The official Irish" Conversion" thread

[GSR 800]

A thread to assist those who are looking for RTR stock that could be converted to look more like the Irish stuff.

To start off,

My favourites, the 800s. The Royal Scot class/patriot class are the ideal locos for conversion. I'm sure Des would supply you with nameplates and number plates.

Another,very easy one is the woolwich moguls,get an N class, repainted, few little alterations and away you go.

[GSR 800]

Another one, the SR M7 0-4-4 to the GSR/CIE E1 class

[jhb171achill]

Various Hornby / Bachmann 0.6.0 tender engines can be botched up to look like passable GSR / CIE types, usually by simply doctoring the cab! A coat of grey paint and they'd look quite convincing.

 

Many British coaches can be repainted to look vaguely Irish, particularly more modern ones like Mk 2 and Mk 3. BR Mk 1 brakes can be very easily converted to genny vans.

[GSR 800]

The SR Schools class is fairly close to a GNR VS class

[jhb171achill]

The LMS "Jinty" can be made into an NCC Y class - same engine! Belfast had two of them, but they'd be only of use on a layout based on the Belfast docks area...

 

"Ordinary" four wheeled open wagons and some LMS or BR covered vans are close enough to many Irish equivalents, NCC, GNR or CIE. Certain tank ways so, likewise.

 

Guards vans are another matter - few British ones looked much like any standard Irish ones. Forget about railcars too!

[GSR 800]

What would be a good one for a 400 class?

[GSR 800]

railcars

 

Ohh b*****x!

[jhb171achill]

A 400 class? Not sure - probably some British 4.6.0 which might be suitable for a change rough alteration?

 

But I'm not sure that this is the right way. Models suitable for "amendment" ("re-education"?) are expensive and it's a pity to cut them up unless a very realistic Irish model will result. Scratchbuilding may be better in many, if not most cases.

[minister_for_hardship]

Off top of my head, may suit then again may required a hell of a lot of cut & shut..

 

LNER Sentinel-GSR Sentinel railcar

http://www.mremag.com/index.php/news/342-lnerrailcarreintro

 

LBSCR terrier-GSWR 90 or sister locos.

 

L&YR 2-4-2T-WL&WR/GS&WR/C&MDR 2-4-2T

 

Wainwright C - WL&WR or MGWR 0-6-0?

 

GWR Star - 400 class?

 

New Hornby Peckett-Allman's/GSR/CIE Peckett

[GSR 800]

 

 

 

GWR Star - 400 class?

 

That is what Watson based the 400 class on, obviously, as you said major modifications would have to be made ( walshearts valve gear, split footplate etc..) times like these a Mr. C Flanagan would be very helpful...

[roxyguy]

Few obvious ones . .

 

Roco V65 - K Class

Bach/Hornby Class 08 - D Class

 

Can anyone tell me are hornby pullmans reasonable as Irish pullmans??

[WRENNEIRE]

The matchstick Pullman's are ideal

Pullman's were originally leased from the Pullman Company complete with Porter

Edited January 7, 2016 by WRENNEIRE

[roxyguy]

Cheers, must get me some and spray them green:D

 

Another one - hornby 2 axle timber wagon? suitable for an Irish layout?

[jhb171achill]

The Irish Pullmans had vertical matchboard panelling below window level. If you get a British one with smooth sides, these might be scored on. The Irish ones, too, were built to the Irish loading gauge.

 

Initially, they were in GSR maroon, but at least one - likely all three - also carried the short lived brown and cream with black lining for a time. They ended up in the darker CIE green (as on buses and green steam engines). They never had the light green.

[roxyguy]

Thanks for that. I reckon they'd look great behind an 800 or the like.

 

Has anyone any pics of the Irish pullmans???

[jhb171achill]

There's a pic of a line of derelict carriages at Naas, amongst which there's one - in one of those hard-backed colour albums produced a few years ago. I've seen pics in the IRRS - never, it has to be said, a good detailed one.

 

In these days of uniform rakes of carriages, it's important for modellers to be aware that prior to the "supertrains", hardly any two carriages we're alike in a typical train. Pullman cars (of which there were only three) ran singly in different trains. I've never even seen a pic of even two together, and there weren't enough in existence to make a whole main line rake anyway. So in the pre-mass-produced-laminate days in the late 40s to mid 50s, you'd have a train made up of a mix of Bredins, early steel-sided CIE stock, wooden coaches of both bogie and six-wheel type, from GSWR, MGWR and DSER, and a single Pullman stuck in the middle.

Edited January 7, 2016 by jhb171achill

[Broithe]

A previous Pullman discussion - http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/1616-pullmans?p=24602&viewfull=1#post24602 .

 

 

..and, from a previous existence.. -http://irishrailwaymodeller.yuku.com/topic/555/Irish-Pullman#.Vo5nmbaLRpg

[roxyguy]

Cheers for that, means I'll only buy one or two on the ebay so:) Did the dark green pullman carry white stripes or a snail I wonder??

[roxyguy]

Sorry, just saw that previous thread. All questions now answered! Thanks

[jhb171achill]

In the CIE livery, yes, they would have had a light green stope above and below window level. The stroke above window level was thicker than the one below - the reverse of those RTR (is it Hornby or Bachmann?) repainted LMS coaches that you can buy. Nothing in CIE green, of either light or dark shade, ever had white (or yellow) stripes, numerals or snails - they were all a light green colour.

 

With matchboarded sides, I don't know if the Pullmans had snails. They certainly had no Pullman markings, as Pullman travel, as a distinct entity, was ancient history by 1945 when CIE was formed. The word "Pullman" disappeared after a comparatively short time in GSR days.

 

Jhb171 senior recalled that when brand new, in maroon, they had "GREAT SOUTHERN PULLMAN" above window level in standard GSR coach lettering (gold shaded red and black). Later, possibly when repainted brown and cream they had just "PULLMAN". Once painted green, just plain standard CIE coach livery.

[RedRich]

Cheers, must get me some and spray them green:D

 

Another one - hornby 2 axle timber wagon? suitable for an Irish layout?

 

If it is the OTA wagon then no it is nothing like ours.

 

Rich,

[David Holman]

Having been pondering what is available in 7mm scale, where am thinking the net needs to be expanded to include kits, as RTR is not as extensive. Indeed the only RTRs I can think of might be the recent crop of industrials from Ixion, though there have also been two versions of the LNER Sentinels, for anyone interested in doing the Limerick Market branch! The usual Woolwich moguls, Jinty etc of course available as standard gauge kits, so like 4mm could be adapted for anyone interested.

Despite suggestions in the 'Modelling Irish Railways' book, then only wagon [from unfitted, loose coupled days] would be the Slater's petrol tank, which did make the transfer, though needed buffers moving out, as well as wheels, of course. Would be interested to know of any other options.

[minister_for_hardship]

 

With matchboarded sides, I don't know if the Pullmans had snails. They certainly had no Pullman markings, as Pullman travel, as a distinct entity, was ancient history by 1945 when CIE was formed. The word "Pullman" disappeared after a comparatively short time in GSR days.

 

 

With matchboarded coaches it would be difficult to apply a decal, unless you did what the West Clare did in pre-GSR days, mount it on a flat board fixed to the coach sides.

[Riversuir226]

With matchboarded coaches it would be difficult to apply a decal, unless you did what the West Clare did in pre-GSR days, mount it on a flat board fixed to the coach sides.

 

No it's not, a little decal setting solution makes it quite easy to do.

[Riversuir226]

Hornby freightliner wagon is a good basis for pw material wagons, timber bogies & 60ft container wagons just need to upgrade the bogies and add bufferbeams plus buffers. With careful cutting etc 47ft container wagons can be made too.

Dapol Kqa's make good donors for pocket wagons although strictly speaking they would also need new bogies and be stretched in length.

Dapol prestwin kit chassis have been used for a lot of 2 axle wagon types spoil, cement, ballast etc. Dapol tank kits for cie tankers.

[jhb171achill]

I suspect that the ex-Pullmans did not have "snails", actually, as one picture I have showing one in the distance doesn't seem to show one. That said, the coach is withdrawn in the photo and the paint is old and peeling so I can't be certain. With matchboard, I doubt it.

[GSR 800]

GWR dean goods 0-6-0 can be made into a J15

[GSR 800]

Have looked around the workbench thread. "Scots Mac" made a pair of 400s out of SR King Arthur's. His thread is a wonder for conversions..

[GSR 800]

http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/2721-Scots-Mac-s-workbench

[GSR 800]

Started this a week ago, from a Hornby King Arthur...no.402. Might put her in the CIE green. The chassis were very poor, so I will give her a more modern one.

[roxyguy]

Any thoughts on converting a patriott class to a 800 or a class 400. The mainline ones are going cheap on the bay. Are they any good? ringfield motor?

[jhb171achill]

I can't speak for the motor, but I'd say you could do a reasonable approximation with one of those. The chassis might do for a 400 or 500 class also, if connecting rod differences were not a huge deal.

 

Given that a pre 1960 layout based on the Cork line would need 400s,500s and "Woolwiches", (three 800's couldn't handle ALL the traffic!) it would be good to see a decent kit of them.

[roxyguy]

Cheers for that. Think I'll chance one. They seem to be going for about 35 sterling.

[murrayec]

Hi Guys

 

I noticed a post regarding the OTA timber wagons above and thought I would share this;

 

Closetmodeller bought 4 OTA timber wagons for his Greystones layout and I'm commissioned to convert them to more like Irish, I know there going to be a bit short but this is what we have to work with;-

 

This is the chassis stripped down and being sized up to take the Bachmann Y25 bogies, basically all the break stuff and the mouldings along the sides has been cut off- eventually a C channel will be stuck along the sides under the uprights of the log cradle to hide all. The existing bogies will be trimmed down to take the Y25 which will be clued on- this retains the coupler sockets.

 

This is a shot of the plastic cast uprights to make the log cradles, there will be 7 uprights as opposed to the Irish 10 or more- if one wanted the exact length the chassis could be cut and extended.

 

The ends will have some extra ribbing attached, a little white ladder, and a few white handrails, and I plan to paint the whole thing with Lowe rust paint....

 

Eoin

Edited February 3, 2016 by murrayec

[WRENNEIRE]

I'm not going to ask what the Vaseline is for just because you live on your own.....