Mayner

A bit of a mix and match with Keadue & my Workbench repair shop topics. I am focusing on finishing a long list of incomplete projects before starting any new builds, the last two weekends (being holiday weekends in NZ)were a good opportunity to put my New Year resolutions to the test completing and upgrading existing models. Having successfully assembled and tested 52 Class/D17 No 98, the next job on the list was to complete the small Midland tank 553, overhaul 2L and repair the loco-tender plug & socket on the MGWR 2-4-0 Arrow. I painted and assembled 533 earlier in the year but had not fitted power pick ups, which are wiper pick ups using phosphor bronze wire soldered to a piece on copper clad board. Not having tested the loco before under power I had to open up the holes in the coupling road with a tapered broach to achieve smooth running. The loco still has to be fitted with couplings which will be the 4mm version of the B&B coupling which were originally designed for 2mm scale, these couplings are similar in principal to the NEM or Rivarossi hook and loop coupling used by a number of European manufacturers and can be set up for magnetic uncoupling with delayed action and are a lot less intrusive than Tension Lock or Kadees. I used an in-line plug and socket connector between loco and tender on the MGWR 2-4-0 as the loco uses the "American" power pick up system picking up on the loco and tender on opposite sides, the loco is DC and I have no plans to fit a decoder to convert to DCC. The in-line connector was the smallest I could get although one of the UK Loco kit/part manufacturers produced a very neat reliable in line connector during the 80s and 90s which I had used as standard on tender locos. I connector as originally fitted was unreliable as I had left insufficient slack in the lead to the tender socket which lead to un-reliable running 2L was a more significant challenge The loco was originally supplied by Backwoods Miniatures in 1993-4 as a complete kit with wheels, 2 stage gearbox and motor. The model is based on a colour photo of 2L taken in the late 50s, the loco seemed to be in better cosmetic condition than the other remaining C&L 4-4-0s possibly because the photo was taken in rainy or overcast conditions or possibly not worked as hard as her surviving sisters 3, 4 & 8 The loco ran reasonably smoothly but had a relatively high top speed and did not like going round sharp curves. While the loco was fitted with a high quality Mashima motor, the modified Graham Farish (N gauge) gears used resulted in a relatively high top speed, while the prototypical bogie pivot design with side control springs limited the loco to relatively large radius curves. I replaced the Backwoods Miniatures gearbox on 8L with a Branchlines slimline gearbox and replaced the bogie pivot with a swing-link arrangement having damaged the Farish worm gear and loco while assembling no 8L during the late 90s and I though it was time to give 2L a similar upgrade in order to have 4 usable narrow gauge locos. 2L with replacement gearbox, motor and flywheel, original gearbox and bogie pivot with side control springs above. The replacement gearbox is second hand originally fitted to a TMD J15 from a job lot of TMD/SSM kits I bought at a UK exhibition about 20 years ago, the J15 is due to be rebuilt with a High Level Load Haulier gearbox as part of another un-finished project. Overhauling 2L turned out to be one of those two steps forward and one backwards situations, although the Slimline gearbox fitted without a problem to 8L, it took at least 3 attempts to successfullly fit the gearbox. It was necessary to dismantle the gearbox and open out the bearing holes for the gears and thin down the bearings to fit between the loco frames, disaster hit during final assembly when I melted one the brush housing on the original motor while wiring up the loco, by some miracle I had a suitable replacement motor in stock (the last of my stock!) Fitting the swing-link was fairly straightforward in contrast, fabricated from a piece of scrap fret The flywheel should give the loco some momentum smoother stopping and starting and improved running on less than clean track. Initially the loco was quite stiff and hesitant when test run, but improved significantly while on trial, I am not sure of the gear reduction but 2L has a lower top speed than 8L Main issue at this stage is that 2Ls training bogie wheels shorts on the back of the crosshead while working an inbound train towards Arigna or Ballinamore hence 6T working the empty coal train. Other issues to be sorted out including fitting HOn3 couplers and findings suitable figures for my fleet of Irish narrow gauge locos.

The Ulster Transport Museum may be able to assist, the museum collection includes BCDR loco and rolling stock drawings including the various 4-4-2T classes Tel: +44 (0) 28 9042 8428 Fax: +44 (0) 28 9042 8728 Email: info@nmni.com

I worked as a construction site manager in Dublin during the early 80s the most striking thing was the heavier loads carried by tipper and ready mixed concrete trucks compared to the UK. It was an institutional thing trucks were fitted with higher capacity bodies and pre-mix bottles compared to similar vehicles in the UK, and it took a lot of adjustment getting used to the lighter loads carried after I moved to the UK in the mid 1980s. In Ireland the vehicle manufacturers GLW was treated as the net load weight! The Hino's were popular because they were simple and stood up to abuse better than the more expensive British & Scandanavian trucks, on haulier overturned his 3 axle Hino tipper on a site checked the engine oil and water levels after we righted the vehicle with an excavator then went off to the quarry for another load! The "hackers" lorries that delivered palletised bagged cement from CIEs Abercorne Road depot direct to construction sites were a motley bunch of second and third hand vehicles always looking for a quick turn round on site to collect another load from the depot.

JHB You almost sound like Elvis Costello (I don't want to go to Chelsea). You were more likely to find Powers, Jameson, than Bush in the "Anchor Bar" "The Horse Shoe Inn", "Lisle House" or "Mooneys" in Crumlin Village during the 60s though I was too young to be allowed in until the mid 70s. One of my most prized possessions is a Derek Farrelly model of a No50 Altantean though I would be very interested in an R or an RA in the original blue and cream which I often took to school or with my parents to town. Moving on from a bus the one thing that's missing is a decent model of a typical Irish "Hyno" truck of the 70s & 80s, Irish tipper bodies were quite different to the UK with higher capacity bodies and different hydraulics as there was little or no enforcement of gross load weights .

Some photos of our pre-production sample painted in dark grey similar to GSR & early CIE ownership. I had planned to finish the model as 16407 with stencil numerals and flying snail but ran into problems with the decals. Overall I am reasonably pleased with the model though we have to beef up the hopper discharge gear. The 20T Goods Brake is currently on track for a Mid 21 release, we expect to have decorated samples of the flying snail version for review in the Northern Hemisphere by April/May.

Designing/building a 4-4-0 to run reliably and haul a decent load is a significant challenge to both manufacturers and modelers alike. Mike Sharman developed the "free bogie" weighted tender principal for modelling Victorian single driver locos on his 19th Century mixed gauge layout the basic idea is not unlike the Engerth principal which was developed in Austria during the 19th Century https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engerth_locomotive. Designing the GSR 52 Class to haul a decent load was a significant challenge as there is very little space in the firebox above or below the motor to add weight. 98 weighted and balanced with all 4 driving wheels on the track. Trailing driving wheels not quite in contact with the rails. Underside of loco and tender. Centre and leading tender axles free to float up and down in slots, rear axle running in fixed bearing. Tender drawbar adjusted to transfer weight from tender to loco. The bogie is not load bearing but could be fitted with simple springing. Tender and drawbar. Boiler weight. Cerrobend or Woods Metal weight and modelling clay plug to secure in place. Woods Metal melts at approx. 70° I sometimes pour the molten metal into the boiler to fill the area behind the front tube plate but used an existing cast weight and clay in this case. Loco and tender weights. The weights were originally cast for the MGWR 2-4-0, but sheet lead or self adhesive tyre weights would also do the job. In this case 98 comfortably hauled 12 IRM 4w wagons or 3 MM Cravens. I wasn't able to test 98 with more than 3 coaches, adding 1-2 additional coaches tended to derail the entire rake

No 98 on test. I set up a OO gauge test track in a corner of the garage using Hornby No 3 curved & straight track on some offcuts of ply to test 98s haulage capabilities starting with 12 MIR hoppers. The hesitation at one point of the run seems to be a misaligned rail joiner. High Speed Test Run! Turned out to be a bit too much for one of the wagons!

The oil burning conversions was a short term measure by CIE to keep trains moving during the winter of 1947, when coal supplies from the UK failed as a result of severe weather conditions in the UK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_of_1946–47_in_the_United_Kingdom. The main issue with oil burning on CIE seems to be that oil firing with its rapid heating and cooling was severe on locomotive boilers and fireboxes and lead to maintenance problems and shortened boiler life on an already run down locomotive fleet. Oil burning tended to be used to achieve higher power outputs than could be achieved with hand firing and in the post WWII era when it became increasingly difficult to recruit staff to carry out menial dirty tasks such as cleaning and disposal work on steam locomotives. Despite ample coal supplies New Zealand Railways built both coal and oil fired versions of its Ka 4-8-4 and Ja 4-8-2 class locomotives for its heaviest main line duties. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NZR_JA_class.

Rail traffic from the Kilberry & Coolnamona (near Portlaoise) Peat Moss plants appear to have ceased in the late 60s early 70s when BNM acquiring its onw fleet of trucks. Its possible Kilberry Siding was disconnected when the Cherryville Junction-Athy section was converted to CTC control around 1975, although Athy was scheduled to close to goods traffic under the Rail Plan 80 scheme Athy the sidings on the down side continued to handle goods traffic until the Dublin-Waterford line went over the Liner operation at some stage in 78. During the final months/year of operation traffic appears to have been handled in CIE side door and half height containers on 20' container flats rather than H Vans and corrugated open wagons. Presumably the down side goods yard sidings were disconnected at some stage after the station closed to goods traffic.

The GSWR diagram of the 0-4-4BT together with other GSWR Classes was published with New Irish Lines 3-4 years ago. Alan O'Rourke the New Irish Lines editor may be able to help alanorourke@hotmail.com.

I haven't really gotten round to testing her haulage capability, she ran at a few exhibitions in Ireland in the early 20s, but train length was restricted to 5-6 coaches and I haven't had the chance to run her on a large continuous run layout. "Bodmin" 34016 was originally built for use on the Milton Keynes Model Railway Society EM gauge "Milton Quays" layout I was a member of the club when I was living in the UK during the 90s, but built the loco after I returned to Ireland. Due to double reduction gearing and a large can motor her top speed is low for express passenger work on a continuous run layout but ideal in a terminal fiddle yard situation.

I have a sneaking suspicion that WARB is planning to model the Belmond Grand Hibernian rather than an IE MK3 Intercity set. Apart from Pearse-Drogheda Push Pull workings and the odd Push-Pull working down the DSER main line MK3 stock would have been extremely rare at Barrow Street Boston Yard area. The carriage sidings between Pearse Station & Grand Canal Dock were used during the IE era for reversing Pearse-Drogheda and Maynooth services and stabling stock the evening rush hour services. Westland Row (Pearse) was the terminus for Midland Main Line services (Galway, Sligo, Westport) from the late 30s until the services were diverted to run from Heuston or Connolly during the 1970s. The Midland trains apparently were stabled in the bay platforms at the south end of the station before being propelled out onto the main line immediately before departure. I remember watching light engine movements with a black and tan B121 between Grand Canal Shed and the station from Townsend Street as a 7-8 year old on a saturday morning as my father was getting parts in a motor factors.

A Nohab is certainly a possibility NOHAB tendered to supply locos to the GNR (I) during the 1950s possibly its standard European and North African GM powered design. The proposal was for a GM powered A1A A1A which was too long to fit the Dundalk Works traverser.

The other major benefit of building your own locos is that none that I built myself have been effected by problems with mazac rot, plastic rot and split gears that afflicted certain Bachmann, Hornby and Heljan locos introduced during the last 20 years.

The formation is shown but no track on the 1888-1914 historic map. Its possible a connection may have been put in for construction purposes or even to allow WLWR trains to run to Sligo if the MGWR & WLWR were in dispute over the provision and use of Collooney Junction. The MGWR would not have been exactly happy about the WLWR and later GSWR incursion into its territory and may have attempted to block the WLWR accessing the MGWR line at Collooney Junction. In Dublin fighting broke out between rival groups of workers at the "Battle of Newcomen Bridge" when contractor attempted to enter MGWR property to install the junction between the MGWR Liffey Branch and the Loop Line from Amiens Street Station. A triangle would have been extremely useful for turning locos during pre-amalgamation days when the WLWR/GSWR and SLNCR interchanged goods traffic at Collooney and avoided the WLWR/GSWR paying for light engine mileage over the Midland to Sligo. Traffic between the Southern & SLNCR was interchanged at Sligo Quay following the Amalgamation and Collooney Southern down graded in status, but the SLNCR & MGWR stations appear to have remained a major shipping points for cattle traffic until the SLNCR closed and the traffic ceased on CIE.

I went through a phase of modelling large BR steam locos from DJH and Comet kits about 20 years ago. Great sense of achievement building one loco a year despite being followed a year or so later by a Bachmann or Hornby rtr version. Some friends in the UK even thought my West Country Pacific was a Hornby pre-production version.

Most likely in GNR wagons from Dublin, Belfast or possibly Derry Port's as Airfixfan pointed out the CDJR tank wagons were used to transport oil traffic from Derry to Killybegs and other points on the system. Its possible tar traffic for Glenfarne was imported through Dublin Port and routed via Dundalk and Enniskillen rather than via Mullingar. The SLNCR & the GNR competed seriously with the GSR and CIE for traffic from the Dublin and the East Coast to Sligo. Its just about possible that a wagon load of tar or bagged cement might arrive in Rosses Point in a GN wagon having travelled under customs bond through County Fermanagh

Traditionally Tar/Bitumen was transported in 45gal drums in open wagon on the Irish Railway system with CIE 1st introducing tank wagons for tar traffic in the 1950s. The Florencecourt and Glenfarne on the SLNCR appear to have the railheads for the local County Council depots. In most photos of Glenfarne the loading bank is literally covered in tar barrels, while there is a cut of 4 opens with tar traffic awaiting unloading in a photo of Florencecourt. A series of County Council & CIE depots were opened in the early 1960s to handle tar traffic. Some of the Council depots such as Cahir (Abbey Siding) & Lixnaw were served by private siding while other depots were in existing CIE goods yards Ballingarne and Tralee Rock Street. There is an interesting sequence of photos of the Tralee-Listowel goods setting out a CIE tank wagon, including the loco and train propelling the wagon along the main line from Lixnaw Station to the County County Siding. In the 1950s CIE bought several batches of Tar Tank wagons from Charles Roberts these were similar in appearance to the Bachmann 14T Anchor Mounted Tank Wagons but with an insulated tank barrel https://www.bachmann.co.uk/product/14t-class-a-anchor-mounted-tank-wagon-'national-benzole'/38-778. These wagons seem to have been based on a standard RCH design complete with independent either side brakes unusual in Ireland but standard practice for private Owner Mineral and Tank wagons on the UK Mainland. CIE started to build Tar Tank wagons during the early 60s on a standard Irish underframe with Irish style brake gear but an anchor mounted barrel similar to the Charles Roberts wagons. I think the "Jumbo" wagons may have been modified ESSO 22T Bitumen Tankers the ladders moved to the ends because of increased thickness of insulation. Wagon 997 in the late 1970s IRRS Journal photo appears to be a TSO34A wagon with domed ends and original tank mounts as in https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/essobitumenvb The ladder position on the wagons in the Sligo Deepwater Quay 1995 photo in the same journal is unclear. The 22.5ton axleload of 45GLW UK tank wagons would have substantially exceeded CIE axleload limits, the Sligo Deepwater branch was re-laid to 23826 is an out of use CIE built wagon, not sure of the location although I took the photo one of the few remaining loose coupled wagons that survived into the 80s. The ISO Bitumen Containers were a standard insulated framed containers similar to https://www.meeberg.com/en/new-products/bitumen/20-ft-bitumentank/. Its possible the containers were privately owned or supplied by CIE. The containers were allover black with panels in the bracing bays at one end with product details. From memory the details were "Cationic Road Emulsion and Cut Back Bitumen" in large black lettering on a yellow or orange background above smaller orange or white lettering on black panels possibly with supplier details. As a rule is that from the mid-1950s to the end of loose coupled working in the late 70s bitumen was transported in individual wagons loads (often 1 wagon!) to private sidings and CIE goods yards in Charles Roberts built wagons similar to The Bachmann 14T anchor mounted tank wagon or CIE built wagons. ESSO appears to have imported a small number of 22T Bitumen tank wagons when it modernised its wagon fleet in the late 60s, the ESSO 22T wagons appear to have run as individual wagons loads to destinations including Cahir on the Waterford-Limerick line in addition to the North Wall Sligo Oil trains. Bitumen Traffic by individual wagons load appears to have ceased in 78 with the closure of rail served depots such as Cahir, Ferns, Lispole, Oranmore and Sligo Deepwater Quay. Wagon load traffic to Cold Chon at Sligo Deepwater Quay was revised in the mid 1990s but may have ceased by 1999 and the Deep Water Quay line lifted in 2002. Although intended to operate as de-mountable the Bitumen containers seem to have been treated as wagons both loading and discharging on the rail, they usually seem to have been mounted on 20' skeletal flats, with several seemingly dumped for many years in the Dardanelles Sidings before the yard was cleared out in the early 2000. An interesting place but difficult to take a decent photo. Two bitumen containers just about visible on 4w flats in the Dardanelles Sidings during the late 90s. At the time I was more interested in 113 an early 160s Texaco Class A tank wagon, the original Caltex lettering had bled through after the wagon was re-branded. A rake of these wagons was used on the North Wall Inchacore fuel oil train until replaced with CIE stores wagons in the late 70s possibly the last loose coupled good train in the Dublin area.

The ESSO Teo Bitumen tank wagons appear to have been re-gauged from ESSO 22T Bitumen wagons built in the late 1950s rather than the 45GLW type like the Bachmann model which would have been too heavy to run in Ireland There is a good selection of photos on ESSO 22T Bitumen Tank Wagons in their original condition in https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/essobitumenvb. Many of the UK tanks were re-built with revised running gear and tank mounting. Railborne bitumen traffic to Cold Chon Sligo was a short lived 90s revival, IE discontinued bitumen traffic by individual wagon load during the mid 1970s transporting the traffic in ISO containers with road transfer to distributors such as Cold Chon, Irish Tar and Bitumen and Council Depots. Esso Teo appears to have stored its relatively modern (by Irish standards) 22T Bitumen tankers which appear to have been re-used when the Sligo quayside siding was re-opened during the 1990s. Oranmore was the rail head for Bitumen, Oil and Scrap Metal traffic in the Galway area until the sidings were disconnected in the late 70s, bitumen and scrap transported by Liner Train in ISO containers with a road transfer from Galway, ESSO oil traffic apparently transferring to coastal shipping. Oranmore would have been interesting in wagon load days Chold Chon used a Scammell Road road tractor on rail wheels as a year shunter.

Just to confirm that the JM Design CIE 20T goods brake will be produced as a rtr model starting with the 1950s-early 60s flying snail version our printer has successfully re-located his business to a new premises. There are a number of traditional loose coupled wagons in the pipeline based on the Standard IRCH 9'6" steel underframe which will be announced once we have completed the CAD work or a pre-production sample.

A glimpse of our next traditional Irish goods wagon. Pre-production renderings of the GSR Bulk Grain wagon. We expect to have a pre-production sample ready by March 2021. These wagons were quite an advanced design by the standards of the 1930s. Our 20T Brake Van has been a test of what could practically be achieved in terms of detail and standard of finish with 3D printing and we are taking this a step further with the ladder and modelling the discharge gear. The company and private owner versions of the grain wagons operated from the mid 1930s until CIE phased out loose coupled operation and closed private mill sidings during the mid 1970s. We expect to make a decision on whether the wagons will be produced in kit or rtr form by mid February the majority of our suppliers having returned to work after the Christmas/Southern Hemisphere Summer Holidays.

I did not realise that IE used the "Tar Wagons" during the 1990s as tar traffic was transported in ISO tank containers after CIE went over to Liner Train operation during the late 70s. There is a photo feature on private sidings in the February 2019 Journal which includes photos of operations at a number of sidings which handles tar traffic including Sligo Quay, Cahir Abbey Siding, Webbs Mill (Mallow) & Lixnaw. The "Jumbo" Tar wagons look suspiciously like an insulated version of the re-gauged Charles Roberts tank wagons imported by ESSO Teo from the UK during the late 60s. There is a reasonable photo of one of these wagons at Cahir and a more distant view of a pair at Sligo Quay. A number of these wagons were stored out of use for many years at the Point Yard after the ending of loose coupled traffic and brought back into use with the re-opening of Sligo Quay during the 1990s, presumably ESSO/Cold Chon were able to negotiate a lower freight rate with IE for using their own wagon than an ISO tank container and IE wagon. The Heljan or Dapol ESSO type A tank wagons would be a good basis for these wagons though the body would need serious modification, Bachmann appear to produce a model of a 45T BR tar tank wagon which is quite different design and larger than the ESSO Teo Tar Tank wagons. Over the fence view of out of use ESSO "Jumbo" Tar Wagon at North Wall Point Yard c. 1982-3. I was more interested in the Mex tank wagon at the time. A number of the Jumbo tank wagons were stored/dumped in the Dardanelles Yard by the Sheriff St level crossing until the yard was cleared out c2002

The Nenagh Line was treated a Main Line with through Dublin-Limerick passenger and goods trains routed by Nenagh until the line was downgraded to branch line status and all through trains routed by Limerick Junction during the early 80s

The Kibri gantry is not unlike those used by CIE in larger years like Heuston Goods and the North Wall during the 70s The gantries appear to have been a modular design that could be set up for specific sites varying from single to multiple sidings. The forklift is similar in size to those used for container handling at yards like Ballinasloe, Galway and Tralee where gantries were not provided.

Just to prove that an ex-T&D 2-6-0T will run round the curves on the tramway section. 6T with a short goods. The loco was the last of the "Kerrymen" to be transferred to the C&L arriving in 1957 to assist with the final upsurge in coal traffic, the loco is again based on a photo in "Irish Railways in Colour" black with patched side tanks and hand painted number on the buffer beam. One of two T&D Hunslets assembled from Branchlines kits during the late 90s and identical mechanically 6T has always been noisier and less free running than her sister 3T but is starting to improve as her gears bed in while 3T starts to shake herself to pieces. I must do something about that squeaky tripod!