David Holman

Hello folks - I've been trying to upload photos of my SLNCR project, but the site seems reluctant to accept anything. Not had problems in the past, but not added anything for a while. Pics are all low resolution & accepted formats. Any ideas?

Is that nameplate the original? If so, a thing to treasure...

Have had a look at the MMST site without success, but will have another try. The Tyrconnel kits seem well designed & are good value, though the castings needed a bit of work on my J26. Some lovely prototypes though & well worth a try, even if only for a display model. Could become a habit though!

Very well done, sir! Hopefully this will grow & grow & modellers of the Irish scene can eventually aspire to the depth of resources available for those interested in British prototypes. Wagons, as many as possible, would be very nice...

Finally got round to finishing the J26 0-6-0T and the Sligo 'Small Tank', so here are a few pictures. The J26 is a Tyrconnel kit [from Alphagraphix], built as per instructions. Etchbrass, with whitemetal fittings & seems to look the part The Small Tank [Hazlewood] is a North Star kit. Sadly no longer available, the draughtsmanship of the etches was superb & included the HUNDREDS of rivets which needed pressing out. Made a few departures from the excellent instructions in that fitted wooden buffer beams, instead of etched & fettled the smokebox door to make it more bulbous, as per the prototype. A representation of inside valve gear also added, as there is a noticeable gap between the frames without. A second kit for a small tank awaits my attention, will probably appear as Fermanagh, though would also like to build a Large Tank as well. If anyone has any drawings, I'd be very interested. Both locos have been spray painted, intially with Halfords matt black, then weathered with airbrush & powders, crayons etc to give a rather well worn appearance.

Also, forgot to say that 36.75mm axles are readily available from Slaters [check their website], while the Alphagraphix catalogue includes a wide range of other Irish models in 7mm scale. Most are cardboard kits - buildings, coaches and wagons. The rolling stock is backed up with a limited range of chassis components & includes 3' narrow gauge too. Well worth a look, especially as many of the card kits are just £3-£4. Real bargains as they are in effect colour plans too, if you want to make a model out of something more substantial.

The J26 is indeed a kit - from the Alphagraphix catalogue. There is a wealth of Irish related models in 7mm scale including Elf, the MGW 2-2-2T, Fairy [with pay carraige], the delightful Argadeen 2-6-0T & St Molaga 0-4-2T from the Timoleague & Courtmacsherry tramway, plus a Bandon 4-6-0T. The J26 was £90, likewise Argadeen, while the Bandon tank is currently £140. This is minus wheels, motor, gears of course. However, there was a full set of etched number plates with the J26. Having built a fair few 7mm kits in my time & even scratchbuilt a 'Claud Hamilton' 4-4-0, must say this J26 was a very straightforward model to make. Instructions are clear & include a few decent photos, while the etches were good & castings adequate if not entirely top quality. At the price, very good value though. The chassis is designed for 32mm gauge & is actually a one piece etched, designed to fold up & make a basic unit. Haven't come across this method before & was a bit dubious, but decided to go ahead as per instructions & once wheels & rods were fitted, it rolled beautifully, first time. For 36.75mm gauge, the top hat bearings are soldered in back to front. Was going to add some dummy frames to fill the space, but have found it looks ok, so haven't bothered to fit them. Still needs a bit of weathering & some coal in the bunker, but for a first essay in 36.75mm gauge, i'm more than pleased with it & see no reason why other models listed shouldn't be as good.. Alphagraphix advertise in Railway modeller, but can be found at 23 Darris Road, Selly Park, Birminigham B29 7QY. Email sirberkley@tiscali.co.uk

Drawings like this are extremely welcome. Mainland GB modellers don't know how lucky they are to have an authoritative book on almost every railways' wagons... Presumably, the Alphagraphix card kits are well known? In effect, they are 7mm scale colour drawings & include some of the SLNCR wagons, plus Coach No9, a GNR van and a CIE van. Am sure you can't publish them without permission though. However, they appear to be small. The 8 ton van is about 30cm lower than the GN one above, despite being similar in outline. Checking pics in Nigel Sprinks book on the Sligo, it appears that some vans may be taller than others [ie more planks], while the upper door hinges are likewise set lower on the taller ones. As I've already built 3x 8 ton vans and 5x cattle vans [similar outline], I'm hoping that the extra capacity of the GN van accounts for the larger size. That and the fact that the Sligo van's wheelbase is quoted as 8' 6"... Will be interested to hear what others think

Have taken a few more low resolution pics of progress thus far. 7mm scale, 36.75mm gauge. Started Jan 2012, though a few wagons & the J26 begun earlier.[attachment=:name]

Many thanks to everyone for all the positive comments on my layout pics. Have attached a few more and will also put them on my new blog. The Lissadell tank is a truly lovely kit. Managed to track down Adrian Rowlands [Northstar Models] who kindly enabled me to buy the last two examples, as Northstar are no longer producing these kits. The draughtmanship of the etching is remarkable - no idea how many rivets there are, but certainly runs to many hundreds. My GW Models rivet press put to very good use... Made a couple of alterations in that built the buffer beams of wood, as per prototype, and used copper water pipe for the boiler - forgetting would then have to glue all fittings. The pipe adds weight, but is also an enormous heat sink which prevents further soldering. Will roll the boiler when I get round to the second kit. A few fittings still needed and will add inside valve gear. Very tempted to use Lawrie Griffen's kit to make it work, especially as the broad gauge makes it easier to fit, hopefully... Some wagons still need further weathering and also have 5 cattle vans on the stocks, plus 5 GN & GSR type opens for what will be the coal train. The latter scratch built from photos - to same 15' wheelbase of Sligo stock. Cattle wagons without roofs at present while I try and source some animals to go inside. Model farm animals tend to be 1:32, though Woodlands scenics now produce some 1:43. Am going to try and cast some of my own from models I got years ago. Detail not too important once the roof is on hopefully. The carraige truck is from a pic in Nigel Sprinks definitive book/album The other photos show the [mark 1] turntable - a much butchered Dapol kit, with meccano hand cranked gears from Frizinghall models - plus a close up of the Marcway track & wire in tube operating links. Currenly working on the station building - a version of Florencecourt, from the Alphagraphix kit - which is made from foamboard and Das clay overlays. Will add to the blog as things progress.

Thank you. The loco is a Tyrconnel kit, as advertised in the Alphagraphix catalogue. The latter includes several other nice prototypes including a Bandon 4-6-0T and the Timoleague 2-6-0T. Reasonably priced - the J26 was £90 sans wheels, motor & gears. Fairly easy to build too, though I've got around 50 locos on my CV, so experience helps I guess. Needs final weathering and a bit of weight in the boiler, but will pull the six wagons that will be the max formation on my layout & is a nice runner. Chassis was an interesting one piece etch, which folded up very accurately - with the rods on it rolled first time without any fettling. Always a nice surprise in my experience!