Patrick Davey

Cheers Popeye and yes, very close!

I have always been a bit obsessive about taking photographs during a build and I have over 1,700 of Brookhall Mill by this stage...... So time to take a look back and see where it all started, and watch how it progressed....... BHM.mp4

The nameboard for above the layout is now finished, it looks a bit big at this stage but there will be hidden areas to the left and right which the sign will rest upon so hopefully it will all look ok when it’s all brought together. Finished in the style of a typical GNR(I) station nameboard, with black letters on a yellow background, and no border.

It's a cold December Sunday evening at Brookhall Mill as a Gardner bus arrives from Dundalk - a large snow drift has blocked the Antrim branch one mile north of Knockmore Junction and the bus will operate the staff shuttle service from Lisburn until the line is open again. It's getting colder and there's a distinctive red tint in the sky so another fall of snow can't be too far away..... At least the bus driver made it to the mill for the annual carol service, where the resident 'Mill Voice Choir' have been augmented for a cross community seasonal singalong. Even the NCC choir was invited this year so Mr. Weaver must be really getting into the Christmas spirit! Happy Christmas to everyone in the forum, thanks for all the inspiration and banter throughout the year and here's to much more in 2023. 1882069754_MerryChristmas.mp4

Making progress on the GNR-style name board for above the layout. Built from balsa wood and 10cm letters from Hobbycraft. Need to round the edges next and add more coats of both colours before gluing the letters in place.

I think the IRM Rosary sound chip might take decades......

Fantastic LC - will you be making the signals operational?

Unlikely, unfortunately, but I had previously mentioned a Ballymena & Larne Railway starter set so it's good to see someone else has the same idea.......

Latest developments at the mill: 4 mm hardboard has been acquired and largely cut to size to start forming the backscene The front of the scenic area has been painted black to tidy it up The layout name is taking shape, there will be strip lighting behind this Unusually I have a largely free weekend so hoping to make more progress.

They'll probably be 'A Bandon'-ed....... Another taxi please........

BCDR 442 tank!

Ssssssseriously impressive!!!!!! I know of a certain layout in Downpatrick where this model would fit in rather nicely......

Very interesting discussion everybody thanks for your input, my gut feeling is still that it won’t be a J15 for my reason stated above but I could be wrong of course……. regarding the 440 issue I would expect that if somebody can make them work it would be IRM

No argument there, as that would apply to everything IRM produces. But I can’t see them standing on the toes of a relatively small manufacturer, as this might discourage them from producing further Irish models. Taking on the big boys with a much better Deltic and class 37 is one thing but I couldn’t see IRM trying to outdo OO Works.

BosKonay said so! Maybe it’ll be a tank engine. I heard a rumour that the tender is out……. ”Taxi……”

Not too insane to think of a Mogul as a possibility, to tie in with the RPSI new build.........

Yes I know many of us HATE speculation discussion and consider it a pointless waste of time but BosKonay has confirmed in the OO Works J15 thread that there will be a steam offering from IRM next year so am sorry but I can't resist a bit of musing...... So an IRM steam loco would need to have as wide an appeal as possible, timescale-wise and geographically, so I'm suggesting that it will most likely be an RPSI loco, maybe NCC No. 4 or GNR No. 171 - the latter might tie in nicely with ongoing efforts to complete the loco's restoration although if the model was announced next year then it might not appear until well into 2024 by which time I imagine the RPSI would hope to have 171 operational again. 131 might also be an option - the current livery scheme is very attractive I think. A model of an RPSI loco would hopefully make good commercial sense and in typical IRM/Accurascale style, it might appear in a range of livery options, covering everything from original company service right through to preservation. I don't think a J15 is an option, not after the OO Works models.

Great name that!

Yikes pricey.... but if it was a BCDR one I'd pay it....

Thanks Alan, appreciated!

I visited the site of Dungannon station yesterday, hardly worth photographing anymore. What a loss.

Love how the choice of window blind in the room was made to almost match the window arches in the main goods building!

Superb - great to see an update!

Two video clips comparing the performance of the OO Works U Class negotiating a Peco Y turnout, before and after weight was added to the tender. For consistency, the controller was set to '40' for each movement. BEFORE: Before.mov Not great, but oddly better when running tender first. AFTER: After.mov Seems better to me but I can't run it with all those coppers on it. Am also afraid to open the tender although obviously this will have to be done. Any suggestions folks? Cheers!