BROOMBRIDGE JUNCTION

[Broadstone]

20 hours ago, Rob R said:

It may well be a stiff time target but the SSMRS will be having an 80th birthday party in 2026.......

Good point Rob. I'll have to twist your arm to build some stock and give you full running rights!

11 hours ago, WRENNEIRE said:

Brings to mind Hamiltons equation  i² = j² = k² = ijk = -1. ( Quaternion algebra)
Just sayin like..

I'm intending to illustrate Hamilton and his Wife on that famous occasion in some way. Even though it occured long before the railway was built. 

[Broadstone]

I've just returned from a few days in Dublin and did much walking along the Royal Canal and 'bazzing' around Broombridge and Lock 7 where the railway crosses the canal. And the measuring tape was deployed to get a few bridge dimensions much to the embarrassment of my Wife and perplexity among some locals - but hey ho, all in a days work of a railway modeller! Attached are a few images of the place now and a few years ago to give an idea of what I am trying to achieve:

 

 

[Signal Post]

Nice pictures @Broadstone. Can anyone enlighten us as to what the type of wagons are nearest the camera in the bottom photo (The Royal Canal 1961), would they be horse boxes?

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, Signal Post said:

Nice pictures @Broadstone. Can anyone enlighten us as to what the type of wagons are nearest the camera in the bottom photo (The Royal Canal 1961), would they be horse boxes?

They’re a mixture but most of those closest to the camera are indeed horse boxes. 

[Signal Post]

5 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

They’re a mixture but most of those closest to the camera are indeed horse boxes. 

Thanks for that Jonathan, I can feel my appetite being whetted!

[jhb171achill]

24 minutes ago, Signal Post said:

Thanks for that Jonathan, I can feel my appetite being whetted!

Pity we haven’t a good model of an Irish horse box - none of the available British designs are even remotely close to ours….

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

47 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

Pity we haven’t a good model of an Irish horse box - none of the available British designs are even remotely close to ours….

I might have to build one

[WRENNEIRE]

A narrow gauge one built some time ago

[Mayner]

Released a model of a MGWR Horse Box about 10 years ago. Sales were so poor (total about 6 sold) that it was not worth re-ordering the cast parts to do a repeat or hold as a stock item. 

The etched parts are available to order and sold a few down the years and even produced a 2mm version as a special order. Castings were produced by Dart castings from my masters, the castings are in the Dart catalogue with the exception of the handbrake wheel.

[David Holman]

Alphagraphix still have their card kit of the WLW/Sligo model. 7mm scale, but a starting point for a scratch build msybe?

[Galteemore]

26 minutes ago, David Holman said:

Alphagraphix still have their card kit of the WLW/Sligo model. 7mm scale, but a starting point for a scratch build msybe?

And Roger will shrink it to 4mm if you ask nicely. They are great templates for scratch building. 

[Broadstone]

On 1/5/2024 at 2:23 AM, Mayner said:

Released a model of a MGWR Horse Box about 10 years ago. Sales were so poor (total about 6 sold) that it was not worth re-ordering the cast parts to do a repeat or hold as a stock item. 

The etched parts are available to order and sold a few down the years and even produced a 2mm version as a special order. Castings were produced by Dart castings from my masters, the castings are in the Dart catalogue with the exception of the handbrake wheel.

They are lovely models John. If I was a 4mm modeller I'd have brought a few myself. 

[Broadstone]

2 hours ago, David Holman said:

Alphagraphix still have their card kit of the WLW/Sligo model. 7mm scale, but a starting point for a scratch build msybe?

I brought one of the 7mm Alphagraphix card kits and, having asked Roger Crumplehome beforehand at the Warley Show years ago, re-scaled it to S on my photocopier to produce an S Scale model. I used S Scale Society castings and a bit of scratch-building to complete it. I did do a write-up for New Irish Lines a few years back.

The colour is wrong on mine and may have faded a bit. I suppose I am pretending that the real ones faded also but maybe not in my period. I may investigate using Ink to deepen the colour. And I must build a few more. 

[Broadstone]

I have this week started building a model of the actual Broombridge over the canal and railway. I did do an earlier mock-up in card, but revised it following my recent trip to Dublin and getting some more accurate dimensions. The carcass is from 5mm Foamboard. It will later be covered in DAS modelling clay and the stonework carved in, plus the adding of coping stones along the parapet. 

The distance between the railway and canal on my model is greater than on the prototype because on my model the tracks are curving around instead of straight. 

The photo also includes my model of a MGWR Horsebox, such a unigue vehicle with its integral dog box. 

[Fiacra]

@Broadstone Any further progress on this layout? Liffey Junction has a special place in my heart, and I was quite excited when you announced plans for a layout based on it. As of the last post, it looks like you had made some good progress. 

[Broadstone]

Hello Fiacra, thanks for enquiring. I'm doing loads of work on the layout and will have a photographic update before the weekend. I'm more of a modeller than a social media person but I nearly have all the main layout track complete and have made a couple of buildings including the signal box and water tower. Hopefully the attached will whet your appetite for now............

[Tullygrainey]

Some very impressive hand-built track there. The buildings aren't bad either! Lovely stuff.

[Patrick Davey]

1 hour ago, Broadstone said:

Hello Fiacra, thanks for enquiring. I'm doing loads of work on the layout and will have a photographic update before the weekend. I'm more of a modeller than a social media person but I nearly have all the main layout track complete and have made a couple of buildings including the signal box and water tower. Hopefully the attached will whet your appetite for now............

Simply wow  

[David Holman]

And it is 1/64, S scale, remember...

[Mayner]

20 hours ago, Broadstone said:

Hello Fiacra, thanks for enquiring. I'm doing loads of work on the layout and will have a photographic update before the weekend. I'm more of a modeller than a social media person but I nearly have all the main layout track complete and have made a couple of buildings including the signal box and water tower. Hopefully the attached will whet your appetite for now............

The arrangement of the buildings and the crossover from the Cattle Bank road to the main line with its double slip connections really capture the atmosphere of Liffey Junction even in its final years https://www.facebook.com/GlasnevinHeritage/posts/liffey-junction2-nice-photos-by-pat-mcquail-1984/924132183078495/

[Fiacra]

22 hours ago, Broadstone said:

Hello Fiacra, thanks for enquiring. I'm doing loads of work on the layout and will have a photographic update before the weekend. I'm more of a modeller than a social media person but I nearly have all the main layout track complete and have made a couple of buildings including the signal box and water tower. Hopefully the attached will whet your appetite for now............

Fantastic - can't wait to see more of it!

[Broadstone]

Thanks very much for the all the comments, it makes it all worthwhile and gives me great encouragement  - as at times I think I've bit off more than I can chew! But last night I finally finished building all on the track on the scenic part of the layout, so a major milestone. I just need to finish the trackwork going round the curves at either end to the fiddle yard. Then its the not so enjoyable task of wiring it all up and connecting the lever frame to the points. I'm hoping to have all that done by say the end of August and be able to run trains - what it's all about afterall!

A huge help in the track building has been the 3D designed and printed sleeper bases with spikes made by Rob Rayner. Sliding in PECO Code 75 flat bottom rail has meant I have in effect my own lengths of 'Streamline'. I have then made all the points using copper clad sleeper strip and will do a seperate post about that soon. Thanks Rob, a huge help!

I'm really grateful Mayner for those 2 pictures. I am probably going to have to improve the signal box and a friend in the S Scale Society (SSMRS) has offered to lazer cut some windows for me - an improvement on my scratch-built offerings. A good shot of the Cattle Office. 

I'm no photographer and have used my smartphone. But hopefully you'll get the gist and feel for the layout. The set of crossovers by the signal box including a double and single slip, took a lot of time to make but were as Mayner says, an integral part of Liffey Junction and enabled stock and engines to move across and between the cattle sidings and those that served the Coke works and the MGWRs sleeper mills. And I have a great photo from the IRRS Journal looking across the yard towards a huge pile of tree trunks obviously destined to become sleepers. You can just see 'Elf', the MGWR 2-2-2ST which will be on junstion pilot duties. 

My previous Irish BG layout was Kilbrandon a GSWR through station based on Killorglin on the Valencia Harbour Branch. Since, I have become as interested in the MGWR but have yet to build much Midland stock. Another SSMRS member is producing some Midland 6 wheel coach bodies from me and I will do another post about this fairly soon. And Rob has designed a superb MGWR open wagon and I'll be building a few of them.
So, progress is being made and I am getting a lot of valuable help; a feature of this great hobby!

 

 

[Rob R]

I printed 3 MGWR wagons for Paul as a trial print but I have not yet tried to print them in 4mm or 7mm but I will do soon(ish).

I find they print better without a floor.

[David Holman]

Fabulous. Well done Paul. For me, there has always been something special about S scale, be it the imperial nature of it all to that almost ideal intermediate size between 0 and 00.

 Teamwork looks great and I've always loved the idea of the 63/64th" track gauge.