Andy Cundick

Basically 3 different types the 1893 Oldbbury stock has 8 shoe clasp brakes plus a single brake lever operating on one shoe only,then with the 1900 stock onwards 4 shoe brakes with 2 brake levers operating from the same end Cultras open 13 has this type, when you get to the Strabane and Letterkenny Hurst Nelson stock you have 8 shoe clasp brakes with the 2 brake levers at the same end.There are a few variations due to rebuilding etc,but that is the basics.If you havn't got it Roger Crumbleholmes "County Donegal Companion"is very useful.Andy.

Something i won't need,Andy.

Couple of suggestions,first back to back needs to be checked, then put on a proper flat surface, plate glass or something and make sure all the wheels are sitting on the deck,then check that the central axle can float up and down in relation to the outer pair and that no brake gear etc foul the central wheel.When i've built my own 6 wheel chassis i had it with one end with a fixed axle the other on a rocking axle with the central axle free to move up and down in a set of slotted axle guards with a certain amount of lateral movement.hope this helps Andy. 

LNWR 4'6" 2-42-ts, to DSER,, Hibberd diesel,  Shell/BP, Ruston 165 ,CSE, none of which need to be disguised,Andy.

My mother in law had a 1932 Ford Eight which she ran up until 1968,when she brought a  1962 Lwb Land Rover,the Land Rover is still used by me daily as well as transporting layouts including a trip to Cultra,as for the Ford its still on the road being used by brother in law. Not a length of service i would expect from a modern vehicle..Andy.

Used it  on Valencia and Courtmacsherry the stone colour is better in as much as it doesn't make so much  mess,Andy.

I  Choppers can be a pain to get to work properly in 4mm(been there tried it),Kadees too bulky and look wrong on Irish stock, Bemos are expensive bulky  the plastic they are made from makes them a pain to fix to most stuff and not the easiest to uncouple remotely .I finally came round to using DG couplings in their various sizes going from Great Western broad gauge to 009.being brass they can be soldered, glued, bent round things, the steel droppers allow for automatic uncoupling and there is a brass dropper which allows for delayed uncoupling,Also at between £4 to £5 for sixteen not expensive.Andy.

Depends very much on the child my first train was a Triang Britannia and a dock shunter,plus various bits of stock and Super 4 track that was when i was 5,both locos are still running,saying that both nieces at that age were running their dads 5"gauge live steamers,Andy.

Nice shot of Railcar 10,interesting to see wagon 159 creep into the other shot Donegals solitary bogie open(as apposed to conversions) she didn't get photoed very often,Andy.

4 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Do see what you mean Northroader - and you do have a track record of actually scratchbuilding fine locos so you’re not the average carping naysayer! I think the camera angle indeed has much to do with it. This view shows a slope but it doesn’t look ‘right’…looks like the hump on a Sopwith Camel…….just proves the inadequacy of Swindon design…..;)

Crewe wins over Swindon every time! 
 

 

Best we don't mention the Crewe built Westerns which had to rebuilt at Swindon before entering service,Andy.

Brings back my apprentice days at Swindon,with the Newspaper vans being converted into "Enparts" vans,Andy.

7 hours ago, Irishswissernie said:

OK Jim 3 views of the Donegal from June/July 1960 after closure but whilst they were lifting the track and before the scrapping of stock etc.

 

The  railcar is No12 and the wagon with it is 336 the 40' ex Ballymena Cushendall coach chassis,it must be down the Donegal end of the line as railcars 12 and 18 were based at Donegal during demolition,Andy.

On 10/12/2021 at 8:14 AM, Irishswissernie said:

A couple of Casserley views today, Strabane

GNRI 1948-04-20 Strabane North end 120 , 11.30 Belfast - Derry HCC51747

GNRI 1948-04-20 Strabane 121, 9.25 Derry-Belfast HCC51732

There are some 200 original negs/slides on there way to me plus an album of old photos of unknown origin so more material in the pipeline.

 

Nice to see Railcar No 8 creep into the corner of the photo,Andy.

Funnily enough i've just had Chris Nevard here photographing Castlederg for Model Rail,Andy.

13 hours ago, Killian Keane said:

Aaaah yes of course, Im familiar with such things being used on traction engines but rarely does one see it on a locomotive, I believe the WW1 Baldwin engines were fitted up with them come to think of it

Most of the trench locos had waterlifters due to the lack of any water cranes or tanks it meant you could lift water from any convenient tank, barrel or stream,they were also not uncommon on contractors engines  for the same reasons.

On 1/11/2021 at 2:08 AM, Killian Keane said:

This is the only photo Ive seen of the engine in its Donegal condition, the timber cab surely being an addition so I'd agree it'd have been open originally, what the hosepipe is for I have no idea

The  hosepipe is attached  to a waterlifter which works the same way as an injector the steamfeed is the pipe coming out of the front of the cab with the lifter attached to the top of the saddletank ,they're pretty much standard fittings on traction engines and steam rollers,had quite a lot of practise with them when i had a roller,Andy.

An article in one of the early Narrow Gauge magazines has a piece on the 480's by  Ronald Redman who was the authority on Hudswell Clarke  who states that the final finish was "pea green" lined black and white with four coats of copal varnish,.Interestingly having checked the other Swilly album  it would seem that the dark green was applied later than i thought,The Railway Observer  for  December 1944 states that No'3,8,10,12 and 15 were in lined black whereas No6 was in green with yellow lining.Hope this helps Andy. 

 The original loco livery was Pea green similar to the LSWR,the comment in the Railway Magazine article on the line in the November 1899 issue describes  his first view of the Swilly as looking like Waterloo due to the similarity in the engine and coach liveries,it would seem that the livery changed to black lined red during the Great war and the familiar dark green appears in the mid to late 30's. The article in the IRRS Journal No 21 Autumn 1957 comes up with similar information,hope this helps Andy.

Its  a thin ball race in sheet steel  which comes in sizes up to about 12" and about3/8" thick, various baseboard suppliers stock and i suspect they will available on evilbay.Fit a disc of ply on the top  and fix down to a dropped section of baseboard and there you go,Andy. 

For turntables in fiddle yards i use a lazy susan with a lump of ply on top simple and cost effective,as far as the Peco turntables go both their N and HOm ones as well as Petes killybegs turn table all use the same N gauge pit.I've not found building  turntables that difficult its just a question of having a go,currently 2 of my layouts have turntables Arigna and Courtmacsherry ironically Arignas is much the larger of the two.Andy.

A combination of the numberplate and bunker extension shows its "Eske" which would probably date the photo to early 50's,

Post 1941 as theres red van 12 on the siding,Andy.

I've just exhumed Castlederg from the Railway room ready for its first outing in a while,making a return trip to Tolworth Showtrain on the 13/14 of October.Andy.

On 5/10/2021 at 2:51 PM, skinner75 said:

FIAT - Fix It Again Tomorrow

KTM - Keeps Taking Money (a motorbike company - good stuff, but requires constant 'minding', hence the term!)

Ford,Fix or repair daily,Andy.

Typical having built 10 of RT models kit for the Seaham Chaldrons  the ready to run one comes out,still they do look nice behind my Seaham Lewin.Currently building a South African Class 15F(for the fun of it)how long before the ready to run version ?Andy