Patrick Davey

New residents at the mill stream.

Fabulous thanks Airfixfan!

Oops my last post was No. 666 so this is to cancel that out......

Grumpy Mr. Weaver, glaring at the fire engine as it leaves......

Apologies, I couldn’t resist another bit of insanity….. It’s the annual fire safety inspection at Brookhall Mill this evening. The local fire chief, Dennis Wailer, does not look forward to this evening each year because he never gets much co-operation from Mr. Weaver, who hates anybody coming and poking their nose around his mill. Anyway that’s it over now for another year…..

Platform lamps installed at the mill this evening.

Lovely stuff! They should run very smoothly!

Such a fantastic layout - really love the updates!

After a hectic week involving unwelcome posters, a controversial family wedding and some misbehaving nuns, it’s all quiet at last this Friday evening at Brookhall Mill.

So the reverend ladies ended up staying the night at Brookhall Mill. Mr. Weaver gave them access to the guest suite on the top floor of the mil and ensured they were not disturbed. In the morning he arranged for Fr. Flax to lead a short service for the ladies then things went a bit haywire as two of the younger nuns went AWOL, as they couldn't resist exploring the delights that Brookhall had to offer. Mother Superior was rather perturbed by their absence as they needed to catch the train to Lisburn and travel on to Loreto College in Cavan.... Fr. Flax and Mother Superior deep in conversation outside the oratory. The disappearing nuns have found a quiet spot down by the river. Watching the world drift by...... Oops they're in trouble now! Earlier on they got up to serious mischief....... They were chilling out at the ammo platform when guess who trundled up in his brake van to see what was happening..... more scandal to tell the lads in Newry shed! Doing a spot of birdwatching at Mr. Weaver's birdtable but Barmy Barry just couldn't leave them alone....... You'll all be glad to hear that this will be the end of the insanity....for a while!

More excitement at the mill tonight - a party of reverend ladies went to the wrong platform at Lisburn, intending to travel to Loreto College in Cavan, but instead managed to join the Brookhall evening staff shuttle. Now Mr. Weaver doesn’t know what to do with them as there are no more trains tonight and Barmy Barry won’t allow any unscheduled bus runs. Mr. Weaver really wants to use some choice language but for once, he’s biting his tongue.

A few more scenes from the mill this evening. Mr. Weaver is telling the driver “Sure just a few feet more until you hear the crunch…..”

Mr. Weaver supervising this evening’s road departures from the mill. He likes the new lights more than he likes the buses.

So the electricians put up a lot of resistance to Mr. Weaver's criticism and pointed out that they have been on the circuit for a while and could easily help him fix the current issues. And so they did!

He says the electricians who work at the mill are all wired up anyway. He nearly blew a fuse when these lights didn’t work so he sent them all ohm.

Only moderate success with the lights so far…. electrics were never my strong point anyway. I can only get one of the lights working so obviously my soldering skills leave a lot to be desired and I also managed to burn myself with the soldering iron so back to the drawing board tomorrow! But at least the one working light looks decent!

If I recall O Level physics correctly then the above is wired 'in parallel' which has the advantage of keeping the other lights illuminated if one blows..... the other option is to wire them 'in series' which is easier but if one goes, they all go......

Hi all, just received these nice looking lamps and would be grateful if someone could tell me if my wiring diagram is correct - thanks! The power source is a 9v battery pack and R is resistor.

Good point Brack - thanks for that. I researched both chassis before choosing the Hornby one as I had read some poor reviews of the performance of the Oxford one? Mind you there were also some issues with incorrect wiring on the Hornby ones but mine runs fine - phew. I see what you mean about the block being visible whatever happens - a good point. I came to this project with a mindset of 'close will do' and I was prepared to accept a few inaccuracies and being a black livery I hope that this kind of thing might not be as noticeable. Also, upon further examination, I think I will need somewhere solid to attach the vertical bracket (excuse any incorrect terminology) that holds the horizontal bars that the pistons run along so this might work well for that? And yes the Oxford chassis does look easier to work with in this situation!

Ok more thinking out loud...... the cylinders are actually more or less in line with the centres of the driving wheels so maybe not high enough for the connecting rod to foul the block:

Looking at the Adams chassis here: The screwdriver is pointing to a metal block onto which the body is attached via two screws. I think the motor itself screws onto it as well. But if I am successful in repositioning the connecting rod to the rear wheel, the lower part of the block will foul the movement of the connecting rod. So this would need to happen: Namely the red portion would need to be chopped off. It's needed for the Adams but wouldn't be needed for the NCC loco. A BCDR conversion for the Adams looks much easier at this point!

5.5 is the chosen scale

So I decided to start a dedicated thread for this build, because I am totally petrified of what lies ahead and will need a lot of support and counselling along the way.... I am planning on modifying a Hornby Adams Radial tank locomotive into a representation of NCC S Class NG compound 2-4-2t No. 41, along the way transitioning from 4mm to 5.5mm scale. The prototype: https://mikemorant.smugmug.com/Trains-Railways-British-Isles/Irish-railways/Irish-railway-archive-2/i-LZpC9MD/A Mayner of this parish very kindly provided drawings of the class, my subject has an extended bunker though, added much later in her career: The donor locomotive arrived yesterday from eBay: And this morning I took the body off: A side view of the chassis: Initial impressions are encouraging: the motor isn't particularly high on the chassis, presumably dictated by the profile of the Adams prototype, so that won't be an issue for the S class, and I can also see a way to reposition the cylinders to a location directly above where the leading bogie wheels currently are (the rear ones of course). Overall the spacing of the Adams wheels is fairly close - I couldn't do anything about the driving wheels, even if I wanted to, but the front and rear wheels will need attention. The front bogie will need removing completely and the wheels reused for two brand new front and rear wheel assemblies. This will necessitate a bit of metalwork which I will need to subcontract out....... The S class has a single set of wheels at the front and the rear wheels are smaller than on the Adams, and also further back. Thank you in advance to everyone who will be kind enough to offer assistance with this one!

The middle photo here is Fahan on the Lough Swilly, quite a bit west of Ballycarry! The photographer is standing on the former trackbed and behind is a stone overbridge. The station building is now a pub/restaurant.

It has now become a frightening prospect to try and butcher an otherwise perfectly fine locomotive…..