Dugort Harbour

[jhb171achill]

4 hours ago, Colonel said:

Came out a couple of years after I made mine. Of course...

... and have  made the SL& NCR one in 7mm too.

 JB is right in that a 7mm scale, minimum space model railway could certainly be built around a railbus. Keep it to just a working diorama, with a single line and no points and you could do it in less than a metre. Go along the Iain Rice cameo route and a loop plus two sidings and fiddle yard need 10' 9" in old money - at least that's how long Northport Quay is.

And Northport Quay is a masterpiece, packing more interest in than many a layout ten times its size. I have a small leftover baseboard, probably about four feet long, five at most, and wide enough for a platform and three tracks side by side, or a platform, two tracks spaced out a bit more to give an illusion of space. It could be operated lioke Fintona - the railbus going back and forth, and a steam loco BACKING two or three goods vans in or out. Just about anough room to shunt. 

Alternatively, something like the photos shown recently here of Ardnacrusha (but without a model power station the size of the No. 42 bus), the railbus bringing workers in and out each day; or Kilmokea in South Wexford and a makeshift platform for the same use, the excuse for goods being a beet siding. But I'd need an 0 gauge J15 or 141 for that!

Fintona-type thing like this;

Meant to add - the yellow siding shown is what COULD fit on the small baseboard I have if I didn't have the loading bank, but I think it would make the whole thing far too cluttered looking.

Edited February 20 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

On 18/2/2026 at 7:41 PM, Mol_PMB said:

I've not seen one of those in CIE livery before! It looks the part though, somewhere between railbus 2508 and railcar 2509.

 

It's 2508 1/2 ......

[Mol_PMB]

11 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

It's 2508 1/2 ......

Lucky for you it's not 2509 3/4, because the Harry Potter bus would be foul of the loading gauge.

[jhb171achill]

“It’s a J, must be 115, yer man O’Neill from Tralee was driving. She’s across the loop points at Glengarriff, so we need to unload this lot outta the van and send it by road….”

”What, the whole way in a lorry?”

”No, Ned drives it up to Rathmore and loads it on the up goods…. line won’t be open till they get the Cork breakdown crane….” 

[jhb171achill]

“Uncle Mick! What’s in them boxes?”

[Mol_PMB]

36 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

“Uncle Mick! What’s in them boxes?”

Never you mind, lad! And if anyone asks about a consignment of beer that went missing in County Down last week, you know nothing!

 

[Tullygrainey]

5 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

Never you mind, lad! And if anyone asks about a consignment of beer that went missing in County Down last week, you know nothing!

 

Ye daren't turn yer back for a minute these days. They'd have the eye outa yer head, some of them. It's why we've got a tarpaulin over the load now. Oh, yeah, and the keys aren't in the lorry...

[Broithe]

8 minutes ago, Tullygrainey said:

 Oh, yeah, and the keys aren't in the lorry...

The Guards here took to Facebook last week, warning people about leaving keys available.

I was going to post this picture and say that I have never been so tempted to nick a car in my whole life - and what would they have chased after me with..?

 

[Horsetan]

49 minutes ago, Broithe said:

The Guards here took to Facebook last week, warning people about leaving keys available.

I was going to post this picture and say that I have never been so tempted to nick a car in my whole life - and what would they have chased after me with..?

 

Have you joined the Lucky Dip Gang?

[jhb171achill]

Spotted during shunting procedures on the day before All-Ireland semi-final day in 1973 at Dugort Harbour, A23R assembles a special train prior to a very early departure the following morning from West Kerry to Connolly Station. An Irish Freight Models Park Royal is behind the loco on the middle road, and a new IRM one sits at the platform. 

No issues on curves - although - I’ve two IFM ones and one bogie on one of them isn’t keen on one curve!

All in all, the IRM one is truly a whole new level in excellence. Absolutely stunning model. 

Edited June 26 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

On a late summer evening in 1966, B165 leaves Dugort Harbour light, having earlier brought in a single fuel tanker for fuel for the adjacent CIE bus yard. 

Edited July 1 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

A little known fact is that shortly before No. 800 went to the Belfast Transport Museum, it was sent to Dugort Harbour for temporary storage, where naturally it derailed, blocking the goods yard. 

Locals turn out to witness the spectacle on a summer Saturday in 1963. The Castletown local about to depart in the background has fewer people than this aboard. 

Eventually rescued by a wheezing Crossley, it derails twice on its way back to Mallow. 

Harsh words are uttered in Cork, Mallow signal cabin and Inchicore….

[west_clare_wanderer]

Lovely to see some new postcards from Dugort Harbour. It's always inspirational stuff

[Horsetan]

On 1/7/2026 at 11:33 PM, jhb171achill said:

On a late summer evening in 1966, B165 leaves Dugort Harbour light, having earlier brought in a single fuel tanker for fuel for the adjacent CIE bus yard. 

I see the signal lamp hasn't been lit....probably no need as there's no night services.

[jhb171achill]

9 hours ago, Horsetan said:

I see the signal lamp hasn't been lit....probably no need as there's no night services.

That signal needs to be replaced - it was never right in the first place! 

[jhb171achill]

It’s mid-1965, and one of the last Park Royals to remain in green has emerged from the paint shop in Inchicore only two days earlier, and is still pristine. It is seen here as part of the fair day afternoon train from Dugort Harbour to Castletown West, in the company of B165.

[west_clare_wanderer]

On 17/7/2026 at 11:03 PM, jhb171achill said:

It’s mid-1965, and one of the last Park Royals to remain in green has emerged from the paint shop in Inchicore only two days earlier, and is still pristine. It is seen here as part of the fair day afternoon train from Dugort Harbour to Castletown West, in the company of B165.

Superb photos as always. Just so evocative. 

I expect some of the residents of Dugort are catching the train to the All Ireland this weekend to support Kerry! (well if we are messing with the space-time continuum!!)

[jhb171achill]

5 hours ago, west_clare_wanderer said:

Superb photos as always. Just so evocative. 

I expect some of the residents of Dugort are catching the train to the All Ireland this weekend to support Kerry! (well if we are messing with the space-time continuum!!)

They'd be regulars at Croker!

[jhb171achill]

Almost finished; these bits (roof, body & chassis) just need to be painted & bolted together. Mid-50s lighter green with stripe, fairly heavily weathered, as still to be seen 5 or 6 years into the black’n’tan era. 

[jhb171achill]

A question for all you brass-heads out there from an utter novice; My learned instructor advises me on the importance of keeping things clean with the fibre pen to prevent oxidisation or whatever that process is called, in advance of painting.

But no fibre pen will get into the tiniest nooks and crannies, nor even some bigger ones. Is there some sort of stuff I can paint the whole thing in, before FINAL painting? And, can it be got in Ireland without selling the car, one limb, my neighbour's car, the dog and my pension fund to pay the import postage and charges for?

[Mol_PMB]

I would say that paint may actually adhere better to a slightly oxidised surface, but you need to mechanically remove lumpy bits and dust/filings, while you also need to chemically remove traces of grease, flux etc. 

Various options which can do one or both of these include:

• Mini sand-blaster
• Ultrasonic cleaning bath (various liquids can be used, including water/detergent/soda crystals, or IPA.)
• Toothbrush and detergent
• Etch primer
• Coca-cola or HP sauce (!)

Whether any of these are available in Ireland I can't say.

See what others say.

[jhb171achill]

2 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

I would say that paint may actually adhere better to a slightly oxidised surface, but you need to mechanically remove lumpy bits and dust/filings, while you also need to chemically remove traces of grease, flux etc. 

Various options which can do one or both of these include:

• Mini sand-blaster
• Ultrasonic cleaning bath (various liquids can be used, including water/detergent/soda crystals, or IPA.)
• Toothbrush and detergent
• Etch primer
• Coca-cola or HP sauce (!)

Whether any of these are available in Ireland I can't say.

See what others say.

Never thought of coca-cola!! I've all the flux off, so that bit's ok, plus a couple of small extraneous lumps. It's actually fairly clean, but just wanted to be sure. I've a few bits still to add underneath the chassis, then good to go. I got a spray can of etch primer.  I've a (brass) parcels van and a couple of plastic repaints to do, so i will probably do the lot together. All will be green, either original dark with lining, or later lighter shade. I think I've enough black'n'tan at this stage, plus a layout set in the 1962-6 period would have as much green behind locomotives as it would BnT!

[Angus]

A quick wash in a limescale remover (I used Tesco's own brand) will bring the brass up nice and shiny.

Spray it on, leave for about a minute, scrub with and old tooth brush getting into all those corners, then rinse and dry.

I leave my cleaned brass on a paper kitchen towel somewhere warm overnight to ensure everything is dry, essential before applying paint.

I usual do the above at the end of every soldering session to avoid build up over time (I'm not the quickest at building stuff!)

Note on Coca-cola - it is actually the sugar in the liquid the cleans so you need the original not the diet stuff.

You can just use sugar solution, it will be more effective as the sugar concentration is higher.

I cleaned the surface rust off an old watchmakers lathe I bought on the cheep and refurbished it cosmetically using sugar mixed to a gloopy solution, it worked a treat.

Edited 15 hours ago by Angus

[Angus]

I should add if I've something particularly grotty then a quick soak in Sparex no 2 will shift most dirt.

This is aggressive though so I only use this for any manky second-hand etches I bought (sellotape on the etch seems to be a recurring problem leaving black marks when removed after a length of time). It would be overkill for your carriage build above.

[Horsetan]

18 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

...can it be got in Ireland without selling the car, one limb, my neighbour's car, the dog and my pension fund to pay the import postage and charges for?

This is where the Irish talent for smuggling stuff across the border to/from the UK will come in handy. This means you require regular visitors....!

[Georgeconna]

On 1/9/2026 at 11:50 PM, jhb171achill said:

Almost finished; these bits (roof, body & chassis) just need to be painted & bolted together. Mid-50s lighter green with stripe, fairly heavily weathered, as still to be seen 5 or 6 years into the black’n’tan era. 

That look like a fine job JHB. you must be well proud of that one. 

 

[Northroader]

Do you still have to put it all out on a little table at Goraghwood?

[jhb171achill]

10 minutes ago, Georgeconna said:

That look like a fine job JHB. you must be well proud of that one. 

 

I give the credit to my learned instructor! Pleased with it, nonetheless. 

55 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

This is where the Irish talent for smuggling stuff across the border to/from the UK will come in handy. This means you require regular visitors....!

I’m an old hand at that! 

[Mayner]

Jonathan: You did a very neat clean job in assembling your bogie van, very little clean up required to get to priming stage.

Although I have a mini-sandblaster and fibre glass pens, I usually use very fine (200-300 grit) wet and dry to remove severe tarnish, before washing the model using water & detergent (tooth brush can help to remove grime).

Dry thoroughly (at least 24hrs) preferably under a dust free cover in a warm (20+c) dry environment before spraying with an etch-primer. I use a rattle can etch-primer from the local motor-factor/auto paint supplier.

Although I also have an air-brush I have used aerosols (rattle-cans) custom match/mixed with paint samples/existing models/RAL/BS codes for painting locos & stock.

For the past 25 or so years I have been lucky enough to have carried out my spray painting in a workshop and a spray booth, but not a good idea in the home environment.

Edited 12 hours ago by Mayner