Galteemore

Annaghmore Turf Railway

Very nice Noel. Look forward to seeing it finished !

That loco release with y points is a neat amelioration of the space-eating headshunt issue that can bedevil a small layout.

A small but frustrating model is done. The humble platform barrow. This one consisted of some 17 separate parts. It has collapsed on numerous occasions during the build but seems to be holding up now....all part of my quest to replicate the platform as seen at Dromahair, a typical 50s SLNC station....

Nice work, Mark. It’s very satisfying when those flat sheets start taking shape and you see the character of the wagon emerging.

Good man yourself ! It’s a great book and you’ve inspired me to drag mine off the shelf for a look....it’s got just the stuff you want!

I did Japanese N for a bit - great fun for plug and play!! Stock is cheap and the whole system is designed to pack away after a session..

Mind you, General Humbert led a French army across Connaught in 1798 - including along the future SLNC route between Carrignagat and Dromahair! Not sure if the British artillery pieces he dumped in the River Bonet are still resting in the murky depths...

Agree, David! This year I spent a large amount of my modelling fund on books - mostly Wild Swan press. Money well spent. This was one of them, and I incorporated several ideas from it into my layout. I actually sold some books specifically to buy this one and it was a good move. Copies are a little rarer now as it’s become a cult classic. I can’t find it in the stocks of my usual second hand book dealers but Amazon have one s/h copy if you’re quick!!

Great stuff David - nice to see another step along the road ! Looks a very professional job.

Some issues are still available from Wizard Models at a fair price - https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/?s=Rail+model+digest+&post_type=product - 1 2 and 6 feature David Malone’s stuff. Seems like remaindered stock rather than s/h.

True, JHB - too big for Downpatrick and too small for the main line! Although I find the ‘Lough Class’ a bit too bulbous in design (I think the Sir Henry class was the most aesthetically balanced within the SLNC fleet) it arguably deserves a place stuffed and mounted at Cultra as the last conventional standard gauge Irish steam loco built (the Turf Burner doesn’t count!).

Agreed. Or a GSWR 4-4-0.....https://transportsofdelight.smugmug.com/RAILWAYS/IRISH-RAILWAYS/GREAT-SOUTHERN-RAILWAY-STEAM/i-fWh53KQ/A

One on each wagon Jack - one end only. It’s a brakeman’s hut. Normally only seen in continental Europe (the origin of this wagon). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brakeman's_cabin

Good point in the previous post, MM. This has got to be one of the best interests in the world - so much to learn but can be accessed at all kinds of price levels: from pop barons like Pete Waterman and Rod Stewart right down to the rest of us!

Can’t advise on the cattle wagon till I access my library later, Mark. The convertible wagons definitely were out and about and would have been seen on the MGWR. Egg traffic off the SLNC, for instance, was quite significant.

Thanks gents - it’s taught me a lot. The colour is Railmatch weathered black, David. It’s like a well-used chalkboard in tone and just has that off-black look we want for 50s CIE.

Re the Clogher Valley trip, JHB senior was wise to leave the Box Brownie at home - the Battle of Britain was currently being waged, with daily fears of German parachutists descending from Ju52s dressed as nuns.Touting a camera about in July 1940 near the border would’ve been a risky venture...

Lovely job Noel - they look absolutely fab!

Have a look here..as a former N gauger, I loved Colin’s models and at least some of his catalogue has Irish conversion possibilities... .

Having spent three years of my life analysing NI’s WW2 political history, I can confirm the general truth of what Airfix fan is saying re parades! The journalist James Kelly certainly refers to it in his memoirs ‘Bonfires on the Hillside’.https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780952556503/Bonfires-Hillside-Eyewitness-Account-Political-0952556502/plp l will check my sources when I can access them.....

Well it’s all over bar the shouting on this build. Although my wife would rightly tell you there’s been plenty of shouting on the way. It’s not perfect by any means but at least it has progressed from the tangled mess of brass it was last autumn. Loads of errors but lots of learning too. It is not black, be reassured @jhb171achilla truly black loco is included for comparison - I have been paying attention to the excellent livery tutorials here. A top tip from @Mayner in another thread pointed to me to a suitable Railmatch aerosol. And I think I’ve fixed the wonky 2 on the tank sides since the pics! The body is sitting loose on the chassis so there may be a tiny gap here or there.

I did wonder about the date myself. It would be a rather risky thing to go taking pics of any transport activity in wartime - let alone a troop train - with a bystander in plain sight !

SLNC wagons were regularly seen in Belfast, off the shipper naturally. I have never seen the coaches beyond Sligo, and Sprinks suggests that GN coaches were hired in for special trains that the SLNC couldn’t support from its own fleet.

Almost certainly July 13 - Sham Fight day at Scarva - probably an excursion from Newry. Would explain why such antiques were allowed out on the main!