Hunslet 102

wiggy-NIR bought 6 of the original seacow type hoppers from British Rail in the early 80s.They were numbered C431 to C436,with the numbers in the bottom left hand corner of each side of each wagon in black.The NIR logo was in blue and this was on the second panel from the right on each side of the wagon located middle to top. Glenderg-I dont have much info on the more modern type hoppers that arrived in the 90s,I never saw them in the flesh as I had already left Northern Ireland before their arrival,but they were built by a French supplier called Arbel Fauvel according to 35 years of NIR by Jonathan Allen.

Thanks for the positive comments guys,it's much appreciated and a great encouragement.A start has been made on the roof over platforms 3 and 4 and already it is obvious it is going to be a slow build and a patience tester.

I have finally finished the roof over platform 2 on Great Victoria Street station,so below are a few different photo's from the build.The first photo shows an aerial shot of the overall roof. The following photo has been taken from the end of platform 2 looking towards the custom shed. The final photo has been taken from platform 4 and shows the NIR Hunslet Enterprise in platform 2,partly hidden by the customs fence that divided platforms 2 and 3.

Nice build Kirley,it really is a large shed to scale when you compare it to rtr ones.It will certainly look in place in the area you are modelling,well done.

Any further updates or progress report on this superb layout,it would be great to see an update

When I saw your engine shed and Glanmire Rd bridge builds,I thought you would need some size of layout to accommodate them,well you have certainly not disappointed.Great layout plan to incorporate your superb builds and this looks like the start of a brilliant layout,look forward to your progress.

Yes UP6936 thats the loco,although as the Harlandic was built in 1937,maybe we should say the BR class 20 looked a bit like it!!

Correct jhb,the Hunslets arrived in 1970 and the Harlandic officially ceased working in 1973.The Harlandic in its later years still worked some pilot duties at Great Victoria Street,but was more likely to be found in and around Grosvenor Road freight yard shunting.When the freight yard closed in 1972, with everything transferring to Adelaide,the Harlandic's usefulness and virtual fate was sealed.It was another massive shame that this iconic and historic locomotive was not preserved.

They worked as station pilot at Great Victoria Street also right from the start,removing both the NIR and CIE coaching stock from the platforms.

The Hunslets arrived in 1970 to take charge of the revamped NIR Enterprise service with the mark 2 coaches.As with all things NIR,they were soon press ganged into other work with other older coaching stock,as stated for excursions etc.They were not just used on coaching stock,being regularly used on permanent way workings,freight workings and also spoil train workings with the same wagons that were used with the last steam workings.They could also be found at the head of the CIE weedkilling train when it done its annual rounds of the NIR system.

Thanks Moogle,sometimes you have to think outside the box when modelling! When I set out to do the columns,I was amazed that there was nothing available from the railway manufactures,especially when you look at the architecture on many stations all over Britain and Ireland.

Thanks guys.The columns are made from wedding cake pillars that have been model bashed to the correct profile,with cut down Hornby canopy supports attached to form the supports.Evergreen I beam has been attached between each support to get the right length between each column.The work involved in that plus the roof supports was probably best described by Kieran-tedious,but hopefully will be worth it in the end.

Nice video Patrick,like the distance between the stations and each hidden siding,you feel as if you have travelled a real line.

Nice head on shot video,the bridge looks good.

Good to see an update from the brickworks,the shape of the bubbles look fine,once painted I am sure they will look good.Needs must when disposable income for the hobby is getting squeezed tighter every month,I know the feeling.

Just a quick update of a bit more progress with the station.The following photo shows the column supports and some roof supports for the roof over platform 2 in place.The rest of the roof supports for platform 2 are still to be finished and then a start will be made on the roof supports over platforms 3 and 4.Very time consuming and patience testing doing the roof supports,but is certainly worth the effort.

Kieran,you are marching on with some first class modelling.That is a fine looking station,love the gentle curves of the platforms and the shed looks like it will add another dimension to the scene,look forward to it progressing with further updates.

Beautiful looking layout and hard to think that it is all in N scale.Really like the way you have captured the sea and the waves,first class.

Good to see another update Patrick,the layout is looking great.I like the idea of a timetabled operation,something I hope to recreate on my own layout.

I am sure it went back to a standard pressure vent vehicle,as these coaches were now deemed secondary coaching stock with the imminent arrival of the DeDietrich stock.As it happened,most of the mark 2 stock remained on Enterprise duty until 1997,when the DeDietrich's finally arrived,and with NIR having no interest in using locomotive hauled stock within Northern Ireland,most mark 2s were either sold or scrapped by the end of the century.

Great video Eiretrains,thanks for posting.Hard to think that the clip is 20 years old!Spot on also with your 111 info. With regards coach 913,as Warbonnet correctly pointed out,it began life as a British Rail Mk2 corridor brake first coach.It was purchased by NIR in 1981 to operate with the 111 class locomotives on the revamped Enterprise services and they converted it to a generator corridor brake second.It lasted like this until 1989 when NIR converted it to a generator brake air conditioned executive coach,but they retained the side corridor,thus meaning that the pressure vent windows on the corridor side did not need to be replaced.It remained in this guise until 1995,the same time as the arrival of the 201s on the Enterprise service,when it was then converted to a generator brake first open.HTH.

See you found the figures Kirley,nice paint job,it really brings them to life.

I'll wipe that grin off your face,I've just wiped a boggie on your handrail,with another one on my other finger for your gub.

Brilliant Patrick

While going through some old photo's I was deleting,I came across these couple of photo's taken of the layout some time ago.It is amazing how you can forget about some things,as the blue Hunslet is now one of the maroon Hunslets and the MIR 071 has now been retired.The MK3 coaches are also no longer part of the layout,as with switching to the earlier 70s era I no longer required them,so gave them away to a pal.The fertilizer wagons,to my shame,still remain as 2 complete,3 still to be finished and 2 still to be started,where does the time go.Anyway,the photo's just squeeze into the late 70s.