Larne Harbour Station

[jhb171achill]

171, ex-GNR Director's saloon No. 50, and ex-GSWR "Rosslare Express" twelve-wheeler No. 861 (1906).... I think this was when 50 and 861 first went to Whitehead. Both still in departmental liveries of CIE & UTA.

[LARNE CABIN]

Have now finalised the track layout and am happy that I have as good a representation as possible in the space available. Next step on layout will be to mark position of points and drill holes for point motors before pining down track. Then I intend to take a break from track laying and move on to the Signal Box.

The Jinty has just arrived in from Belfast with the materials for the Signal Box build. Contractors will be on site from Monday 18th November, but I am told that it will a two to three month build, as they have other projects to work on at the same time!

(I now have a ring binder full of photos, scale drawings etc of the infrastructure at Larne Harbour in the 1970's so am looking forward to the Signal Box build etc. After Whitehead last Saturday, it is a bit daunting getting started after seeing such brilliance from you other modellers, but it is a challenge I am looking forward to. I hope to post photos of the Signal Box build as I move along!)

[Galteemore]

Great stuff! My wife is a Larne girl so this is somewhere I see several times a year when we’re over. I used the Larne line daily in the 80s going to school from Carrick to Belfast so it’s nice to see part of it being replicated - semaphores and English Electric traction will hopefully appear in due course! I was at an IRRS meeting in London on Thursday and saw some lovely shots of maroon and blue 80 class as I remember them, although I think the 70 class were my favourite and I was sad to see the 450s kill them off.

Don’t be daunted -as I was for too many years - you’ll be surprised what you can do! As you’ve already found, one of the best aspects of this pastime is the sheer variety - you can put down one aspect for a while and focus on another. 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Galteemore

[jhb171achill]

A couple of 70 class sets would indeed be a great longer-term plan, and of course it has to have 80s!

I agree with Galteemore - the 70s had great character. No two centre cars seemed the same!

[NIR]

With the 70 Class you can have mixed liveries and compartments too!

Edited November 16, 2019 by NIR

[jhb171achill]

The very last GNR coach in service was 727, a K15 open third, which was still in use as a 70-class centre car as late as 1981.

And the last NCC coach in use was open 3rd no. 526 (I think), same period. It ended life as an MED centre car about 1981.

[LARNE CABIN]

Would just love to have the original of this! I wonder how much it is worth?

 

[NIR]

The long headshunt with the wrongway crossover at 13 and kickback siding at 6, that looks a bit of a shunting puzzle.

Edited November 20, 2019 by NIR

[LARNE CABIN]

It's been a long time since I have posted any updates on Larne Harbour! It seems that a lot of layouts progress at quite a pace, especially over the last few months when we've all been in lock down. I am very slow however, but have made some progress. I have said above that I have a limited space and want to produce as accurate a model as possible of Larne Harbour in the late sixties/early seventies.

I have been working on the scratch build of the Signal Cabin. Apart from the windows and door, the cabin is scrap card, coffee stirrers, match sticks etc. The base is laser cut pieces from LCUT. You get the basic pieces and cut to your own size requirements. (my cabin will be exact scale, based on measurements supplied above by BSGSV, 17' 9" X 10' 5"). My next step will be to paint the base in appropriate brick colours. The grey walkway around the cabin is a false floor, mainly to securely join the cabin to the base (and of course provide the walkway). The actual cabin floor will sit on top of this and will be able to be lifted out. I have started working on the lever frame, from Severn Models, but haven't made sufficient progress yet for pictures! Lastly, the hipped roof! This is my fourth or fifth attempt, using cardboard, to try and get the size and angles right. I'm still not happy with it yet. When I get the shape right, the roof will be built from laser cut pieces from LCUT.

I have to say that, although I am very slow, I am really enjoying the challenge of trying to be as accurate as possible. The photo above is the result of many, many hours work! As you all know, it is very rewarding and I am very pleased at the stage I have reached, although I reckon I am just about one third the way through the work required on the cabin. 

I have been working on other items as well including the Upper Quadrant Signal. The square post for it from the stick of a rocket I found after Halloween last year! The walk way from a Ratio kit and the signal arms from MSE. I hope to post some more pictures of my progress in another month or so. In the meantime, stay well, stay safe and enjoy your modelling.

[David Holman]

Not always the destination that is important, the journey should be enjoyed too and this is definitely a good 'un! Lovely work.

 

[Midland Man]

Slow and steady wins the race. Realy good model. Hope to see more.

[leslie10646]

3 hours ago, David Holman said:

Not always the destination that is important, the journey should be enjoyed too and this is definitely a good 'un! Lovely work.

 

Hi LH (and Mr Holman, who is also called David), While I am into running trains and NOT the sorts of Works of Art which he produces - I have to say that enforced "modelling" during the lock-down has been an education AND very satisfying.

Great Rail Journeys, my part time employer has the By-line - "The Journey is just the Start of the Adventure".

The cabin looks great.

[LARNE CABIN]

Work on the scratch build of the Signal Cabin continues, albeit at a very slow pace! The pictures below are the result of many, many hours work. The brick base has had numerous coats of acrylic from rust red to brown to orange to get the correct effect, which I am now happy with.

The wooden (removable) floor has been inserted (although not visible in the pictures), ready for the lever frame which I am working on. The back wall will not be inserted until the interior of the cabin is complete.

The extension under the steps (not sure if this was a WC or a coal store) has been attached to the base and the steps attached to this. I will not add the rail to attach the steps to the sides of the cabin door until further down the line.

The hipped roof has now moved on from cardboard tests to get the shape and angles correct to actual slates, but still have to add leading and guttering, so pictures of that next time. In my last post, I said I reckoned I was one third the way through the cabin build. Now I reckon I am two thirds the way through, so more pictures of further progress later.

Edited August 22, 2020 by LARNE CABIN

[Galteemore]

That looks very good indeed - nicely observed and reproduced.  A regular sight in my childhood so very nice to see! I am just old enough to have appreciated the last years of the Larne Line as an old school railway with semaphore signals and classic 70 class traction. Larne Harbour cabin - gone but not forgotten - great effort here. 

Edited August 22, 2020 by Galteemore

[LARNE CABIN]

Thanks @Galteemore, I have been working on the Upper Quadrant Semaphone Signals, as well as the cabin, the track layout etc., and I have purchased the 70 Class etches from Worsley Works and doner coaches and started to work on those. I have also got two Brown Van kits from Leslie, so hopefully as time goes by you will recognise a lot of sights from this unique and nostalgic 70's era. Thanks for the encouragement.

[jhb171achill]

Larnecabin, that's one of the most inspiring projects I've seen in a long time - a prototype I haven't seen before, nor anything like it. It promises to be a great project! Superb finish on the brickwork.

[BSGSV]

On 8/22/2020 at 11:08 PM, LARNE CABIN said:

The extension under the steps (not sure if this was a WC or a coal store) has been attached to the base and the steps attached to this. 

It's the entrance to the locking room.

[Mick]

Absolutely stunning. Can't wait to see more.

[LARNE CABIN]

Thanks @BSGSV, that's another little piece of information I didn't know! You have been very helpful in supplying valuable information and I appreciate your help!

[LARNE CABIN]

The Signal and Telegraph Gang have been busy over the last few weeks, installing the Lever Frame and the Block Instruments!

 

 

The Lever Frame is a Westinghouse A2, 32 lever frame. Testing is underway. Levers 5 (shunt signal for Up Quayside Siding) and levers 19 and 21 (associated points) are pulled to allow for some of Leslie's Brown Vans, just arrived on the 5:30 ex York Road, to be shunted to the siding for unloading.

 

 

 

 

 

[Johannes Houtsma]

whoa beautifull

[Patrick Davey]

Am a big fan of signal cabin models and this is one of the best - hats off to you!!  Excellent work and yes, enjoy the journey!!!

[David Holman]

Yep, a real beauty.

[LARNE CABIN]

Thanks @Patrick Davey for your kind comments. Yes, I know you are a big fan of Signal Cabin models and in fact (as I mentioned previously in this thread), I caught the bug and gained inspiration from your GNR(I) Cabin and Waiting Shed. Both reminded me so much of my childhood days at Tandragee, where my best friend's father, Mr Morton, was the Station Master (and Signalman and Porter). The clang, clang, clang of those levers never leaves you! 

I have also caught the bug of trying to be as authentic as possible, and because I have a limited space, my aim is to achieve as accurate a model of Larne Harbour as possible! I am enjoying the journey, but by God that lever frame was a real pain in the ass and produced many swear words, but it was worth it in the end!

[LARNE CABIN]

Almost there, with the cabin! Hipped roof with leading now complete. Just guttering and lighting to add, and steps to be attached to the cabin door.

 

 

 

 

View below of cabin in position on layout. The cabin sits on a base from which it can be easily be lifted off! The base also raises the cabin, as I intend to put in point rodding and signal pulleys and wires, (before ballasting).

 

Have made a few changes to the track layout. Firstly, in some 1969/1970 photos the turnout, just in front of the signal cabin leading to the goods yard is still there, and indeed still in use, so I have included it, to be as authentic as possible. Photos show that the station area is predominantly a fine black gravel base with little ballast, so I have put a black base under the track as a starting point for ballasting.

The photo below gives a idea of perspective. With limited space, I have had to compromise by limiting the platform area, as I wanted the station approach from the bridge (bottom left) and the track layout to be as authentic as possible. There is still room on the platform for the unique platform awning and of course the swan neck lamp and just about enough room for a 3 car 70 Class at the main platform.

 

Next step will be working around the cabin area, point rodding and ballasting. More photos soon!

[Patrick Davey]

Wow that cabin is magnificent!!!

[LARNE CABIN]

Very slow progress at Larne Harbour Station, but some work on the platform recently. My guide for the platform is the photo by Des Fitzgerald on page 79 of Derek Young's book The Ulster Transport Authority in colour. The platform surface is sections of smooth concrete with the coping stones a darker grey. The platform face is smooth concrete with patches of black from soot, coal dust etc. 

I think I have captured the perspective, suggesting that is the start of a long platform, for example, in the photo a jeep, 46 feet, will sit between the start of the platform ramp and the swan neck lamp!, (just a hole in the platform at the moment).

The canopy at Larne Harbour seems to be unique, and again hoping to achieve authenticity, I want to copy it as exactly as possible. I used the picture on page 166 of Ian McLarnon Smith's Along UTA Lines to measure and count the slots on the side end of the canopy.

This will be made using Plastruct Styrene Strips cut to three lengths to create the valance, so lots of painstaking work ahead.

 

The photo below is from June 1983, and shows the canopy, in a fairly dilapidated state, prior to its removal as part of the rebuilding in 1984/85.

 

[Galteemore]

Excellent stuff. Recreating a real locale is challenging but doubly rewarding. You will find yourself learning much in the research and the building. 

[airfixfan]

Another photo of Larne Harbour

[Galteemore]

Wonderful Jim, I can almost hear the steady beat of that EE power unit. Nice to see the containers at stage left. All helps set the scene for modelling. 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Galteemore

[LARNE CABIN]

Yes, I have that one. Was also going to include this 1981 picture, with River Bush. Shows a lot of detail of the canopy!

[Galteemore]

Nice view of the late Olderfleet hotel too ! 

[airfixfan]

Olderfleet modified but still there

 76 was of course River Inver!

[Galteemore]

Thanks Jim - I think they kept the low building to the right of these two old views ? 
 

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Galteemore

[David Holman]

Now that would make a nice model!