33lima

Next project is another Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit, this time a 'DE' (Diesel Electric) as the 70 Class was originally designated. On current plans, the model will be finished in original maroon ('red') and oyster grey livery, not the later blue uppers, maroon lower sides - apologies to those who knew and loved it, but the latter colour scheme, though smart enough when clean and seen in good light, is to my eyes one of the dullest railway liveries ever, more so even than UTA Brunswick Green and not a patch on those that preceded or replaced it! But as they say, 'de gustibus, non est disputandum'. Although I was a fairly frequent (mostly holiday seasonal) rail traveller in NI on the Bangor and Northern Counties lines during the 1960s and early-to-mid 1970s, the existence of these sets basically passed me by. I was conscious of two basic types of railcar, which only much later I found out were called Multi-Engined Diesels (MEDs) and Multi-Purpose Diesels (MPDs). So varied were the cars in each of these types that it was not clear to me at the time that they were successive and (apart from a couple of dual-role trailers) incompatible generations of railcar; my first attempt at a model comprised two or three Playcraft (HO) coaches, a 'borrowed' Tri-ang Blue Pullman motor bogie squeezed into one end of the brake coach, a plasticine MED cab at one end of the set and a plasticine MPD cab at the other. This was replaced by a repainted Metro-Cammel DMU which was what I'd always really wanted but was only able to get when Tri-ang restored it to their range in 1970, after several years out of the catalogue. So to me at the time, the 'DE' was just another variant in a widely-varied family of UTA/NIR railcar trains. Nowadays, I know that the 'DE' was the final generation of railcars built by the Ulster Transport Authority. And that whereas the MEDs and MPDs were truly pioneering designs, the 'DEs' were much more conservative, bodies built locally around a British Railways 'Hampshire' DEMU power unit. Having achieved the long-term reliability that seems ultimately to have eluded the MPDs, this became the pattern until quite recently, with 80 and 450 Classes following (and the latter in fact re-using the engines from retired 'DEs'). Having about 1991 obtained photos and tabular specifications of the 'DE'/70 Class in the second edition of 'Irish Railways Traction & Travel' and in CP Boocock's 'Irish Railway Album' plus UTA works drawings from the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum (courtesy of Mark Kennedy), I made my first model of the type back then. This project will essentially be a repeat of that model, with some modest enhancements. While 6-car sets (a power car at each end) were common on NCC main line express services (and later on the GN to Dublin), 3 cars were common elsewhere, notably on the Larne line. Power on my original set was a Tri-ang Hornby Hymek motor bogie, with minor cosmetic modifications, fitted into the front of a modified Hornby Mk2a TSO coach. For the new model 20 years later, I considered various alternatives to construction, including plasticard overlay sides and different donor coaches. But for a good balance between accuracy, ease/speed of production and quality of finish, I opted to use the same basic donor-coach-hacking method as last time but with a different approach to the power car bodyshell. This time the power is to be provided by a modified Hornby HST 5-pole motorised chassis and as even less of a Hornby Mk2a coach would be needed, I opted to use a spare Airfix Mk2d bodyshell as a basis. I had originally bought two of these for converting into trailers for my good old Tri-ang 'Blue Pullman' but that can now wait! The real 70 Class had new bodies with wide passenger windows which were about the same size as those on BR Mk2 coaches, though with three vertical ventilator stanchions, not two. Colm Flanagan's most impressive 6-car set, as seen running on 'Bleach Green' I believe is formed from Hornby Staniers, two lengthened for the longer power cars, and thus has passenger windows which are rather narrow, though benefiting from the ability to use Finecast Flushglazing which gives it a very fine appearance: http://newirishlines.org/2009/09/27/the-utas-finest-train/ Colm has also made a model using the Worseley Works etched sides, and these provide the correct, wider passenger windows (though a half-window just behind the tall side grilll on the power car's RH side should actually be ahead of it): http://www.lmsncc.org/class_70_dmu.htm At any rate, to adapt 'The Rifleman's Creed', there are many ways of modelling an 80 Class, but this one is mine! Here are the basic components: one Hornby HST chassis (with 5-pole motor), one Airfix Mk2d bodyshell, and two Hornby Stanier unpainted composite coach bodies. Rather than using the Staniers' chassis/underframes, which are a bit crude and need many modifications, I will - as I've done on some other models - fit buffer beams and solebars directly to the bodyshell and make a new, clip-fit floor/chassis unit for the two trailers. The power car's underframe will be a modification of the HST one, which will save some of the trouble of converting a Mkk2a one, as described for the last project, the 80 Class. Thanks to the internet and several books I didn't have back in the early 1990s, - notably must-haves'The UTA in Colour' by Derek Young and Colm Flanagan's 'Diesel Dawn' - I now have many more reference pictures than I had back then. So I hope to be able to improve on some details, although I believe the original model is basically accurate, apart from the narrower passenger windows in the trailers. …to be continued!

Since you started... Some pics taken at Alicante station in September this year: The Alicante to Denia light railway/tram, two at Benidorm station, the middle one the pretty little station at Altea: The Malaga/Fuengirola RENFE line, at Benalmadena/Arroyo de la Miel and at Torremolinos's underground station:

Just found this, posting in case you haven't seen it: Funny that the GM-hauled rake seen leaving Connolly is an 80 Class DEMU on arrival in Central but some nice stuff including interior views of NIR loco-hauled Mk2s in that era.

Way-hey! The bl***y tracker is still showing it 'at the international mail centre, being prepared for overseas (!) delivery"! But the picture tells a different story!

Some great pics, in case you haven't seen already: http://jandjcottrell.zenfolio.com/p435508671/h8FB5#h8fb5

Too late Michael - she's all wrapped up, next stop, Galway!

Really superb and beautiful piece of story-telling there David. You got me hoping the mechanic will be able to get the old fellow's car started!

Right - the model is finally complete, the last acts being to put a dab of varnish over the little white italic NIR side logos and to fill a couple of voids under the power car underframe with a bit of extra ballast (fire clay of all things; more maleable than plasticine and quite heavy). Two details I didn't get quite right are that I think the roof cowls at the rear of the power car should have a slightly bigger gap between them; and the toilet windows on the centre-door trailers I chose to model should have a slightly higher lower frame, above the level of the other windows. Next time...! To finish off this thread at last, I thought I'd indulge myself by uploading a set of pics I took earlier today, that I won't be able to take again, after the set is boxed up for despatch - the new set, alongside the two I made in the early 1990s. I still think that the grey-blue and cream-red liveries these sets wore back in those days are the most attractive they ever carried, before or since. I'm rather glad that I made, and have now repeated, this effort at preserving in model form the appearance of these units in their heyday. One day, I hope to travel again on a real set that has escaped the cutter's torch and made it back into passenger-carrying service in preservation. I'll end with a warm 'thank you!' to everybody who's followed this thread and especially those who've made such kind comments. And to TrainModel, whose infectious enthusiasm was the real inspiration behind this project - thanks, Michael!

Just about done now. I added some thin plasticard under the power car's rear bogie mount to lift that end a little, more level with the next car. I replaced the red diamond on the driving trailer corridor connection cover with a larger one, as the original was a bit small. The little white italic NIR logos were added to the black lining, two each side. They are not very neat, having been applied with a home-made 'mini-brush' made by slicing about 2 mm down into the end of a matchstick, prising the halves apart slightly, then inserting between these 'jaws' a single bristle from an unused shoebrush and then super-glueing them shut to grip the bristle. Quite clever, I thought, but alas not that successful; or maybe my hands are less steady than 20 years ago. Anyway I didn't attempt to add the car numbers! But the power car's cab front number has been changed from 88 to 89. Don't worry Michael, what looks like a scratch on the front blue panel is just a hair or fibre that I didn't notice when taking the pic!

Test run completed; if she'll run on track I've laid, she'll run on anything, hopefully

Whoops, mis-read my 'Irish Railways Traction & Travel' which as you say shows 88 as withdrawn in 1983 and scrapped in 1988. Power car now re-numbered to ex-suburban car 89, saves having to worry about the nameplates 94-99 carried! Earlier numbers than 94 are ok, as the set is in the post-sectorisation blue & grey, with no 'Intercity' lettering and some other subtle variations. ...and yes Nelson, well spotted, my PC's current wallpaper is a Bf109, my favourite the 'Gustav' (G6 version), from IL-2+Dark Blue World. But I digress!

OK, we're about done now, just some odds and ends which I'll finish over the weekend, including a trial run as a set. A coupling loop was fitted to the rear of the ex-HST rear bogie on the power car; this was made from a loop of piano wire with a strip folded from thin sheet brass cyano-ed to the outer loop to prevent it riding over the next coupling when running driving trailer first. I also made cosmetic overlays for this bogie from sheet and strip plasticard. Roofs of all cars have been matt varnished (likely to get another coat once it's fully dried) and the insides of the two toilet windows have been painted white. Pipes on the buffer beams under the cabs were painted dark grey to lift them a bit against the black. All being well, she should be be on its way to Galway on Monday, Michael!

OK a few more pics showing the cars now all flush-glazed, again using a combination of the trusty SE Finescast set for the Hornby Mk2a and Glenderg's CD cover method. In most cases, the latter were stuck to thin acetate 'backing' with Humbrol Clearfix and fitted from inside, but for the driving trailer cab front window, this was bevelled at the edges and when fitting snugly, push-fitted from the front and secured with varnish applied from the rear. The jumper cables have now been refitted to the driving tailer cab front and a plasticard strip wiper fitted to the window. NIR logos had previously been brush-painted onto the cab sides as per the motor car (except they are the larger size on both sides). The short length of Trimline that carries around the curve at the coach ends tends to lift for lack of length on the far side of the curve but some carefully-applied Clearfix (which has the advantage that paintwork isn't ruined if you have to wipe off excess) dealt with this, where it was happening. I now need to do the odd bit of paintwork like flat varnishing the roofs and another coat of yellow on the corridor connection cover, plus re-fit and paint white the remaining grab handles. Plus I need to fit a coupling to the power car's trailing bogie, apply its cab-front number, and sort a few other minor details. Nearly done at last - it'll have taken about three months all told, perhaps a month longer than my first set in the early 1990s, also pictured below (in red and cream 'suburban' sector livery) beside the second one also from that time, though the first one didn't get flush-glazed and neither got any buffer-beam detail.

You're on the list, if you're still interested when I get the time!

Thanks for the positive comments guys, it's really encouraging! And yes Nelson, I have another one or two of these to make, but it looks like it'll be a 70 Class DEMU, next, for a bit of variety if nothing else. No Rich I haven't tried Cliffs of Dover. My 512Mb 8800GT isn't really up to it (tho it plays Rise of Flight reasonably well) and the single-player campaign sounds a bit weak ('Spitfire girl' or no 'Spitfire girl'). It's only since I tried the Dark Blue World mod, which seems to support the ETO much better than previous iterations, that I've really got into IL-2, tho I've played it on and off from the first version. In between sessions on the 80 Class, I'm currently having a blast with FlatSpinMan's and Bloelcke's Defence of the Reich campaigns, well worth trying if you miss the sort of missions you get in European Air War: http://combatace.com/forum/307-mission-reports/

Work has now been concentrated on the power car, which is now basically complete. First task was to apply the flush glazing. The tricky bit here was dealing with the larger rectangular windows - eg the three on the LH side at the engine compartment - which had their horizontal framing removed during construction, and which therefore aren't covered by the SE Finecast Mk2a Flushglaze set. Home-made flush glazing was made for these by cutting approx 9mmx12mm pieces from the clear front of a CD case. Corners were rounded and these were then 'glued' onto a slightly-larger rectangle of thin clear plastic sheet, using Humbrol Clearfix. They were then fitted and glued from the inside in the same way as the normal flush glazing. They are slightly recessed; I could have simply used the CD cuts and tried to keep them more 'flush' but they would have been liable to be dislodged on handling and more difficult to refit without messing up the paintwork. Next, the cab-side NIR logos were hand-painted on, in Humbrol French Blue. The logo on the RH side is smaller on the model as it was in real life, as it fitted onto the cab door on that side. Next I fitted the cab-front glazing. These were not flush-glazed as the plasticard - tho re-inforced on the inside - is thin enough to make this non-essential. I then fitted a wiper to the LH window. This was made from two strips of plasticard painted black and 'glued' in place to the window with Clearfix. This replaces the wire one I'd made as I think it's neater. Finally, I re-fitted the wire handrails and grab handles, and painted these, and the door handles, white. All that remains now for the power car - apart from fitting a grab handle I missed and numbering - is to fit a coupling or loop to the rear bogie (having had to remove the extended HST one) and give the roof a coat of matt varnish, which I'll leave until all three cars are finished. At TrainMan's request I'm not going to bother with cosmetic sideframes so the bogies will stay as they are. The offset front step is pretty-well in the correct position for the 80 Class and I've cut some excess plastic away from the Hornby one's front 'skirt' which somewhat improves the appearance.

What a difference from an RTR wagon or kit! I like my locos and coaching stock clean, but you've proved that goods stock really looks best weathered!

Very nice Michael! Hadn't a clue what was going on tho, until I found a Youtube clip showing how the Faller system works! What will they think of next! And there I was, thinking that Triang's Minic Motorways were neat back in the '60s! Lovely little piece of suburbia you'll have there!

This thread might be of interest; http://irishrailmodel.com/showthread.php/1574-D301-Class ...also the drawing here: http://irishrailmodels.com/2012/01/25/d301-class-locomotive-drawings/ ...and Steve Johnson's modelling article in Issue 5 of 'Irish Lines', here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zgbbr6m6jvvi1cp/Irish%20Lines%20-%20Issue%205%20-%201993%20Winter.pdf

Update after some more work this weekend, showing the Trimline lining applied to all three cars. Passenger window frames have also now been picked out in silver, as have the insides of the lights. The Trimline sometimes tends to lift where turning the corners of the coaches at the ends and will be stuck down firmly later. Flush glazing is starting. I discovered that I needed to file back the inner edges of the ventilator framing to get the SF Finecast flushglazing to fit, a common situation on thicker-bodied coaches like Lima or Hornby Mk2 coaches. I had already cut this back a bit but needed to repeat the process, likely as painting had undone some of my work. Some windows aren't covered in the flushglaze sets and will have to be made separately, possibly using CD jewel case covers.

Thanks for posting Leslie, I hadn't taken any pics of the BUT set or the GN coaches before despatching them (in fact I had forgotten all about making the BUT set) so this is the first time I've seen them, since...when was it, about 1997? Would love to see pics of the other coaches too, how many were there, three or four, can't recall now, one was a kitchen car I think. There must be about two miles of plasticard strip in that lot! Still have your brass K15 unbuilt, give me a shout next time you're 'in country' and I'll drop it off!

Contemplated this back in the 1990s but I don't think there's a lot to be gained. The bogies aren't the same I believe and a set of valances isn't a big help (easy to reproduce in plasticard and not needed at all for some periods). Might as well choose any other DMU chassis, especially if the length is about right. I ended up making bodyshells from thicker plasticard bulkheads and thinner plasticard sides, epoxied to MJT aluminium roofs, with a Tri-ang motor bogie for the UTA set and a Black Beetle for the GNR(I) one. These days there are obviously other options for the power train.

Hi Popeye I used this stuff for the lining, ModelTechnics Trimline: http://www.modeltechnics.com/trimline.htm I contemplated trying to make, print and apply the lining stripes as home-made decals using white decal film but there were a lot of points in the process, up to an including application, where I was concerned this could produce an inferior result if not go completely t*ts up. The Trimline has an appreciable thickness even after you have scored on door or panel lines but it goes with the medium-to-semi-gloss finish I prefer and it produces a neat, durable result so I settled for that.

Hi Rich there are various suggestions in some archived issues of 'Irish Lines'; admittedly, while Model Irish Railways was still in business, this was before the likes of Provincial Wagons, Murphy's Models et al came onto the scene: http://newirishlines.org/archive-2/ For example, issue 5 has a piece by Steve Johnston on making a D310 class 0-6-0 diesel from a Lima BR Class 08, and an article by Jim Maguire on 'Kits and RTR adaptions for Irish railways'. issue 6 has a piece on converting RTR carriages by Steve Johnson, including making a Park Royal from a Hornby Stanier. There is also, as Glenderg mentioned, a lot of useful information on RTR adaptions (for coaches in particular, but also some on goods stock) and some inspirational pics of such things, in 'Modelling Irish Railways' by Steve Johnson and Alan O'Rourke: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Modelling-Irish-Railways-Stephen-Johnson/dp/1857801857 PS the pics at the bottom of this page give some idea of what was, and could still be, achieved by simply repainting readily-available 9now second hand) BR RTR diesels (tho the Hymek would have looked better in maroon or light blue as an NIR Hunslet with some cosmetic cab-front modifications, and if you're going to repaint a Lima Class 33, you might as well at least sand down the cab roof cowling and replace the two front window pillars with a wider, single central one): http://www.mywebsitespace.co.uk/Irish_Rail.html

Don't have a layout yet Kirley, just a partly-ballasted double track oval in the garage, but am looking forward to seeing it running on TrainModel's excellent layout when he's taken delivery, which hopefully won't be TOO long now: