Galteemore

Very nice. How did you do it ?

Avoid them would be my instinct. Unless you have a 1/43 sized figure standing by to pin down brakes etc……gradients like that on a model add all the inconvenience of the prototype without the compensation of the sound and smoke effect that an engine barking up that would give.

The sound and fury of a PG rushing that bank with a heavy load must have been something else.

Thanks everyone. Lots of inspiration from this site and Gordon Gravett’s books……Got to say, too,@David Holmanthat your mantra, crudely summarised by me as ‘model what is there, not what you think is there’ has been been most helpful!

Looks like a fabulous day out. Hats off to the DCDR and its volunteers.

Looks fabulous and subtly careworn!

What I did in my Christmas holidays … as hinted above, the test track has grown from having some ballast to some scenery, to realising that the IKEA Lack shelf allowed me to model Abohill halt (between Florencecourt and Belcoo) to absolute scale. So my photo plank actually replicates a scale section of the SLNC, which is rather fun. As usual, lots of mistakes and lots of learning too. Original photo taken post closure by J J Smith - no photos of the station in use have been published. Thanks to @Patrick Daveyfor pointing me to battery LED lights ! Now I’d better finish a loco to pose on it…

In fairness, I made sure everyone was treated as a name and not a number. And I ensured that we got two modern vehicles on the never never.

Thought you had him….yes, give the brass a go. It’s very satisfying, and you could have one of Roger’s engines built in a couple of weeks ….

They did, with PG and RT classes. The Sligo tanks were fitted with larger buffers to prevent locking on the curves.

We all have to start somewhere Steve. I built my first O gauge wagon five years ago - plastic kit. It rocked on 3 wheels - always build on a sheet of glass I then built this brass GW wagon kit as a starter in metalwork - loads of mistakes but in brass you can always fix stuff that would have to be thrown away in plastic. I know I’d really struggle to make an Airfix kit well…..this metal stuff is nowhere near as difficult as it seems- trust me!!

Roger does do a rather nice little JT tank, which is fairly simple to build and would look right. After that you could probably think about scratch building an RT

Very nice John - nice patina on the Deutz too - has a good ‘in traffic’ look. Look forward to the 50s mail train - as seen in Tim Shuttleworth’s photos??

Slaters do some nice van kits which are close in some ways, including a nice SECR brake which isn’t far off a GN 6 wheeler……https://www.slatersplastikard.com/wagons/gOWagons.php

Excellent. Nice for some relaxed shunting sessions too.

Thanks - knew I’d missed something! It was only meant to be a test track for locos but it’s got a bit out of hand..

Oh how exciting!! Just be careful - O gauge is highly enticing….seriously I’ve never looked back since dabbling in English O a few years ago. The gauge disparity from true 5’3” in hard numbers is pretty much exactly the same as in OO - 4.75 mm vs 4.5 mm - but in O it’s much, much less obvious. The rolling stock has a mass and presence all of its own in 7mm. A single wagon on a piece of track looks like something significant. And scale for price, it’s not really any more expensive. Wear well. Before you know it, you’ll be turning out a GN wagon in plasticard….and modelling is an excellent adjunct to the loving service that is the carer’s lot.

Trialling some dummy fishplates…..

Thought you only worked on St Stephen’s Day anyway ..,isn’t that when the Wrenn Boys come out ?

That’s brilliant Eoin - both concept and worked example. I have a rather knotty metal problem to solve but will now try a plastic version first…..

Looks well JB.

Excellent. It’s amazing how much you learn, not only about modelling, but also the prototype, when doing a subject like this.

I have had a few similar reactions - both chemical and verbal ! I understand that the solvents in enamel can take well over a week to clear. Enamel over acrylic is ok, but I know the reverse can be problematic.

Is it possibly Ballymacarrett Junction? That was regular Baltic territory.

It’s how it goes for the scratch builder isn’t ? So frustrating and so annoying when progress has been good, as yours has on this. I once had to take a slice out of the middle of a nicely rolled boiler. I’ve recently discovered that I will have to desolder the chassis extension on another loco and re-fabricate Sometimes you have to walk away for a while otherwise it’s tempting to chuck it at the wall. It will all be worth it in the end, and this will be a super loco.