Angus

Thanks Galteemore, I have the link to that site in my favourites, one thing to watch is that they use a couple of different spellings of Dromahair, wading through the pictures reveals a few more of the station.

I'll look forward to seeing that Galteemore, one can never have enough SLNCR!

Hi Galteemore, Measuring my platforms they are 52.5mm over the ramps so 105ft. That's a pretty round number so I guess I've approximated from the 25" to the mile OS map. There are some errors on the map, none of the building footprints tie in with reality, the platforms seem ok though. Hope that helps? Are we about to see a 7mm Dromahair break cover? Cheers Angus

Hi Ken, At the risk of diverting David's thread, I'm modelling to 10.5mm gauge so a simple scale down will work thanks

How about 2mm just to complete the set? If it were possible I'd be interested in a couple of prints, appreciating that this doesn't represent a good business case!

It's more a problem when you inhale.......

A productive day has been spent drilling out the chassis and cutting to shape. I did take a couple of photos of the process but either my camera or computer has managed to corrupt them. The chassis assembly in the post above was set up in the mill and the axle holes drilled to 0.5mm then 1.0mm and finally 1.5mm before being reamed, the reamer didn't seem to take any material so I suspect my 1.5mm drill is slightly oversize. I then drilled out the brake holes, I tried using a 0.3mm carbide drill but manged to break this in the frame (I really cannot get on with these drills!). As my HSS 0.2mm drill was too short to drill through 1.7mm of the frames plus etch I reverted to the 0.5mm diameter. The holes will slightly oversize, but not seen behind the brakes. I also had to re-drill under the snapped drill so this will be slightly out of line, but again hidden under the brake gear. The frames was then roughly cut to shape with a piercing saw, I am always amazed how quick this is now I've learnt some proper technique, I only broke one blade in the process and that through stupidity. After attacking them with some files I've a presentable pair of frames. They just need separating and cleaning up. The chassis assembly can then commence. Three of the tender springs are photobombing the picture, I must get them soldered in!

0.5mm shanked drills are available from Proxxon at reasonable prices and also quality German and Swiss 0.5mm drills can also be found via the Jewellery tool supplier Cousins UK and Cookson Gold. I have some Seiko drills in the 0.2 to 0.3mm range that appear on Ebay from time to time price is around £25 for a box of ten. Other than that there are plenty of straight shanked drills available, I just find handling them a bit of a pain once they get down to the smaller diameters. You also need a decent quality pin chuck to hold them. I also use some three side micro broaches from Bergeon for adjusting very small holes to size

One thing that helps is to make sure you are using HSS bits (I prefer the shanked variety) and not the tungsten carbide bits widely (and cheaply) available on ebay and other outlets The tungsten carbide bits are very brittle and aggressively fluted so break really easy. The HSS ones are more flexible and more tolerant of use and abuse.

Thanks both for the advice. I'll look at adding the ashpan. I was planning to incorporate this as a separate layer behind the frames to give some depth. Although given the frames are a scale 4.5" thick that might be too much relief. I've considered a RSU on several occasions David, more for my 7mm modelling though. I see the benefits there, particularly when soldering overlays onto large chunks of brass. For the finer 2mm stuff I would be worried about the vaporisation effect, some of the metal thickness used are wafer thin. There is also the faff factor. A unit would be too big to keep out on the workbench so would need to be unpacked and put away each session whereas a soldering iron just sits at the side waiting to be switched on. Most of my problems occur from rushing and not clamping firmly and using heat sinks. I am getting better though! For the tender brake gear I am not going to use the items from the etch. Trying to make up the separate components would be too taxing. Instead I have some etched brake shoes complete with arms purchased from the Worsley Works scrap box at a show. I am hoping these will make life simpler.

Time to tackle one job I've been putting off, the tender handrails. There is no easy way of doing these, initially I drilled the tender base then added the uprights in 0.3mm brass wire. For the handrail tops I tried 0.5mm strip, but accurately drilling the 0.3mm hole in the centre of a 0.5mm strip proved too difficult so I just went with some more 0.3mm wire. I also realised why I couldn't fit the brake standard between the sandboxes and handrail, it actually fixes to the handrail. I've also removed the buffers, I decided I couldn't live with them and await a smaller set in the post. Apart from the rear lamp irons, which I will fit with the new buffers, that will finish the soldering on the body so I can start adding the plastic details. I've still the tender brake gear to fit to the chassis, another job I'm not looking forward to...... As I've reached a hiatus with the tender I've started on the loco chassis. Experience with the tender chassis showed that the etch is too thin to provide enough rigidity for the loco, it's ok for the tender chassis but not the loco, any twisting would jam the coupling rods. So I'm going to cut the chassis from sheet using the etched version as a template. Two layers of 30 thou phosphor bronze sheet (using phosphor bronze avoids the need for bearings in the frames) and the chassis etch were solder together with a blow torch then the coupling rod soldered on top to provide a guide for drilling the axle holes. Once the holes are drilled for the axles and the brake gear I'll cut out the chassis shape with a piercing saw. It's the first time I've attempted to do this, it could be interesting!

It's alright David, over on RMweb I called it a G2 then edited it to a G3 leaving a comment that any fool would know it was a G3 before finally realising my mistake and corrected it back to G2 Confused? I know am! I blame the gin......

Thanks Mayner and JHB, Actually the photo is a bit deceptive, I deliberately took it from a low angle as I've managed to dish the sandbox lids slightly. A touch of filler and a quick sand off to level will sort before the primer goes on though. The 101 etch is a bit a weird in that some parts fold and fit fine, others don't. I have experienced this before which shot down etches, I think the process removes any tolerance. That said your MGWR horsebox and meat van went together well so I've high hopes for the K class.

Some more progress with J15 tender, decent photos of the standard GSWR A type tender do seem hard to come by for detailing purposes. The rear is nearly finished, just the lamp irons to add. The rear steps caused a problem as the etched ones pinged off into the wildness after I'd very carefully bent them to shape. Some 1mm x 0.5mm brass channel was used as a substitute. When cut 1mm wide it is on the edge of what is visible to manipulate into position. I am also not sure about the buffers, they look a bit over scale. In some photos that buffers are large in comparison though. The front is also progressing nicely, I just need to add the handrails (a job I'm not looking forward to) and the brake standard, then all soldering on the body is complete. I can then add the plastic details. I have some 3d printed springs that look the appropriate dimension and the toolboxes will be from plastic strip with the etched ends and top glued on. The etched bodies provided with the sheet were way oversize, anomalies like this quite often occur when etches are shrunk to a smaller scale. I've a feeling the sandboxes on the front have a similar issue as I am struggling to find space to fit the brake standard. I've just noticed the righthand top steps needs bending back horizontal, the joys of model photography!

A modicum of progress can be reported. The easing of lockdown in the UK has meant days away for work, the opportunity to catch up with relatives along with a holiday (in the UK) has left little time at the workbench. A grotty day today gave the excuse for a few hours at the bench this afternoon so more progress was made with tender. A lot of forming and fettling to fit needs to be done and it was one of those days where everything seemed to need fitting twice, still persistence paid off. Most of the tender body is now complete with only the detailing needed. A bit of cleaning up is needed but it's coming along nicely. The motor will be mounted in the tender so I will need to form an opening in the coal plate for the drive shaft. I'll do that once I have the gears mounted in the loco chassis and the motor fixed in the tender. This will help me get it in the right place. In other news, my appeal for any unbuilt J15 etches turned up another two with one set of casting. This will let me build another J15 in the future, it will built as running in the early 60's hopefully with a superheated boiler so I can run it alongside the C Class diesel. With the etches came a nicely assembled footplate. This should speed up the body construction, which is useful as I really want to crack on to get to my next project. One I'm really looking forward to. John Mayner kindly agreed to reduce a couple of his etched locos to 2mm scale for me so I'm now in proud possession of MGWR K class, I've already bought the wheels, motor and gears but need to resist the temptation to start and just focus on the J15 until it is complete.

Hi KMCE, You are correct the end of the loop at Dromahair is too short for loco (at least as scaled form the 25" map). I think livestock were loaded near the station building end of the goods dock, the loop would enable the horseboxes and cattle trucks to be moved in, loaded and removed without having to shunt any wagons being unload at the two goods warehouses further down the goods bay. At least that's my supposition.

There was also a flour store behind the two goods stores fed by little stretch of narrow gauge rail on which ran a small bogie to transport the sacks. It was too short for a loco though. https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/30806021/killananima-dromahair-leitrim Strangely the Historic 25" map also shows a loop in the goods yard, which I've chosen to model. I've never seen this in any photos so can only presume it is either a figment of the surveyor's imagination or it was removed earlier in the station's history. Not many photos of the SLNCR seem to exist prior to the 50s and I've never found any early ones taken at Dromahair.

Co-incidentally the May issue of New Irish Lines arrived at lunch time with drawings of three DSER wagons including that van! A 3d printed version is available on Shapeways so I might invest in a few to kick start my van stock (1x GSR, 1X GSWR, 1xDSER) there's enough differences to make the distinct.

I love that van David the photo in Rails to Achill caught my eye too, I didn't realise the GSWR also had them, can you point me the way of a photo?

The first bit of progress to report. The bearing holes have been successfully broached out. I was dubious that there would enough brass on the etches to accommodate the standard 2mm association phosphor bronze bearings but there was. Just. I've used the standard approach of double sided PCB frame spacers, in this instance 8mm wide to allow for the broader Irish gauge. All clamped and ready for solder (I can only find one of my axle alignment rods so I bodged one of the axles, I'll need to find my other rods before I attack the loco chassis, I'm not bodging that!) So I've now got the basic inner chassis and the outer chassis all soldered. I've also bent up the tender flares and the inner partitions, I was hoping to get a rolling chassis and the superstructure soldered up but a late finish at work prevented that. Not much but a solid start.

Looking to start work on the 101 class requires some research as these loco varied a lot in condition through their lives. So which one should I model? I've spent some pleasant hours in the past few days wading through my relevant books, The tome that obviously missing is the recent Locomotives of the GS&WR, it has been ordered and is eagerly awaited. I'm intending to focus around the Sligo area which offers rich pickings for the modeller, as evidenced by the work of David Holman and Galteemore. The GSWR (WL&WR), MGWR and SLNCR all ran into Sligo with a strong presence of GNR freight stock and the occasional passenger coach. Photos of 101s at Sligo are rare, I've only found one of 121 late in CIE days, however it would be reasonable to assume they would have worked up from Limerick via Tuam. So I need to look for a loco based there. The GSR loco book gives allocations for 1938 and 1945 which suggests these were relatively static so I have a list of 101s based in Limerick. I'd also like to model a version as rebuilt with a 4'4" boiler retaining the iconic GS&WR double smoke doors, so I am looking for an engine so graced during the period from the creation of the GSR to the early 30s. Ideally I would like couple of decent photos of the loco to work from. I've chosen no 106, there are good three photos in the books of her in the early 30s around Limerick albeit on the lines to the west rather than the north. She does have an ugly stove pipe chimney in one picture (but we'll ignore that insult to her appearance) there are also photos of her at a later date after acquisition of her Z type boiler in 1937. On to the build: I've collected the parts together, I find it easier to keep all the parts this way so I can remember which parts go with which project. The loco and tender will be split frame for current collection (as is standard 2mm practice) with the motor in the tender driving the engine via a universal jointed shaft to a 1:38 gear box. This will enable plenty of weight to be added to the loco. She will be DCC chipped with a stay alive. The etches came with some nice cast parts with a selection of chimneys and domes which will save some time turning these up from brass rod. The etch has lost 2 of the coupling rod layers. fortunately the 101 used a fairly standard wheelbase so replacement etched rods are available from the 2mm scale association shop. These line up well with the kit's rods. I'm intending to start the build with the tender, which looks quite a complex build. There are a couple of build threads for 4mm and 7mm versions on here that will prove invaluable, so thanks to those who have taken the time to log their progress. Right, enough waffle, heat up the soldering iron and get cutting some brass!

Thanks JHB, as informative as ever. In fairness to the manufacturer the black and red are their standard finishes which are correct for most of the plates they produce. So to recap for a 101 class in the late 20's I should have the build date (say 1874) but for a Midland engine of the same time period I should have no script at the bottom of the plate. I'll my order placed, plain brass of course as they are going to be painted grey!

There has been discussion on numerous topics about the GSR number plates, all relating to colour. As I understand it the majority of the plates were simply painted grey, some with the lettering and border polished back to metal (not brass!) some simply painted yellow. A few had the backgrounds painted black with the lettering and borders picked in red. My question is on the lettering itself. The Light Railway Stores (formerly Narrow Planet) produce some customisable GSR plates and they have kindly agreed to make these available in 2mm scale for me: https://www.lightrailwaystores.co.uk/collections/number-plate-styles/products/npp-420 Would all locomotives have the text "Inchicore Works" at the bottom? I am thinking here of ex Midland engines for example? Or would this only be applied after a re-build? Also was the build date always included? Take say an ex GS&WR engine, built at Inchicore but in say 1880? Or was the build date only added for locomotives built after the creation of the GSR in 1925? I have spent quite a time wading through photos but unfortunately the bottom lettering is quite hard to discern.

I've decided to create a workbench thread as I expect my Irish modelling to outlive my Dromahair layout and its associated topic (layout always feels too grand a word for a 2' long module!). I'm hoping it will act a reference should anyone else be mad keen enough to model Irish Railways in 2mmFS to 10.5mm gauge. The initial builds will be: a 101 class from a shot down TMD/SSM 4mms scale etch to be built in early GSR condition and C class diesel built form a 3d printed body and a converted commercial Japanese N-scale chassis. I've also a couple of six wheeled coach build mid- construction, one a 3d print (MGWR brake third) the other a Worsley works etch (GSWR luggage compo) I tend to jump around a lot with my modelling so expect to see progress in fits a starts. why the 5p? Well......

Thanks both, Apologies for the late reply, I had the slightly bizarre experience of going into the office today. It has been so long since I used IrishRM on my phone that it no longer recognises me and I couldn't remember my password. I'm normally confident enough to tackle most kits without instructions (whilst acknowledging the always help, especially if you actually read them....) but the 101 class etch boggles the mind! I'm also pleased you've identified the chassis Mayner, I had assumed it was 4-6-0 (or 0-6-4) but hadn't found a prototype with the appropriate wheelbase. Your identification restores my sanity! The fact it has potential as a SLNCR engine is a useful bonus!