Galteemore

Thanks John - dead right on every count, although Dromahair and Glenfarne had unorthodox crossing arrangements too…. You can manage the basic WTT with 3 power units, if you assume that the 1115 goods didn’t run. So a daily freight from Sligo to Enniskillen and return, with 2 passenger sets either steam or railbus/railcar. I do have a small tank kit to hand, and a few railcar drawings….. Indeed, this will lend itself to modular operation nicely. Could easily have a few open scenery ones, and a halt like Abohill or Kilmakerrill……

Recent analysis of my modelling revealed some key principles ; 1. Building stock is fun but would be nice to run trains properly. Rosses Point is a great stock shuffler but you can’t run bigger trains. 2. Rosses Point proved the concept of building SLNC stock, so can reasonably confidently attempt an SLNC layout without having to add in a safety net of CIE stuff from commercial kits. 3. We have very little permanent space available. So any layout will have to be portable with detachable fiddle etc. 4. It would be nice to model something real rather than my own pastiche, just to stretch myself a bit further and learn more. Could I take some 120’ scale slice of the SLNC and model it? Enter Florencecourt. A simple but delightful station, which conveniently had the turnouts just away from the 120’ cutoff in the slice from level crossing to platform end! It will be a cameo layout on Ricean principles, with cassettes either end. How boring, you say as you espy the track plan! It is, however, a four layered project…. 1. The layout itself. The intent is to build this to scale as close as possible - point rodding, the works. So a lot of detail to work out and attempt to emulate. The viewpoint is assumed to be standing on the goods platform with the sheds behind you. I’d like to model them but they are a view block just where you don’t want it! 2. The stock. This will all have to be built from scratch essentially. So lots of work and research. Scope for oddities too like the GN weed spray. 3. The running. It will run to the WTT of 1950, 57 or earlier as required. With occasional wild cards such as a loco running to the works and of course cattle trains. 4. The operation. Eventually Belcoo and Enniskillen fiddle yards will have model block instruments and the plan is to signal the layout - even if by pure scale the signals are in the FY!

Last freight leaves Rosses Point…. The layout is now with its new owner so expect a new layout thread before too long!

Only occasion I can think of is if NIR was ballasting in the border area -as seen here at Dundalk, presumably to run round.

Could always do a ‘Castlederg style’ where the trickier parts of the motion are covered….

Lol - I was there when that set was named at Whitehead! Still remember it. Guess it was 1983. Went to school on Larne Line on 80s 1983-89. Getting an 80 was an average day. A good day was a 70 class. A rubbish day was a 450 class!!!

Looks the part. Nice NW Ireland narrow gauge look about it

JB - this is one I made from a 3mm kit, but Langley Models etc should do them in 4mm. Some parts from a car underframe might also make a fairly authentic one IIRC!

Agreed. Hundreds of excellent photographers must have walked past scenes like this and simply not recorded them - understandably given the price of film! But this is a gem.

Nice work David. Always good to see the rails going in! Nice ‘cyclorama’ background here. You’re definitely on Iain Rice’s Christmas card list !

Most interesting photo. Looks like final stages of an overhaul, looking at paint finish. Loco is in steam but front buffer beam is removed. Maybe a little fettling of the draincocks or cylinder seals ?

Just got one in from Galteemore Snr. Wow. What a book. Wonderful reproduction.

The liability question is most interesting. British Railways Board had a considerable number of closed properties on its books until 2013, including Chelfham Viaduct on the L and B, a line which closed some 13 years before BR even existed - British Railways inherited the Southern’s liability. The SLNC liquidators managed to sell off the NI assets within a year or so of closure, but struggled for quite a while to sell Weirs Bridge as it would have cost any contractor so much to dismantle.

Interesting to see how quickly some lines were lifted. I think my dad was still catching lifting trains around the Irish North in Fermanagh in 1960, lines which closed over 2 years before the CDR! The Cavan and Leitrim was also ripped up quite quickly.

He’s built some nice diesels and a. WT etc - don’t have pics, sorry. It’s coach 50. And I think you know him - he’s been around the RPSI since about 1968!

You’ll know the gent, seen here at Whitehead Model Railway day….he’s part of the T track group with MikeO who posts here.

Looks like this one Colin….https://www.hattons.co.uk/26598/bachmann_branchline_44_250_brick_signal_box_irish_/stockdetail

Nice. The RAF variant Harrier tends to be much better known given its high profile on CAS work in the early Op HERRICK rotations before the GR4s came in. That’s a lovely model and nicely shows off the distinctive FAA features.

Lovely classic mix Ernie - thanks ! The wagon at extreme right in the Bundoran express pic is most interesting. It contains a load from the Whiteabbey Bleaching Company - Henderson’s. This firm had a private siding, and one of the owning family is an excellent modeller of N scale Irish stuff.

Like Russian dolls - lovely !

Pics would help, Tony

Thanks Ken - don’t worry - wasn’t suggesting War and Peace! Something more like the old railway works drawing books which just contain key dimensions and detail differences. Will PM ….

Cheers Ernie. That must be one of the early Mogul trips down south. They had her very nicely turned out!

So good to ‘see’ you back here Ernie. Full cut off and light regulator for a while!

Clearly Angus is getting on better with the press than I did at first. On many nights I was ready to chuck it down those stairs!!