Jump to content

GVS and Adelaide lookalike

Rate this topic


201bhoy

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...

As the Christmas holidays draw to a close,time for one last running session and a few photo's from the layout.The first photo has been taken from the top of the goods shed and shows the NIR DH shunter in charge of a ballast train,with the cut down open wagons.GM class B181 can be seen leaving the tunnel with the early morning Enterprise comprising of laminate and cravens stock,while sister loco B165 is shunting H vans and bubbles in the head shunt. B182 is taking a breather before marshalling another rake for return to Dundalk later.

 

DH ballast.jpg

 

The next photo is the same scene taken from the other side of the railway fence.

 

DH ballast 2.jpg

 

The final photo shows some of the various buses that run on the layout,passing the fortified RUC station.

 

Buses on GVSt.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

UTA ex GNR had, concurrently....

 

UTA green. Some railcars plain green ends, some wasp striped. Both versions of UTA crests.

UTA blue / cream; two variations with broad or narrow cream bands.

GNR navy and cream with overlaid UTA "red hand" crests.

NIR maroon and grey.

Carriage stock in GNR brown, UTA green, and post-'67, early NIR maroon with thin grey stripe.

CIE lighter green coaches

Black n tan coaches

Silver tin vans

Silver, green, black or black'n'tan CIE diesels, with the odd grey 121 thrown in.

Steam engines in lined UTA black or badly faded GNR blue, with of without GNR markings on tenders.

 

Freight stock - where does one start!

 

CIE - all grey, quite uniform. Brown hadn't started yet. Mostly (white*) snails, some tan and white roundels. UTA wagons had a mixture of (much darker) grey, many ex-GNR markings still, some bauxite brown (some ex GNR vans and ex-NCC (but not ex GNR) open wagons).

 

Red Inglis containers.

 

GREY CIE cement bubbles. Orange appeared about 1970/1, as far as I recall.

 

Doubtless more.......

 

The visiting CIE weedspray was painted black, but the chemicals had it heavily weathered (stained!) light grey over a lot of it. The crew coach was faded red and cream, leaving a pre-adolescent me to wonder if it was a re-gauged CDRJC coach!

 

(* Prior to about 1960, some snails painted on older wooden wagons were light green. Others, and all after that, were white).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the comments guys,much appreciated. Thanks JHB for your concise details on liveries from the period,at least I know where to find it for reference.Just one question re the crew coach,what date/years was the coach in red/cream.I have seen photo's of it on the CIE network in those colours,but have seen it in the teak type colour that I painted mine in behind a DH on NIR,which would have been after 1970.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There were two (at least), Hunslet. The red and cream one was one of the last two surviving W & L bogie coaches, the number of which escapes me at the moment. One more, former GSWR stock, was standard wagon brown. This was ex GSWR 837 of 1902, identical to the DCDR's preserved sister coach, 836 of the same year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There were two (at least), Hunslet. The red and cream one was one of the last two surviving W & L bogie coaches, the number of which escapes me at the moment. One more, former GSWR stock, was standard wagon brown. This was ex GSWR 837 of 1902, identical to the DCDR's preserved sister coach, 836 of the same year.

 

Thanks John,the model I done was based on the coach at Downpatrick to get the accurate profile,did not know there were other types! My teak colour may be a bit bright,but hey ho,I'm happy with it. Great info on all your threads,keep up the good work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Another scene from the 70s.Here we have two of the early GNR inspired railcars approaching the station in the twilight of their careers.BUT railcar No135 in NIR maroon/grey livery approaches platform 2,while AEC railcar No111 in the UTA inspired blue/cream livery approaches platform 1.Note the different window profiles between the 2 railcars.

 

In the street scene behind,a joint army/police checkpoint has been set up,with an NIR Rail Express Parcels van making its way through the checkpoint.These vans were used to transport parcels traffic between York Road and Great Victoria Street.

 

AEC and BUT.jpg

 

aerial view

 

AEC and BUT aeriel.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

A busy Saturday at Belfast Great Victoria Street has been captured with the arrival in platform 4 of B165 in charge of the shoppers special from Dublin.

 

B165 shopper special.jpg

 

Late afternoon and B165 is ready to return to Dublin with the shoppers and their bargain goodies from the North,here's hoping the customs officers are steaming after the rugby! An 80 class railcar driving trailer is ready to depart behind the shoppers special with a train for Portadown.

 

B165 front.jpg

 

The final view has caught a glimpse of A20 in platform 2 with the MK2 Enterprise set just recently arrived.

 

B165 overview.jpg

Edited by Hunslet 102
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great scenes there, was the "shoppers special" an actual train?

 

They certainly were Nelson and were even around in steam days.Depending on how each economy was doing,shoppers would go either way for bargains,although my memories from the 70s and 80s are from shoppers from the south coming north for bargains. In the early 80s, I had work friends from Balbriggan and Dublin who would come north in the train,get their bargains for their kids from places like Argos,drop them of at my house,go home in the train with nothing to declare and I would bring their goods down in the car a couple of weeks later!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They certainly were Nelson and were even around in steam days.Depending on how each economy was doing,shoppers would go either way for bargains,although my memories from the 70s and 80s are from shoppers from the south coming north for bargains. In the early 80s, I had work friends from Balbriggan and Dublin who would come north in the train,get their bargains for their kids from places like Argos,drop them of at my house,go home in the train with nothing to declare and I would bring their goods down in the car a couple of weeks later!

Never knew that, fantastic, thank you very much for filling me in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry, Hunslet, only saw your question now about 6111.

 

With no others, it isn't possible to have an AEC set as such on the DCDR, though in theory 6111 could be paired with a Park Royal done up as a driving trailer, like on the Waterford & Tramore. Laminate brake genny 3223 has already been converted as a push / pull car there and is used as such at times.

 

However, the restoration of 6111 is an extremely major task, unlikely to see the light of day for many, many years. It was acquired as a long term project. It has no engine or control gear, this having been removed a long time before CIE withdrew it. Therefore, once restored, practicalities may dictate that it is used - certainly initially - as a push / pull car or observation coach.

 

Even the bogies would require significant attention, and the bodywork will need little less than a total rebuild.

 

But at least it's saved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the comments guys and thanks for the detailed reply John re the AEC. Maybe one day I will see it in the flesh again,unlike many people,I have a real passion for the early generation railcars,they are as much a part of our Irish railway heritage as steam and the early diesels.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a real passion for the early generation railcars,they are as much a part of our Irish railway heritage as steam and the early diesels.

 

Totally agree. The late 50s and early 60s were the best period for motive power IMO, with steam still on the go, and all the early generation railcars in operation. Halcyon days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great scenes there, was the "shoppers special" an actual train?

 

Nelson

 

To add to Hunslet's reply, which covers 1970s - 80s.

 

In the 1960s. there was a weekly Shoppers Special from Dublin to Belfast (on a Wednesday, if memory serves - my copy of the WTT is buried at the moment). In 1963, it was hauled by No.85 or even No. 207, before she came North. I believe I saw both engines on the train.

 

There was a Southbound Tourist Train, complete with dining car (possibly even a KITCHEN Car) on Thursdays - run, I think, for patrons of the UTA Hotels, especially the Laharna at Larne. Now that would have been hauled by one the the UTA's Class VS - No.58 (208) or No.59 (210) until maybe 1963. In 1964, I am fairly certain that it was Class WT hauled.

 

I had my last run with No.207 in July 1965 on a Thursday summer extra to Dublin, but I think it was deemed to be a "Board Excursion" that is an extra run by the UTA at a special fare to encourage leisure traffic.

 

Leslie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry, Hunslet, only saw your question now about 6111.

 

With no others, it isn't possible to have an AEC set as such on the DCDR, though in theory 6111 could be paired with a Park Royal done up as a driving trailer, like on the Waterford & Tramore. Laminate brake genny 3223 has already been converted as a push / pull car there and is used as such at times.

 

However, the restoration of 6111 is an extremely major task, unlikely to see the light of day for many, many years. It was acquired as a long term project. It has no engine or control gear, this having been removed a long time before CIE withdrew it. Therefore, once restored, practicalities may dictate that it is used - certainly initially - as a push / pull car or observation coach.

 

Even the bogies would require significant attention, and the bodywork will need little less than a total rebuild.

 

But at least it's saved.

 

John

 

Interesting about the early railcars and with hindsight, it's s pity they all went. Of course, we hated them in the '60s - they were doing work our beloved blue (and black) engines could have been doing.

 

Several RPSI coaches were former BUT trailers, but not AECs? Maybe a K15, of which the Society has several.

 

My London based "Syndicate" bought 737 (or was it 727) which had had a driving position.

 

I can't find my copy of 40 Shades, in the bookshelves, otherwise I would be more certain! I'm sure you know? Maybe you should ask them for a couple - after all "we" can't run them any more?

 

Leslie

 

PS Of course, I have a AEC set upstairs and my BUT is being digitised as I type!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

 

Several RPSI coaches were former BUT trailers, but not AECs?

 

By the time the AECs were retired in the 70s they had been used to the very best of their abilities.They were in poor internal and external shape and were considered obsolete.However 4 sets survived doing the odd shuttle showing GNR engineers knew what they were doing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 1980s survivors were actually ex-CIE; all former GNR stuff had gone. But they were the same as the GNR ones, some of which wen to CIE to join their own, other to UTA / later NIR. The last of the GNR ones on NIR ended their days as railcars after the 80 class were introduced in 1974. A few were temporarily converted to loco hauled parcels vans but following the withdrawal of mail from NIR not long after, they were withdrawn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use