Capecastle 2

[Patrick Davey]

So the summer approaches and that means lots of things to normal folk….. but to someone like me it only means one thing…a new project!

Time now to get started with my long-discussed revival of Capecastle, a previous diorama version of which I built back in 2019.  Capecastle was a tiny halt on the narrow gauge Ballycastle Railway in North County Antrim, being 3 miles from the Ballycastle terminus, and sitting in an idyllic location in a small hollow at the foot of the impressive Knocklayd Mountain.  The otherwise unremarkable halt was made remarkable by the existence of a 66-yard single bore tunnel at the Ballycastle end, one of very few such structures on the entire Irish narrow gauge. 

I have a strong family connection to the line as my Great Grandfather James O’Connor was a driver on the line in its independent days, ie pre-1923, in which year it was taken over by the LMS-NCC.

The project will see a number of major changes from the previous 4mm diorama:

    •    It will be built to 5.5mm scale using 0-16.5 track (already bought!) - this combination gives the most realistic representation of the 3ft gauge of the Irish narrow gauge
    •    The project will be a working layout rather than a diorama
    •    Rolling stock will be scratchbuilt, beginning with 0-6-0st locomotive No. 2 ‘Countess of Antrim’, which will be a joint project between master locomotive builder Alan Nixon @Tullygrainey and myself
    •    It will be DCC, and will have a long narrow scenic section of 7ft x 1ft 2in

And we’re off - baseboards next!

Many thanks to all the members here who commented on my previous posts about this idea, which helped me formulate the eventual plan

 

Edited June 29 by Patrick Davey

[Tullygrainey]

No pressure then Patrick. Better get my soldering iron serviced 

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, Patrick Davey said:

So the summer approaches and that means lots of things to normal folk….. but to someone like me it only means one thing…a new project!

Time now to get started with my long-discussed revival of Capecastle, a previous diorama version of which I built back in 2019.  Capecastle was a tiny halt on the narrow gauge Ballycastle Railway in North County Antrim, being 3 miles from the Ballycastle terminus, and sitting in an idyllic location in a small hollow at the foot of the impressive Knocklayd Mountain.  The otherwise unremarkable halt was made remarkable by the existence of a 66-yard single bore tunnel at the Ballycastle end, one of very few such structures on the entire Irish narrow gauge. 

I have a strong family connection to the line as my Great Grandfather James O’Connor was a driver on the line in its independent days, ie pre-1923, in which year it was taken over by the LMS-NCC.

The project will see a number of major changes from the previous 4mm diorama:

    •    It will be built to 5.5mm scale using 0-16.5 track (already bought!) - this combination gives the most realistic representation of the 3ft gauge of the Irish narrow gauge
    •    The project will be a working layout rather than a diorama
    •    Rolling stock will be scratchbuilt, beginning with 0-6-0st locomotive No. 2 ‘Countess of Antrim’, which will be a joint project between master locomotive builder Alan Nixon @Tullygrainey and myself
    •    It will be DCC, and will have a long narrow scenic section of 7ft x 1ft 2in

And we’re off - baseboards next!

Many thanks to all the members here who commented on my previous posts about this idea, which helped me formulate the eventual plan

 

Wow - this will be a MOST impressive project! Will it be set in pre-NCC days?

[Patrick Davey]

13 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

Wow - this will be a MOST impressive project! Will it be set in pre-NCC days?

Yes indeed - liveries have been researched!

Edited June 29 by Patrick Davey

[Louth]

A fabulous project Patrick. Looking forward to the photos as the layout and rolling stock develop. 

[Patrick Davey]

And we’re off!!  Baseboard heaven…….

[Patrick Davey]

Tracklaying today.  This O-16.5 track seems to be easier to work with than OO gauge, even though they are essentially the same!

[jhb171achill]

This is going to be a STUNNER!

Edited July 17 by jhb171achill

[David Holman]

Good on you Patrick. Feel sure you will enjoy working in 7mm scale and 0n16.5 is a great way of doing it because the track is indeed easy to work with, while your obvious talents with buildings and scenery should likewise embrace the larger scale.

 Very addictive though - but I would say that!

[Patrick Davey]

7 hours ago, David Holman said:

Good on you Patrick. Feel sure you will enjoy working in 7mm scale and 0n16.5 is a great way of doing it because the track is indeed easy to work with, while your obvious talents with buildings and scenery should likewise embrace the larger scale.

 Very addictive though - but I would say that!

Very kind thanks David

All track laid

The boards to the left are the short ‘fiddle yard’ extensions. 
 

Running line to the left and limestone siding to the right. 
 

A big shout out to Alan @Tullygrainey for dropping in to sort the copper sleepers for the baseboard joints

Busy work weekend ahead, then next week it will be painting and wiring of the track to look forward to!

[Patrick Davey]

All the track has been wired and painted - dark brown base colour for the sleepers then a dry brush of grey to pick out details, and rust for the rail sides.  Then a good run over with the track rubber!  I had to order the correct ballast, so no more progress until that arrives.

Many thanks to Alan @Tullygrainey for his update on the progress of the chassis for the loco for the layout! 
 

 

Edited July 22 by Patrick Davey

[jhb171achill]

Looking very realistic!

[Patrick Davey]

On 22/7/2025 at 10:21 PM, jhb171achill said:

Looking very realistic!

Thanks JB.

I have discovered a little issue with the wiring which I will fix once a particularly busy work period has concluded, then ballasting and final weathering

[Patrick Davey]

After a rookie mistake with electrofrog points, which was swiftly identified and rectified by Alan @Tullygrainey, testing of the track layout has been successfully completed

 

[Patrick Davey]

Ballasting and point rodding being added.  I’m just using 4mm rodding as there isn’t very much needed and it looks ok to me!! Also OO gauge ballast too - it’s always recommended to use ballast from a smaller scale and it definitely works here!

Edited August 11 by Patrick Davey

[Patrick Davey]

Ballasting & point rodding finished, and none of the ballast fell off when I lifted the board.  I'm one of those strange types who finds ballasting very relaxing!  This ballast seems to be actual stone too which I haven't used before.  Nice stuff!

A busy work weekend ahead so that should give the ballast time to dry completely so I can add a bit of weathering and some foliage next week.

Edited August 7 by Patrick Davey

[Galteemore]

Looking well Patrick - nicely edged

[jhb171achill]

Absolutely top class job, though to be expected!

Here’s Fry’s model of an original Ballycastle engine.

[Patrick Davey]

Slow but steady progress - track weathering and foliage. And the point rodding has been oiled

Will possibly add more dirty track colour and build it up until it looks right. 

In the period of this project, the line would have been open for over 30 years, so I am guessing that this would have been enough time for the permanent way to accumulate appropriate levels of grime.

[David Holman]

Very much shows how important it is to weather and detail track. Subtle touches, but brings it all to life.

[Tullygrainey]

Getting better by the day Patrick. Nice colour balance

[Mol_PMB]

Very nice subtle weathering there. The grime seems to depend to some extent on traffic levels - busy lines get heavier doses of brake dust etc. 

Also of course there's localised deposits where locos stand still for a while. 

I think you've got it spot on. 

[Patrick Davey]

3 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

Very nice subtle weathering there. The grime seems to depend to some extent on traffic levels - busy lines get heavier doses of brake dust etc. 

Also of course there's localised deposits where locos stand still for a while. 

I think you've got it spot on. 

Cheers - am thinking just a tad more dark between the rails and that should do it.

[DJ Dangerous]

Is the rodding functional or aesthetic?

[Patrick Davey]

21 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Is the rodding functional or aesthetic?

Purely the latter

 

[Mayner]

Interestingly the Ballycastle appears to have been originally laid with quite light track and the cost of replacing the track in later days a drain on finances that contributed to close the line in 1924! (Irish Narrow Gauge V2 Tom Ferris 1993) Its likely the track was upgraded with heavier rails before the large Kitson 4-4-2T appeared on the scene in 1908. 

I wouldn't over do it on weathering the track, and would keep weeds/foliage under control, the origional light track would have required a lot of attention from the p.w gang to keep in order and with low wages of the pre-WW1 era weeds and line side foliage would have been kept under control by gangs of men, (manual weed removal & possibly backpacks)

Having worked in a p.w. gang for several years, reasonably well maintained track tends to weather fairly uniform tones especially on plain running lines, apart from polished railhead rail & fixings to a brown rust colour, sleepers a creosote brown (unless turning to a silvery grey bleached out needing replacement) ballast depending on the coilour of the stone/gravel used. 

Graphite grease used applied on slide chairs of switches (part of point blades that move) and to fishplates at railjoints (usually once a year!, angle cranks/pullies in point rodding regularly oiled.

The Fry model is actually based on one of the Ballymena locos same maker similar outline but a 0-4-2 rather than an 0-6-0, ran for a short while on theC&L I been threatening to build one for the best part of 50 years!

[DJ Dangerous]

10 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

Purely the latter

 

Looks amazing!

[Patrick Davey]

Definitely no need for any further weathering than this, a bit more added between the rails today. Plus I’m not going to overdo the foliage either, maybe just on the limestone siding as it would have been less used.  Also a few suggestions of oil deposits, where locomotives might have been expected to stand.

Edited August 13 by Patrick Davey

[Patrick Davey]

A touch of foliage now in place at each end of the limestone siding. 
 

[Patrick Davey]

I didn’t think this was going to work but miraculously, it has!!  My usual method of turnout control, ie a wooden dowel under the board with one dowel per turnout, has received an upgrade - on this baseboard, a single dowel now controls both turnouts of the crossover, thanks to a nifty bit of mechanical jiggery-pokery Well chuffed!!

I have also placed wooden knobs (behave) at each end of the dowel so the crossover can be operated from either side of the layout (noting Alan’s cautionary tale of a wee lad doing exactly that at a recent exhibition when Alan was trying to operate The Stone Yard!)

The successfully operating crossover:

The double-knobbed dowel:

How it all works underneath:

Obviously it remains to be seen how durable this installation will be…..

Edited August 13 by Patrick Davey

[Mol_PMB]

A very neat idea.

Over time, I suspect that slight flexing or warping of the lever may cause problems in getting both sets of switch blades seated properly at the same time.

So one set of blades will seat while the others are still in mid-position. You might need a way of making fine adjustments to the central pivot position to correct this. 

[Patrick Davey]

1 hour ago, Mol_PMB said:

A very neat idea.

Over time, I suspect that slight flexing or warping of the lever may cause problems in getting both sets of switch blades seated properly at the same time.

So one set of blades will seat while the others are still in mid-position. You might need a way of making fine adjustments to the central pivot position to correct this. 

Plan B has already been agreed

Once this installation starts to show its age, I will install a separate dowel for the other turnout.

[Tullygrainey]

Ingenious Patrick. Have you been reading William Heath Robinson?

[Patrick Davey]

10 minutes ago, Tullygrainey said:

Ingenious Patrick. Have you been reading William Heath Robinson?

Ummmm…….

[Tullygrainey]

49 minutes ago, Patrick Davey said:

Ummmm…….

Patron saint of inspired contraptions and ingenious contrivances