Patrick Davey

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…..

That’s it! Well spotted again!

Yes indeed, well spotted! There is another subtle reference to a legendary BNCR name as well! I’m glad you’re enjoying the stories LC, credit has to go JHB Who has inspired me with his Dugort Harbour antics

It's a very happy day at Brookhall Mill, or is it.... Mr. Weaver's only daughter, Millie, is getting married. Now, in more enlightened times, this would be a cause for unrestricted joy and unlimited merriment but this is rural 1950s Ulster, and as it happens, Millie Weaver's new husband is from 'the other side'. Mr. Weaver was horrified when he found out and did everything in his power to derail the relationship, and he was particularly incensed when he found out that the two had met through the columns of the dating magazine for steam locomotive enthusiasts, called 'Tender'. Mr. Weaver earnestly tried to dissuade Millie from proceeding on such a foolhardy enterprise....even going to the extent of using his considerable local influence to convince all local clergymen to decline any invitations to officiate at the nuptials. But it was nothing to do with religion - Millie's fiancee was, wait for it, an NCC man. Oh, the shame of it at Brookhall. His name was Malcolm Bowman and his family were from Drumsurn ("Never heard of it..." sneered Mr. W) and when later asked for his opinion of his prospective son-in-law, Mr. W's educated response was 'Well he's obviously not Wise...." Anyway Millie was adamant and it was only after threatening to have a BCDR fireman act as best man that Mr. Weaver reluctantly gave his consent. He even allowed the marriage to take place at the oratory at Brookhall and arranged for the mill chaplain Fr. Flax to officiate. Mr. Weaver arrives at the oratory with Millie, meeting Fr. Flax at the door. The guests arrived by private GNR bus, organised by Barmy Barry. Mr. Weaver even allowed one of his many vintage cars to be used as the wedding car. Barmy Barry was eyeing up Millie's Matron of Honour, and later gave her a tour of the back seat of his bus. And the happy couple emerge in wedded bliss. Mr. Weaver discusses the rest of the day's plans with Barry and of course Nosey Neville just had to have his brake van positioned to give him a bird's eye view of everything. Malcom and Millie Bowman pose beside the car prior to Mr. Weaver driving them off to have their photos taken at the very picturesque Knockmore Junction signal cabin, before returning to the mill for a four-course meal and an after-dinner céilí, with music from 'The Steamin' Shamrocks'.

So the York Road posters are at last on display at Brookhall. Mr. Weaver was never going to just promote a rival company, especially after they stole a lot of the GNR’s Antrim traffic when they opened their fancy loop line in 1934, so he decided to make a point, in his usual subtle way. The station supervisor, Wilbur Whistler, is about to burst a blood vessel over it but Mr. Weaver is close to retirement and thinks he can get away with anything. Nosy Neville thinks the whole thing is hilarious and can’t wait to recount the whole story to everyone in Newry shed. 

Nice view here of the exact locomotive I'm interested in, only I'd be doing it in unlined black NCC livery: https://mikemorant.smugmug.com/Trains-Railways-British-Isles/Irish-railways/Irish-railway-archive-2/i-LZpC9MD/A

They’re still hard at it at the mill, arguing about what to do with the posters from York Road. And to make matters worse, Nosey Neville from Near Newry has just arrived in his brake van to offer his unwelcome tuppence worth. The poor driver decided to take his tank loco away to get some peace from the bickering but he was then accosted by Barmy Barry the Banbridge Busman, whinging about the lack of affection shown to his beautiful buses by Mr. Weaver.

Been studying this photo from Ernie's invaluable collection, as it shows a detailed 'full frontal' of an S class loco, conveniently too, for me, at Capecastle: As well as the front arrangement it shows the interesting coupling setup, which actually looks a bit like a modern tension lock coupling? Plus the locomotive does not have any buffers so am guessing the coupling doubled as a buffer too, and upon investigation I see that a lot (all?) of Irish narrow gauge stock was devoid of buffers and had a similar coupling arrangement - some were roughly rectangular as above and some had a more rounded shape. Am sure someone here would be able to offer more background to this style of coupling? Also noting the distinctive fishplates and the neat stack of these to the left of the shot - I have never seen right angled fishplates before, were these used elsewhere on NG lines? Thanks again Ernie for this and for all your superb photographs. Also - what are the cone-shaped fixtures above the buffer beam? They look like jacks for re-railing misbehaving locomotives......?

Wow this is just superb - echoing everything said above and I love the small details such as the passenger line being on a slightly higher level and the stone/slate steps giving access with some rusted abandoned machinery beside! Perfection!!! Lots more please Alan!!!

Yes I have seen that beast - had actually been considering it too but am not sure it went to Ballycastle though........ there's an excuse for a Ballymena & Larne micro next!!!

Impressed - just received a dispatch notification for this so things are moving! Am not doing anything on this project until I have a working, and fairly reasonably accurate chassis........always tempting to start the scenics..........

Super stuff thanks for that John - I actually do have a Fowler tank in the cupboard, with thoughts of a Jeep conversion at one point..........

John these are superb scenes - the elderly 440 is the star!

Just bought a black Hornby Adams Radial off eBay - updates to follow! Thanks again everyone.