Galteemore

It is rather puzzling to see that the chassis in the OP seems to have no spacers. Is there anything holding the frames apart, @Westcorkrailway? Looks almost as if the whole thing is being held together by the axles.

It could be an old photo JB, but if you want to read the article he wrote it’s in that 1976 mag ! It’s about clockwork mechanisms, funnily enough. Or could we be seeing the airbrushing and filtering of railway modellers at an early stage? Was this a trend we started that the Kardashians followed?

A copy of ‘Model Railways’ has just appeared on eBay, the one which features Drew himself on the cover, from May 76. What I think is his Meccano-based rivet machine is also in view!

Ok. Have you any J26 drawings to hand? Sounds like an ideal chance to try your hand at plasticard scratch building.

Seems a shame when the foundations are there.,Is the footplate etch present? The tanks are square rather than rounded so easy enough to scratch. Chimney and domes are straightforward enough to source in the 4mm market - I think some GW tyoes might be close.

What’s missing from the rest of the kit ? Makes sense to build it as a J26 and scratch up the missing bits ? The chassis is the most difficult part of any build. If that’s sound (and it looks it), may as well just finish it as the designer intended!

Please post what you find. It’s something I use a fair bit!

I made up one of his C and L brakes in 3mm. Very brittle axle box castings broke off and ended up adapting another chassis. I know some have found the printing rough. I won’t be making another balcony out of entomology pins in a hurry! I think @KMCEhas experience here.

Excellent. That’s very sharp and crisp work for 4mm - looks more like a 7mm scene. But shouldn’t the bloke on the right be in the fiddle yard ?

Thankfully at least some of their local operatives still retain a concept of being public servants. Our local round was blessed with one such during the pandemic.

Look forward to what’s next! This one will have taught you a lot

Sobering to think that those who flew them had every expectation of not coming back if they had been used in their primary nuclear strike role. As it was, their only operational use occurred right at the end of their careers - and what a mission that was!

Must be something about how they were used - longish runs instead of the short shunts such locos usually did? This was a standard EE class, some of which are still in industrial usage. So it can’t have been a dud design. The notes on this photo tell the whole story of the NIR DHs to date : click on it and read….

Only really smart choice for mainline work is another WT. For a preserved line, an MGWR J 26 or Glover tank.

Wonderful. Incredible aircraft. Was lucky enough to see one in flight. The Vulcan scenes in Thunderball are still worth watching.

Fascinating. Often thought the Victorians missed a great opportunity to build a ‘Grand Union’ terminal in Belfast. Growing up, and commuting to school on the NCC, it always struck me how cut off York Road in particular seemed from the rest of the city. By the 1970s, bombing (aerial and ground), road ‘improvements’ and urban blight had left a no-man’s-land between the station and the city. It was hard to believe what a thriving artery York Street had once been, all the way up to Royal Avenue. Even so, a traveller from Larne heading to Dublin or Downpatrick faced quite a schlepp by foot or tram. The opening of the link bridge in the 1990s was a wonderful moment - just a pity it took so long. Hopefully the fully integrated transport system that NI needs is finally beginning to shape up. What a fantastic model such a union station could make - Moguls, Compounds, and BCDR No 6 side by side!

On Met line at Chorleywood yesterday and passed this. Met Rlwy and SLNC both used Saxby and Farmer for signal cabins. This one needs painted green!

Generic google image Stephen! The electricity post in the background looks continental though. Possibly somewhere in Germany. Which is G class country anyway

Agreed - looks a bit daft. On the other hand, it’s well cared for and much more feasible to preserve properly in future. And beats looking like this:

The source is Des Coakham, JHB. Dark green with yellow lettering. It’s in his Broad Gauge Carriages book. In defence of Alphagraphix, most of the card kits are actually pretty accurate. The livery on his painted brass models can be less so. This is I suspect for 2 reasons. Firstly - painted with whatever shades and transfers he had in stock. Second - these display models are mostly seen in UK venues (past tense probably as I don’t think he does shows now) and the coaches were purchased by generic light railway modellers, rather than purist Irish modellers. Roger is a skilled graphic designer with a very good knowledge of Irish railways - and has published in the field - so it’s not that he makes careless mistakes on this. And as for Roger’s green CIE locos, I wonder if anyone ever took Drew Donaldson to task over his unprototypical green paint. If so, I’d have bought tickets to that encounter !

The parcels vans were maroon as they originally formed part of the 1921 mail train. The horse box, AFAIK, was green.

This is a fabulous set of photos Ernie - that photographer racked up some miles in June 57.

My seconds will wait upon you in the course of the morning, Mr Holman. Swords or pistols? In all seriousness, delightful to see these. Roger C has provided a wonderful resource in these kits and the fold up chassis is very clever indeed. His half etched rivets make for a lovely smokebox. As you’ve shown, a bit of detailing makes the locos even more effective and attractive. Having built 3 of his loco kits now myself, they go together very well, although the 5’3” builder does need to keep a watchful eye on splasher clearances etc.

Johnson and O’Rourke’s book on Irish modelling contains a number of photos on pages 74-75. They are exquisite- including 800 Maedb in proper GS green, and GSWR/GN locos in their respective greens. The complex liveries look spot on. He also, I know, has an SLNC Lissadell from the North Star kit, painted plain black and seen below, from the New Irish Line archive. It has the correct plain black buffer shanks. At least some of his models are to 36.75mm gauge.

Thanks for sharing this personal story which brings the bare statistics to life. 10th Hussars eventually merged to become King’s Royal Hussars. Now armed with Challenger tanks, they still rely on rail transport on occasion. Photo crown copyright, Cpl Mark Webster.