MikeO

Thanks driver301 for the DMU conversion information. If I can find suitable donors I may try something similar. I seem to have come abit too late for a variety of modern conversions as much of the donor stock appears to be unavailable at present. MikeO

Thanks Weshty. It works in N Gauge but it may a lot more difficult to do and achieve a good finish in OO scale. MikeO

Thanks EPBrophy The golf course is very unique idea and well modelled. The collection is still growing. MikeO

I have a few more photos to showing some different modules, not mine, and also some more Irish rolling stock again not all mine. The modules here comprise Golf course(in the background is a Saxon Town), Scrap yard, Saxon Halt and a Swedish forest Here we have an Irish Village sceme, Ruined church and the Golf course again Next is a farm scene A GNR V class with a short goods train with bogie, 6-wheel and 4-wheel wagons. In the back ground people are boarding the bus. A depot scene on a corner module. This replaced the village scene on the same corner module shown on an earlier post. A GNR Vs class a long line of covered goods wagons Lastly a view of my fiddle yard showing some different configurations of trains waiting to start their turn of duty and a GNR V class passing through on the main line

Thanks Kirley I hope I have the correct look. MikeO

Following on from the advice I received on the forum a few weeks ago about liveries, I have completed a Y8 van. I had intended the initial effort to have computer generated sides and then to move on to a plastic version. However, I was revising some other wagons and and found 2 8 plank wagons that I still had to convert. I thought that one could become the Y8 as the Y8 is just over 15ft over body in length, just the same size as the 8 plank wagon. Attached are a series of photos showing the sequence of conversion The first photo shows an 8 plank wagon (not) the one converted but the same type. I had to raise the sides and one end as they were lower than the second end. One end had 2 vertical bracing strips which needed to be lengthened The other end had one central bracing strip so this was removed and two new ones added Next on each side the existing door needed to be framed and vertical bracing (plastic strip) as well as 2 small doors (plastic planking sheet) added. The roof was made from card as were the plain curved portions on each end, supporting the roof. The wagon was then painted in crimson with a little light brown added. the numbers and lettering were computer generated. I am not sure that colouring for the lettering and the numbers is correct as it does not show up very well. The other side is the same. The black line below the roof represents double roofing. This is one end, the other is the same. I thought it was too bright so I applied a wash of "Sepia" to the sides and ends and a black wash to the roof. As per the advice the chassis was painted black for this wagon only. MikeO

Very inspirational set of photos and video. i will have to do something with the roof of my North Atlantic Express Dining car. Also looks like I will need to get the other 2 coaches to keep it company and keep them in the Crimson Lake livery, or as close as I can get to it. MikeO

Thanks Kirley and Dhu Varren for the response. I will have to make the curtains light brown. Maybe later I will re make the sides I'm not that happy with the current ones. MikeO

Kirley I hope you do not mind my raising this thread again. I have just come across it. There is a drawing in a book on UTA carriages (by The Belfast and Co Down Railway Museum Trust) showing the side of dining car no. 90 with a board saying " The North Altantic Express" and printed on the side is "LMS Buffet Car NCC". The logo between "Buffet" and "Car" is indistinct but does not seem to a UTA roundal. I believe the service ceased at the out break of WW11. The drawing I have is dated 1943 where as your drawing is dated 1957 I have attached a photo of my version Given the foregoing discussion I will need to change the curtain colour. But seeing your coach in green, I have tow qustions 1 Did the North Atlantic express run only in LMS NCC Crimson lake? 2. Did the UTA re-introduce it in green? MikeO

Thanks for the info. The class 170 look very like a DART. MikeO

I think the clear varnish blends everything together making it a little more subdued. On my N gauge stock I use a satin varnish which gives a hint of a sheen and is softer than matt varnish. A very good work worn locomotive. MikeO

Hi EPBrophy I have just come across this thread today. You have made a very interesting layout. It has been nice to see how it has developed. Is this your N gauge layout? If so what type of DMU are you running? MikeO

Dunluce Castle, Mike84C Thanks for the comments. I will post photos as other projects progress. MikeO

In April I bought a copy the IRRS booklet Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Carriage Diagrams Part 5 Non Passenger Stock. The booklet contains drawings of a number of GNR 4, 6 and bogie wagons. I saw a bogie parcel wagon in Desmond Coakham's book and thought that it would make a god model. However the book did not have any dimensions so I was delighted to get the IRRS booklet which had all the information I needed. In may I started to make a P1 parcel van mainly from plastic sheeting but enhanced with card and some brass tube. The only part I did not make was the bogies these are N gauge society kits. The following photos show roughly the progress in making the wagon. The chassis is made from mounting board. The bogies are attached by means of a small piece of brass tube glued into the mounting board. the board id raised above the wheels of the bogie by a washer which also provides a little weight. This view shows the side, the other side is the same. I put some generic boxes inside as I had glazed the windows but nothing can be seen inside when the roof is on As can be seen the windows are too small in this scale to see anything. For the louvres I tried scoring the plastic but with little success The roof made from card has been added together with details on the doors and chassis This view show one end, the other being the same The final stage was the painting and lettering. the following photos show the completed wagon. The lettering and numbering were done on the computer. I have given the wagon a worn look. MikeO

While looking at some GNR covered wagon drawings I came across on for the grain wagon mentioned in the posts from jhb171achill and Lough Erne. This is similar to the Guinness wagon but with no large side doors but as well as the hatches on the roof there are 4 small doors on each side. There appears to be a ladder on the outside giving access to the middle hatch. The drawing mentions a ladder on the inside leading down from the centre hatch. MikeO

Irishrailwayman Thanks for the reference number for the Alphagraphix Guinness wagon kit. I will look out for it. A chassis should not be a problem. minister I did not notice the tractor. It does look like a Fordson. I have an Oxford Die cast model in N gauge. maybe that should appear as a load for one one of the open wagons. MikeO

minister Thanks for the link, the Guinness Bogie wagon looks to be the same as those in Alan McCutcheon's book. My model is based on that photo plus some models that I saw at various exhibitions. With regard to the ranks wagon, there are a number of model wagons on display in Cultra. One of these is the Rank wagon. i have attached a photo I took of it. As it is in a glass case and there are various lights reflecting off the case hence the poor quality of the photo. MikeO

Jhb171achill I only got to one open day at Whitehead but did not see any Guinness Grain wagons. The two in Alan McCuteon's book do not seem to have any roof hatches. Have you any more information on the grain wagons. They would make an interesting addition to my wagon stock. I have seen a picture of a 4 wheel wagon with the name Guinness printed on it but do not know if it is authentic. Irishrailwayman I was not aware of the Alphagraphix Guinness bogie kit, it does not appear on their kit list that I have, which may be a bit out of date. MikeO

Gentlemen thank you for your contributions to this issue. I will keep my Murphy Bros wagon as is for now( a mustard/yellow colour). I have found a copy of the extract and photo from the New irishlines magazine (have not got the issue number to hand). as this is already in the public domain with appropriate permissions it should be safe to have it on the forum. With regard to Guinness wagons, there is a photo on page 10 of Railway History in Pictures Volume 2 by Alan McCutcheon, showing 2 bogie wagons with the name Guinness written on them and the initials GNR are visible on the left side of the first wagon. The photo was taken in August 1957 at the Guinness brewery in Dublin. The wagons are in the back ground as the main story is about how braod gauge wagons were moved about the brewery complex on narrow gauge lines by use of special haulage wagons. This is my version of such a wagon. I have seen a drawing (No 55C) of the GNR Butter van on which there is a printed note that says "PAINTED WHITE OUTSIDE" all in caps. There were 4 such vans, the last of which disappeared about November 1947. All 4 were converted, 2 to ordinary covered wagons and 2 to container flats. This is my version of the butter wagon Alphagraphix produced an OO scale GSWR Butter van in yellow. this is my N gauge version. MikeO

Sorry to interrupt your discussion on speakers. This is a great inspirational layout. Having seen earlier photos of the 121 in black, white and tan I converted my BR class 20 into a 121(some photos on my N gauge T-trak thread. I saw a Murphy Brothers goods wagon in red livery- is that that correct livery? . The reason I ask is that in one of the New Irishlines magazines, published on their website, there was discussion about the colour of the wagon and it was suggested that the colour might be a light colour such as "sand". I subsequently made an N gauge version in a "yellowish" colour. I need to remake the body of the wagon as it is not square and would like to get the livery correct. I also liked the Kilkenny coal wagon is it a standard size of about 15ft in length and a 9ft wheel base? MikeO

richrua A great looking layout. I like the idea of not being tied down to a specific place or time; allows for an eclectic collection of stock and buildings. MikeO

BosKonay I would contribute to the database. It might be useful to set out parameters for the type of information required otherwise it might mean sifting through a lot of information to find just to find the piece. Mike0

Hi Folks Leading on from my previous post I have included some photos of my stock taken at the 1st Bangor show on 22nd and 23rd of May. I have selected a range of photos to show several different locomotives and coaches/wagons. the T-Trak modules tend to be used mostly at exhibitions with the addition of the fiddleyard, which can be seen in the last photo in the above post, I am able to run a varied set of trains each way and rotate them often. This ensures that the locomotives are not overworked and can give the visitors a different experience. First is J8 No. 443 which has the enclosed double cab windows; the only loco of its class to do so. The coaches are scaled down Alphagraphix 00 kits. the leading coach is coupe comp. The J8 again this time with the Dargan coach intow. The body of the coach is scratch built and the livery is MGWR brown The J8 with a variety of older coaches and a new silver heating van Next is the WT class with a variety of GNR stock A closer view of the WT and the GNR W1 van The WT with a mixed freight train The next two photos show different styles of butter van GNR butter van, the body is scratch built, the drawing I used states that the wagon was painted white; I have guessed that the lettering is red but that could be wrong. A GSR butter van; another scaled down Alphagraphix kit The final photo in this selection is an NCC U2 class. This was the first loco that I converted. It was a Union Mills 2P in LMS Black. I painted it in the livery shown on the back dust cover to William Scott's on on LMS locos and their predecessors. The version in Cultra is a brighter shade of red/brown. I will post some more photos another time. MikeO

driver301 Your layout is a real credit to you and your modelling skills and an exemplary display of what can be achieved in N gauge. Hopefully it will be exhibited at some of the events coming up this year or next. It would be a real treat to see it. I am also modelling in N gauge and I am building up my skills by trying out different projects. I have an eclectic collection of Irish rolling stock which mainly gets an out on my T-Trak layout . Since seeing your layout one of the projects that I would like to try out the conversion of a Farish class 158 or 150 into respectively a class 2700 or class 2800. You have said that the 150 and 158 need to be modified. Could you at some time provide set out the main elements that need to be modified and say briefly how you did that. MikeO

GSR 800 as Sven - E said we had a very large "L" shaped layout I have attached two photos to give you an idea of the size. In the first photo the layout, visible in the background, on the green baseboard is not part of the T-Trak layout. I do have a large collection of stock which just keeps growing. Over time I will post photos of the rest. MikeO