leslie10646

I must say that these look very nice. I'll have to sell the rest of my King and Country tanks, etc and quickly!

When did you get Charles Friel to pose for you?

I think that the NER one is actually shorter and of course has vertical planks (a thin Plasticard overlay might hide it?) where the SLNCR one has horizontal ones. Also it would need doors - more Plasticard ...... Brake Van No.6 is a remarkably large-looking (sturdy even) brake and looks like the SLNCR looked after their guards - at least when they were sent out in this one!!!!! What do the experts think?

For what it is worth, mine is built on a 9ft wheelbase, copying my GNR one. When we did it, Richard had not scanned the SLNCR wagon book. We used photographs available to us. The wagon IS shorter than any of my vans (on 9ft6in or 10ft wheelbases), even the 9 ton one is larger. I think, from memory of photos I've seen that large cattle wagons didn't make an appearance until the CIE 1948 ones which seem huge beside the tiny GN one. In one of his writings, the late Kevin Murray remarked on how tiny and box-like were Irish wagons in general.

Available, subject to stock, in this form!

Wow, after that shot of Colm's at Cork, I'll expect a rush to buy my Brown van! A pigeon special? Quite a fiind, as are the shots of an E Class on the docks. Thanks @Westcorkrailway

I'm glad that you guys enjoyed it. My thanks to the two Davids. If you weren't there, you missed one of the best talks we've ever had. One attendee said that he knew nothing about the SLNCR, but he did now! That perfectly encapsulates the quality of David Richardson's presentation on the "real" railway, I learned a lot and I've sat through a lot of SLNCR presentations over the years. The Colonel offered many practical pointers on how to go about modelling not just the SLNCR, but Irish railways generally. Thanks to you both @Galteemore and @Colonel!!!

My limited research into GNR horseboxes (which are still on my list of things to do) shows that the 1885 version looked very like what I took to be a DSER one - complete with the Pagoda on the roof. If I continue with Provincial wagons, I still have an intent to do a GN one, for obvious reasons to those who know me - although it would be more sensible to do the later 1938 version. The earlier ones APPEAR to have gone by the end of WW2. @Mol_PMB, I salute you for this terrific thread and the considerable work which has gone into it. Maybe a GSR one makes more sense from a point of view of sales numbers? Hhmmmm........

We DO record the meetings, but not for general distribution, more to ensure that there is a RECORD. If you miss some of it, contact me and I'll check what our policy is - I should know, but can't remember! AGE!!!!!

Tonight's the night to hear our two SLNCR experts @Galteemore and @Colonel speak on modelling their favourite railway! I look forward to welcoming lots of you there - only on ZOOM, so you don't even need to leave the house! At 6pm. Details above. If you have difficulty registering, send me an e-mail and I'll send a link directly to your inbox. lesliemcallister@aol.com Thanks Leslie

Good luck with the build of them. Mind you, they are probably the easiest to build kit we did! They'll look great behind one of Paddy's B Class!

Come to the talk on Friday and you'll see a lot more. A terrific set of illustrations!

That is me, YES!

Well done, @dropshort105 - more and better scenery than I have put on Portadown Junction over a period of fifteen years!

We've just finished a rehearsal for Friday's talk and I think I can promise you a great evening's entertainment and, indeed, education! David Richardson aka @Galteemore will describe the 12 inches to the foot SL&NCR in some detail in the first half, illustrated by many super photographs, many of which I hadn't seen before. In the second half, the two Davids - Richardson @Galteemore and Holman aka @Colonel will share their experiences of not just modelling the SL&NCR , but indeed of modelling Finescale 7mm Irish Broad Gauge generally. An opportunity to hear two masters of The Craft. We'll have time for questions afterwards when you can seek advice, or share your own experiences. Register NOW! This is not a meeting to miss! ONLINE MEETING ONLY FRIDAY 16 JANUARY 2026 @ 18:00 - 20:40 "Sligo Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway – Real and Modelled" by David Richardson and David Holman David Richardson and David Holman share their love of this little railway and their modelling of it. The SL&NCR was perhaps the quintessential Irish railway. Engines bore names and not numbers, archaic rolling stock, and a gradient profile that a rollercoaster engineer would shy away from. It attracted plaudits from Hamilton Ellis for its aesthetics, and from R N Clements for its engineering. On a journey down the line, the two Davids tell the story of how the railway defied the odds, only finally collapsing when its larger neighbour took away its raison d'etre, and tell what it took to recreate the Sligo Leitrim in 7mm scale. The meeting will be held online by Zoom only, please register by clicking the following link: REGISTER HERE When you double click on this it will give you a "URL" - paste that into your browser and follow instructions to register. You will need to fill in your name and email address only. Zoom will immediately email you the link to the meeting and will also send a reminder about an hour before the meeting starts. Alternatively, open Zoom on your device and enter the following : Webinar ID: 839 0871 4883 passcode: 682482 Those watching on Zoom are invited to make a voluntary donation to support the activities of the London Area. Click here to donate. We suggest £3/meeting or you may prefer to make a single donation to cover the whole season. The exact sum is at your discretion. Payment is by GooglePay, credit or debit card. You do not need to register or set up a Square account. Any last minute changes to the meeting arrangement will be communicated to those on the London Area mailing list only. Should you wish to be added to the London Area mailing list, please email london@irrs.ie. It is ESSENTIAL to check whether your Zoom app is up to date before logging on to the event. If the Zoom App is not up to date, the link may not function correctly.

Jim is too young to know, but the MEDs were all over the NCC, at least as far as Cullybackey and even occasionally Portrush. This one is by the Late Lance King, so copyright IRRS. The shot on each side on the film was a Spoil Train! On one wonderful day in 1966, there was a rash of MED failures and I managed 19 steam runs on the Larne line - and that after not setting my alarm for the 0647 and its return Boat Train, which would have got me over twenty! So keen was I to try and "time" everything moving, the shortest run was 2.35pm Greenisland to Jordanstown with No.9 pulling TWO bogie caoches. George Houston got No.9 up to 37 mph on the 2min 58 second run. I'm glad that I did it, for No.9 was to be one of my lowest mileage "Tanks". Of course, No.4 is my highest today, but at the End of Steam, it was No.6 which was in the lead, but as she went to the Great Steam Heaven, she was quickly overtaken.

Good luck with the rerun @Warbonnet, they look very well and with no inflation deserve success.

Patrick - NOT mine - it's one of Lance King's - he took some mind-blowing shots of the Spoil Trains, about a dozen in the book "Steam's Last Challenge" by my pal Joe Cassells.

No, no, no. We want to keep the price manageable! Accurascale certainly has the ability to do these things, but keep it simple! Sides, roof, chassis with wheels and couplings and a choice of a few liveries is what we want @BosKonay, please!

Thanks, Ernie. My money is still on the 1909 van, built to Diagram No.43 (later 144?). My copy of the Wagon book, as scanned from the IRRS copy and in Richard McLachlan's series of drawing books, shows the doors in a very different combination, albeit in much the same positions. The GNR was very good at little changes, which DID get recorded in the wagon books, but not on this occasion it seems! A nice prototype for @Galteemore, even if it isn't at Enniskillen?

Quick reply to @Mayner. I agree that my price mark is low, also the point about the variants. However, my suggestion sought to cover the two obvious gaps - the basic luggage van, which was everywhere for a decade at least and the heating van which was also there for much the same period. Only trying to help you guys. At 80 I can't suggest that I have a personal interest, but if announced, my order would go in. So what about the other 1,757 of you out there?

Provoked by a comment on another thread by @jhb171achill, I am going to start a "Crowd demand" scheme for someone to take up. Virtually EVERY diesel produced by Saint Patrick and The Boys trailed four wheel vans around behind them at some point in their lives. And lots of local steam trains! I suggest that there is hardly a member of this forum who would not buy a ready to run Luggage Van, Heating Van double pack if someone would move themselves to produce it. Come on you entrepreneurs - a pack with a simple luggage van and the Heating van variant for say €100-ish would fly off the shelves. AND you have several liveries to offer - what more could a manufacturer ask. Members of the Forum - stand up and be counted - we won't get these important vehicles if we don't demand them!

Well done @Mol_PMB for getting the interesting Skibbereen photo. What a train? Most photos of that era on those branches show an old bogie coach as the passenger accommodation, so a string of six wheelers is quite a find.

Thanks for these, Ernie. No.56's train would be worth blowing up, to help identify the brake van behind one of "my" 10 ton vans. It looks a bit like a six wheel 1909 25 ton brake van with Guard's, Luggage and Drovers' compartments. No less than 28 feet long. Has anyone ever attempted a model? It obviously survived into my period.

Ah, @Darius43, all you need now is to get Modellu to cast you a model of the late Lance King (complete with two Rollifexes on a hand-held clamp) and set him on top of the tunnel taking memorable photographs of Spoil trains here ......