Galteemore

This looks very much like a J26 on the main line, with a fairly hefty train behind….

Excellent work Patrick. The layering of height effects is a world away from the billiard table with track on it one often sees (and I have often produced ). For the era, I think the lifebelts would be red and white, though.

To be fair, given my proclivities, that scenario is more of a nightmare than a dream. A world without the SLNC would have been very much duller….

Agreed - very glad to have discovered it.

Wagons from all over Ireland would have appeared on the MGW, coaches less so bar the odd special. Irish goods traffic tended to be more in vans than opens. Farm machinery etc would make a nice open wagon load. Here’s a typical breakdown of what would flow through a station in the west; Dromahair in this instance. It’s a 1940s-50s description but much of the traffic would have been the same for decades. Egg export was a big trade on the railway in those years too, both from Manorhamilton and Dromahair. Stuart J. Gilmore ‘s were egg shippers as was John Beirne of Drumkeeran. The latter shipped three wagons every week to Sinclairs of Glasgow. In the pre-Christmas period turkeys travelled in large numbers. They were unloaded, plucked and re-packed in Belcoo. There was always a rush at that station for the wagon with the hen turkeys. Pluckers got 3d for plucking a hen and 4d for the harder job of plucking a cock. Another item of interest leaving Dromahair station was eels. These were caught in early Summer on Lough Gill and surrounding lakes by Fermanagh fishermen. Every morning six large wooden cases of eels packed in ice and weighing a cwt. were sent to Billingsgate Market in England. During the war years, 50 wagons of turf left the station every week for Fuel Importers Ltd.,Barrack Street, Drogheda. The turf was cut at Greaghnafarna, Tullynascreena, Corglancy and Raemore and brought to the station by S.L & N.C.R and C.I.E. lorries. Leitrim Co. Council workers were responsible for loading the turf into the wagons. The lorry drivers were Tom Corcoran and Paddy Conway for C.I.E. and Stephen Murphy, John Roche and Frank Lee for the S.L & N.C.R. Inward Goods. For many years grocery and hardware supplies for Dromahair, its hinterland and surrounding towns came by rail –sugar from Tuam, bread from Derry, flour from Pollexfens of Ballisodare, biscuits from Jacobs of Dublin, cigarettes from Carrols of Dundalk and the list goes on. One item in particular was of special interest to the children. On Friday evenings in Summer, Paddy Downey of the Post Office collected an insulated container of ice-creamfrom Kevinsfort Dairies in Sligo. Mrs. Downey sold it in the Post Office and many, then children and now in their twilight years, can still remember the joy of a twopenny ! The shopkeepers nearest to the station were Pat Mc Goldrick, John Ward, Marie Travers, James Latten and William Parkes. Larger consignments arrived at the station too. Cement from Drogheda Came in 12 ton wagons for Gilmores and O Haras and for Frank Dolan of Drumkeeran . Sheets of tin in ½ tonconsignments came from Thomas Henshaw & Co. Dublin for Gilmores and Robinsons. Indian corn was railed from Dublin every month—12 wagons each carrying 12 tons. Whiskey, beer, cider and Guinness arrived for the local pubs

Please do, Patrick …..;)

Sound advice here. You can also do much to ensure the success of a layout like this by paying attention to the incidentals. Get the architecture, signalling etc right and a few discrepancies in the rolling stock will be less obvious- applying basic principle of military camouflage!

Excellent and inspiring work. Looks as if a short SLNC mixed has just run in with tar for the local roads, too….

Excellent stuff. What scale ? If it’s 2mm, @Angus can advise. 4mm, @Maynerand @2996 Victorwill know. @David Holmandoes 7mm, which would be much easier to scratch build in, and at least four MGW loco kits are available in 7mm, although some require a little work to backdate. Card kits are available for Midland coaches in 7mm from Alphagraphix - easily scaled down to 4mm if you go that route. I dare say that some careful work with some RTR models might produce passable results. But for real pleasure giving modelling I’d go down the scratch/kit route. Having rapidly learned the skillsets myself in recent years, it’s not as hard as it’s often made to look. I don’t model MGW but just finished a 7mm MGW loco and coaches this week for a good friend. It’s a fascinating railway with some real distinctive features.

Belfast - image off RPSI website from J A Cassells

Well that’s 3 months work finished. I have been working on a commission for the new owner of Rosses Point. An 1890s MGWR branch train was ordered so that’s what he got! Alphagraphix kits suitably backdated. Delivered tonight and he seems happy, which made me happy. The nameplate is temporary until the correct ‘Robin’ ones arrive. Hopefully we’ll pass the @jhb171achilllivery test …

Excellent work Angus. As for the carpet monster, I have realised that sometimes you have to work on its terms. Last night I was fitting crank pins and nuts on a chassis and felt the best course was just to get down at floor level with a plastic tray and do it there…..nothing was lost this time…. It’s amazing how far and invisibly tiny items bounce when dropped from desk height !

Nice. Clearly visible on the Sligo tank is the famous brass plate declaring the engine to be the property of Beyer Peacock, as the SLNC couldn’t stump up the cash! The engine is freshly coaled - probably about to work the mid morning goods to Enniskillen - returning that night on the 7:20 ‘mixed’.

What all of them said! Great work, well done!

That looks great - and a very inspiring link

All the time, if you mean goods stock. Wagons from all over Ireland could be seen pretty much anywhere, especially prior to 1922, after which the border damaged much of the old cross-country trade. Belfast, for instance, had a huge rope works (biggest in the world). It was in BCDR territory, so highly likely that an order of cordage for a Galway chandler would come west in a County Down wagon.

That’s maybe a little harsh, Jb, although does apply to some of his brass kits that have been made up, as below….They are largely, I suspect, painted that way to attract UK light railway modellers to buy them. His card kits tend to be more accurate, although you need to double check the precise dimensions of some. I’ve also included one I made from styrene but using his drawings and colour scheme. IMG_0298.MOV

@KMCEoffers some fine 3d wagons which would look great in a goods train of that era

Excellent Angus. Scale is vital here as you say. In 7mm it’s hard for the eye to take in the whole train at once, so you can get away with less stock (I’m hoping so anyway for my 0630 ex Sligo goods!). Less so in 2mm where you can take in whole train in an eye blink. The big selling point of 2mm is that it allows just that placing of a correct train length in a significant piece of landscape.

Lovely. A GN ‘P’ van in the train. That J15 is very clean -look at the shine!

I’m sure they wouldn’t turf him out. This, apparently…

@jhb171achillwould still prefer travelling in one of those to an ICR….

The Queen’s late racing adviser, Sir Michael Oswald, was as knowledgeable on iron horses as he was on fleshly ones - that came out at his memorial service last week. The Duke of Gloucester was once a regular customer at Chuffs Model Shop in London, so you never know if he’s lurking here….and the Queen does seem to take an interest in GN steam….although lip reading experts have apparently gleaned that she was saying ‘should have been a Mogul or at least a Mogul Tank on the NCC main line. At least they sorted me out with that in ‘53….’

They are mostly 7mm but Roger will often scale the card kits down if asked nicely

Excellent stuff. Very nice work on the Alphagraphix kit. The GSWR being major customers of Slaters Plastikard is certainly something I hadn’t realised