leslie10646

I think that some of you know that I retired aged fifty and three months from a well-known British communications firm. Like Gavin, I was in IT. You got Brownie Points if you participated in outsourcing to India. Having spent years making profitable work for people, I spent the last few "working" years retiring people or bribing them to leave.  The moment I could, I did the same thing and breathed a sigh of relief to get away from the accountants.

So now we have this dyed blonde in London telling us that he'll make Britain great and sell our products overseas - what products? Can't even ORDER things properly from suppliers overseas, never mind making them. However, as we celebrate eighty years from Dunkirk (I have VERY good reason to be thankful for that - it's a long story ....)  maybe this new "Dunkirk" moment will wake the country up before Ireland loses a major customer forever.

Oh, I haven't stopped working either. After the two years working in Hong Kong, I've worked twenty one years in a well-known travel company, albeit part time.

Now, where's me bricks and mortar - got to lay the Up Platform at Richhill.........

5 hours ago, Wexford70 said:

From Auckland NZ??? How and why?

Hi Wex70

At the risk of sounding like David, the instructions were in the Post - now go to Layouts - Portadown Jct

and all will be revealed, sort of .......

7 hours ago, Mayner said:

It was an anxious moment whether she would run in the Northern Hemisphere & perform on a layout as we only had a temporary oval of Hornby  set track as a test track. Like all good mechanics/loco builders I still have to finish off a Midland 2-4-0 for myself.

Yes, it's an amusing thought that the Midland had locos which could run upside down!

John, now you're awake, I can thank you more personally. I hope to try her again today at the Richhill end of the railway - where she can have a longer run. At the moment, with platform building, ballasting, grass sowing etc, there are a lot of things over the track!

Enyoy your evening.

Tony

I have an idea that a UG went for over £300 about six months or so ago. Sorry you had an issue with eBay - that's an absolute pain.

Keep well

Leslie

So, specially for Mr Mayne - Thanks by the way - he's probably asleep as I post this -

First Steps in the Northern Hemisphere - much more exciting than that on the Moon (Yep, saw that) or getting Americans to the ISS the other day (saw that too).

Here she runs even under the dubious gravity of Surrey - apologies that I haven't got David's skills with a video camera!

By the way, turn the sound up - REAL steam sounds - actually it's the fan, as it's sweltering up there today!

As Mr Ahrons said of the Midland - "The Most Irish of Railways". Hmm, now I need some six wheelers ....

Great stuff Mayner - thanks a Million.

Fast forward twenty minutes, climb three flights of stairs, gently ease her out of the foam ......

Take note that Portadown Jct has now grown some grass, you could see it but for the loco......

All the way from Kiwiland and about to take its first wheelturn in the Northern Hemisphere

Now, that box .....

Sort of a clue here?

Eh?

Ah, so that's what it is!

3 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

Very nice, David.

I received a loco by courier today, after paying £105 VAT on it. You can all start guessing!

I'll post photos shortly, when I've got into the armour-plating it was surrounded by; then spraying the place with disinfectant

That box .....Yep, that's my "Workbench"!

Now go to Layouts - Portadown Jct - this thread is for Paddy's eagerly awaited little diesel - just too late for my 74th birthday......

Very nice, David.

I received a loco by courier today, after paying £105 VAT on it. You can all start guessing!

I'll post photos shortly, when I've got into the armour-plating it was surrounded by; then spraying the place with disinfectant

Thank you all for the lesson in wagon classification. At least I'm a lot wiser now on the various types.

Actually, it's a photograph I regularly show as part of my "First Fifty x Years of the RPSI".

The Best Man at my wedding was the Miniature Morton who is in front of me, while the my Groom's Man, the late John McGuigan is just to the left of Tim in the photo. In time, they became younger son's Godfathers and a good job they did, too!

2 hours ago, Mike 84C said:

 

 In Ernie's Monaghan photo there's at least five grain wagons  2/3 CIE H van conversions behind the first two hoppers. You can see the ladder that reached the roof hatches on two of them.

Well spotted, Mike. I'm quite surprised that none of the hundred-plus "H" van kits I've sold has been given the Grain treatment.

Back to Ernie's picture - WHY would there be grain wagons in MONAGHAN?  (I expect I missed an explanation posted by one of you wise young men?).

Re Flange's comment - I sell my "H" Van kit as the 1953 van, as that's the date of the first ones, I understand. Why were they called H Vans?

The GN Van isn't an H Van as such but part of a run of 150 wagons built  at Dundalk by the GNR in 1954 - 5 for the Drogheda bagged cement traffic - they all went to CIE at the dissolution of the GNR. They are the spitting image of the Dapol Banana Van so I've done them as GNR vans (two different numbers) and as a CIE wagon with a Flying Snail. It's so close to the GNR wagon and sold so well in the past, that I've wondered about doing it again in CIE colours, still lettered up for cement.

49 minutes ago, David Holman said:

Fine work. It just looks 'right'.

Dead on, David, Noel's weathered container looks just like the ones I measured and photographed before we made the original kit.

So, fifty years in ninety minutes - almost Faster than Light travel (if you're a SciFi type like me!).

Super job, Noel, thanks for sharing it. I presume showing the effects of forty years ageing, but achieved in as many minutes?

Please forgive a correction - the four wheel flat isn't a Provincial Wagons one. I do such a kit, but in resin and sell either that separately, or with the container.

Very pleased that my (earlier)  version of the 20ft container fits nicely on The Boys' super 42ft flat.

Thanks for posting this, Ernie. Monaghan isn't far from Portadown, so maybe I need MORE of these hoppers?

An interesting photo of the period after the GNR had finished and CIE ran a service over the stub of the Irish North within the State.

10 hours ago, Lambeg man said:

While I wish the project every success I for one will not be pitching into this one........ Unless a photo of some of them going through Lisburn appears....   

I saw one on the Lisburn Road, Mr Lambeg.

In model form.

In Drew's workshop......

Ah, maybe that doesn't count?

At the risk of being thrown out of the IRRS, attached is a Lance King slide which shows the Clara elevators.

Lance took this shot during the Society's Clara Branch railtour.

No.151 at Clara (GSWR) in 1962. The grain elevators which John refers to can be clearly seen.  Copyright Irish Railway Record Society.

5 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Great to see. There are some lovely red ones displayed at Cultra, scratch built by Drew Donaldson (in 7mm scale) many years ago. These will be something special and add a bit of authentic colour to some 50s freights ! 

 

Ah, David, the air was Electric Blue in Drew's workshop when he was building the Ranks wagon - that probably persuaded me NOT to get Michael to do one of these as a kit after the Spoil wagon (which is probably harder to model.

John's news is terrific and I've just spent a theoretical £500 or so on Survey Monkey. All I have to do is live long enough - I'll be 75 when the Opens appear, if God grants.

22 hours ago, Georgeconna said:

Corr Noel will be jumping in here for thee biggo, The Grain certainly will add a bit of colour!

 

Now, now, George - Noel, like me, likes running his trains, but if he wants a wagon enough, he puts a lot of skill into building (my) kits - see his Workbench.

Of course the price is high, sorry, chaps (and chapesses?)  but if you're modelling 1950s/60s, you are in a minority within what is already a minority (but growing thanks to The Lads) modelling the railways of a Small Island.

Good luck with the project, John.

The book's easily worth that for the photos alone, which are well reproduced for the period.

Getting back to the main subject - in the book there is an excellent diagram describing THE JUNCTION's operating methods - who everything had to reverse to get to its platform! Seems insane, but the passengers never had to use a footbridge to change trains.

Noel's point is not wholly correct - people do live at Limerick Jct - not many, I'll give you. As you approach by road, you pass placename signs as for any metropolis proclaiming "Limerick Junction" 

Ah, Ahrons!

From my 1964 Railway Diary -

"Thursday 30 January: Fateful day – I bought EL Ahrons book “Locomotive Practice and Performance in the 19th Century Vol.6 -  Ireland”. It was going cheap in Mullens (8/6, I think?). Fateful – the first of the hundreds of railway books I now own!

Mullens was the Belfast Bookseller in those days - Galteemore's Dad will have known it well.

Ahrons describes the main line locos of mainline trains as being like two Kilkenny Cats - ready to spring at each other. Colourful prose was indeed his style!

By the way - "8/6" is about 42 pence (45 cents). Cover Price was 12/6.

Dare I ask what you paid for it, David?

Enjoy.

Leslie

1 hour ago, Edo said:

Jaysis -  Leslie will be delighted!

Looks Fantastic Noel - more power to your Elbow!

 

Leslie IS delighted! Now, where can I show 28 GNR wagons behind steam, without showing up my lack of scenery?

Great job Noel - the corrugated open is a work of art and You've reminded me just how much the addition of the GUARD makes to a brake van (also a work of art!).

David and others

I have a Copyrighted 1964 drawing by "The Irish Model Railway Company" - No.3 in their series.

I have an idea it may be one of Herbie Richards' drawings and as he has kindly helped me with other drawings, I don't feel I can copy it here willy nilly.

However, it appears to be 3ft6in from rail to buffer and 7ft 11in to the crown of the curve of the roof..

I'm pretty sure that this was the basis of my kit.

Leslie

Great stuff, Patrick. Super layout enhanced by the interesting period rolling stock - but then I would say that, wouldn't I?

Nice to see the cattle wagons au naturel and in vacuum mode.

Noel remarked: I only discovered three days ago the the chuck in my hand drill can reverse handling narrow or wider drill bits. Had it 3 years but only figured that out doing this wagon. 0.5mm is now my goto drill bit and ideal for the 121 grab rails too.

That's mild, Noel - after twelve years I discovered that my Smart Car's tailgate had a keyhole and could be opened by turning the key! Previously I'd always used the wee button inside by the steering wheel. Unobservant, or what?

You can thank Michael for the kit - I simply suggest the things, find the info and then harry him until it appears. I'll whisper, too, that Glenderg of This Parish was a willing contributor of critical info for this van.

Great stuff, Noel. I usually ask my customers to confirm arrival of kits, but you've gone one better by posting them on line and e-mailing me, thanks.

Sorry about the woodworm in your 130 year old woodwork!

Likewise sorry the handbrake wheel proved a pain, but it's a really nice little detail.

Another Master Class in resin kit building, thanks.

Good old Halfords! Like you, I find my little "twist drill" invaluable - mine has been mainly used track-laying, mind.

I've been buying all sorts of tools, encouraged by Richard McLachlan and guess what? After years sitting in boxes, they are all proving useful now!

I wish you many years of happy running with the finished article - a lovely piece of archaic rolling stock!

Keep well.

Leslie

Well done for not accepting what was available out of a box - a very nice job.

I'm afraid that having a Fleischmann motorised turntable from my German days, that's in the middle of Portadown  - I'll have a to try a d bit of surgery.

In fact, that's today's job - adjusting the Peco level crossing to approximate to the one that was at Richill.

Keep it up and stay well.

As David mentioned - good old Kernow have delivered to me during lockdown.