Dugort Harbour

[jhb171achill]

“Why’s there a coach on the goods train?”

”It’s the IRRS group. They’ll get a bus on to Killarney later….”

Edited September 22, 2022 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

Autumn 1964, and a Knock pilgrimage special pulls away from Dugort Harbour at 7 a.m. 

No dining car, so it’ll be hang sangwidges in brown paper and flasks of tea all the way up to Claremorris.

Edited September 29, 2022 by jhb171achill

[Rob]

Looks great-  very authentic 'rural' look to it

[Noel]

On 28/9/2022 at 5:51 PM, jhb171achill said:

Autumn 1964, and a Knock pilgrimage special pulls away from Dugort Harbour at 7 a.m. 

No dining car, so it’ll be hang sangwidges in brown paper and flasks of tea all the way up to Claremorris.

Glorious perfection.

[jhb171achill]

Summer 1958, and the 11:40 morning mixed leaves Dugort Harbour for Castletown West with J15 No. 134, while sister loco 195 awaits its next duty on the goods.

 

"G2" No. 650 reposes in the loco siding at Dugort Harbour after bringing the goods train in on a bright day in 1959.

Modelling note: all three locos were initially painted grey - this shows how comprehensive weathering makes them LOOK black, as in so many photos!

[Westcorkrailway]

25 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

Summer 1958, and the 11:40 morning mixed leaves Dugort Harbour for Castletown West with J15 No. 134, while sister loco 195 awaits its next duty on the goods.

 

"G2" No. 650 reposes in the loco siding at Dugort Harbour after bringing the goods train in on a bright day in 1959.

Modelling note: all three locos were initially painted grey - this shows how comprehensive weathering makes them LOOK black, as in so many photos!

 

this zoomed in screenshot of one from Ernie’s flicker page shows the difference between how the look in colour photos covered in grime, and what the livery actually looked like underneath that paint 

 

 

[Dempsey]

Beautiful weathering

[jhb171achill]

4 hours ago, Dempsey said:

Beautiful weathering

You might know the “weatherer”…….

[jhb171achill]

Market day, so an extra coach on the passenger train tonight, here hurrying away from Dugort Harbour behind B165.

Well, “tonight” in 1965, that is.

[John-r]

Really lovely layout, the weathering is also superb.

[jhb171achill]

39 minutes ago, John-r said:

Really lovely layout, the weathering is also superb.

Thank you, much appreciated. Once the backscenes are proper ones, rather than creased bits of paper, it will improve that aspect of it! I'm hoping to get a good bit more scenic work done tomorrow on the non-sceneried area of the layout.

[jhb171achill]

Back to 1947, and sure you never know what carriages will turn up on market day in remote areas….

Both of these are off-the-shelf. The one on the left, now repainted 1950s CIE green, but as yet unlined and numbered, is sufficiently GSWR-esque to grace a layout which is supposed to be somwehere in West Kerry. I toyed with removing the clerestorey roof and putting a conventional one on it, but it was more trouble than it was worth - these things are really only a stop-gap until (sez he hopefully) some suitably Irish models appear - either completed kits or bought items. The original model was LMS, with the lining and panelling PRINTED on, so once repainted the sides are smooth.

However, CIE actually DID do this to many old coaches in the early 1950s. Old beading disappeared under steel or aluminium sheeting, so such a transformationj is entirely plausible.

The coach on the right is a SECR rebuilt 48ft vehicle, common at one time in the south of England, and again a common off-the-shelf model. With poor eyesight, poor light, and a 7-ft rule, it's just about acceptable as a 1915-25 era MGWR bogie, given the roof profile and windows. The brake van ducket, however, is no more MGWR than Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's right foot is, so that will have to be covered over by a "proper" one. That's if I see it as being worth the while - maybe I'll just leave it.

This coach is in a British maroon livery right now, and would look a lot better if repainted in CIE green - or even black'n'tan, as a handful of MGWR bogies were repainted thus in their very last few years about 1963-5. However, the windows are hard to get out for repainting - I had not anticipated this - so another possibility is to leave it maroon, and weather it within an inch of its life to represent a vehicle in the early 50s still one of the very last with dilapidated GSR livery, for when I'm operating with an all-steam roster. The 1945-early 50s period would have still seen the odd maroon vehicle mixed in with CIE green, just as the 1960s saw CIE green lasting in decreasing numbers into the "black'n'tan" era.

For now, a black and white image does the trick.

Edited October 26, 2022 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

.

This is what it looks like at present.

At the very least, it will get a dark grey roof.

 

[jhb171achill]

Steam still ruled the roost on fair days anyway at Dugort Harbour in 1960…..

[jhb171achill]

A good deal of work done today. I made some progress on scenery, while my Learned Friend continued with the electronics. The scenery starts with the base painted a dark turf-like colour, which will have various  bits lightened when dry. Real sieved soil (from the turfy west, of course) was added in places to create a gravelly background; this will be fixed once track ballast is down, with diluted PVA glue. Then vegetation.

Right now it looks a bit of a mess, but it’s heading the way it ought to be.

Meanwhile, points are being wired to a temporary control board at Castletown West, with loco and rolling stock trials taking place. Onwards and upwards……

Castletown West station is tonight under an engineers possession. Bus transfers are in place between there and Killarney.

[David Holman]

The scenery is already looking somehow very good to me. That uneven (post glacial?), surface really looks the part.

[jhb171achill]

3 hours ago, David Holman said:

The scenery is already looking somehow very good to me. That uneven (post glacial?), surface really looks the part.

That’s the plan, David. I want to borrow one of those static grass things soon - hardly worth buying one as I’ll never use it again.

A question for you, though, as I’ve always found your scenic detail hugely inspiring: that gravelly stuff (from a roadside beside a turf bog on Achill Island) is lying loose just now. I need to secure it, but I don’t want it to look shiny, e.g. with varnish. I want it to look natural. I am aware that a light spray of diluted pva should do this.

So, should I do this and then add grass or put the grass on first and then spray?

 

[jhb171achill]

Looking over the scenic base with a critical eye through black & white; I find that this tends to show up things needing more attention.

[David Holman]

Doing b&w photos as a bit of proof reading is a fine idea and one to remember.

As for the rocks and stones, generally they were there before the foliage, so would put them in first. I'd be tempted to paint undiluted pva on the surface and then place/scatter the stones and gravel on that. The pva will dry shiny, but this will then get hidden under the foliage.

 Static grass machines are great fun and therefore worth experimenting with different lengths of fibres according to pictures you are using. Liquid sunshine makes Irish grass fairly bright green, but find that keeping tones a bit more muted is effective and in the boggy areas there may be more yellowy/lighter tones anyway. Spread pva over an area of about 10x20cm, push a small nail into the scenery and clip the grass machine to that, then do the fibres. Repeat as required, vacuuming up loose fibres after a few minutes [hanky over the nozzle to minimise waste] - this also helps the fibres to stand up a bit more.

 To turn plain grass into other plants, next day, I dip a finger into pva and then lightly run it over the tops of the grass, on to which you can then sprinkle different colours of fine crumb.

 Works a treat and is very satisfying. You can also use spray mount over previously sown grass and use the static machine again to make longer growth.

 All very addictive, so don't be surprised if you find a static grass machine soon appears on your Christmas list!

[jhb171achill]

On 28/10/2022 at 8:21 PM, David Holman said:

Doing b&w photos as a bit of proof reading is a fine idea and one to remember.

As for the rocks and stones, generally they were there before the foliage, so would put them in first. I'd be tempted to paint undiluted pva on the surface and then place/scatter the stones and gravel on that. The pva will dry shiny, but this will then get hidden under the foliage.

 Static grass machines are great fun and therefore worth experimenting with different lengths of fibres according to pictures you are using. Liquid sunshine makes Irish grass fairly bright green, but find that keeping tones a bit more muted is effective and in the boggy areas there may be more yellowy/lighter tones anyway. Spread pva over an area of about 10x20cm, push a small nail into the scenery and clip the grass machine to that, then do the fibres. Repeat as required, vacuuming up loose fibres after a few minutes [hanky over the nozzle to minimise waste] - this also helps the fibres to stand up a bit more.

 To turn plain grass into other plants, next day, I dip a finger into pva and then lightly run it over the tops of the grass, on to which you can then sprinkle different colours of fine crumb.

 Works a treat and is very satisfying. You can also use spray mount over previously sown grass and use the static machine again to make longer growth.

 All very addictive, so don't be surprised if you find a static grass machine soon appears on your Christmas list!

On a point you make, the pva drying with a shiny effect - is this suitable for making the gravelly area look wet?

[David Holman]

Indeed - though varnish will do the same.

[jhb171achill]

The late afternoon branch passenger train hurries through the boglands towards Castletown West on a gloomy evening in 1974.

Scenery is now ready for grass, weeds and overgrown stone wall boundaries.

The gritty dirt is dried out and washed turfy, sandy soil from Achill Island.

Edited November 10, 2022 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

Autumn 1958, and 472 brings the late mixed train into Castletown West, against the backdrop of a spectacular sunset.

[Tullygrainey]

Love the way the light is catching the carriage windows

[jhb171achill]

Castletown West continues to be tested. Scenery is a good way off yet, but we'll get there. Some of the resident locos to be seen here. The plastic platforms are off an old layout and are only there to establish where exactly to put permanent ones.

[Rush and Lusk]

The weathering on A30 & A42 is spectacular.   

[jhb171achill]

18 minutes ago, Rush and Lusk said:

The weathering on A30 & A42 is spectacular.   

That was done by Dempsey, of this parish.

Everything I possess was weathered either by Dempsey or the equally talented Kevin McIntosh of Bray.

[leslie10646]

29 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

That was done by Dempsey, of this parish.

Everything I possess was weathered either by Dempsey or the equally talented Kevin McIntosh of Bray.

WHAAATTT!!!

You're dirtying my lovely wagons?

Didn't you read the conditions of sale?

[jhb171achill]

48 minutes ago, leslie10646 said:

WHAAATTT!!!

You're dirtying my lovely wagons?

Didn't you read the conditions of sale?

See above pics!!!  

 

[jhb171achill]

1958, and 472 eases away with the mid day mixed to Castletown West.

[jhb171achill]

Shunting at Dugort on a sunny day in 1966…..

 

Cloudy the following day as B141 brings the morning passenger train across the remote Lettermore Bog en route to Castletown West. On the approach, a recently withdrawn GSWR bogie rests in the old cattle siding.

 

Edited November 17, 2022 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

Once a week, the loco and coach of the branch mixed train swop, to go to Tralee for servicing. Here, one day in 1964, B165 and the branch brake standard leave Dugort Harbour on the up midday mixed. Three empty goods vans accompany them. They will cross the down train in half an hour, which hurries across the bog later that day with what will be the branch train next week - B141 and a Park Royal and van. The goods van on this train contains soap powder, bags of grain, groceries, a new furniture suite and a box of parts for a radio mast on a fishing boat. The three empty cattle trucks are to go to Kenmare for tomorrow's fair day. The opportunity is also taken to bring a new tanker of diesel down to the harbour for the fuel store there, which CIE use for the lorry and bus based there.

Edited November 28, 2022 by jhb171achill

[derek]

Jhb, do you mind telling me what colour/type of paints you used on the little arched  bridge, and surrounding walls. Constructing a stone bridge at the moment and that,s the look I,m after. Thanks. Layout is amazing by the way

[GNRi1959]

Some amazing scenes here JB

 

[jhb171achill]

3 hours ago, derek said:

Jhb, do you mind telling me what colour/type of paints you used on the little arched  bridge, and surrounding walls. Constructing a stone bridge at the moment and that,s the look I,m after. Thanks. Layout is amazing by the way

Derek

Thank you for your comments - much appreciated. That bridge was made by Kevin McIntosh, for whom I have some questions myself regarding my ongoing efforts to extend the scenic part to something like his standard. I think it is just random washes of light grey, but I will add your question to several others I'm asking him anyway and report back here. Still a great deal to be done!