Mayner

Wilkinson Sligo road style station building and goods shed, similar buildings on the DSER and Nenagh. Small Stancton Wood style station building Dublin-Carlow line. Railway Signal Company cabin with brick base e.g. Mallow South or Gort same design cropped up all over the place. MGWR style signal cabin on imitation stone base Maynooth, Mostrim etc. WLWR small station building Horse and Jockey, Kiltimagh etc. Generic small stone built goods shed. Land Commission farm house and out buildings. 2 teacher school creamery Large stone mill building (North City Mills) Industrial buildings with Belfast Truss roof.

The WLWR built a pair of 2-4-2T for the North Kerry that have a striking resemblence to the LNWR 5'6" tanks which may be available in kit form from GEM of London Road Models. The GSWR sold one of the locos to the Macroom railway both ended up in GSR service. Modelling 64 or 427 from a GEM or London Road kit would involve a lot of work as she was rebuilt with a large boiler and DSER style cab similar to the Grand Canal Street locos. Converting a British outline model to run on 21 or 36.5mm broad gauge track involves a lot of work and it may be simpler to scratch build than modify. Many 4mm kits and rtr models are designed for OO and it can be difficult enough to provide sufficient clearance for EM or S4 let alone Irish Broad gauge.

There is a photo of the branch train a largish 0-6-0 and a pair of 6 wheelers at the platform in the late 1930s in the Great Northern Irish Railway Pictorial by Tom Ferris. Interestingly the running line is in light flatbottom rail and the run round loop in inside chaired bullhead a GNR specialty. The branch joined the "main line" at Shantonagh Junction about 2 miles outside Ballybay which had similar style of station building with one of Glenderg's glass canopies on the platform, its was a bit unusual for a junction having a single main line platform and a bay for branch trains. The Irish North seems to had its own character with stone built stations that could pass for churches or meeting halls.

Nothing much to physically show at this stage I looked at the pros & cons of most Burma Road stations on Waiheke Island ferry shortly after Easter http://www.waiheke.co.nz/ I basically had a 10 minute job on the Island but it took most of the day to get there and back. I have had a play with Templot tried some of the tutorials before having a go at Ballymoe on the Mayo Line before starting serious track planning. [attachment=:name] All I can say is that the programme takes a bit of getting used too! I once started a layout based on Ballymoe the main advantage was the simple tracklayout and its on a straight. The programme is intended for producing templates rather than layout planning as such. I will draw out a basic layout plan on Cad then import it into Templot then prepare the templates which will be used for building the actual track. Rail is in stock, a shipment of C&L chairs have arrived from the UK, and plywood sleepers are on order, so I better get cracking. John

Both really look the part, the spring hangers and dampers transform the under frame, what chassis did you use?

Most of the stock would have been custom built to an Irish specification even by builders and finance companies like Metropolitan & Bristol carriage and wagon. The solebars on 4 & 6 wheel stock would have been further apart and the headstocks and cross members would have been longer on account of the wider gauge, the GNR raan into problems re-gauge some ex LMS coaches during the 1940s Charles Roberts and other manufacturers supplied wagons similar to Slaters cylindrical tank wagon, the underframe may need modification for the wider gauge. The LMS supplied some ex-Mildland vans to the NCC but they appear to have been the steel underframed variety different to the Slaters kit version.

I dont want to add to the confusion but would recommend Peco rather than either Tillig or Bemo track for anyone having a go at the 3' Gauge. I have used a mixture of Bemo (Shinohara) & Tillig track on my narrow gauge layout. The Bemo track was made by Shinohara in Japan and may be an earlier to the current version with cast frogs, the main problem was the flexible track was fragile and expensive.

The Cork-Passage would be a good basis for a OO gauge commuter operation similar to the Cobh line either with the Bachmann railcars or Murphy Models 141s and Cravens. Cyril Freezers Minories track plan is fairly simple and would be ideal for a terminus like Albert St or Passage http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/60091-00-minories-track-plan-wanted/page-2 .

Brilliant kind of reminds me of Drumkeeran might even spur me on to finishing the village scene on my layout, every station needs a Railway Bar and builders yard/general merchant.

Finbarr Good luck with your oddesy if you decide to go ahead with it with it it will keep you busy for many years. Track Peco HOm (12mm gauge) is fine for Irish 3' http://www.peco-uk.com/prodtype.asp?strParents=3309,3322&CAT_ID=3326&numRecordPosition=1 Track and rtr TT & HOm Tilling and Bemo are German companies that produce 12mm gauge track rtr locos and stock. Bemo produce mainly German and Swiss narrow gauge very nice very expensive and probably a good long term investment. Triang TT although discontinued about 50 years ago the locos and wagon chassis were often used under scratchbuilt bodies by Irish narrow gauge modellers and may appear from time to time on the second hand market. There is a TT society in the UK spare parts areb available and second hand prices have remained reasonable. Worsley Works Scratchbuilders Parts. Etched Locomotive Construction by Iain Rice is probably the best guide if you are thinking of having a go at using the Worsley works parts to build some of the locos and coaches. http://www.titfield.co.uk/WSM_LOCO.htm. Building Coaches the Comet Way http://www.cometmodels.co.uk/data/PDF/Building%20Coaches%20the%20Comet%20Way2.pdf will give you an idea of whats involved in building the Worsley Works coaches. Worsley only supply a basic body without roof and bogie frames Although I havent built one the chassis for the CBPR 2-4-2T appears to be designed like the real locomotives and may need modification to go round curves, I think builder in the New Irish Lines article modified the chassis to allow the axle under the bunker to pivot to get round curves.

Finbarr Gareth filled you in with some information while I was writing the last post. Peco, Tillig and Bemo do suitable narrow gauge track, a Tillig or Bemo loco and a few coaches (expensive) would get something running while building CBPR locos and stock or you might even get hooked on Swiss or German Metre gauge. The New Irish Lines archive contains some articles on buiding locos and stock from Worsley Works Parts, http://newirishlines.org/archive-2/, The Yahoo Irish 3' Gauge Group is a mine of information on modelling the Irish Narrow Gauge. Foxrock Models on e of the contributors to the yahoo group does a very nice resin and brass kits for the CBPR goods brake an open wagon

Hi Finbarr An accurate model based on the Crosshaven line would be a serious challenge for a beginner, I dont know if you have seen photos of the railway or know anything about its history, but it closed a long time ago and the track gauge was narrower than the Irish main line railways. It depends to a large degree what you want to get out of a model railway, really whether you prefer building things or running trains a model based on the narrow gauge line would involve a lot of work as the locos and stock would basically have to be built from scratch. Suitable track is available in 1:76 OO scale but the track would have to be handlaid in O scale bascially twice the size of OO. Worsley Works http://www.worsleyworks.co.uk/NG/NG_Irish_CBRPR.htm, supply sheetmetal (brass) parts for building the narrow gauge locos and coaches but require a lot of work and extra parts to build into a complete loco or coach. Alternatively if you want to get something running quickly there is no problem in building a layout in OO using ready to run stock Bachmann do an railcar in IE colours which is close enough to the trains used on the Cobh line, while Murphy Models and others supply a reasonable range of ready to run locos, coaches and wagons.

There is a similar/possibly the same photo of the 8:10 Waterford-Dublin at Portarlington in Anthony Burges book "Chasing the Flying Snail", the railcar set has a 6 wheel van tackedd on at the end. The photo seems to have been taken in April 53 days after the direct Dublin-Waterford trains were dieselised, this was the first service to be dieselised and its possible that the first batch of modern CIE buffet cars may not have entered service.

Apart from the poncy logo and nonesence with UIC lettering, like the NIR 111 a plain colour scheme really suites these locos. All she needs is a set of whitemetal number plates with a large GSR road services logo in the centre of the hood. Definitely Darth Vaders or possibly the Emperors engine.

"On the cover of the Rolling Stone................" well done!

Marty Melvins collection of very noisey clips:banana: Check out 09.06 for 077s Antipotean Cousins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbJ3o8XAcFQ

Brian Flanigans Flicker site is a great refrence for CIE wagons including some oddites unfitted GSR vans in red oxide a modern fitted container flat in grey with a red swap body. Although some brake vans had vacuum brakes most loose coupled trains ran without a continuous brake the guard would keep the couplers stretched out and apply the brake using the hand brake in the van.

What the real one sound like with a Quebec touch

Some passing stations had only one platform, Clara on the Athlone branch is a good example. The position of the signal box can vary but tend to be near the greatest concentration of pointwork. On the Midland, Northern and Southern they tended to be close to the end of the platform, while the South Eastern tended to build them into the foot bridge. There were some oddities the signal cabin in Fermoy was tucked into a blind corner at the back of the station.

Great stuff JHB The daily Irish North goods from Dundalk to Cavan & Monaghan was steam worked to the end probably with an ex-GNR loco with an A Class working the Dundalk-Carrickmacross goods probably as a fill in between other turns. Inny Junction Cavan seems to have been worked by the Mullingar Pilot, presumably the operating department did not fancy the idea of tying up an A Class for up to 20 hours on the Irish North, or possibly loosing a second loco if the first broke down The Irish North goods seems to have been an all day job probably with two loco crews, working down to Cavan in the early hours of the morning and fitted in a side trip from Clones to Monaghan in the afternoon theoretically returning to Dundalk some time before midnight. I always fancied an American style operating layout based on the West Cork with the main line and the two main branches. The Drimoleague Baltimore line was basically operated as two separate branches with most trains running to and from Skibbereen. It seems to have been a line where freight was considered more important than passenger traffic, while the main line was worked by the relatively modern standardish class of Bandon tanks, the branches seem to have been worked by cast off tank locos from the DSER, GSWR, MGWR and WLWR. Modernisation simplified things with an AEC railcar set on the main line and 3 C Class worrking goods and branch services, presumably a Bandon Tank or two was available for cattle and beet specials. Clonakilty lost its morning connection from Cork when the branch was dieselised in the late 50s, the mixed worked out from Clonakilty connected into the morning train to Cork, changed personality and worked back as a goods, working down the Courtmacsharry Branch as required before resuming mixed train operation connecting with both up and down evening main line trains. While a single AEC railcar set seems to have worked all main line passenger services, loco workings seemed odd while one C Class more or less captive on low milage Clonakilty/Courtmacsharry services, the other pair were kept busy on the two main line goods services and connecting goods/mixed trains working out of Drimiloleague and Skibbereen

There was a piece in 5'3" that its not expected to have No 4 out of service for long basically a boiler inspection and re-tube, she received a new firebox in the 1990s and had heavy mechanical work at her last overhaul. Interestingly 131 may be the next big restoration project rather than 171 as the RPSI have plate in stock for a new firebox. Hopefully a place can be found for at least a cosmetic restoration of 27 & 184 in the new museum.

I managed to assemble and paint a number of the wagons over the Easter and fitted a few with couplers. I assembled the chassis for these wagons in a Guest House in Carrick while working in the area about 15 years ago and prepared the master for the body in 2010 slow even by my standards. Typical C&L 3T running in with an empty special for the Arigna mines. Assembled wagon resin body Backwoods Miniatures chassis, Kadee N Scale couplers, Blackham snail. needs running numbers, tare and loading, weathering & coal load. Mixed leaving town, no tail lamp or board. The C&L was ahead of the Broad Gauge lines from an early stage with American style bogie coaching stock and vacuum braked wagons there was no need for a brake van at the rear of mixed trains. I need to do another batch of bodies to complete the rake, the main problem has been air bubbles in the castings and the thin walls in the master, temperature and humidity are an important factor basically a dehumidifer and a constant 20-25° is needed in the workshop. I have a pair of ex-Clogher Valley opens to build in plasticard and a pair of ex T&D ballast wagons to build to use up the current stock of underframes.

Jacobs International Drawing showing connection into the Container Terminal as an extension of the Tara Mines siding but will give you a general idea of the set up of that area of the port http://www.dublinport.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/MP_Travel_and_Transport_Links.pdf Besides containers and bulk cargo Cruise Ships also call at Alexandra Basin

It might be simpler to build a standard gauge ⅞ scale replica that could double as a Re-built Scott and run it in the UK Apart from the issue of getting the UFTM to part with the loco, raising the money to fund a restoration, overcoming the regulatory/engineering challenges, I think an Irish operator would struggle to cover running and maintenance costs for the restored loco. CIE struggled to find work for the 800s in the 1950s and the RPSI have struggled to find work suitable for the GNR Compound Merlin, while there may be some initial interest, it would be difficult to see an operator regulary filling 10-12 coach steam hauled excursion trains on the Cork and Belfast lines.

Some good photos of the revised layout on the Eiretrains Site http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20N/North%20Wall/slides/NorthWall_20100226_037_CC_JA.html The re-modelled yard was mainly used for marshalling trains, engineers traffic and wagon storage, I dont think containers was handled at East Wall after traffic was transferred to the Holyhead and Midland yards in the late 70s.