Patrick Davey

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!

Now you are giving me more soundtrack ideas.........

Very helpful thanks John! I am a firm believer in small details making a big difference

I don't think it is, I think it just picks up from the driving wheels rather than the driving wheels plus the pony truck, and sends the current back through the tender wheels. Yip track is cleaned before every running session.

I had been looking forward to making this video but I was disappointed in the performance of the U class locomotive (OO Works). Despite being a thing of beauty, it wasn't running smoothly at all but I guess I have been spoilt by the effortless running of the recent IRM diesels. So I had to cheat a bit and slow some of the video clips down in order to get the desired effect, as the loco just wouldn't negotiate the (Peco) turnouts at anything other than a gallop. But here's the video anyway! 422535897_TheGNRYearsatBrookhallMill.mp4

Masterclass.

Another short video showing a CIÉ train shunting at Brookhall Mill. The procedure was that a mainline goods train from the south would stop at Lisburn, where the vans for Brookhall would be taken off the train and along with the brake van, brought up the Antrim branch and into the mill. The locomotive would then return to Lisburn and bring the rest of the train on to Grosvenor Road Goods Yard in Belfast. The reverse procedure would apply for the return journey. 1988755542_CITrainatBrookhallMill.mp4

Very impressive!

A wonderful post, very creative & entertaining! And absolutely superb modelling, every aspect of it. The Inspectorate should be more complimentary!!! Something to be very proud of LH - congratulations.

When a train from the UTA (ex-NCC) section travelled to Brookhall Mill, it would first go as far as Brookmount station where the locomotive would run around before bringing the train onto the mill siding. This meant that the brake van would be next to the locomotive on arrival. Here is a short video showing the shunting movements that would take place after the train arrived, in this case to collect a consignment of linen for the Northern Counties Hotel in Portrush. Earlier, one of the ubiquitous ex-NCC brown vans had been brought to Antrim, from where a Jinty tank loco brought the van to Brookhall. 1264703779_UTATrainatBrookhallMill.mp4

Thanks GM - they surely are, very distinctive.

Cheers Philip!

That has brought the model a huge step closer to looking very like the original - great work Alan!!

Early UTA days at Brookhall Mill and Jinty No. 18 is still wearing her NCC livery as she arrives with a short goods train from the north. The consist includes two ex-NCC vans as well as a UTA coal wagon and brake van. The two Jinty tanks rarely ventured far from York Road and the Belfast dock lines but this was an occasional working which brought them a far as Antrim before taking the GN route towards Ballinderry and then into Brookhall. Loco: Murphy Models/Bachmann UTA coal wagon & van: RTR Provincial Wagons UTA brown van: Provincial Wagons kit UTA brake van: built by Gareth Brennan

Ah ha............. gotta be The Ballymena & Larne......

Emmmmmm........

Superb - really enjoying this!