Glover

A lot of hard work there Kirley; looking forward to seeing the 'new improved' version. Cheers, Glover

Just a heads-up on this issue (#257): it features two layout plans by Paul A. Lunn based on Irish prototypes. They are Bantry, on the old Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway and Bray, including Bray Head. There is also a review of the 00 Works J15. Cheers, Glover

Interesting. I wasn't aware that the GNR had such vans but then such information is not exactly easy to find. Nice piece of work. Regards, Glover

Noel, this is a really good piece of Irish modelling. I have one 'concern'........have you left enough space for the water tower? This to me was always a key element of Gort. I seem to remember that Irish Rail took it apart, stone by stone, and rebuilt it in a new position when the Limerick-Athenry line was rebuilt. Modern photos appear to confirm this. Regards, Glover

Looking really good Kirley. Can I ask where you sourced the chimney and dome? Many thanks, Glover

Jeez, that's some degradation. Will the buffer heights work out OK on the model? Regards, Glover

Thanks Kirley. I did say on your Jeep build thread that I have a Hornby Fowler in stock with a view to a conversion along the lines of the work that Colm Flannigan has done. I have to admit to something of a love/hate relationship with models of Irish steam locos. I'm prepared to turn many a blind eye to the issues raised by running 4mm Irish models on 16.5mm track but steam engines do bother me. Irish locos were generally quite small and the boilers often appeared to hunker down between the driving wheels. Difficult to achieve that look on track which scales out at more than a foot under gauge. I've even messed around with the notion of building boilers to something like H0 scale! Maybe it's just me, and I do feel comfortable with 'under-gauged' Jeeps (the side tanks mask this issue) but another possibility for my local UTA train is to use a 700 series double ended BUT railcar, pulling a single brake/passenger coach. The GNR actually ran such a train for a short time as an express from Enniskillen to Belfast. It did of course require the railcar running round its 'train' at Omagh. We'll see. Cheers, Glover

That is serious work Kirley. I was wondering about the boiler; I have to say that I would be reaching for the plastic at that stage. I have a Fowler loco in stock with the idea of a conversion along the lines of Colm Flannigan but the thought had occurred to me that, subject to Allen Doherty agreeing, it might be possible to use the Worsley Works etches as overlays on the Hornby plastic but I see from your photo that the exterior etches are spread over the two etches. You have more than enough work on your hands but I'm just wondering if you have given any thought to the driving wheel diameter ? I've seen somebody say that all you need to do is replace them with Hornby 6' wheels. Yea, right! Best of luck, Glover

Which is easier: scratch building or some of the more elaborate conversions I've undertaken to build Irish coaches? It's actually a close run thing and on mature reflection, I would say building from scratch is probably the easier and/or better option. It just takes a bit more courage and determination to get going on a scratch build. I'm not sure what's next; I'm a bit 'coached-out' at the moment but I can take some encouragement from the photo below showing a short GNR train. Thanks, Glover

As is my usual practice, I painted the coach in a different livery on the other side. The UTA retained older, wooden bodied coaches in their old GNR livery, often to the end of their working lives. My layout is set in 1963 and there are photos of coaches still in GNR varnished wood livery in this period. I have however attempted to replicate the 'UT' which the UTA applied to the end of their inherited stock, in the same way that CIE marked out their possessions.

One new technique I tried on this build was the use of a Pocca fine point ink pen to achieve the lining; much easier than paint. They are available from art shops and might very well be worth considering by those looking for a solution to this issue.

The interiors were scratch built in plastic. I choose a sort of dusty pink for first class, which seems a typical type of colour for furniture of that era. Second class is blue with green for third class. The wood framing varies from elaborate in 1st to basic in 3rd. I should say that all of this is from my imagination but seems consistent with the notions of class distinctions in those days. Others who have built coaches will I am sure agree that the actual finishing takes at least as long as the basic structure.

The basic build followed the procedures set out in Geoff Kent's great series of articles some years ago in the Model Railway Journal. Basic material was 20thou plastic plus thin Evergreen plastic strips for the panel mouldings. Thankfully, the windows are square cornered but there is still a lot of marking and cutting out; lots of patience required.

This is number five in my five/six brake/passenger coach project: a GNR J4 brake-trio (1st,2nd & 3rd class, with separate WCs for each class). From that information alone, you can deduce that they were built in a long gone era; circa 1916 to 1920. The Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) inherited five of them on the break up of the GNR, with the last one being withdrawn in 1967. Worsley Works do list the J4 on their web site but it was not available when I enquired. Nothing for it then but build it myself.... I had no drawings but equipped with basic measurements (58' length etc) plus window, panel etc measurements copied over from my previous Worsley Works builds, I was able to put something together which looks 'about right'. Here is a photo; I'll follow up with some notes that might be of interest. Cheers, Glover

Thanks Tony. Not 21mm unfortunately ; I'm a few mil short......(about four and a half). Like most modellers of Irish railways, I have to make do with (very) narrow gauge but since the layout is at eye level and all views are side-on, I can live with it. Cheers, Glover

The fact that Hornby can still produce these coaches more than fifty years after they first appeared gives me a certain 'all is well with the world' feeling. They must be among the most modified/butchered coaches in the history of model railways. Maybe the Railway Modeller could be persuaded to re-run Terry Goughs' legendary ( to me anyway) series of articles on converting them to represent various coaches that ran on Southern Railways. Don't focus on the GWR aspect; even the great Peter Denny repainted a set to represent Great Central coaches to run on his Buckingham line. Lesser people, including me, have converted them to represent all forms of exotica, including these to represent 60' coaches built by the Great Southern Railway (Ireland). Cheers, Glover

That's a nice job on the Ratio coach Kirley. Given the diversity of old coaching stock still in service in the early 1950s, it makes a more than plausible representation of such relics as were often found behind J15s . Cheers, Glover

This is almost as though a state of the art Class 47 were to be announced for the first time for the British market; the A class/Metro-Vicks are an absolutely key locomotive for modelling Irish railways between 1955 and 1995. Over on the Irish Railway Modeller website, I have put a question to the guys at IRM regarding the green livery versions: light and/or dark. I suspect they are rather busy at the moment at the exhibition today and until Monday (bank holiday here). I can now retire the Siver Fox versions and forget about the traumas of trying to build the Q Kits versions: white metal ('use large hammer to straighten') and resin ('use blow torch to straighten'). I can see Metro-Vicks hauling my Bundoran Express. They were magnificent but initially very flawed machines. I must also say that the pricing represents incredible value for money but I'm seriously thinking that this should be my final push to give up the smokes (but not the Guinness)! Very cheerful, Glover

Interesting project Kirley. I bought a Bachmann J39 a few years ago at one of the Toy Fairs in Dublin, with the intention of creating a D class. The footplate will need a complete rebuild but the boiler is an easier starting point. My intention is to use an old Hornby B12 tender, which looks like a reasonable match for the generally short GNR tenders. Haven't done anything on it yet. One issue which I've yet to address is a replacement chimney and dome; much more difficult nowadays to find these items. Best of luck with it. Cheers, Glover

Arrrgh!! Hate that. Although I've now built a few brass coaches, I'm not terribly comfortable with it. I think the advice from the experts is to clean the brass in warm water with a cream cleaner before applying the primer. Could that be where the problem has arisen, especially given that some of the primer has also lifted? It will come good; just going to take you a little longer. Best, Glover

That's a nice collection of clattery carriages Noel ; well done. Cheers, Glover

Thanks Pat, I followed the process outlined by Mike Trice on this forum some years ago. If you search for 'painting LNER coaches' , you should get it. The basic steps are: 1. Metal primer; this is probably only necessary on brass kits. 2. White primer. 3. Base colour of orange or yellow, using any cheap acrylic paint. 4. The interesting bit! Mix artists oil Burnt Umber with Liquin Original. This is not a new Italian past but some form of mixer which I think causes the paint to streak. Apply using Golden Taklon brushes. All of these can be bought in art supply shops. 5. Varnish to taste. This is the first time I have ever attempted this and I have to say it is probably easier than applying a multi colour scheme such as the CIE 'black and tan' livery. Cheers, Glover

Very nice job Noel. The weathering is especially effective. Cheers, Glover

I took some photos outdoors; the varnished wood finish I think works better in sunlight. I have childhood memories of GNR coaches (and railcars) in the blue and cream livery in Amiens Street Dublin station (now Connolly) but none of the varnished coaches. In truth, while it can look rather elegant, it's not a particularly 'stand-out' colour scheme.

Many of my CIE coaches are painted in the older green livery on one side and the newer (around 1962 I think) 'black and 'tan' livery on the other. As my layout is set in 1963, this allows me to represent that transition period. There appears to be no such choice in modelling the UTA in that period; everything green. Except it wasn't ! It seems that the UTA prioritised repainting the more modern GNR coaches and thus there were quite a few older GNR coaches still running in the old varnished wood finish, five years after the demise of the GNR. This is the first time I have ever attempted this finish and I have to say that I am well pleased with the result. Note that on this side, I have used the older UTA Red Hand roundal.