Tullygrainey

What a fine piece of work. It's a perfect demonstration of the value of looking properly and reproducing what you see. Heavy weathering is really hard to do well, even harder than light weathering in my experience - it's too easy to bury the model in gunge but you've really cracked it Adrian. Subtle and totally convincing. Masterclass. Alan

Coal comes in at Loughan Quay and goes by rail to Downpatrick, Newcastle and Belfast. Hugh Vernor operates a small coal business at the quay, supplying local domestic needs. Scandanavian timber arrives too. Sand sometimes comes in as ship's ballast and is moved on by rail, ending up with the building trade. The produce going out includes potatoes, grain, some whiskey, pit props from timber grown locally and occasional consignments of Mourne granite - kerbstones mainly but the trade is gradually ceasing as concrete supplants cut stone. There's no provision for livestock export at Loughan. Not sure what's in the McCaughans' packing cases. I'd ask if they weren't so busy. James Nixon. Fruit, Veg, Poultry.... and propellors. Actually, the propellors originate from Townley and Sons though their usual trade is in goods and services for local agriculture. UTA Jinty No 19, lately strayed from the Belfast docks (anything's possible in this universe), heads back there with the evening goods. Jinty Goods.mov

An embarrassment of praise! Thank you very much everyone. GM, I will treasure your Iain Rice reference. Thank you. Onwards with swollen head Alan

Thanks FS, glad you like it. If you've ever been to the Folk Museum at Cultra, you might recognise that street in the backscene. Regards, Alan

A few people have asked to see more of this layout after BCDR diesel No2 was recently spotted trundling round it, so allow me to introduce ‘Loughan Quay’ (say it out loud.... see what I did there). Actually it should probably be called ‘The Learning Curve’ since that’s exactly what it was/is for me. It replaces an earlier layout which had too much track and too little thought. It’s 4mm OO gauge, with a scenic section around 180 x 55 cm. It’s wired for DCC and uses an NCE PowerCab but a DC controller can easily be plugged in for ‘one loco in steam’ operation. The points are conventional solenoid-driven using a stud and probe control panel. It was started in early 2015 and reached its current state around the end of 2017. Not much has been done to it since but the chief engineer has plans... I have to confess to being more interested in building stuff than running trains though that might change if I ever manage to build a layout that works well operationally. I wanted a dockside and places like Dundrum in County Down and the harbour branch at Donaghadee provided inspiration. Essentially though, the thing evolved as my interests changed and each little sub-project led on to the next. I tried wherever possible to make things rather than buy them ready-made, rolling stock as well as buildings and structures. Along the way, bits got changed, buildings got replaced, and rolling stock has come and gone. Thematically, it’s all over the place and the loco roster makes no sense at all. But bear with me, I’ll get there eventually. Is it Irish? Well it’s definitely not a GWR branch line. Anyway, a few pics... Alan Buildings are mostly card or foamboard shells clad in embossed plastic (Wills, Slater) or printed paper from the Scalescenes downloadable print-it-yourself range. The loco shed. That coal has gone a very funny colour. You'd never raise steam with that stuff. No 20 waits to draw wagons out of the goods shed. One of a number of hacked Hornby Caley Pugs lurking around here. Business at McCaughan Bros going at its usual pace I see. The Clyde Puffer is a Scalescenes download with a few additions - brass rails, white metal details and wooden hatch covers (good old coffee stirrers, where would we be without them). The deck winch is a Langley Models white metal kit. The harbour surface is made up from painted card, Wills plastic cobblestones and Metcalfe paving slabs grouted with filler (Gyproc ProMix finish, a brilliant product. You can even repair the walls in your living room with it. Who knew!) The cables on the cranes (non-working) are made from 0.45mm brass rod, blackened and painted with Humbrol Metalcote. As a result, they always look taut, something hard to achieve using thread or elastic. Likewise the rigging on the Puffer - though don't look too closely at that, it's a bit of a fudge. That crewman is looking pretty relaxed despite the fact that his vessel isn't moored. Stone walls are Wills Coarse Stone with Das coping stones. The businesses are named after my 4 great grandfathers. Hope you like the wagon Leslie. I do. The evening sun softens the shadows as No 16, ex-NCC (another hacked Pug) hauls the last load of the day.

Thank you chaps. Perhaps best to start a new thread in the Layouts section? I'll put something together in the next few days, all being well. Look out for Loughan Quay. Alan

It’s possible to gently abrade the transfers off using T-Cut and cotton buds. Might be worth a test in a corner somewhere?

I did a G Class in 4mm but in contrast to BCDR No2, I just put a Black Beetle chassis inside a Silver Fox resin body shell. Bit of paint, job done

Another fine set of rolling stock David. I love the turf wagons and the matchstick turf is very convincing. Your resin castings are beautifully crisp. Resin casting certainly saves a lot of time compared to scratch building every wagon but it's messy stuff to work with isn't it! The G Class diesel is spot on.

As the object of a scratch build, No 2 was probably a good choice. Chassis jigs and quartering tools notwithstanding, the lack of crankpins and rods probably made life a bit easier and the body shell has lots of flat panels, straight edges and no compound curves to speak of. There are still a few details to add and I might consider DCCing it after it's been run in a bit though I always find adding chips a bit of an ordeal - what ran smoothly on DC suddenly starts stuttering and stalling on DCC. In truth, there's probably enough room for a sound chip and a speaker but I probably won't go there. Also, not sure what sound files you might use. Anyway, thank you everybody for all the encouragement, advice and praise, without which this project might not have got as far as it has. May this community of modellers continue to prosper. Onwards, together Alan

Brilliant! Just wow!

Three years well spent Patrick! It looks really well. A lovely piece of work and beautifully finished too. The cameo framing sets it all off perfectly.

Thanks GM. The layout was loosely inspired by places like Donaghadee and Dundrum.

A few more pics of No 2, now weathered, and some video of the inaugural run. It still needs a few tweaks to get it running reliably but the fitters are lying down in a darkened room at the moment. It also sounds like a bag of nails on the video - not so bad in reality The observant will notice it hasn't got any brakes. I always find those a real pain to fit. I have some tender brake shoes from Gibsons which should do the job and being plastic, they won't cause any electrical shorts, which is always a problem. No appropriate passenger stock available for it to haul yet. Goods wagons will have to suffice for now. I think I see light coming down the tunnel Alan * just realised the sandboxes don't have any pipes either. BCDR No 2.mov

I bought a Poppy's Wood Tech jig a while ago but I haven't had an opportunity to use it yet. I have 2 High Level chassis kits in the drawer, for a Jinty and a Drewry 0-6-0 shunter. I'll try it out on those when I get round to it. Up till now, I've used a set of 3 axle jigs from London Road Models.

Crankpins! rods! boilers!

Thank you very much everyone. Much appreciated. Alan Hmm... An awful lot of wheels there Patrick

Getting there, slowly but slowly. Buffers from Alan Gibson (4908 Early GWR Dean), Kadee couplers, Whistle from Smokey Joe, vacuum hoses from the bits box. There's a driver in there too, from Dart Castings, trying to understand the improvised controls. Some detail painting still to do. A bit of light weathering wouldn't go amiss either. Watch me wreck it Alan

Thanks JB. Chassis scratch built around a Hi-Level QuadDriver

A quick update. The last week or so has seen the delicate task of applying livery. This involved working without breathing. The air has been blue occasionally on this project. This time it was my face. The results aren't entirely prototypically accurate because (a) the lining is overscale, (b) there should be another white line inside the red one but adding this would unbalance it I think and (c) the lettering isn't the correct font but I hope that overall, it conveys a general impression of the thing. Lining transfers are from Fox and the lettering is from the Railtec BCDR wagon sheet. The transfers have been sealed with satin varnish - I used enamel this time! Once bitten... Onwards towards more fiddly bits Alan

Lovely stuff, David. And scratch built cows! Must be a first Alan

Just found out about this event which may be of interest: Adventures of a "Fighting Railway": the Belfast Central Railway 1864-1885" A talk and book launch by Robert Phipps at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), 28 February 2023, 1pm Free admission but you probably need to register in order to attend https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/adventures-of-a-fighting-railway-the-belfast-central-railway-1864-1885-tickets-516487868117 Alan

Wonderful models of two fascinating vehicles, David. I can smell the diesel fumes and hear the rattle of the body panels. Inspirational. Alan

So, the swearing eventually stopped, the tantrums subsided and when calm was restored, the recovery got underway. The engine casing doors were remade, the rivet strip reinstated and some Halford's grey primer was applied with care... ... and every cloud etc, so with encouragement and advice from jhb171achill (thank you again JB), we took the opportunity of the repaint to try and get a bit closer to BCDR green. That Great Western colour I used before was a bit too olive. This time Humbrol Brunswick green enamel was the starting point, darkened with a little black. There's loads of room inside this bruiser so the shell is now lead-lined... ... and here's an approximation of the control desks for inside the cab. They'll hardly be seen. Onward and upward again Alan

It's always a blow when things go wrong. It's discouraging and the first instinct is often to fix it as soon as possible but, in my experience, it's as well to resist that impulse. Others here would undoubtedly say the same. (They have done for me in the recent past and I'm glad I listened). Best to wait until calm descends again before tackling the repair. It's a wonderfully good model as it stands, Kevin but I understand your desire to get it right. Best of luck with the work. I hope you can make the necessary changes without too much hassle. Alan