Hunslet 102

I would agree with Warbonnet,check your points are ok with your rtr 4 wheel wagons before starting to rip up some of your ballasted track.Yes Peco points are far better than Hornby in my opinion,but think carefully what you want from your layout before making any changes.

Nice looking layout with lots of potential,nice ballasting

Hi guys,as promised a few more pics,taken from the golden years of Irish railways,in my opinion anyway! The first,taken in 1972, shows DH No2 on ballast duty with the ex spoil wagons that were converted by NIR for ballast work.CIE B class NoB165,is in the head shunt shunting some Guinness containers,while in the yard,a cluster of CIE H vans can be seen. The cameraman was lucky to get a front shot of the same trains,the days when you could photograph trains from the side of the railway without getting too much hassle. The next couple of photo's were taken 10 years later,in 1982 and show the changing face of the railway.Again,NIR DH No2 is on ballast duty,this time with a couple of the former spoil wagons and a couple of the newer seacow type hoppers.In the headshunt,CIE B class,No B182 is shunting some fertilizer wagons,while in the yard the H vans have been replaced by container traffic. The final photo is a front shot from the same scene.

Thanks guys,will try to get a few more pics taken at the weekend. Kieran,I have actually had the spoil wagons built since Christmas,they have been awaiting painting ever since!! I am still battling to complete my early CIE coaches,the 2 JM Design Bredins are just about there,one can be seen behind the DH in the 3rd photo,the 2 Worsley Works laminates are also just about there after a lot of frustration,again one is behind the Bredin, and the 2 Worsley Works Park Royals are going to be getting bounced off the wall very soon!!!,they have been one pain of a build,hence the spoil wagons getting completed!!

It has been a long wait,but worthwhile,to finally recreate the railway scene from my childhood that gave me many hours of enjoyment on a Sunday,when the DH was on ballast duty with converted spoil wagons.They moved along the line at a snails pace,it was great just watching them at work and getting a close-up view of the DH,boy those were the days.The following photo's bring back those happy memories for me,one of the joys of our great hobby.

The layout is looking good Nelson,a nice natural flow to it,well done

Nice photo's Kieran,like that Moira layout,it looks great.Nice extension to Nelson's layout also

The 201s really did look good in the NIR blue.That is going to be one very busy station.Have you got a track plan Noel?

Och c'mon Kieran,does the photographer not always concentrate on the engine!!

Nothing worse than having to rip up ballasted lines,but needs must! Great overall shots of the layout,it looks fantastic and it will be worth the pain of the reconstruction for better running.Nice video,a few more updates are overdue from Kirley Junction. Nice stock shelf,will certainly help to keep the layout clear of stock not in use.

Thanks TDR,just those 2 baby's for now!! but more to follow

It is always good to get a look at a couple of nice looking babes and the photographer was lucky to catch a glimpse of these baby's below!

Nice job again and some great pics with some nice looking rolling stock,the whole layout is taking shape and shaping up to being a cracker.

Looking good Noel,love the way that train is snaking its way to the platform,with scenery it will be a real trip down memory lane. Looking forward to seeing further updates

Great job with the Bredin,well done

Hunslet's favourite hiding place,behind the silos! The Hunslet would idle there for hours doing nothing,while the CIE loco's would marshal their own return workings

Nice job,looking very good,everything looks so natural

Thanks Noel and Kieran,glad you are still enjoying GVSt. Nice thought with the AEC Kieran,they were a great pioneer railcar. Really enjoy modelling this era,such a variety of stock both North and South make it one of the best era's in Irish railway history and I am glad I got to enjoy it in real life in my youth and recreate a piece of it with the layout. Positive comments from guys like yourselves and others just add to the joy and are greatly appreciated.

A scene from the 60s below,which scarily is 50 years ago,shows railcar 112 in UTA green leaving the station in route with a local working to Great Victoria Street,passing a UTA Jeep with an internal freight train,something that was due to vanish before NIR took over in 68. By 1972,the AECs and Jeeps had all been withdrawn from revenue service

Overlays for the Dapol coaches would be my preferred option

I would be interested in 1of each of the CIE open standard and brake standard

Dive-the Guinness wagon I believe is based on an MGWR wagon,but whether it is prototypical I am not sure.It is from the Provincial Wagon range of wagons,I think it was a limited edition,but Leslie who owns Provincial Wagons also posts on the forum and I am sure he will give more details.What I do know is that the wagon was out of commission before the 70s and thus would not have made it North to either Grosvenor Road freight yard or Adelaide its replacement,but like most modellers,a bit of modellers licence is allowed...

Lots of projects to finish Kieran before any more photo's,but hopefully soon a few things will get completed and the photo's to follow will have a real Belfast in the early 70s feel to them... Thanks also for your comments TDR.

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Kieran,two choices,from what I hear,CIE/IR we're going to demolish the old engine shed after building the new one,but a couple of newly won freight contracts meant more locomotives coming and going,so the shed has been retained until further notice. If room,a spur of the station running in behind the water tower with the engine shed not in use as per UP6936. The water tower would be retained for the steam loco's still in operation.