Galteemore

That’s terrific Jim - thank you! Broadside views like that are brilliant for detail but not as common as one would like. Thanks too, David - has been a battle with numerous skirmishes!

Final post of 2020! Started on the curves. Splashers done - eventually. I spent a long time matching them up to the chassis ensuring that the front drivers could run freely without rubbing. It’s still a tight fit! It was really tempting to crack on with more interesting work but I have tried to hard to keep the rolling chassis free rolling as the build progresses / will hopefully reduce the final fettling. Boiler rolled - eventually. Belpaire firebox made and fitted - after a few goes!! Had made it too long initially, as I’d forgotten to deduct the 1’1” of firebox that projects into the cab. In an effort to remedy this I trashed the laboriously constructed cab front and had to make another. The windows are the tricky bit and since the photographs I have filed them into a more prototypical profile. Washout plugs are Great Central Rlwy pattern (another Beyer Peacock customer) white metal castings from JPL. This is a great store for model railway parts in Manchester, with a vague connection to Beyer Peacock, so it’s nice to have at least one Mancunian part on the model. Corners of firebox filled with plumbers solder and then filed into shape, rounding off the corners. A 6ba threaded rod - basically a very long screw - runs right through from smokebox to firebox to keep all aligned. All loosely in place to get an idea of what it will be like when brought together - so don’t worry if the fittings look a bit askew! The boiler will be pitched higher up when fixed in, as I still need to fit the dummy frame extensions that the smokebox will perch on. They really are huge boilers on these locos when you see them shorn of the side tanks. Happy New Year to all!

Great job. Scratch building can be so satisfying ! All ready to trip that fuel wagon down to Broadstone...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_Clearing_House Railway Clearing House ‘The RCH went on to set technical standards for various items, such as goods wagons, to promote standardisation across the rail network. If a wagon was described as an RCH wagon, this meant it had been built to comply with RCH standards.’

What a little jewel that is, John. Beautiful.

I think it’s what Coleridge called ‘the willing suspension of disbelief’....... I wonder if any Brazilian or Australian modellers have tackled it - they have 5’3” too.....

Agreed Ernie, it’s a great resource, with some great images dating back to the 20s. Found a fascinating one yesterday showing a wagon turntable leading into a potato supplier at Athlone - fantastic little modelling cameo for a layout corner

The ‘sweet spot’ for doing this was probably 15 years ago when the Murphy stuff came out and made RTR Irish stuff a true possibility. In an ideal world, the range would have included track and a small selection of rolling stock as well as locos which were 21mm by default and 16.5 by conversion. Rather as Hornby Dublo initiated its 3 rail track and stock in the 30s. Many Irish modellers could have started then with 21 mm from the outset, simply plug and play. However, that would have been a huge commercial risk, and I can see why it didn’t happen- those first 141s were a huge gamble in themselves. Much of the subsequent rolling stock production has taken 16.5 as a convenient starting place eg the first Provincial Wagons. The current boom in Irish modelling has rested a great deal on 16.5 underpinnings. I also suspect that many of the Irish locos and stock have been purchased by overseas fans as one-off consists to run occasionally on their HO/OO systems, and wonder just how many single-minded Irish modellers there may actually be, who would plunge into 21mm entirely. Although I am a big fan of true 5’3” track - and model it myself - I suspect that the legacy issues of stock conversion etc mean that 21mm may not be taken up by many.

Looks brilliant Robert!

It’s not a rerun. It’s a new book, focusing on the GSWR rather than the GSR.

Lovely. It’s the details that help here - ‘Irish’ signals, phone box and crossing gates set the scene even before trains appear !

Great progress David and I know what you mean about the face! You need have no fears on that score - it’s really acquiring character.

My understanding (based on 7mm) is that ultra scale stuff like P4 and S7 has much less tolerance in stuff like flanges. They are so fine that there is not much scope for error (and also why so much effort goes into compensation systems to keep stuff on the track). One of many reasons I went for 5’3” in fine scale and not ScaleSeven!

I think you mean now for a WT fore and aft ! Brilliant work - like the Cravens factory production line. You’ve earned that cake...

There’s an article in the latest ‘New Irish Lines’ I think

Lovely neat work Ken and a nice little prototype.

Great photos above of railbus both finished and in progress. That last picture of DVs could be Portrush on a summer Saturday. One of the nicest livery ironies was in Belfast Corporation. Most trams were dark blue and cream, but the oldest, open top, trams were red and cream - just the same as the brand new trolleybuses !

Happy Christmas Ernie - thanks for the gift (and the others you give every day !).

Merry Christmas from Rosses Point. Not sure even the SLNC could handle livestock like this!

He looks a Lidl worse for wear

Inspiring as ever, David - great progress to see, and learn from. Your soldering is also very clean !

Thanks Jim. He has a few additional comments to add for the captions if you’re keen !

As a teenager, I spent hours going through my dad’s collection of images, and thought I had seen pretty much what was out there, SLNC wise. In those days you bought slides and photos off very basic, unillustrated, catalogue descriptions, and you picked out what looked like the best. But what delightful and convenient access we have right now. These are halcyon days for researchers, with so much stuff available. Many thanks to Ciaran and of course our own Ernie ! If you’re not an IRRS member, this archive alone is worth the sub cost.

Sorry JHB - can’t do that, much as I’d like to, due to IRRS access conditions. It’s a generator van, also pictured in the recent RC Riley album....

Enniskillen is a ‘Large Tank’. So she needs...large tanks. And now they are finally on, after weeks of thinking through. She’s fresh from her Viakal bath (to clean off flux) and has a few water drops still glistening. In a good kit much of the planning is done for you with helpful tabs and slots to locate parts. With scratch building I find I spend at least two or three times as long on planning as building. Riveting the tank sides took much effort and many attempts, but turns out it was only half the fun!! 10 thou NS is very workable but also a bit bendy in long sections, so further planning.....Cue much adding of angle and rod to brace the sides and act as anchors for the other sides and ends, which also needed some rivet press attention. The tanks have a raised edge on the outside faces which needs accounting for. Anyway, stuck it all together today, adding beading and handrails as we went. Final job was adding some brackets at base of tank fronts. Thankfully all the reject rivet panels from previous work have given me a rich storehouse of ready riveted strips! Tack soldered cab faces in for now, just to give an idea of how she will look in terms of height, although cab front plate should be a good bit further forward. These were a huge task in themselves - especially the 0.3mm wires individually added one at a time for window grilles - but are effectively finished now including window frames. Hopefully the character of the loco is beginning to emerge. That’s now the ‘square’ bits of the loco effectively done. On to the round and curvy bits....or for those of you remember Playschool, time to look through the round window....