Ballinacraig

[Bob229]

Superb must agree the bridge is excellent and so is the signal box great detail

[leslie10646]

Great work, Paddy. The LED strips are great for layout lighting.

[JasonB]

Savage stuff. The signal box looks the business. Without doubt, my favourite era.

This shot says it all... 

[Ballinacraig]

A long overdue update. There have been two major developments since I last posted. I have finally finished the overbridge, modelled on the one at Esmonde Street in Gorey. I'm more than happy with how this bridge has turned out. I have plans to give it some ivy coverage at some stage, but for now I'll leave it and move on to the next project. 

 

I have completed a row of shops/commercial buildings for Main Street. When I started these I didn't anticipate them to take as long to complete as they did, but I wanted this street scene to be as realistic as possible, and I've found that recreating all the aspects of a building really does bring them to life. I have added interior detail and lighting, which I think really adds to the realism.

 

All four buildings are modelled on real-life counterparts, which can be seen in the pics below. The Centra and Malones Bookshop are models of adjacent shops on Main Street in Wicklow town. The Post Office is a model of the one on Main Street, Bray. The Bank of Ireland is a model of the one on Main Street, Gorey. Some of the bank is not modelled, but this will be rendered on the back scene as a forced perspective continuation, when I finally get round to that area. I have used some artistic license when building these, because I use Google Street View as my primary reference tool, and the earliest images I can obtain are from 2009, therefore I have to assume and hope that the building looked the same 4/5 years earlier. 

 

I have already planned what the opposite row of shops will be, but up next is the embankment scenery, which I'm looking forward to, as I get to try out my new static grass applicator!

 

Paddy

 

 

 

[Patrick Davey]

Love this - great prototypes and wonderful workmanship!

Great to see this update Paddy, looking forward to more.

[Sean]

Have you also used the arklow road bridge for inspiration? the one you go over before esmonde street if on a train going into gorey.

 

as someone who passes under these bridges every day i really do think you have captured the essence of both of them excellently depending on what photo I am looking at.

[Tullygrainey]

Wonderful stuff! Your attention to detail is a joy - the window displays and interiors really convince. Some very skilled modelling here. 
 

The bridge isn’t bad either

Edited March 8, 2023 by Tullygrainey

[Flying Snail]

There's a real sense of authenticity from these - looks brilliant!

[raymurph]

Simply amazing modeling, thanks for sharing.

[Galteemore]

There’s a classic and subtle Irish vibe about this - the main st running under the bridge recalls quite a few real life locations.

[David Holman]

Oozes atmosphere. Even in its part built condition, everything just looks right. Little things like the road surface/colour, line markings and so on. Super buildings and there is something about that bridge which just sets the whole scene.

 Lovely modelling!

[Ballinacraig]

On 8/3/2023 at 5:15 PM, Sean said:

Have you also used the arklow road bridge for inspiration? the one you go over before esmonde street if on a train going into gorey.

 

as someone who passes under these bridges every day i really do think you have captured the essence of both of them excellently depending on what photo I am looking at.

No, I exclusively used the Esmonde Street bridge as my main reference, Sean. Although, I was aware of the Arklow Road bridge from previous visits to Gorey.

[Sean]

Its deadly, from the side with the billboard and the 071 picture angle due to the left turn and embankments its a real reminder of the arklow bridge.

 

the shots where you are standing street level looking straight under the bridge is 100% esmonde street with the small few shops just to be seen underneath the bridge.

 

I showed these photos to my parents a few months ago when you were at an earlier stage and they were able to tell me the location without any prompts,  they are not railway people.  

[JasonB]

One word... Stunning. The attention to detail is first class. This is modelling at it's best. 

[Ballinacraig]

Latest update, and a special word of thanks to my brother, John for the photography. There has been quite a bit of progress from my last update in March.

 

I managed to finish the embankment scenery. This took quite a bit of time, as it was my first time using static grass, and I ended up removing a couple of early attempts, before I got a finish I was happy with. I used four different static grass lengths and colours, which were added in layers using the layering spray technique.

 

A new row of buildings have been completed for Main Street. Three of these are based on real-life counterparts - Wades Pharmacy and ML Leacy & Sons in Gorey, and Cavanaghs bar in Sligo Bar in Sligo. Although, I have used artistic license to change ML Leacy & Sons from a Tailors to a Jewellers. The Chinese Takeaway front is a Scale Model Scenery kit, and the Boyle Sports Bookmakers is based on many such premises that can be found around Ireland.

 

I have added extensive detailing to the station area, including lamp posts, signage, seating and some flowers.

 

The walls on this station side of the  track have now been glued into place, and gates have been added at various points.

 

This leaves only a few bits and pieces left to finish for the station, such as footbridge repair and painting, fixing in place the far platform walls and station building, and some painting and weathering to various parts of the station area

 

I have set the plan out for the goods yard. This involved laying track for two sidings and building the shells for all the buildings/structures. I am basing the goods yard on the one at Arklow. My goods yard in Ballinacraig would once have extended further, but Irish Rail sold off a sizable  chunk of it in the late 90s to a local haulage and distribution company, who have since built a large warehouse.

 

I have built the shells for the rear of the houses that run up to the goods yard from Main Street. These are Metcalfe card kits, but I will be painting and adding all new detailing elements to these over time. There will be gardens added to the rear of these houses, which will stretch down to the railway embankment.

 

I have also started to build the frame of the buildings at the far right end of Ballinacraig. These will be the back of shops that the line will pass under via a tunnel. It will eventually loosely resemble the tunnel mouth at the southern end of Enniscorthy station, which passes under the town.

 

Paddy

 

 

[Bob229]

Hi Paddy,  lots of progress great work and detail fantastic layout, just wondering where did you get the platforms lamps? thanks

[Ballinacraig]

37 minutes ago, Bob229 said:

Hi Paddy,  lots of progress great work and detail fantastic layout, just wondering where did you get the platforms lamps? thanks

Thanks, Bob. They are all scratch built from bits of plastic sprues and wiring. I spent ages looking for similar donor lamps online, but there just wasn't anything close available, so I made my own.

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

That is fabulous detail Paddy, fair dues.

[LARNE CABIN]

Some absolutely stunning work there Paddy. The detail in the street scenes is amazing. The shop fronts are so close to real life that you almost think you are looking at a real life photograph. Congratulations on some terrific work.

[Flying Snail]

Wow! It looks fabulous and very realistic!!

[patrick]

Wonderful modeling and photography.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of this layout.

[Irishrailwayman]

Great modelling. Are you planning to exhibit this layout?

[leslie10646]

Your urban scenic work is absolutely brilliant. Heartiest congratulations.

[Ballinacraig]

13 hours ago, Irishrailwayman said:

Great modelling. Are you planning to exhibit this layout?

Thanks. No, it is a permanent fixture in my garage, unfortunately

[Fiacra]

Outstanding layout! The bridge in particular is stunning - how was the stonework created?

[Ballinacraig]

1 hour ago, Fiacra said:

Outstanding layout! The bridge in particular is stunning - how was the stonework created?

Thanks, Fiacra. The main stonework was created using Slaters 7mm dressed stone sheets of plastikard. The coping stones were created by applying Polyfilla over balsa wood strips. Polyfilla is very easy to shape and score once set.  

[David Holman]

Tasty. Very tasty indeed!

 Apart from the obvious fine modelling, it is the colour that does it for me, because it just looks so right. The view through the bridge to the row of shops is sublime.

[DJ Dangerous]

Absolutely lovely stuff here!

I agree with the sentiments of everybody, the layout, the scenery, the era, the background modelling, the Tinnelly truck hiding by the warehouse, the main street, the bridge, the platform lamps, the photography and videography, everything is top notch.

[Ballinacraig]

Apologies for the lack of updates, but due to work commitments I was unable to get much done on the layout for over 7 months. However, the last four or five months have been more fruitful, and I've managed to make some progress on the goods yard area behind the station.

 

I was planning to wait until the whole area was finished before I uploaded some photos, but my brother is home for a week or two, and he took some nice shots with his camera, and I couldn't resist sharing them.

 

I should be able to finish the entire area, including the goods shed and oil tanks, over the next month or two, so I'll post some photos when I'm done.

 

Paddy

 

 

[DJ Dangerous]

Ice Cold in Ballinacraig - worth waiting for!

[Galteemore]

Really looks the business. Not overdone with fussy details but just enough signature pieces that show this is an Irish layout. Excellent work. 

[jhb171achill]

This is just amazing. One of the most realistic I've ever seen. As others say, the colour and lighting and street scene detail are just on another level. Well done.

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Brilliant, really nice, well done you.

[Rob]

Yes- excellent work.  Love the details everywhere and the brother does a great job with the photos too

[David Holman]

That really is very nice indeed. Lovely work and great photos too.