Galteemore

Liked it so much I picked up my own copy a few months ago. The bookseller knocked a few quid off as...’it’s falling to bits’!

Bit more progress on No 4. The ‘box’ that comprises the main structure (the panelled sides will be stuck on as an overlay) is done, as is the chassis. Last year I built a TPO which went ok but I have become increasingly dissatisfied with the finish. And its running gear involves some £30 worth of brass and steel - it needs to earn its keep! So last night the TPO was grounded and the rolling chassis (compensated Alphagraphix) transferred over. I also had to cannibalise the brake gear a bit as SLNC coaches only had brakes on the middle wheels and one end...

Interesting and fine work Ken. Those rear tabs on the bunker look useful for locating the steps - that’s a trick Alphagraphix use with some of their tank locos.

Yes, this book was my constant companion as a youngster, and made mention of the tramway remnants - but I could never find much evidence remaining. A favourite spot on the school commute was the remains of the Courtaulds sidings, which did have a few tantalising relics in situ.

Nice. My childhood haunts. Is that underbridge at Magheramorne where the quarry tramway ran?

It’s 21mm gauge. I saw it at Scaleforum last year

Although intriguingly, that looks very like a 2-6-4 chassis etch in the pictures....

In all seriousness, there’s a multifaceted argument here on the economics. I don’t buy RTR because of what I model, and so it’s in my interest to support small suppliers - it’s rather inconvenient to pick up small selections of brass washers etc from the ‘box shifters’. So I don’t mind paying a small ‘insurance premium’ on purchases if you like, simply to keep shops open so I can buy a single small pot of paint when I need it rather than paying £4 postage from a large impersonal store. Large retail outlets are fine for simple big ticket items - not so handy when you want a packet of static grass or a stick of low melt solder. I am currently very fortunate in that the tiny English village we live near has a model railway shop in it - with another 20 mins away. A sound fiscal case can be made for shopping there rather than online.

Here’s one from the Alphagraphix catalogue for now....

Thanks all - seemed a shame to dispose of a nice espresso cup. Just right for Limonene solvent - must remember not to drink it!

It’s been quiet on the Galteemore workbench of late. Well actually it hasn’t. There have been screams of anguished rage as chunks of metal fail to cooperate. A machine tool from Germany, inbound this week, will hopefully allow me to progress that particular project to the extent that I can share it. I really don’t want to talk about it right now! Pending the arrival of mechanical aid from the land of beer and sausages, I have endeavoured to do something at least. A Sligo Leitrim saloon brake has had the panel layers cut and prepared.

This is a rather nice LNWR project under way.....https://newprincegeorgesteam.org.uk/ Probably tackled this idea in a thread before but I think the ultimate candidate for an Irish new build has to be a southern 4-4-0 of some description - it’s the gaping void in preservation. Kerry Bogie would be nice...

Gorgeous prospect ! We can only dream. Thanks to Ernie we at least have this.

Yes, I read that. Interesting to see who it was by, too - Maurice Hopper. His speciality is S scale, building small layouts that he actually transports to shows by train. Working in S means he pretty much has to make everything by hand and there’s obviously a limit on how large his layouts can be. It’s an interesting philosophy. The late David Lloyd - who built fine Irish NG stuff - had a related approach - modelling was a holistic pursuit which also involved Purcell on the record player and something decent in a glass.

What Ken said! I also think the etched rivets may be slightly larger than scale, which affects the perception of how deep the gap is between door and outer rim of smokebox. Looks good to me though, and it has that essential step down between smokebox and boiler. P

Did a bit of digging and I think they were also used to charge kitchen car tanks...

Yes - pretty sure it’s for recharging gas light.

No but when you open the cab door a whiff of Major cigarettes wafts gently out...

Don’t be daft JHB. Those last bits won’t be in cab 2. They will be on a separate sprue so you can pick which flavour you want, and the Indos will be supplied with a range of dates!

Here’s Sutton station via this site..http://irishrailwayarchitecture.blogspot.com/2018/11/watt-shock-sutton.html?m=1 The edges of the picture do suggest a covered footbridge. Agreed - it’s not Dundalk or Drogheda

Thankfully officialdom can work the other way too! BCDR No 30 at Cultra had a lucky escape after the UTA noticed a major surge in the value of copper, and intensified their loco scrapping efforts. No 30 was a prime candidate for the torch until the late Harold Houston at York Road had her sent to the isolated shed at Cookstown Junction until the market settled again!

Alan O’Rourke is pretty good on this David - an email to him can yield more information on many subjects. I have certainly found him a wellspring of helpful facts! On instructions, there was an interesting debate on the Gauge O Guild Forum lately as to whether a kit designer was actually the best person to write them - a case could be made for a joint effort with someone who had never seen the etches before and could come up with potential pitfalls or ambiguities that the designer may have unconsciously overlooked.

Intriguingly, the NI Government was taken to task on one closure by a former Ulster Prime Minister in a 1950s speech at Stormont. JM Andrews (NI PM 1940-43 and brother of the Titanic designer) asked why the line could not be reopened to Comber given its likely usefulness and that it still wasn’t lifted. The fact that Andrews had been a BCDR director pre 1921 - and his family mill had sidings off the line - may have influenced his thoughts!

I remember coming home at about the age of 11 from a visit to my grandparents in Leitrim and eyeing up a Wrenn 0-6-2T in the loft with a view to such a project. Don’t think it would have ended as well as yours Mayner! 2mm would be a fantastic scale to model the SLNC, with the greater scope it gives for sweeps of landscape. As Mr H says above, imagine the 7:20 in all its faded glory - seen at full length in an Irish landscape ....

Great stuff, Ernie. Think you may be right as it doesn’t look like any of the familiar angles of the main stations. The scenery looks too free of hills to be along the middle of the line. I suspect it may be taken facing south at Collooney. I think Casserley may have had a brake van run on a cattle train, which would also fit - Collooney being the main starting point for the SLNC livestock specials.