Galteemore

Friend of mine took this vid at Balmoral. Of note is elderly gent at right. First chairman of the RPSI in 1964 and can actually remember the GNR before blue engines came in!!! IMG_7710.MOV

A few kicked around York Road for years IIRC. At the time they were all scrapped the RPSI was rightfully focused on getting enough steam locos and coaches in service to run trains. Wagon preservation in Ireland has been very hit or miss - most glaring omission being a cattle wagon. The spoil wagons wouldn’t really earn their keep as ballast wagons on an heritage line either, as they were designed for the specific task of dumping stones beside the railway and not on it!

Grey Fergies even graced the SLNC……although this isn’t the best place to pose for a photo…..

IIRC Larne Line resignalling c1984 killed all that off. The old searchlights and somersaults all went along with the signal cabins.

I think they mean the initial pax run from Dublin to Dundalk…

I’m intrigued to know what a ‘family stowage area’ is….some sort of cage for holding parents and kids ?

The subtle tones and colouring of this layout are just wonderful.

What a beauty, Ernie! That June 57 collection you have is quite something. Every one a gem.

Agreed, brilliant desert stuff. Came across a brilliant quote by Churchill on Ludwig von Thoma recently, relating to his capture and subsequent hospitality with the 8th Army ….. Churchill remarked: "I sympathize with General von Thoma: Defeated, in captivity and... (long pause for dramatic effect) dinner with Montgomery".[15]

Letterkenny and Burtonport Extension Rlwy - a component of the Lough Swilly. Some graphic designer has clearly grabbed an image from somewhere and gone with it. Shame as it’s not the worst I have seen.

Some very rare footage of 3’ gauge steam working in east Belfast….https://digitalfilmarchive.net/media/super-8-stories-the-back-garden-628

This is rather fabulous, not sure if you’ve seen it yet….https://digitalfilmarchive.net/media/the-boat-train-2037

NCC branches eg Dungiven. Industrial railways eg Cavehill tramway, Belfast brickworks etc.

They are 0-6-0 whereas Tuam was 0-4-0. Apart from that….

Bit of work on a Fleischmann Anna might give you something passable …plasticard tanks and paint the wheels…even if it is HO, might pass 3’ rule….

This is how 3BG was in early RPSI ownership 60 years ago, in dark blue. Her paint for this outing, incidentally, was sourced by Galteemore Senior Senior……strictly speaking, she should not be wearing the Guinness plates, which came off a BG diesel. But they really suit her.

Sadly it’s 16 years too late to ask him…https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Piper

Nice wide angle of York Road, shows how wide the original footprint was. I only recall it from the 70s-80s when the motorway covered all that….

You have the skills Patrick - just haven’t tried them! Talking of PPs, here is a painting of one pre-WW1 on the Greenore boat train. In those days the fastest way to reach London from Belfast. The original was commissioned by Sir John Harcourt, Lord Mayor of Belfast, c1957, and hung in the BR boardroom at Euston for many years. Sir John had used the train many times and had great affection for it: the border sadly killed it off. The painting was by Raymond Piper, more famous for orchid paintings. Piper travelled extensively around the network to track down every vehicle used on the train and sketch it. The PP - by 1957 black with a riveted smokebox - was captured at Newry shed, and the sketch survives.

In London on business today I made a pilgrimage to Victoria St - right beside Westminster. Long rebuilt, but on this site, in the offices of Baxter and Co, the very first meetings of the SLNCR were held, and indeed this was its original correspondence address.

Interesting, Eoin. Stripping the paint off actually reveals that some good work has been done on the body - with some interesting omissions such as not rounding off the Belpaire edges.

We were regulars. Jim Crozier, one of the senior staff, was a huge enthusiast. His brother Sid built a fantastic 3.5” live steam GNRI SG3.

Recall it well. We had a few Mainline locos out of it. The modelling side gradually got smaller I think even before the whole outfit shut. I seem to recall a display layout ?? https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/history/leisure-world-belfast-toy-shop-22207332?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target

Nice to see someone in the first coach with their head out enjoying the show! Signals either show another train expected on the other line, or more likely, that Adavoyle box is switched out.

Fab pics Darius - wasn’t that a behemoth of an N gauge layout! Great to meet you yesterday.