David's Workbench

[jhb171achill]

8 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Not quite a pay train but similar / this little account gives some glimpses of life onboard such a contraption https://svsfilm.com/nineelms/bug.htm

A superb article. It woul be interesting to hear a smiliar tale of someone who worked on the Irish ones. JhbSenior never mentioned anything much about them, though he would have seen the last one in the 1930s - No. 92 I think?

[Colonel]

Fascinating - thanks David!

I can't imagine Fairy or Sprite could do 85mph, but comparative dimensions between them and The Bug are interesting, Bug first in each case:

• Boiler pressure: 175 v 150
• Cylinders: 11x18 v 8x15 or 9x15
• Driving wheels: 5'7 v 5' or 5'2
• Heating surfaces: 550 sq ft v 273/362
• Water capacity 1000 gallons v 500
• Coal: 1 ton both

 Bug was clearly much more powerful and the larger drivers would certainly give a greater top speed, but the pay trains had longer lives and covered much greater distances. The Green Bibles giving the 1901 WTT as as a two week cycle:

• Tuesday: Inchicore - Tullow - Kildare - Limerick
• Wed: Limerick - Ennis - Sligo
• Thurs: Sligo - Limerick
• Fri: Limerick- Roscrea - Maryborough - Waterford - Bagenalstown
• Sat: back to Inchicore via Carlow

 The second week took in Cork, Mallow, Tralee, Foynes and so on. No wonder Sprite is recorded as covering nearly one and a quarter million miles in its 37 year career!

Edited May 4 by Colonel

[Colonel]

 A tad more progress with the pay train, but still keep finding stuff to do. 

 Loco crew and a policeman arrived promptly from S&D Models, so they have been painted and positioned on the loco and coach balcony. However, made a bit of a horlicks with the loco cab roof, while the transfer rivets haven't turned out as well as I would have liked either. So, new roof and a sand down of the loco buffer beam and coach sole bars needed, so I can apply individual plasticard cubes to better represent the rivets.

 Meanwhile, also realised I'd missed out the the water tank filler caps...

 Ho hum!

  Have decided I won't apply lining, as judicious use of weathering powders has taken away the overall blackness which I've never liked. More weathering to do on the chassis though. At times I wonder if a model is ever finished.

 

[Galteemore]

Now that’s lovely. Really looks the part. I should point out that RIC uniform was dark green and tended to be topped off with a flat cap, although helmets were worn on occasion. My great-grandfather was an RIC sergeant serving from the 1890s up until 1922 - making the papers on one occasion for nicking a GNRI driver who was misbehaving at 2am on Derry’s walls…..

[Colonel]

Yet another little job then, but thanks for the info - I just looked up Edwardian policemen, reasoning that uniforms would be the same, given Ireland was still part of the 'empire' then.

 Every day's a school day!

[Flying Snail]

32 minutes ago, Colonel said:

Yet another little job then, but thanks for the info - I just looked up Edwardian policemen, reasoning that uniforms would be the same, given Ireland was still part of the 'empire' then.

 Every day's a school day!

I think he might pass for a member of Ireland's other police force at the time, the DMP: Dublin Metropolitan Police. However, as the name implies it wouldn't have had jurisdiction down the country in places like Northport Quay

[Galteemore]

1 hour ago, Colonel said:

Yet another little job then, but thanks for the info - I just looked up Edwardian policemen, reasoning that uniforms would be the same, given Ireland was still part of the 'empire' then.

 Every day's a school day!

Sorry Yes, it was an unusual model of policing outside Dublin.  The RIC were armed as a matter of course (DMP followed UK unarmed pattern, later adopted by the Garda). Rifles/carbines were carried at the trail, as with Light Infantry and Gurkhas. You were never allowed to serve in your native area, as family pressure could be brought upon you to bend the law. My great-grandfather, although from SLNC territory, spent his career entirely in BNCR country. The modern Rifles regiment of the British Army looks just like the RIC on parade !

Edited May 11 by Galteemore

[Colonel]

Indeed - since been looking up the history (ok, Wiki). Seems they were armed to the teeth and almost paramilitary in nature - perhaps unsurprising given that things got volatile at times, long before the Easter Rising.

 The pay trains would have been quite a tempting target, so am guessing my coach 'strong room' may have contained a small arsenal, as well as the cash! Fairly sure Henry Forbes of County Donegal fame chased off would be attackers of one of his trains - armed with a pistol, I believe.

 

[airfixfan]

Forbes did act directly to defend CDR interests

[cheesy_peas]

Back in GS&WR days there were railway police, I have seen a reference to a company policeman with regard to an 1870s murder case. I'm not certain if Irish railway police would have worn "custodian's helmets" as their British railway police counterparts did.

[Galteemore]

13 minutes ago, cheesy_peas said:

Back in GS&WR days there were railway police, I have seen a reference to a company policeman with regard to an 1870s murder case. I'm not certain if Irish railway police would have worn "custodian's helmets" as their British railway police counterparts did.

That’s interesting. The last ‘railway policeman’ in Ireland retired as recently as 1983…..https://www.btphg.org.uk/?page_id=8045

[Mol_PMB]

Sorry for not responding properly before. I think 'SIDHE' looks excellent, well done in creating such a unique and attractive model  which is pretty much hewn from raw materials.

I sometimes find myself looking back critically on a completed model and thinking 'I wish I'd done xyz' but I'd bet no-one else would notice the minor shortcomings, and once it's placed in the cabinet or on the layout I'm happier to move on to the next challenge.

 

[Colonel]

Thanks Paul - have always seen it as a bit of fun, so keep telling myself not to get too precious and there are plenty of other projects in the pipeline.

 Equally, one of the many joys of this forum is how endlessly helpful folk are. Advice and info are always appreciated and every bit as much as kind comments.

[Colonel]

 While I will probably tinker a bit more with the pay train [the carriage windows need cleaning for one], have taken it as far as I want for now.

 The policeman has a dark green uniform, the loco has a new cab roof, while the rest of the work has been around wheel cleaning and testing. The latter involved a bit of fiddling - the pickups needed adjustment and the wheels were pretty paint splattered, but mostly I needed to find a way to connect the loco and coach electrically, to ensure a good length of track pick up.

 In the end used a chocolate block connector, epoxied to the underside of the coach, so I could run two wires from the motor to it, while still being able to separate for maintenance. Initially, running was a bit hesitant, but soon traced this to the trailing wheels on the loco being far too tight and the leading carriage wheels not touching the rails [!]. Eased the former and undid the nut on the draw bar a few turns for the latter and, fingers crossed, all is well. The combo runs nicely into Northport Quay's platform, though if I ever want to run it into the loop, it will need a longer drawbar. For now though I'm happy with it as it is.

 So, there we are. I'm going back to my 0 gauge cameo for my next projects, having a go at some buildings and scenery for a change. Speaking of 0 gauge, took the Battle of Britain pacific down the club last week and it seems mostly happy on the the main circuit, though It may be that the springing on the front bogie still needs attention. For now though I'm looking forward to doing some modelling that doesn't involve motive power!

 

[Tullygrainey]

Brilliantly quirky and, well just brilliant!

[Galteemore]

That’s just terrific. Really looks at home 

[Flying Snail]

It looks well in Northport Quay. Lovely model - really eye catching, and its been an enjoyable build to follow

[Colonel]

It's been a while, but [inspired by recent posts on loco building] it's time for something completely different - a Manning Wardle L Class 0-6-0T. I've no idea whether this class ever made it across the water, but hopefully there are folk out there who can tell us.

 In the meantime, this model starts as standard gauge - around 30 years ago in fact, when it became my first 7mm scale loco.

 Unfortunately, it never ran very well and as can be seen above, has spent much of its time malingering on the shelf and just occasionally being used to practice airbrushing and lining. I'd always intended that it should be restored to working order so, as can happen with such things, now seemed like as good a time as any. It's initially intended as another private loco for my East Anglian cameo layout, but am also intending to build a new, broad gauge chassis, so it can run on Northport Quay.

 There's plenty to do - not least removing about a millimetre of paint, stripping back to bare metal.  Thus far, it has taken three goes with Nitromores along with a lot of scrubbing and scraping, but more is still needed, while in doing so several bits have dropped off, including the front buffer beam...

 Most of this is cosmetic, but the real work is going to be on the chassis. As can be seen below, the coupling rods have disappeared, plus a couple of crank pins, while the old X04 type motor will be replaced with a High Level Road runner. I'm hoping to keep the wheels [though obviously will need a new set, plus second chassis] to go broad gauge. Curiously, when I first built it, the wheels were fouling the footplate, so for some reason, I decided to fit a couple of pieces of bull head rail on top of the chassis. It works, though I now find myself wondering if the wheels are too big. However, given that this is a pretty old kit - possibly an MTK 'El Crappo' [yes, really], I'm inclined to leave things as they are for this version, but will endeavour to make the broad gauge version  better.

 Made some new coupling rods this morning and the motor-gearbox has been dispatched so hopefully I can get a working chassis going soon. Plenty of other stuff to do, not least deciding on a suitable livery. Will have a look at the new Rapido models, to see if there is something to tempt me. That said, I ought to be going for something Irish, but which can also double up as a private loco this side of the water.

[Galteemore]

How lovely! Do I see a palimpsest of bow pen trials ? You could be in luck for NPQ….at least one MW 0-6-0T of 1888 date (within the L class build dates) was used to build the Burma Road section of the WLWR. Not a great leap to imagine it at Northport …..there’s even evidence that one MW 0-6-0 (possibly a different one to the above, built in 1891-ish) had the very Connaught name of Corrib. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Galteemore