Hunslet 102

Sometimes the 80s trains get a run out on the layout and below is one of those rare occasions.An 80 class railcar set in the new maroon/grey livery has just pulled into the station,while the Hunslet is heading to Belfast with the then more modern hoppers.

David-great to hear that Old Blarney will be out again for the Falkirk show in November,look forward to seeing it again.I remember that Falkirk show from a couple of years back,I left early and luckily caught the last train back to Glasgow before they were all cancelled!! Hopefully see you at the Perth show in June.

Kieran Below please find a copy of the photo,dont think it worked on the pm message.I think it looks like the same set. Andy

Love that view of the west end of the layout,so much happening and the stock available is awesome.

The space available is to die for Patrick,what a class railway room and and a great use of the space available

Kieran-great start with the 80 class build,looks like it is going to be a lot of hard work,but I am sure it will be worth it in the end. With regards your photo of the 2 car 80 class,I have a photo of what looks to be the same 80 class set from 2007.If I get a chance I will pm you the photo over the weekend and if you think they are one in the same then I would have a name for the builder of it.I dont know him personally,but ironically,he was from your neck of the woods-Bangor.

Great work again Nelson,well done

Kieran-there are a couple of picture references to the siding at the Courtauld's factory.In Rails around Belfast,there is a photo of one of the two 0-4-0 saddle tank engines with one of the open wagons behind it.These engines were named Wilfred and Patricia and were eventually scrapped after the closure of the factory.In the Ulster Transport Authority in colour book,Jeep No4 can be seen at the head of a long coal train destined for Courtauld's.Most of the wagons are the ones the DH was shunting,these were all refurbished for the contract.There are a couple of grey opens at the front of the train,probably ex BCDR wagon. With regards freight on NIR,as the UTA had decided to abandon all freight within Northern Ireland in favour of road transport,in fact as they tried to abandon the railway full stop,there was not much freight left when NIR came into existence.As John has pointed out,the Courtauld wagons were used for ballast and sometimes sleepers along with some of the older grey open wagons.I remember the DH doing this work on the GNR section,I have a photo somewhere of it with 3 grey wagons that had their sides cut down to 2 planks.Some of the spoil wagons were also used for ballast.These were converted by welding the side entry doors and changing them to a normal hopper operation.I have no idea how many of these wagons NIR converted.

Worsley Works do an etch for the AEC railcar if you want to go down the scratch/kit build route.

For those that missed the bargain green offering above,there is a black and tan version on ebay just now from the same seller

Great video and great era's Patrick,your layout just shouts rural Ireland

Thanks UP6936,I was born and bred in the terraced streets beside Adelaide station,the Metcalfe kits are very close to the typical Belfast terraced house.

Thanks Patrick.The street roadway comes in a roll form made by Noch,you just peel of the backing paper and stick down in place.It is for European type roads with a white line down either side,I just plonked the houses on top of the white lines which made the road narrow and more like a typical Belfast street. Thanks Kieran.Not the type of history we would ever want to see again,apart from the Hunslets,but I am trying to recreate my own childhood memories,which despite the troubles,were happy ones.

The following photos show the changing face of both Northern Ireland and NIR in 1970.The first shows an army 'Pig' truck setting up a checkpoint,with the soldiers dispersing into their various positions.As was normal in everyday life in Belfast at the time,life goes on as normal and in the background a brand new Hunslet 101 Eagle can be seen beside a BUT railcar. The next photo was taken from an army helicopter and shows a more panoramic view of the above scene,with the Hunslet pushing the Enterprise towards Great Victoria Street,passing the soon to be replaced BUT railcar. The final photo has panned round to give a more frontal view of the Hunslet and BUT.

Pity you feel that way,I was looking forward to seeing your scratch build for the cement bubbles to see if it was something I could do myself.With regards the forum,dave182 has hit the nail on the head,but it can only be a success by contributions from members.The forum has many different sub divisions that cater for a wide variety of topics,so I think there is something there for everyone,personally,the layout and workbench threads have enough content to hold my interest and even prevent me from getting on with modelling at times!

Top banana again Kieran,your A class looks smart in the green

Superb again Patrick,great attention to detail

Great work,love the street scene on the hill

Nice pics Kieran,there were some great layouts on show.The show was too busy,4 and 5 deep in places,which meant I did not enjoy it as much as in previous years.It is the largest show in Scotland,but I would say the Perth show in June is the best show in the Scottish circuit.Would have met up and said hello if I knew you were over,maybe next time.

Thankfully Seamus the recovery operation swung into action very quickly and the photographer was still at the scene to record NIR DH locomotive No2 arriving wrong line with the NIR crane and its usual motley bunch of mixed wagons.The CIE crane has also just arrived to help at the scene behind CIE 141 locomotive No182. At the real scene,both the NIR and CIE brakedown cranes attended the scene.

Glad you got your problem sorted,nice video,impressive power to hand,will be good to see it with its hood on.

Great job Nelson,the weathering looks great,nice and realistic,its an area I have never mastered myself

Not much modelling been done lately,but,inspired by the above photo,I decided to recreate it on my own layout!

Nice pics Patrick,you have really captured a true Irish feel with your layout.

looking good Nelson,keep up the good work