's about it.

Worth the wait! 

Yes, there are some pictures of them at intervals on this topic.  More can be found in "the Stranraer. Coleraine and Donaghadee line" , my previous layout... Somewhere in the list on rmweb irish group....! Colm

A small project - Northbrook Junction on The Ballycrochan Line

Sometimes, no matter how carefully a layout has been planned, something doesn’t work out as expected, and solutions run from a total rebuild if it’s a  major  problem (not advised unless absolutely necessary) - to a  few tweaks here and there on relatively minor things.

The Narrow Gauge line (009) which runs parallel to the Ardglass branch on  “The Ballycrochan Line” is a case in point.

Track lifted though island platform still in place.  From Coleraine engine shed end.

  LOWER PIC view from Ardglass end.   The Northbrook Junction panel has the three toggle switches on left

Originally the narrow gauge was to serve all three main stations, Ardglass and Stranraer (high level) and Coleraine (low level).  The Coleraine line would be a branch diverging at a location I called “Northbrook Junction”. The junction would be a simple transfer island platform, with possibly a station building at low level with a steep pathway up to the platform. The Coleraine branch would curve away and run down towards the Coleraine station building on a relatively steep gradient and curve, and was intended for light trains (e.g my railcar or a few wagons).  The junction track was laid in with this in mind., though I didn’t actually fit the point, leaving that for later.

However, as work progressed on Coleraine, it became clear this was NOT going to work – the line would have to run on a very tight descending curve, right across the loading area of the goods shed at Coleraine, about 2-3 inches high. Such an embankment, however steep, would block access to the shed and that was ridiculous. One of the maxims I gleaned early on in railway modelling was that railway companies, while often eccentric, weren’t mad – things have to “make sense”.  Things like blocking the loading doors to the goods shed.

There was no alternative route. So I decided to drop the branch idea entirely. I left the island platform in situ, it was convenient for trains to cross and was wired accordingly, with the point on the bridge electrified as it is difficult to reach. The small control panel at the junction also had the two section switches, allowing cab control operation of either platform to be from Ardglass, or Stranraer.

Then, as I came eventually to look at it again, I realized that there was now no need for an island platform at all; and it was too narrow for any buildings. In short, it was the wrong thing for what was now actually a passing loop. So, what to do?

The solution was to dismantle platform and track, and relay the loop more centrally, thus giving some more space either side of the tracks; I also fabricated a board extension which added a few more inches for a small station building, with a waiting hut on the other side.

New track roughly aligned prior to balllasting and pinning down.

The actual track work involved was relatively small; after removing the ballast and lifting the track and platform, I discovered that re-alignment would need just slightly less length of track than before, and so I was able to use it all again just lightly trimmed; I even recovered quite a lot of ballast. Irish narrow gauge frugality - very realistic! The original island platform could be trimmed to provide one new platform - the other yet to be made.

Track laid and ballasted; old island platform trimmed in rough position on left.   Top view from Coleraine end.  Bottom from Ardglass.

So, the tracks are down, ballasted, and re-wired (slightly different positions but again, able to re –use the wires!) and trains can now run through again. I’ll post some pictures of scenic progress at Northbrook (as it will now be called) – in due course.

A recent addition to my Northern Irish line up.  B&CDR No 26, built in 1892 and working to the end of the BCDR in 1950. The train is a mixture of Provincial Wagons and Slater's

It's a conversion from a Bachmann "C" class SECR 0-6-0, with a brass kit tender purchased originally in 2014.- been a long time in the making!  As usual with mine, there are compromises but i think she looks well, and is a smaller engine than No 4 which featured in a previous posting.

I think older classes of locos with open cabs really need a crew. The fireman is working hard on the up grade to the bridge over the main lines.

No 26 did haul passenger trains, chiefly on the Ballynahinch and Donaghadee lines, though did appear occasionally on the main line to Newcastle and the Bangor branch.

Just to show the difference between 26 and 4 - considerably smaller, but, I think more attractive!  I bluffed the Beyer maker's nameplate on the middle splasher - its just the lining with a brass strip painted on -unlike modern models, you don't look at this one through a magnifying glass; keep your distance! Both engines are Bachmann and the making of No 4 is covered in a recent edition of New Irish Lines

Colm

Hi Paul, there's  not much else to add to my 2010 post. I never got round to doing anything with the coaches! Just watch you don't make the front frames too tight to the top of the bogie, or the driver will spin on dips in the track! Colm

That's running well, the rebuild has worked! 

That looks like the "N" gauge version of the twin control MPC-3 which was produced by a small firm called "All Components".  It is lower power rated than the standard model. probably dates from about 1998 (ish)

Later (about 2000) an uprated version MPC-3 PRO was introduced, similar to the MPC 3 (which had  16vac and 20vac outlets also); this had a good 2 amps power output, and the last versions had a switch for 2 hand controllers - mine only has one.

I considered this a very good replacement for my H&M Powermaster, I like the  single knob controlling both direction and speed system, rather than the now ubiquitous slide switch of direction. Mine has lasted into the 2020s without fault. Hope it carries on. (PS The Powermaster still works too....)

Colm Flanagan

This is the closest to the real thing that I've seen, especially the cab ends - the turbostars class 170 etc.,  which most repaints use, have a squatter more curved profile - NIR took full advantage of the wider taller irish loading gauge! Well done. 

A newcomer on test on the Ballycrochan line, No 99 in NCC maroon.    I think they look well in this livery; transfers by railtec and lining HMRS. Name/numberplates Guilplates; dome by Alan Gibson, and top feed by 247 Developments....

Tablet snatchers by Highland Railway Society; they are a little different from the Lochgorm ones I used before, but require no soldering together of tiny bits...! Quite a "cast list"

It's mostly new "bits" on the cut down Hornby 4P chassis, with a Bachmann/Mainline LMS tender shortened. I use the orignal smokebox and front end, and the cab roof. 

The train is 5 Bachmann LMS panelled 57' coaches; someday i may renumber them, they look well, though not actually correct for NCC.

That's a fine model. I've a set of those sides awaiting in my project box to do these two in the later years of their lives. Colm