Kirley

I’ve had lots of problems with my points on one section of Kirley Junction. As part of the refurbishment programme I took away one set of points from the main line and placed it in the line coming from the Helix. This means all 3 lines from the Helix converge into one set of points joining the Main Line. Still having problems with the polarity of my series of point in this area I made enquiries with the Belfast Shipyard as they were the innovators behind the ‘Diagonal Steam Trap’ see As this was out of production I had no alternative but to go for a Hex Frog Juicer. This piece of kit sets the polarity of your points automatically. See Great piece of kit if you can’t sort out your polarity problems. Next area was the lower section of the lifting bridge leading to Kirley Junction Station. When I originally laid the track I found the curve was too severe and caused derailment issues with some rolling stock. The upper section of the bridge carried the two main lines without problems. To widen the curve on the lower section I had to cut into the bridge to give me that wider curve. Getting the lines to marry up on a curve was a problem but it eventually worked out after a bit of trial and error. I always seemed to have too much stock on the layout, mainly as just somewhere to store it rather than lift it of the layout and put it back in storage boxes. Having visited ‘The Derry Road’ and saw how Raymond stored some of his stock I thought I could copy his idea as an answer to my problem so I made a start yesterday. It’s so handy just to lift stock off and place it on the shelves, more to follow. Here is a short video of some of the refurbishments on the layout.

OK two 141's but whats coming down the line?

Excellent progress Raymond, looking forward to seeing the next phase.

Nice job, great finish.

Great find 201, looks very much like at Hunslet at the Cement Silo.

1st Bangor 25th Annual Exhibition is on Friday evening 22nd. & Saturday 23rd of May 2015. See List of Exhibitors here: http://www.firstbangormrc.co.uk/firstbangormrc/Exhibitors%202015.html

The hard and soft landscapes merging together really well Raymond.

A sunny bright morning at Gt Victoria St with the AEC on Enterprise Duties? Great atmosphere as usual with these pictures.

My Bullieid Open Wagon Kits arrived today from Provincial Wagons. While their build is at the end of my ‘Things To Do’ list I could not resist a quick peak. Looks a very simple build with the fun of converting staples into brake gear protectors, fitting brake gear and buffers to add a little edge before painting. But I’ve resisted the temptation and went back to my current project.

All that heavy rain in the North West has brought on some lush growth Raymond. Looks fantastic. I was luck enough to see this layout in person a few weeks ago and the pictures do not do it justice. Going on today's pictures it will only get better and better!

Please see Dhu Varren's Tutorial on a Lima 201 in the Workbench thread. This is the results of his work.

I always loved my Lima/Murphy 201’s but lived in irritation of their poor running qualities. When the new Murphy 201’s came out I was loathed to ditch the earlier models and I replaced the Lima chassis with Bachmann Class 66 ones. The last Lima 201 I had left I tried to modify the Lima chassis by having two motor bogies using the same principal as on my A Class models. It was not a great success and it lay unused until David’s very interesting modification as posted above. I got talking to him at the Glasgow Show and offered him the challenge of doing his modification on my double motor bogie 201. He rose to the task and I included a set of Ultrascale wheels which I had bought some years ago to replace those on the Lima 201, which worked fine on the level but without the ‘traction’ tyres they slipped on inclines so I had abandoned that idea. David not only replaced the wheels, made new pickups, a new weight made from Cerrobend, but also did a superb job on my lights including a circuit board out of a non-powered HST power car, suitably modified. Well how did it turnout as a running model, what would it pull and how would perform on inclines? Have a look at it in motion in my Kirley Junction Layout Thread and judge for yourself.

TPO Van in service, running with a small coaching rake. It's built from an excellent JM Design brass kit. A short video of it in action.

I'll go for the Dapol option please for both.

Cutting the masking templates for that must have been some fun!

Thanks for the update Noël, making good progress.

Another JM Model, yes please, I'll take one.

This magazine has jumped into a whole new level of professionalism. The photographic reproduction quality is suburb, both black & white as well as colour. My only regret is in the past photographs of interest were so grainy that you could not see the detail but no complaints now. I enjoyed Colm Flanagan's builds both coaches and GNR(I) locomotive which are on my Things to Do List for 2015. Also Jim Edgar's piece on Gatekeepers. Having met the man I now know not only does he bring us those wonderful Markle Videos but is a vast well of knowledge on Irish Railways. Then there is the GRS drawings and.....well just the whole magazine is a wealth of information.

Here's a video taken last July when the Yard wasn't so crowded. I tried, not very successfully, to video and control train movements at the same time and have fallen between two stools. My camera kept dying mid shot hence the rapid cuts between scenes. Apologies for the poor quality.

No need with Peco motors, it moves with no resistance.

Looking forward to seeing them.

I was asked to put up some photographs of how I replaced a Peco point spring without removing the points from the layout. Replacing a spring is a fiddly enough job without trying to take photographs as well and some of the photographs are out of focus. As this was the only replacement spring left I could not retake them so please accept my apology for the poor quality of some photographs and of course they had to be the most important ones. Hope you were able to make some sense of them despite the poor photographs and good luck to anyone attempting it.

One picture Andy, you're just teasing us with more to come (I hope). Can't see enough of this layout.

Bachmann Irish Stone Engine Shed. A Site Member put an Irish Engine Shed for sale and I was tempted to buy. Picked it up today but now I’ve the problem where to put it on the Layout. First of all I decided to squeeze it in beside the Loco Depot and took a few shots to see how it works. The other option is to remove the Water Tower, add a siding in front of Kirley Junction Station and place it there, decisions, decisions. Anyway it was nice to meet Crawford today and talk Railways. There is a chimney which comes separate with the model, anyone any ideas where it goes?

Kevin I was replacing the point springs without removing the points. I had only one replacement spring left and I took some photographs but as you need 3 hands to do this and take photos some are a bit out of focus. I'll stick them up soon on the Tips & Tricks Section.