Hunslet 102

Tara Junction is still leading the way with up to the minute innovation,keep up the good work.

Bridges are looking great Kirley,the whole scene is blending in well.

Joachim-the layout and the modelling is first class,I like the forest at the end of the platform.Look forward to more of this.

There was also customs facilities at Central when it opened after the closure of GVSt.As josefstadt confirmed,there was customs checks at Connolly for the non stop Enterprise,again comprising of tables on the platform.Portadown was used for the stopping trains heading north,which meant no further checks were made on arrival in Belfast.All customs checks ceased at the beginning of 1993. Thanks also for the comments guys on the layout.

Having been concentrating on rolling stock and locomotives recently,I finally managed to fit in some more work on Great Victoria Street station.The following 2 pictures show different angles of the customs hall at GVSt and the small sloping corrugated roof.The customs hall was directly behind the buffers at platform 2 and was in that bright (or vile) yellow and white panels.When the Enterprise was in platform 2,the large double yellow doors would be open for customs checks,but at any other time they remained closed and the the side gate would be used for any local trains using platform 2.On the concourse between platforms 3 and 4,the small sloping corrugated roof going back towards the entrance kiosk can be seen.The kiosk along with some station staff and passengers has been modelled just now,as most of this area will only be seen from eye level from the platforms once the overall roof is in place.

They say a picture is worth a 1000 words,your photos of your last six months work are simply stunning and capture your remarkable workmanship better than any amount of words.Really like the crane and the conversion of the 30 ton steel brake van to a 20 ton planked version.Can I ask,what width of planking did you use? Great stuff,look forward to the next 6 months.

Thanks for the positive comments guys,much appreciated.I will take some close up shots of the Sulzer and weedkilling train once I finish the complete train.The ancient coach has been sanded down and the correct window profiles cut out and I am just finishing off a new roof for it and westhy's brake van needs to be finished to complete the whole train.It has been an enjoyable project to work on with a lot of the info and photo's gleaned from site members,so thanks to all who helped in the questions and answers section. Kirley,whenever I make a start on the MPD I will do it via a thread,but seeing some of your own work on your own thread,I think I will be picking your brains also,they do say two heads are better than one!

Having recently just about finished my B101 kit and having nearly completed the early 70s weedkilling train,I thought it was about time to release it unto the network to control the weeds (cobwebs!) on the layout.The following photo shows B105 in charge of the motley bunch of wagons that was the early CIE weedkilling train in the 70s.It is on its annual visit to the NIR system,which was normally around June.In the early 70s,the weedkilling train would be changed over at Portadown,with generally an NIR loco,usually a DH class taking the train round the NIR network.The B101 class were a rare visitor to the north,I know that the class got as far as Portadown for the weedkiller train changeover,but no evidence of them venturing further than Portadown has come to light.Anyway,on this occassion,NIR had no motive power available,thus the view of the Sulzer pushing towards Belfast with the weedkilling train. The following photo shows B105 still on weedkilling duties,passing a couple of B141/B181s.One is in charge of the CIE Enterprise,comprising cravens and laminate stock,while the other is shunting loose coupled wagons just recently arrived from Dundalk.Although this is a shot on NIR metals,it is a picture that could represent any part of Ireland in the early 70s. .

Boskonay, if you have the room,and from the photo's it looks like you have,I think if you model sweeping hills in front and behind the viaduct on either side,with an all sky backscene as suggested,you will get the best realism from the viaduct.The sweeping hills behind the viaduct can sweep up higher behind the viaduct onto the track level and blend in with a scenic backscene either side and the sweeping hill in front of the viaduct can sweep up a bit lower than the back sweep,maybe hiding the bottom half of the trains for a short bit before levelling out.

I think a response to that question will be a massive yes,but I think the suggestions will be numerous and various.What are you thinking of in the way of a scratch build wagon,everything from scratch including the chassis,or a wagon build that can use an existing rtr chassis?Either way,I think a corrugated open wagon or a fertilizer wagon would be good wagons for those people that have never tried anything like this before and help them to gain their confidence on. Great idea,I hope something happens with it and I look forward to following the thread with interest and getting involved also.

Superb piece of scratchbuilding,I can only admire the time and patience that has been put into such a work,but the unfinished shots are testimony to the hard work already put in and the completed build will be well worth waiting to see.If you have any more 'hidden' (sorry) gems out there,it would be great to see them.

The following few photo's are some more scenes from 1970 on Northern Ireland Railways.They show the changing face of NIR,with brand new Hunslet 102 Falcon pushing the NIR Enterprise towards Dublin,passing a UTA Jeep,now under NIR ownership.The Jeep is making a rare visit to the GNR section of NIR,having travelled round from York Road via the Antrim branch with an Engineers train.Loose coupled CIE wagons awaiting collection back to Dundalk are in the siding beside the main line.

Thanks jhb,hope you can find it and post it up.I have another query for you,but I will pm it to you as I dont want to take this thread off topic.

Belfast Central was the forward thinking planning for the railway system in Northern Ireland back in 1976.The planners really got that one right,with central nowhere near the centre of Belfast.It replaced Great Victoria Street and Queens Quay,once two magnificent stations in their day,but by then both in run down states. With regards doing a model,it has good potential,especially in a smaller area,as the station part over the lines can act as a good scenic break.The platforms have a nice gentle curve to them and there is good operating potential,albeit mainly railcar operations,freight being virtually non-existent.

Liver bird,if you can pick up a 3 car 80 class kit for £100 I would go for it,to keep the cost down,secondhand Lima mk2s could be used as donor coaches,or if you prefer the dearer Bachmann coaches are suitable also. JHB,would love to see a pick of the old BCDR wagon beside the 80 class at GVSt,just my era for modelling,any chance of posting it up?

Nice looking layout Barl,with some great potential with the future projects.Look forward to further updates.

Sticking to your mantra 'its fun so why not' really suits your double headed NIR GM and CIE Baby GM!Like the story behind it as well,sounds like it could have happened.The NIR GM looks great in the original livery,thanks for posting.

Just for info that may be of interest to someone,http://www.modelfair.com have the above locomotive for sale at a buy it now price of £79.50.It states it is little used,with maybe a jumper cable missing from each end,but otherwise is virtually as new.Certainly seems a big price difference from the other main stockists.

Those 201s look a bit worse for wear,is Irish Rail going down the UTA route of railcar policy only, as they seem to be neglecting their locomotives.Belfast Central looks just as how I remember it,I will leave my comment at that.Great clear photo's,the ones of the GM are brilliant,thanks for sharing.

Great yarn JHB,brings back memories indeed.I remember Botanic being built,never liked it,maybe it was because it replaced Great Victoria Street,but the walk from the safety of Shaftsbury Square to it took me out of my comfort zone,generally just got the 59 bus home! Still bashing my beloved MEDs!!,I have nothing but fond memories of them,maybe its because they took me to our only holidays during the summer months,a couple of day trips to Bangor from Queens Quay.I probably dont remember the seats as my head was usually jammed out the windie for the whole trip.Ahh those were the days,Spain was just a name to us back then,only thrust into our lives in '82 by a certain Mr Gerry Armstrong's goal,bliss. I remember Lisburn well,as I would regularly sneak off to get the train to Lisburn from Adelaide when I had saved enough pocket money,with my parents being none the wiser.In the early 70s,it was usually an AEC or a BUT,but after their demise,it was great if it was the then new 80 class,so modern,but generally it was an MED or MPD on the all stations to Lisburn.A quick scout around the town and then back for the return to Adelaide,or if there was enough dough,a non stop return to Great Victoria Street to see what was in and around the old station,the CIE Enterprise if one was lucky,and then a short hop back to Adelaide before anyone noticed you were missing!! Great times indeed,thanks for the memory jog.

Absolutely superb heirflick,and a well suited title to describe them.Great build,they have been finished well.Still the best loco's ever to have graced our island,not that I am biased in any way.Thanks for sharing the photos.

Nice work again ttc0169,the weedsprayer looks right at home on the layout

Nice video Kieran,like your 70 class lurking below the bridge

I think with preservation,most of us would like to see as much railway history as possible preserved,which of course will never be the case.When I talk of preservation,I am not just meaning something being restored to its former glories,I would be quite happy to see them as static exhibits in museums.Take the 3 NIR Hunslet loco's,103 Merlin was scrapped early in its life,101 Eagle was at the RPSI at Whitehead for years before also having to be scrapped and 102 Falcon would have probably had a similar fate before being moved to the transport museum at Cultra.None of the railcars even had a chance of becoming a static display,although I am sure the vast majority of the viewing public would not spend much time viewing a railcar anyway. If there is something in the pipeline for an 80 class to be preserved then that is good news and to be welcomed.

That is what railcars were all about back in the day.Would certainly agree with most of your points,although awful MEDs would not be one of them! Railcars have always been the 'poor relations' in railway terms and I can see why there would be little interest in preserving them.I have heard rumours that an 80 class could be preserved,but I would have my doubts that that will ever happen,your own post would virtually back that up. Ah well,I will just need to keep modelling them on my layout for them to live on!