Dugort Harbour

[jhb171achill]

9 hours ago, Sean said:

Where did you get the mounts for the servos JB? looking very good

They came from MERG;

https://www.merg.org.uk/

Edited June 4, 2022 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

9 hours ago, Sean said:

Where did you get the mounts for the servos JB? looking very good

https://www.merg.org.uk/
 

My colleague who got them for me advises that he got them from MERG, as above. Evidently you have to be a member of it first (he would be).

[Galteemore]

Worth joining. Their online shop is great - both cheap and efficient. 

[Sean]

ah, they really had me sold at wexford, looks like i shall be taking the plunge and joining.

[jhb171achill]

Shows the benefit of good scenery. Fair specials on the extension under construction don’t look quite as well as with scenic accompaniment!

[Galteemore]

Well, quite. That last photo is simply fabulous.

[jhb171achill]

Thanks to my Learned Friend, expert in all things electronickal, massive progress was made today with the Dugort Harbour - Castletown West branch laid, plus all of Castletown station bar a couple of cattle sidings. Got started on formwork for the scenery too.

[Sean]

7 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

Shows the benefit of good scenery. Fair specials on the extension under construction don’t look quite as well as with scenic accompaniment!

Actually being able to drive the train from one location to another will more than make up for that though! looking great as always.

[2996 Victor]

19 hours ago, Galteemore said:

That last photo is simply fabulous.

Absolutely agreed - wonderfully evocative.

And great progress on the extension, too, @jhb171achill.

Cheers,
Mark

[jhb171achill]

After a sun shower, a few wagons are seen in bright sunlight in the goods yard, while the set for tomorrow’s passenger train sits at the old cattle dock, having been shunted out of the way for a special to Dublin for the final.

[jhb171achill]

BEGRUDGERY, SMALL-TOWN IRELAND, 1964.....

"Would ye look at yer wan, off to buy high-heel shoes in Cork. I tell ye this - I remember her oul fella holdin' the Marquis' horse for a penny when he came into town, and that was only just after the Tans left, and me only in the railway a few weeks. Dirt poor, the lot of 'em were....."

Edited July 24, 2022 by jhb171achill

[Horsetan]

26 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

BEGRUDGERY, SMALL-TOWN IRELAND, 1964.....

"Would ye look at yer wan, off to buy high-heel shoes in Cork. I tell ye this - I remember her oul fella holdin' the Marquis' horse for a penny when he came into town, and that was only just after the Tans left, and me only in the railway a few weeks. Dirt poor, the lot of 'em were....."

That's just after triggering a memory of:

"The town of Naas

Is a terrible place;

Kilcock was just as bad,

But of all the towns I was ever in,

**** me,

Kinnegad....."

[jhb171achill]

“….so we got to Headford Junction an’ I opened the door of the van on the branch train, an’ nearly jumped outta me skin - out he jumped from behind a few sacks of grain an’ ran away like all the divils in hell were after him…..guards are still looking for him….”

”This oul turf is as damp as hell…..ye’ll have to let it dry out.…”

Edited July 24, 2022 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

Summer 1962, and J15 No. 109 shunts the lifting train into the disused loco shed road at Dugort Harbour for the night. When the bogie flat with the winch comes down tomorrow, they’ll start on the last five miles of the Drumbane branch which closed in 1960.

Edited July 25, 2022 by jhb171achill

[Galteemore]

Very nice. Bleached sleepers on the table road set it off nicely 

[jhb171achill]

It’s 1964 and B165 shunts the incoming goods, while another member of the class prepares to leave in the background with the up goods.

Edited July 25, 2022 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

A rare visitor to Dugort tonight. As the 1950s fade away, the few remaining steam engines in the area can appear just about anywhere, usually when a Crossley has failed, or on the day before Castletown cattle & sheep fair.

[David Holman]

Sublime pictures. Thanks JB!

[jhb171achill]

Thanks to a visit from my Electronically-Learned friend yesterday, considerable progress was made with points, sidings and wiring. 

In the top picture, the two vans are sitting in what will be the up and down passenger platforms. Goods loop to the left and loco yard in the distance.

The yellow pliers is where the station building will be. This will either be a stone one of GSWR parentage, or a tin sheet one, like those found on the Valentia Harbour or Kenmare branches. Haven’t decided yet….

Bottom view is the approach to the station from the other (branch) end.

Edited July 26, 2022 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

“Ye hear they’re talking about closing this line again! They’re saying it’s losing over three thousand pounds a year!”

”Sure they’ll never close THIS line as long as PJ’s brother is elected in Leinster House! Sure he got the harbour extended too….”

”They could have done with PJ’s brother over in Kenmare last year, sure they’re lifting that now….”

[jhb171achill]

Lineside scenery formation also got a start yesterday using DAS clay. Earthen banks for fencing to be based in, or to simulate overgrown stone walls, in place, plus traces of overgrown old potato “lazy bed” ridges.

[jhb171achill]

July 1958, and the 10:40 goods from Dugort Harbour drifts into Castletown West.

Scenery formation in place; grass, weeds and gorse will be next, followed by fencing (or maybe stone walls), drains and ballast.

[popeye]

You are having great fun there 

[Sean]

Interesting, definitely making me jealous that my scenic area can only be like 2 foot long!

[jhb171achill]

20 minutes ago, Sean said:

Interesting, definitely making me jealous that my scenic area can only be like 2 foot long!

If the scenery is if the quality completed by Kevin McIntosh on the main Dugort Harbour board, or the layouts of the likes of our colleague Mr Holman, of this forum, it really brings it to life! I’m very much in a learning curve - that bit above is (of necessity) on a shelf about nine inches wide. I’m hoping that what will be added to the base of it (which is bog standard DAS clay made to look uneven), plus a decent backscene, will improve this view dramatically.

[jhb171achill]

Part of the “back story” for Dugort Harbour is that it lost its passenger trains in 1967 (when the Mallow-Waterford line, the Croom branch and the Thurles-Clonmel branches closed), and closed completely with Loughrea, Ardee and the Burma Road and North Kerry in 1975. 
 

But I like the “re-engined” livery with carriages on an “A”, so it’s going to have to retain a passenger service into the seventies!

So tonight, there’s a 1973 mixed dawdling along from Castletown down to the Harbour, at the now-obligatory 25 mph….

There’s a decent amount of goods today, due to Sweeney’s Harbour Hardware & Fishing Supplies stocking up.

A grubby A and a grubby tin van top and tail the mixed train passenger coach, just like I remember seeing on the Ballina branch in the 70s with a quite filthy B150, I think it was….

This will look a whole lot better with short grass, gorse and weeds.

[JasonB]

On 24/7/2022 at 9:59 PM, jhb171achill said:

”This oul turf is as damp as hell…..ye’ll have to let it dry out.…”

That turf is incredible looking! 

[jhb171achill]

19 hours ago, JasonB said:

That turf is incredible looking! 

I got it from some place in Brexitstan a good while back - I think it was a model scenery shop online. It is a small bag full - probably enough to fully load two or possibly three 4-wheeled open wagons. It's little bits of rough plastic, but yes, incredibly realistic. The little bag of it cost about £2-£3 as far as I remember.

[DJ Dangerous]

On 25/7/2022 at 9:38 PM, jhb171achill said:

It’s 1964 and B165 shunts the incoming goods, while another member of the class prepares to leave in the background with the up goods.

 

What's the van front centre in this photo?

I like your platform surfaces, they look excellent, and the loco weathering in general is superb.

[jhb171achill]

2 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

 

What's the van front centre in this photo?

I like your platform surfaces, they look excellent, and the loco weathering in general is superb.

The CIE heating van is a JM Design one, and the "H" covered goods van adjacent to it is Provincial (Leslie). The open wagons are a Provincial Bullied, three "rummage sale" 4-wheel opens originally in liveries of British coal companies - Hornby, Mainline type, etc.; then 2 Provincial cattle wagons and a JM Design brake van.

[DJ Dangerous]

18 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

three "rummage sale" 4-wheel opens originally in liveries of British coal companies - Hornby, Mainline type, etc.

 

What's the rule of thumb on Irish-izing open wagons?

Any fixed number of planks or bracing design or anything like that, or will they all do once painted grey and weathered to death?

I have some Dapol A001 opens in my Hattons trunk as they looked pretty close to my JMD IWC1004 opens.

The PW Covered Van looks very good, I need some more of JMD's as I couldn't assemble and paint one to save my life!

They look similar to your PW wagon but have a lot of detail differences like door handles, door height, builders plates, rivets, depth of bracing, running gear etc:

 

 

[jhb171achill]

The above are an absolutely superb job. It's not often, too, that we see the original pale green snail in the lower position and pale green number - with or without the "blackboard" - on models. This was the rule on all wagons 1945 - mid-50s, when they became white, and the snail moved to the upper part of the bodyside. I'd put viciously weathered brown on the roof of the brown one, though.

In terms of "Irish-ising" planked opens, there were many varieties of these over the years. The ones I have above are different heights, as I often saw in real life.

The very high-sided ones, used as "coke wagons" in Brexitstan, aren't suitable for Ireland, so I would avoid those - the only use for such vehicles in Ireland was loco coal - you might see one lurking at the back of a steam loco shed / siding. For routine goods trains, no.

I simply painted them grey, and the "snails" were applied and heavy weathering done by Dempsey, who is also resident on this forum. So yes, unless the modeller is a rivet-counter in terms of open wagon design, many 5- and 6-plank types with centre doors will do.

Some British coal wagons had end doors - these did not run in Ireland, to the best of my knowledge; unless someone can enlighten us, I'd be pretty certain that these are unsuitable for an Irish layout.

[Westcorkrailway]

3 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

 

 

Stunning wagon

 

my open wagons are just primer grey with white snails. All dapol 6 plank wagons as you can get them cheaply enough unpainted 

[jhb171achill]

Found this little beauty after a tip-off from a friend, to the effect that it was for sale. The "back story" is that CIE ended up with one of the short-lived BR railbuses as a demonstrator. They tested it on the Loughrea and Ballina branches but found that it was inadequate for traffic, so it ended up replacing a "C" and a mainline carriage on the Castletown West - Dugort Harbour shuttle. It was permitted to haul one wagon if required.

It came to an untimely end following an altercation with a 141 shunting at Castletown West one summer afternoon in 1968.

I had long planned to do something like this myself, but someone else beat me to it!

Edited August 8, 2022 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

Unusual congestion at Dugort Harbour  on this day in 1964. The branch passenger train today has Crossley A42, still in green, while two 141s potter about - one on the goods and the other stabling here due to congestion up the line at Castletown West with summer “Mystery Trains” choking up the station.

Aren’t those “A”s sublime…..

That oul handrail on the front has popped out again. Any good clues for fixing them without huge dollops of glue?

Edited August 13, 2022 by jhb171achill