Galteemore

Lovely work as ever Alan. Always a moment of trepidation when you see if the chassis will roll, but this looks very good. I do empathise with the curved running plate issue, having built an Inchicore version a few years ago. But if anyone can do this you can!

Could always have a game of pontoon or a glass of Baileys if it’s getting too much

Indeed so. NIR offered little for ‘trainspotting’ in the 80s but I well recall a pilgrimage to Lisburn c1986 to do just that - as it offered far more variety than my home station of Downshire!

Is O gauge. Worth about $250 new. Local swapmeet such as Bray or Cork would be a good bet.

Interesting stuff re Coleraine, where we lived for 4 years, and thankfully I managed to guess correctly before pressing the cheat button! In terms of BNCR livery, I suspect the Hull tram is carrying the very same paint she did when withdrawn, so is as authentic as it gets. There aren’t many locos like that in preservation - untouched for a century! On a broadly related topic, I understand that the curators of the oft-forgotten LMS Pacific ‘City of Birmingham’ have ruled out a return to running order, as this would mean destroying the genuine original livery applied by BR craftsmen at Crewe before she was handed over to the city authorities. An unusual case - for railways - of the paintwork itself being ‘listed’.

Russell Currie’s book perhaps ? Portstewart Tram in Hull museum (yes, it’s an odd one that!) is probably the closest you’ll get to that era in terms of anything preserved. I’m not an NCC expert by any means so don’t know how the livery changed from BNCR to NCC.

So glad you have taken this one on Alan. Absolutely iconic loco. Know what you mean about those sheets of metal asking to be used:) Really looking forward to seeing how you bring no 6 to life.

And one of the great might-have-beens of preservation. Hung around in a scrapyard for ages. Would have been perfect for Downpatrick and Whitehead. Had barely 15 years of use. 3 of the English Courtaulds Pecketts survive

Looking good. Can almost taste the lukewarm tea and curled up sandwich.

That’s most interesting. I’d forgotten some early DMUs had these, and you inspired me to have a quick web trawl. Apparently these vehicles were supplied to be inserted as required and featured on such services as Newcastle/Carlisle. What a lovely thing it is to have on train catering - even the most dismal cup of tea somehow takes on a magic of its own when consumed onboard a moving train. My favourite DMU journey in the 90s was the Newcastle-Stranraer through train, which I boarded at Waverley. Cup of tea in hand, even the early morning Scottish industrial landscape of Lanarkshire had a charm…

Don’t let that put you off. You have more skills than you know / just need to practice them!

Saw this and thought of you….

Coming on very nicely Derek. Some great middle-distance views

Perfect start to 21mm gauge which will hopefully inspire a few others !!

Good to see some hands-on modelling going on. You might well be the last person who builds a Hunslet kit!

Must have been heartbreaking to rip up all that work, David, but will hopefully pay dividends. Great news about the Swilly tank: anything that saves time drilling and cutting is great news.

Thanks Colin: some interesting SLNC views. Lissadell was in very poor condition at this point, and was just waiting for the scrapman to arrive, but the rain makes her look like she’s just out of the paint shop in gloss black!

Simply beautiful. The 3d work underlying it is very impressive, but you have made all that detail come alive through such diligent finishing work. Stunning loco.

Most interesting. Not the first time railways and air power have interacted in Ireland. In 1920-21, British troop trains carried roof markings to facilitate protection by RAF escort. At least one IRA unit was dissuaded from attacking a train in consequence.

All of us broad gaugers stumble a bit! Looking good so far. Sleeving axles is probably a fairly cost effective way to go about it. And brakes are a pain. Some 7mm Irish kits are designed on the - quite reasonable - assumption that most people will build to 32mm, and the fold up brake gear designed accordingly !

That’s just spectacular. Really captures the subtle BCDR look you’ve set out to achieve.

I think this takes some beating….

Always good to see someone posting their modelling. Add some Irish scenic touches like phone boxes etc if you can to help finish it off. The station building has the makings of a GNRI prototype. And please keep posting !

@David Holman - any pics of the 1900 era from Saturday? Much as I love the 50s stuff it’s great to see the MGW/GSW stuff on show. I do think you need a WLWR loco at some point….;)

Sounds like your layout is taking on SLNCR PW characteristics David! Hope all gets sorted out without too many dramas. Given the hard life exhibition layouts lead, it’s amazing how often things go right! love the photos, and it’s a real treat to pose stuff on NPQ. The track plan is just enough to allow decent operation but sparse enough to allow space and perspective. The brown van isn’t quite finished yet but I couldn’t resist running it (and finding that its B2B needed a tweak). By coincidence, a photographer caught Lurganboy about to leave Enniskillen on the 12pm to Northport earlier that day…;) Nice to see she made the journey safely across!