Patrick Davey

Checking clearances on the trackplan.

Stunning!!! Pity I can't justify one arriving into a 1960s-era CIÉ branch terminus......

Thanks JB, I’m already thinking of insane names for the station staff….. I’m thinking the station master was one Sandy Castle……

Trackbed finalised - won't be glued down until provision has been made for my patented mechanical turnout operating system to be installed! The area to the right will be the beach, at a lower level, and the area to the left will be higher ground, but I will build this up using card, to reduce the overall weight.

BASEBOARD RECYCLING..... So the baseboard for Clogherhead was actually the original one which I built for Ballynahinch Junction back in 2008..... it must be of decent construction because it has survived 15 years in the temperature extremes of the attic...... I was dreading having to prepare it for this project but it all went without a hitch, previous installations of wood and polystyrene ceiling tile came away relatively easily then I was able to start laying out the track and mark the location of buildings etc. Once finalised, a raised plywood level will be added which will hold the track - the supports for this have been glued down and have been weighted until they set overnight. They will have plenty of time to set - more work travels for the foreseeable!

Another significant development yesterday…….some shiny new equipment arrived!

Paid a quick visit to Dunleer station this evening for a photographic survey, nice to meet with Kevin Enright there as well, thanks for your company, Kevin, and for bringing your fabulous models for me to appreciate in person! I have also finished and glazed the wooden panel for the platform side of the building.

If I was wearing a hat, Alan, I would be taking it off!! There is literally no way on earth I would have the ability to do that…. Another great update. Thank you!

Ha now that’s clever!!!

Thanks a mil Kevin, much appreciated

Many thanks to Wilson Adams for these two great (but sad) views of Dunleer station, which will be the basis of Clogherhead station, the two locations being fairly close together in County Louth.

Such a masterpiece Alan - especially the chimney!!!

Now that is just superb!

Updated my post above with the link Kevin. They are great finials, quite close to the GN ones and very robust.

That is an absolute beauty well done! I would like to see photos of your cabin as well? For a previous build, I had used finials from Shapeways, but they were very easily broken, so I have used whitemetal ones for my recent cabin builds, I shall look up the link where I ordered them from and update this post accordingly. That is a really beautiful shelter, and looks like a very neat build, would like to see more! UPDATE: Here is the link to the whitemetal finials I used: https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/buildings/slc012/

The Ratio Midland Railway cabin windows have to have some of the vertical framing removed to match the GN ones and it can be a heart stopping moment each time…..

Yip - the last ones I had, so I’m glad I didn’t break any!

So it’s on to the station building next, which is going to be based on the very attractive example at Dunleer. A lot of Great Northern station buildings had a glazed wooden panel fronting the platform so that’s where I have started. The diagonal boarding was created by gluing together 1 mm plastic strips and cutting them into 10 mm² panels with the strips set at 45°. There is another layer of small windows to go along the top. The panels had sliding doors, so I might fix these in an open position.

Gone to ground now.

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......