Patrick Davey

A friend on another forum wanted to know who ran the tea rooms and I was able to find out the following information from a Co. Louth local history website: ".....the tea room at Clogherhead station was run by a retired husband and wife team, Earl Grey and Nan Barrie. Their friend's granddaughter would occasionally help out at busy times, she was called Miss Kipling - she was fifteen and exceedingly good at her job but sadly they had to let her go due to her fondness for putting her hair in a bun. There was also a Miss Cherry and she would definitely bake well but some of her products were a bit crepe. The tea house was very popular with visiting troops of brownies and it did well until the 1970s when it hit a bit of a rocky road and the turnover began to crumble."

Great suggestion @leslie10646 - it would surely have sash windows?

Tea room completed. Pity it’s closed, looks like it would have been a nice spot for a coffee and an iced diamond….

I can certainly vouch for it being grey Alan, they have definitely captured the livery very well in my humble opinion!

Had the great pleasure of a quick visit to LQ this evening and I met the new J15 in person, a very impressive model! Couldn’t resist bringing my latest A class acquisition along as well, re-creating a scene which may well have happened from 1955 onwards?

Thanks Alan: they are all originals by someone called Scalescenes Downloads......

My obsession for interior detail returns…..and I just had to create skylights, so it might be seen!

Some basic interior detailing being added to the pavilion along with roof lettering.

CLOGHERHEAD TRACKPLAN Here's a rough idea of the trackplan so far, using an 'aerial' photo of the roughly-positioned track. The site is bordered on the left and top by a road, which may have some low relief buildings. Not a lot of trees in this plan due to the exposed location. Passenger trains enter from under the classic scenic break overbridge to the left, cross the double slip and stop at the platform, the loco runs round (just enough space in the headhunt for an A class loco!) then takes the train out again. The platform will be longer than I can show in this plan. Sand wagons can be brought into the headhunt below the pavilion (which will be on a higher level) and shunted down to the sand store. The beach completes the plan. Edit: There won't be as many straight lines as shown here!

Just superb!!!! Worth the effort!!! Well done Ken.

I had thought about that one, but I thought it was too obvious, even for me!

There will be more sand than ballast between the sleepers

Following on from my 'Rumblings' thread...... I now have a plan for a new layout. Staying with the GNR(I), I'm heading down to County Louth for a fictional seaside terminus, at Clogherhead. The idea is that the history of this branch closely mirrors that of the nearby Ardee branch, being a late opener and early closer to regular passenger services, but the seaside location gave an advantage in that excursions remained fairly consistent until final closure in 1975, and there was also a steady traffic in sand which the GNR (and later CIE) were licensed to extract from the nearby beach (probably totally implausible but works for me!) The layout will be set in the decaying 1970s, a perfect setting for my black & tan IRM & MM stock. The layout will have the following: * 6ft x 2ft baseboard (built a long time ago for a previous layout) * DCC - chips have been acquired! * Passenger terminus - GNR(I) polychrome brick * Derelict signal cabin - built (pic below) * Sand store * Seaside pavilion - under construction (pics below) The branch would have been worked from Drogheda, and left the GN mainline a few miles north of Drogheda, to swing east and enter Clogherhead from the south, with the terminus being located beside the beach: I can already hear the seagulls........

Superb on every level!

Cheers Billycan - it actually didn’t take that much longer to do two at the same time, might try three next time!!

FOR SALE: GNR(I) SIGNAL CABIN Scratchbuilt in OO gauge, using original GNR(I) architectural drawings Constructed in plasticard with additional detailing Fullly detailed interior - white metal components from Springside Models Detailed cabin steps - plywood components from Ancorton Models STG£120.00 ONO Note: due to the fragile nature of the model, it is really only suitable for locating on a permanent layout. It would not be suitable for sending through the post - I am based in Belfast but travel regularly throughout Ireland and may be able to deliver if required.

Am sure there will be no insults!!! Great layout - looks like there would be a lot of enjoyment in the operation.

More views of the disused cabin - some more weathering still to be done.

Twin GNR(I) signal cabin build, both now officially complete final details included cabin steps, chimneys and - very fiddly - downpipes but all came together well. One of the cabins is finished in a disused condition and I added some foliage appearing to grow out from a hole in the roof Why did I build two? Well…. the disused one is for my next project and the other I have built with the intention of offering it for sale - a separate post about this will follow shortly.

It’s been a chimney kind of week……

I absolutely love everything about this John!

What a lovely video - thanks for sharing @DJ Dangerous

Those steps were fiddly in the extreme........ Still a bit of work to do to the top platform plus the overall height needs looking at.......

I acquired signal cabin steps from Ancorton Models (new to me!) and they seem to be fitting together well, if a bit fiddly. Worth taking the time to get this kind of thing correct. They are made from thin wood. Research shows that on GNR(I) cabin steps, the handrail often matched the colour scheme of the main cabin.

Some lovely views there Ernie! Continued thanks for the great work you do.