GNR T2 Revival

[Patrick Davey]

Absolutely delighted to receive a selection of photos from master model maker Colm Flanagan, showing the amazing restoration work he has done on an old Studio Scale Models brass kit of a GNR T2 loco. Here are 'before' and 'after' views - can't wait to give this girl a layout to work on, in the company of her OO Works colleagues! Many thanks to Colm for the great job!

[GNRi1959]

Great looking job!

[Patrick Davey]

Thanks Tony! She could make a visit to Omagh North in the future! I drove through Omagh this evening and was thinking about your layout project - am watching it with interest!

[GNRi1959]

You could have stopped off indeed. Today I cleared the site of my old shed and am in the process of pricing the timber to build a new one. This is where the new layout will be housed so I've got to consider good quality materials including insulation. In the meantime, Omagh North is no more, track lifted, everything boxed away for a new beginning. No doubt, the Bangor show will give me plenty in inspiration. Where do you live?

[leslie10646]

Super little engines, Patrick. As the Armagh trains often had them at the front, I've got TWO - built about fifteen years ago by an unknown English builder.

 

I have resurrected mine by putting a Stay Alive chip in it and despite the short wheelbase, she now runs well, even on MY track. Believe it or not, I've still got to number her. I had a trip behind one back to Richhill from Portadown with my grandmother in the 1950s, but which one?

 

Readers will be aware that the T Tank is in effect a U Class with tanks!

 

Leslie

[WRENNEIRE]

I had a trip behind one back to Richhill from Portadown with my grandmother in the 1950s, but which one?

 

How many Grandmothers did you have Leslie?

[DiveController]

Readers will be aware that the T Tank is in effect a U Class with tanks!

Leslie

Although they were related chronologically and by design, with my limited knowledge of the GNR I had forgotten that. They outwardly are so dissimilar to the U which lost its tanks, was shortened then lengthened by the addition of a tender. The T1/T2s never received the beautiful sky blue livery of the express passengers locos, being confined to shorter suburban workings for the most part. In terms of era they contemporaries of the U class, whereas the UGs did not appear for 2 decades after the U class.

 

Lovely model, Patrick!

[jhb171achill]

It's always easy to forget these days that the vast majority of GNR locos were in fact black, not blue!

[Mayner]

I came across a pair of part built T2s at a swapmeet in the UK about 20 years ago. Both were built to 21mm gauge to S4 standards and were non-runners. I re-gauged the locos to OO and passed the locos on to the MRSI Dundalk Works group.

 

On of the locos was finished in plain matt black not unlike the loco in the "before" photo.

 

Mechanically the locos were quite different one was an early version of the kit with the MK1 brass chassis which was basically an 0-6-0 with the leading bogie pivoted directly off the body.

 

The second had the stronger nickel silver MK2 chassis which was a more conventional 4-4-2 chassis with the bogie and pony truck pivoted to the chassis. The MK2 chassis was available separately and advertised as suitable for a U Class 4-4-0.

 

Both locos had Anchorage DS10 open frame motors flywheels and Branch Lines 2 stage reduction boxes which gave excellent low speed torque and a reasonably slow top speed, but had different gear ratios so could not speed match

 

Both took a bit of subterfuge to convert to OO and get to run round 2' radius curves.

[Weshty]

Cracking restoration there Patrick, and a wealth of good technical info from the others.

[Patrick Davey]

Thanks everyone, yip, top job by Colm - am collecting the loco tomorrow so will post more pics.

[DiveController]

Thanks everyone, yip, top job by Colm - am collecting the loco tomorrow so will post more pics.

Please. Looking forward to it

[leslie10646]

I had a trip behind one back to Richhill from Portadown with my grandmother in the 1950s, but which one?

 

How many Grandmothers did you have Leslie?

 

Nice one, David - very bad construction of my sentence.

 

 

My English teacher would have given me the slipper!

 

As John says, we do tend to forget that most GN locos were, in fact, black. But even black ones, with mahogany coaches, look terrific. As for blue with mahogany - better than xxx!!!!!

 

Leslie

[Patrick Davey]

Please. Looking forward to it

 

As promised! I think she looks superb! Fantastic job by Colm Flanagan.

 

[Weshty]

Mmmmmmmm.

[DiveController]

As promised! I think she looks superb! Fantastic job by Colm Flanagan.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]27637[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]27638[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]27639[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]27640[/ATTACH]

Very nice indeed!