Galteemore

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.

Those June 57 images are delightful Ernie

It’s pre 78 if 186 is in black - I’m not sure from pic. She was repainted green for First Great Train Robbery that year. Not using RPSI stock, either, which is interesting and should help narrow options.

He’s a fine lad. Use his chassis jig.

The slight curve in the road - and thus the houses - is very effective in adding an extra dimension of realism.

Yes it’s a bit hit and miss but some gems amidst the straw….

Depends on the loco….;)

Hi Roger - I’m Irish but live off the Met line so not far from you’. Welcome to the forum. Loco is an GSWR 52 class 4-4-0, no 59. You’d be looking at a very elderly English 4-4-0 to recreate that!!!

Excellent Alan. Science Museum in Manchester holds the BP archives. They may well have a GA for this. It’s one of my own favourites, givens its strong likeness to the SLNC tanks. Much of the plate work seems very similar, although interestingly the County Down went for rounded off tanks rather than the simple SLNC rectangles! Probably a cost factor….

Excellent work David. Really appreciate you showing the nuts and bolts of this. What’s the procedure for mounting to locos?

The class gets an honourable mention in ‘A Decade of Steam’ - Driver Bill McDonnell says that a 500 was in especial demand for heavy passenger specials and they were his favourite CIE class. Once a 500 had lifted a train to 50-60mph, ‘she could lope along on a whisper’.

Funnily enough, I was recently given an ancient Slaters kit of an RCH 6-planker to make up. Couldn’t resist adding some SSM transfers and a real wood interior. I also altered the strapping a bit to the Irish pattern. Not perfect but 2’ rule and all that….

He should have bought 207 Leslie, never mind 2750!!

Yes, the ‘express’ bit simply referred to the non-stop run through the north. The Dublin-Dundalk leg did look rather more impressive as it could attract some heavy motive power of S class and above. Up the Irish North, though, the pace got more leisurely !

Clearly the young lad is cut from the same cloth as Mr W….. Totally agree with the livery. Just recalls that immediate post steam era when the railway was still run with proper goods trains, semaphore signals, and little byways such as Ardee and Loughrea still saw trains. And you could get a decent meal on the Sligo Mail….

Indeed, but as GSR 800 comments, the Enterprise worked differently. One particular feature was a shutter in the bar, which was moved across at the border to shut the ‘northern drinks cabinet’ and open the ‘southern’ one, thus ensuring alcohol was sold at correct duty rate in each jurisdiction! The only other train, I think, which crossed the border without checks, was the Bundoran Express, which avoided checks by not stopping at any stations in NI. Would have been a fine sight running round the curve of Enniskillen station.

I think the confusion here may arise from the modern use of ‘Enterprise’ for all Belfast-Dublin trains. Your train had an engine change but that would have been a normal Belfast-Dublin train and not the ‘Enterprise’, which was a non-stop service.

That was the last ever Belfast - Dublin steam. This was the specifically branded ‘Enterprise’ train, which was entirely diesel from summer 57. Specials and many slower through trains on the route were still steam worked up till 66.