Angus

The MGWR vans have been taken as far as I can go at present, apologies for the photo quality, natural light is hard to come by at this time! I had some lettering made up using standard fonts, not shaded but I think I can get away that in 2mm. I've included the 5p just for David The wording "to run with passenger trains" is almost legible which is a tribute to the printing skills of Rail-tec transfers who produced the lettering. I just need some numbers to match but they are currently out of stock of the ones I need. Once I have these I can seal the vans and apply some weathering to tone the colours down and blend everything in. The letter is slightly small (a problem I never thought I'd have in 2mm scale!) I haven't been able to find any complete pictures of the vans in MGWR days, they do however photobomb a couple of locomotive pictures. There seems to have been a storage road for these vans behind the turntable at Broadstone. The horsebox also appears on the famous picture on "wolf Dog" on the turntable (there is a copy of the picture is in David Holman's recent build thread: Following these photos I've lightened the grey on the rooves, I'm guessing by early GSR days they wouldn't be so white, I've add the white inner circle on the brake wheel apparent in the first photograph. I've not included the "to run with passenger trains" wording on the horsebox as I can't see any evidence of it, that said it could easily be obscured in all the shots. Finally another request, In the box of goodies I was gifted there is an etch for GSWR 101 class, I believe it is shot-down from the current 4mm scale etch sold by Studio Scale Models. The etch has "TMD Models 1995" on it which I believe was a predecessor. It is quite a complexed etch and I could really do with some instructions, has anyone got a set I can beg/steal/borrow (or even buy)? I did try emailing SSM but got no response, in fairness I am not a paying customer and unless they suddenly produce a 2mm scale range am unlikely to be!

Thanks Mayner, that's really helpful information. My railway library is already overflowing and it is difficult to justify spending £20 on a book just to get the livery details for one wagon. Presumably the lettering and fonts are similar on the grey wagon?

Hi Galteemore, the wagon has 20thou sides, so 0.5mm or scale 3" thick.

A bit of progress is being made on finishing some stock already built. These MGWR vans attracted a bit of attention when first built. Inspired by David Holman's recent MGWR mail train build I've decide to finish them in pre-GSR colours. This probably means I'll have to backdate the layout to early GSR days at the least. It would give me the opportunity to run a mix of liveries although the thought of lining out a loco in 2mm does bring on a cold sweat! I've just realised I've painted the solebars underframe colour as a steel underframe rather than body colour for a wooden underframe. I'll correct that. A couple of questions to the audience, is the body colour correct? I believe it should be slightly darker than LMS maroon for late period MGWR which I've tried to capture? In the UK the wooden centres of the Mansell wheels were sometimes varnished or even painted (on the LNWR newly constructed coaches had varnished centres that were then painted the body lake colour at the first re-paint). Does anyone know what the MGWR practise was? Accepting, of course, being low to the ground the wheel centres would be covered in crud in ordinary operation! I made reference to being gifted some models from a fellow 2mm scale association member. This included what is described as a CB&SC open wagon. The body is scratch built from styrene and is rather exquisite (please bear in mind this is 2mm scale so the body is only 30mm long) I can't find any details of the wagon (the CB&SCR doesn't appear in my library as it's a bit far south). The wagon scales at 15' in the body with a 9' wheelbase. Also I can't find any CB&SC wagon livery details either, I could always cop out and paint it GSR grey, in which case the undercoat will suffice! I'd be appreciative if anyone can fill in in any of the gaps?

Well it's nearly a year since any progress on Dromahair but work is back underway. To be honest, the module's future was looking doubtful for a while. It was being built for the 2mm Scale Association's Diamond Jubilee Layout competition originally scheduled to be judged at the Association's annual meet in June 2020, this was rescheduled for June 2021 which was also cancelled. The competition was aimed at building something as either a toe in the water for newcomers to the scale or letting modellers try something new, hence the opportunity to try something Irish in 10.5mm gauge. The module is only 600mm long so not something I would ordinarily build, a bigger layout would take more commitment and cause more distraction from other modelling activity so my Irish modelling stalled. A few things have conspired to change this, firstly a fellow 2mm modeller gifted me his Irish stock and components recognising he would get around to doing anything meaningful with them so I feel honour bound to use them, secondly the competition has been rescheduled for June 2022. Finally I was surprise to see this little model mentioned in some esteemed company over on RMweb in a list of 5' 3" scale gauge models. I naturally felt obliged to to start up again. So where are we? The backscene is in position but needs the corners filling in, ultimately integral lighting will be added, I'm still working this out. The platform facing was also catching on passing stock as there was insufficient clearance, the facing was carefully cut off, thinned down by sanding back then re-glued back on. All is good. The C class is a 3D print that was amongst the items gifted to me. I've bought a Tomix chassis that is very nearly scale. (Bogies are correct but the centres are slightly too close together). For the moment I've simply pushed the wheels out to match the gauge, obviously this won't run through pointwork but it was fun to connect up some power and have the loco run along the front of the module. Testing clearances.....obviously! Who would have thought the first loco through Dromahair would be a diesel? The body print is quite nice, although it will need a bit of work to add some detail but should be fun. Although out period I've always had a soft spot for the little diesels. I had previously posted some concerns regarding the station building dimensions so I set to work with some pens. once the windows are sketched on it is amazing how it all seems to come back into proportion.

that looks absolutely superb David! The plates finish it off nicely.

Hi David, Allen already does these in other scales, I have a couple of 2mm scale ones under way, albeit not touched them for 6 months or so. I've also built some of his non-Irish coaches and loco bodies. If you you email him he will produce them, if you are lucky and he is preparing stuff for the next batch for the etchers turn around can be quite quick. As you've noted the kits are scratch aids and only contain the basics for the body but do save a lot of work if you were stating from a blank of brass or plastic.

One thing you might want to consider are solder balls https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tin-Material-BGA-Solder-Ball-Repair-Tools-leaded-for-ICchip-Reballing-Balls/363225899211?hash=item5491f360cb:g:l4IAAOSwViVf3QJK They can be found relatively cheaply and 25,000 would last a while..... (there are local stockist on ebay who can deliver in short timescales if need be but you have to pay a bit more.) These are widely used by those us us working in 2mm scale, I find one 0.6mm ball per joint works well. For 4mm use one 0.6 ball either side of the joint. The advantage is control over the amount of solder used, this gives a consistent appearance once complete. The technique is easy after bit of practise, lay out the sleepers, apply a small amount of flux to the areas under the rails to be soldered. Lay the rails in place. Tip some of the balls into a saucer and by using a toothpick with the end dipped in a bit of water you can pick up individual balls and place the balls into the flux on the sleeper. The balls will stick to flux. If the rail is held in place then all you need to do is apply the iron so it heats both the sleeper and the rail and the balls will flash forming a joint. You can systematically work along the track applying flux to a section, following through the balls before finally soldering the lot in a batch process. Oh, and by the way, be careful with Powerflux, it is good stuff but needs careful cleaning. If not washed thoroughly everything will turn a nice shade of green if left. Personally I use a less aggressive water based flux that seems easier to clean up. that said, as with all things, it comes down to personal preference.

Much better and well worth the effort, however I'm glad I didn't have to start the butchery. Committing to the first cut must have been hard?

Same here but it's three weeks for me. I ordered via Book Depository as they offered a 10% discount but have email a few times to say they are struggling to get stock. I guess that's the disadvantage of Scottish and Yorkshire genetics......... Still, I'm sure it'll be worth the wait.

That's really taking shape now David. I'm enjoying seeing it develop.

Thanks for posting these Irishswissernie, there a couple of views of Dromahair I haven't seen before.

I quite fancy building one of these in 2mm from a Worsley works etch. I've never been able to find the wheelbase of these machines, can anyone point me in the direction of a drawing? Thanks

Fantastic work on the buffer beam there Galteemore. Just out of interest how are you planning to fit them to the frames?

Hi David, 4mm sale drawings for the D16s were printed in the April 1976 edition of Model Railways magazine as part of the Irish Miscellany series. I tracked down a copy a while ago as a 2mm scale D16 is on my to do list. I've PMed you a copy. Whilst being a long way from a works GA drawing I hope they might be of some use, I've not checked the accuracy of the drawings mind. Looking forward to seeing this train develop. Angus

Actually it was only just over a decade ago. March 2009 is the edition, a nice 3mm scale drawing with detailed drawings of the winch and a few other items plus a potted history of the vessels.

There were plans for a puffer published in an edition of the Railway Modeller 20 years or so ago. I have the edition somewhere, I'll dig out and let you know what month and year. I do love the puffers but they are a bit ubiquitous in the model railway world appearing in all sorts of inappropriate places! I would guess a trip across the Irish sea in one would not be a trip to relish unless calm. They were really designed for near shore coastal waters around the Clyde and West Coast of Scotland.

Hi Brian, There is some commentary about them on my Dromahair topic starting on May 21st, albeit in 2mm scale. Out of the box they are disappointing but can be made presentable with effort.

Wrong scale for me but the build results looks superb, I hope it's a success for you, it deserves to be!

Hi JHB, They did appear in my Dromahair topic in the Irish Model Layout section That was back in May, and embarrassingly I'm no further applying with applying planking to the blank side panels on the van or getting them painted.

Hi David, Not yet, my copy is still winging its way from the Titfield Thunderbolt as no local shops stock it any more. I've deployed the sentry to advise me of its arrival.

Ah! well, if we're including "ongoing thingy stuff" in the mix then does my 2mm scale version of Dromahair qualify? 2 ft long and 10.5mm gauge. Hopefully the start of something bigger. Apologies for the poor photo, the layout is currently residing in an unlit corner.

Hi JHB, I had an email exchange with Steve back in May and all seemed ok. I'll PM you his email address.

Hi Galteemore, great progress there! I find it is always good to have a connection with the loco you are building, it feels more personal then. I'm looking forward to seeing this one develop. Angus

Hi David, If not already seen it Archers do a video tutorial on how to apply their rivets. The technique is not earth shatteringly novel but using it makes applying the rivets much simpler.