A Derry Central Diorama

[Patrick Davey]

4 hours ago, Signal Post said:

Wonderful stuff, very enjoyable to look at. Just wondering about the 25 ton brake van, firstly would I be correct in thinking that this is an NCC van, is this also the type that featured (sometimes) on the spoil trains to Magheramorne? Secondly is this from a kit or scratch built?

The van was a scratchbuild by another mega-talented guy, Gareth Brennan, who is to plasticard what Alan is to brass!

[Mayner]

If you haven't already try and get your hands on a copy of RM Arnold's NCC Saga apart from an image of a "Whippet" in Crimsonlake on the dust jacket, the book is full of photos and enginemen's tales from the NCC including the Derry Central. Not a conventional railway history book more a folklore social history of a railway and its people.

Interestingly the Derry Central had an Irish lanuguage company seal "Céad Mííle Fáilte"

 

[jhb171achill]

47 minutes ago, Mayner said:

If you haven't already try and get your hands on a copy of RM Arnold's NCC Saga apart from an image of a "Whippet" in Crimsonlake on the dust jacket, the book is full of photos and enginemen's tales from the NCC including the Derry Central. Not a conventional railway history book more a folklore social history of a railway and its people.

Interestingly the Derry Central had an Irish lanuguage company seal "Céad Mííle Fáilte"

 

One of the exceptionally rare instances of the Irish language being used on any Irish railway pre-GSR times.

[Galteemore]

As always, the SLNC also blazed a trail in language ….

Edited February 2 by Galteemore

[jhb171achill]

17 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

As always, the SLNC also blazed a trail in language ….

Was thinking that very thing! It's actually the only other one I can think of. Wasn't that yoke a contractor's loco rather than the actual property of the SLNCR?

I've a notion some contractor's loco somewher down south, maybe on the DWWR, had an Irish name - but it was possibly that same one. Not sure - I'd have to look it up.

 

[Galteemore]

Was taken over by SL and used for a bit. MGWR also had a loco of same name, and ‘Erin Go Bragh “. Irish language underwent something of revival in late c19th, and this was presumably a by-product of that.

[Mayner]

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

One of the exceptionally rare instances of the Irish language being used on any Irish railway pre-GSR times.

The Cork and Bandon appears to have taken the lead during the early days of Irish Railways. In the "Trains we Loved" C Hamilton Ellis spoke of the railway 'dignifying its engines by Gaelic names, moreover inscribed on plates in Erse and not Latin characters"

1 "Rith Teineadh" 2. "Sighe Gaoithe"  3. Fag an Beallach" all introduced in 1849 appear in the loco list in Ernie Shepherd's CBSCR book.

1 & 2 were Adams patent  combined light locos and carriages that were withdrawn in 1868.

3 was supplied by Tayleur possibly a tender loco that lasted until 1890.

In a way the Adams patent combined loco and carriage were the precursor of the modern railcars for passenger services and were quite popular at the time and used on a number of railways including the Eastern Counties (later Great Eastern) Londerry and Coleraine and Cork & Bandon

[GSR 800]

I suppose theres an aspect of humour in calling a locomotive Faugh a Ballagh, clear the road indeed...

The MGWR were clearly forward thinking calling one of their locos Erin go Bragh!

Built a year before the Rising too.

[Galteemore]

5 hours ago, GSR 800 said:

I suppose theres an aspect of humour in calling a locomotive Faugh a Ballagh, clear the road indeed...

The MGWR were clearly forward thinking calling one of their locos Erin go Bragh!

Built a year before the Rising too.

Indeed. It’s a classic Irish irony that the most frequent appearance of F-A-B is in the British Army! 

[Patrick Davey]

I know it’s normal enough for threads to ‘branch’ off in other directions but jeepers folks this is on a new level altogether

[Galteemore]

Ok. Let’s haul it back. Major customer of DC was Clarks Mill, which of course had its own tramway. Sir George Clark served in British Army throughout WW2. Ulster’s fabric industry has long supplied the UK armed forces, and the soldiers above are almost certainly wearing uniforms produced under aegis of Cooneen Fabrics, based outside Fivemiletown. However tangential, there’s a link…..;)

Edited February 3 by Galteemore

[Patrick Davey]

3 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Ok. Let’s haul it back. Major customer of DC was Clarks Mill, which of course had its own tramway. Sir George Clark served in British Army throughout WW2. Ulster’s fabric industry has long supplied the UK armed forces, and the soldiers above are almost certainly wearing uniforms produced under aegis of Cooneen Fabrics, based outside Fivemiletown. However tangential, there’s a link…..;)

Coincidentally, I was at that very station - Upperlands - last week, hoping to be back next week for a proper look, but I do believe the original door is in place on the goods shed, and there are other surviving original features as well.

Plus, don’t forget the work that Mr. Weaver and the team at Brookhall Mill did during WW2, supplying the Americans

Edited February 3 by Patrick Davey

[Signal Post]

23 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

The van was a scratchbuild by another mega-talented guy, Gareth Brennan

Thanks Patrick, I think I've read of some of Gareth's models on other parts of this forum, looks like a super model.

 

23 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

Gareth Brennan, who is to plasticard what Alan is to brass!

That's saying something, he must make outstanding models.

22 hours ago, Mayner said:

If you haven't already try and get your hands on a copy of RM Arnold's NCC Saga

 

Just ordered one, looking forward to getting it. Thanks for the heads-up John.

[Patrick Davey]

KNOCKLOUGHRIM ON TOUR

I brought my diorama of Knockloughrim on a bit of a tour today, visiting two of my mentors, Kieran Lagan and Colm Flanagan - it was a great pleasure to be able to photograph some of Kieran and Colm’s excellent UTA scratchbuilt locos and stock on the diorama, and I couldn’t resist trying out a few vintage filters too

FEATURED:

Ex-GNR ‘big D’ 0-6-0 loco No. 34 by Kieran Lagan

UTA permanent way wagon by Kieran Lagan

UTA WT class 2-6-4t loco No. 53 by Kieran Lagan

UTA 2-car MPD by Colm Flanagan

UTA W class 2-6-0 mogul No. 91 by Colm Flanagan

UTA railcar by Colm Flanagan

Edited February 19 by Patrick Davey

[Mol_PMB]

All Superb! The NCC railcar is especially nice! 

[Patrick Davey]

On 11/2/2025 at 6:40 PM, Mol_PMB said:

All Superb! The NCC railcar is especially nice! 

Yip Colm made a fine job of that vehicle.

[Patrick Davey]

So it's getting close to the time for me to say farewell to my Knockloughrim 'working diorama', as it will shortly be moving to a permanent home in the actual station building itself.  I ran the final trains today - it was an emotional time for all present (me).

 

[Mayner]

Great to hear that your Knockloughrim diorama has found a (hopefully permanent) home in the actual station.

[Patrick Davey]

5 hours ago, Mayner said:

Great to hear that your Knockloughrim diorama has found a (hopefully permanent) home in the actual station.

Thanks John. The owner is hoping to create a small historical display for visitors to the commercial side of the property, with the diorama in a glass case as the centrepiece.  Chuffed!

[Tullygrainey]

9 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

So it's getting close to the time for me to say farewell to my Knockloughrim 'working diorama', as it will shortly be moving to a permanent home in the actual station building itself.  I ran the final trains today - it was an emotional time for all present (me).

 

Moist eyes here too Patrick. Lovely video. 

[Kevin Sweeney]

3 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

Thanks John. The owner is hoping to create a small historical display for visitors to the commercial side of the property, with the diorama in a glass case as the centrepiece.  Chuffed!

Well done Patrick. It is a great feeling to see your work on public display in a glass case. I had that feeling last Saturday when the exhibition of my models opened in the County Museum.

[Northroader]

To me, that’s all a layout should be, excellent work. Hope to see more of the same, please.

[Galteemore]

Great to see it’s found a good home and such an appropriate one. Frees up space for a new layout too…

[Patrick Davey]

Another attempt at artistry......

 

[Patrick Davey]

And another......

 

[Patrick Davey]

Final tiding up done tonight and the surround was strengthened with additional layers of foam board.  This is the diorama's final night with me - tomorrow it shall be moving to its new home, in the very place that inspired it!

 

[Patrick Davey]

Safely delivered!  That’s me presenting the diorama to Aidan, the current owner, who is very interested in the station and its history.

[Patrick Davey]

There’s an article today in The Derry Post newspaper, about my model of Knockloughrim station.  And that more or less draws this very enjoyable little project to a conclusion!

 

Knockloughrim.pdf

Edited June 3 by Patrick Davey

[Patrick Davey]

The Ghost Train of Knockloughrim

Johnny McWhirter struggled to cycle through the snow which covered the Derganagh Road near Knockloughrim.  There had been a heavy fall overnight and the wheels of his bicycle crunched through the pure white snow until eventually he had to dismount and walk the final stretch of his journey to the railway station.  He wheeled the bicycle in through the imposing main entrance, with its stone pillars standing guard, then he opened the small wooden gate which gave access onto the platform.  It was Monday, December 8th 1958, and Knockloughrim station was now only visited by the infrequent goods trains which ran between Magherafelt and Kilrea, once a daily working but now generally only running twice per week.  The Ulster Transport Authority had ended passenger services along the Derry Central line in 1950 but was maintaining a basic goods service along part of the route for the time being.

Knockloughrim station during the time of the Kilrea goods

Johnny was close to retirement and it was his relatively undemanding job to be present the station each time a train was due to pass, whether it was booked to stop or not.  Generally they didn’t stop, but occasionally there was a parcel for someone in the village and it was Johnny’s responsibility to process this and deliver it.  After opening the small station office and lighting the fire, Johnny went back out onto the platform and looked up and down the single line of railway track, the rails completely hidden under several inches of crisp, white snow.  To his right, beyond the end of the platform, stood the sturdy stone bridge which carried Derganagh Road across the railway, optimistically built to accommodate double track but only ever sheltering a single line.  To his left, the line curved off to the right towards Magherafelt, no longer the the busy mid-Ulster railway hub that it had once been.  The long disused goods shed stood at the Magherafelt end of the short platform, beyond the red brick station building, and after surveying the frozen scene, Johnny turned and started back towards the beckoning comfort of the station office.  Before he could open the door and escape the cold, he heard a voice calling him from the direction of the bridge.

“Hey there Johnny!” came the voice - it was Davy Carmichael, the farmer whose land lay to the south of the railway line.  Davy was a friend of the railwaymen and was one of the few locals who still made use of the remaining train service to send his produce up to Belfast.  Davy was standing on the bridge and Johnny walked along to the end of the platform to speak to him.

“Mornin’ Davy, what has you out at this early hour in this cold?  Yer a brave one!” said Johnny.

“Not as brave as yer colleagues who brought a train through here at 3:00am Davy, was there some special working or sumthin’?  There’s been been nuthin’ like that since the war years…..it stayed at the station for a few minutes then the flamin’ thing whistled like a banshee as it left, scaring the livin’ daylights outta the Mrs. and the bloody chickens!”

“No idea Davy” replied Johnny, “Must find out though!”

After chatting to Davy for a few minutes, Johnny remembered that he could no longer feel his fingers, so he quickly made his way back into the station office, which was now pleasantly warm, with the gentle crackle of the fire and the rhythm of the ancient clock giving the impression that nothing had changed from the heyday of the Derry Central railway.  He took off his heavy coat and his railway cap, which still proudly bore the initials LMS-NCC, and set them both on a chair beside the fire.

It was 8:05am and there was a train due to pass from Magherafelt at 8:34am, so Johnny opened the large dust-covered ledger into which all train movements had to be entered, and he was startled to see the following as the most recent entry:

The entry was written in immaculate copperplate hand and Johnny was now getting very curious - phone calls to both Magherafelt and York Road only heightened the mystery because nobody he spoke to had heard of this working.  Neither had any entries been made in the other book where railway staff were obliged to sign in and out of their shifts.  As Johnny chewed the end of his pencil and pondered the mystery, he was startled by a high pitched whistle which sounded far off in the Magherafelt direction, telling him that the Kilrea goods was approaching.  Johnny put his coat and cap back on and went back out onto the platform to see the train ease around the curve.  At the head of the train was U2 class 4-4-0 No. 84, Lissanoure Castle, pulling a long train of open wagons and covered vans - there was healthy traffic to and from Kilrea this day.  Throwing up a lot of snow and sending white plumes of smoke and steam into the cold sky, the locomotive brought her train through Knockloughrim station with another loud and very long whistle, as her crew acknowledged Johnny tipping his hat to them from the platform.  Soon the bright red light on the rear of the brake van was disappearing into the gloom of the cutting beyond the bridge and as the flying snow began to settle, Johnny wasted no time in returning to the office to make the appropriate entry in the train ledger, right underneath the mysterious one from early that morning.

The return working from Kilrea was booked to stop at Knockloughrim at 10:24am so Johnny would have to remain at the station until after the train had left for Magherafelt.  The train arrived promptly at the expected time and as the elegant locomotive screeched to a halt at the platform, Johnny took the opportunity to have a chat with the crew, two Belfast men whom he had not met before, to see if they had heard anything about the strange early morning working.

“Not a word” said the driver, “and it’s possibly someone takin’ the hand outta ye lad cos Dunseverick is sitting in a siding at York Road out of use, looking like she’ll nivir run again!”

Johnny pondered this as he signed the guard’s docket and accepted a small consignment of parcels for the village, and soon the whistle sounded again and the train slowly made her way off towards Magherafelt, the long train of wagons and vans rattling behind the locomotive.  Johnny waited until the red brake van light could be seen no more, then he once again returned to the warmth of the office to complete the entry in the  ledger.

Johnny forgot about the strange ledger entry until the following Monday, when it was his turn once again to be on duty at Knockloughrim to oversee the up and down Kilrea goods workings that day.  As usual, he arrived at the station just before 8:00am, lit the fire and placed his coat and hat on the chair nearby.  He sat at the table and opened the train ledger, and was immediately shocked to see that the mysterious entry from the early hours of December 8th had vanished, leaving a clear gap above his own entries for later that day.  It was all very strange and colleagues started to question Johnny’s perception of events, until one month later on January 10th 1959 when a different UTA employee was arriving for duty at Knockloughrim, and was also spoken to by Davy Carmichael from the bridge, who was as before asking about the early morning train that disturbed his family and his animals.  And, once again, there was the very same copperplate entry in the Knockloughrim train ledger:

Further phone calls to Magherafelt and York Road failed to shed any light on the working and even more mysteriously, this latest ledger entry had also vanished by the following week.  By now the tale of the mysterious ‘ghost train’ of Knockloughrim had become a local curiosity, and indeed these strange events repeated themselves each month until the line fully closed in October 1959.  Everyone believed that would be the end of the mystery but this was not to be the case: not only did reports of the ghost train continue after the line closed, but they even continued into 1960 after the rails had been taken up and the sleepers lifted.  By that stage, nobody dared venture into the now much dilapidated office at Knockloughrim station to open the ledger.

It wasn’t until January 1962 that there were no local reports of the ghost train of Knockloughrim, and it may or may not be coincidental that U2 class 4-4-0 locomotive ‘Dunseverick Castle’ had succumbed to the scrapman’s torch the previous month.

Knockloughrim station after closure

U2 class 4-4-0 No. 80 'Dunseverick Castle' - did she or didn't she.......?

Edited 21 hours ago by Patrick Davey

[LNERW1]

Pure brilliant, a proper ghost train story. I'm loving all the railway ghost stories going around at the moment. Chris Eden-Green's video (up yesterday I think) was great too, if anyone is now hankering for more railway related spookiness.

[Tullygrainey]

Nice one Patrick