Mullingar

[GSR 800]

53 minutes ago, WRENNEIRE said:

The tractor!
Can see one turning up on a few layouts soon

I may have seen something suspiciously similar on marks models website..

40 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

I see you've replicated the small outlet for point rodding on the down Sligo platform.

The renewal of that little tunnel under the platform was jhb171Senior's first ever solo civil engineering job on the GSR just after he joined the team of the very august P. T. Somerville-Large in the District Engineer's office in Westland Row.....

the platforms have yet to be detailed, but indeed the gap for the rodding on my platform will have to be extended back somewhat, it was quite large. Would he have been renewing that or perhaps the subway tunnel?

 

[GSR 800]

[Mike 84C]

GSR 800 thats going to be mighty a mighty fine Railway your building. Your photos keep telling me to get my finger out!! So please keep showing your progress.!

[Noel]

This is shaping up really well. Oozes the unique character of Mullingar and its buildings. Class

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, GSR 800 said:

S E R I O U S L Y good!!

[David Holman]

Yup. Atmosphere - that certain something that somehow creates the believable.

[GSR 800]

Another building underway and a new arrival at Mullingar 

Nice piece of kit from Hornby, hopefully a good Irish livery will put an end to the light leakage.

[Westcorkrailway]

13 minutes ago, GSR 800 said:

Another building underway and a new arrival at Mullingar 

Nice piece of kit from Hornby, hopefully a good Irish livery will put an end to the light leakage.

Do show how you develop the irish livery......a few of us will take notes for when we do ours!

[jhb171achill]

If that red one was a few shades darker, you've a perfect late 1940s view with that one coach still in GSR livery behind a green engine!

You've actually three "eras" there, a bit like the black'n'tan, followed by "supertrain", followed by "tippex" and finally the lighter "orange"; albeit a generation earlier!

Loco & 3rd coach in 1945-55 green, red coach (if darker / GSR) in 1933-45 livery - though a few maroon were obviously kicking about a few years more, and the post-1955 lighter green..........

Looking forward to seeing Mullingar develop - looks superb.

I'm assuming that's one of the Hattons' 6-wheelers? Looks good - very convincing GSWR, though as an Irish one the lower footboard would also be needed.

As you say, an Irish-liveried one would be the business.

[GSR 800]

30 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

If that red one was a few shades darker, you've a perfect late 1940s view with that one coach still in GSR livery behind a green engine!

You've actually three "eras" there, a bit like the black'n'tan, followed by "supertrain", followed by "tippex" and finally the lighter "orange"; albeit a generation earlier!

Loco & 3rd coach in 1945-55 green, red coach (if darker / GSR) in 1933-45 livery - though a few maroon were obviously kicking about a few years more, and the post-1955 lighter green..........

Looking forward to seeing Mullingar develop - looks superb.

I'm assuming that's one of the Hattons' 6-wheelers? Looks good - very convincing GSWR, though as an Irish one the lower footboard would also be needed.

As you say, an Irish-liveried one would be the business.

JB

She's a hornby type rather than Hattons. May have to buy the latter and do a bit of a comparison! 

Late 50s early 60s so it's likely she'll end up in either the early dark green or later light green, probably the latter as I think it looks well. Some attained a livery of age...

https://rcts.zenfolio.com/coaching-stock/irish-railways-cie

 

RCTS _ Irish Railways (CIE).mhtml

[jhb171achill]

Very interesting set of pics there, 800 - I hadn't seen all of those!

Non-passenger-carrying vehicles especially - well into the 1990s - seemed to get way less "TLC" than passenger-carrying ones!

So that's the Hornby coach - it'll be interesting to see the Hattons one too.

[jhb171achill]

26 minutes ago, GSR 800 said:

 

 

RCTS _ Irish Railways (CIE).mhtml 2.47 MB · 0 downloads

Health warning: On the RCTS list, I note that most of the captions they have are wrong, some very significantly so!

[Westcorkrailway]

1 hour ago, GSR 800 said:

JB

She's a hornby type rather than Hattons. May have to buy the latter and do a bit of a comparison! 

Late 50s early 60s so it's likely she'll end up in either the early dark green or later light green, probably the latter as I think it looks well. Some attained a livery of age...

 

RCTS _ Irish Railways (CIE).mhtml 2.47 MB · 2 downloads

So this.......

 

Or this.....

 

 

or maybe even this...

[GSR 800]

All Fleadh'd out: 1963

The railwaymen and women at the station and yard can finally take a bit of a break the week after the Fleadh. A great success, though the Bishop is apparently not too happy with some of the carry-on during...

B141, the first of her class, brings her Dublin-bound train to a stop.

J 15 162 trundles past, en route to the shed. She is soon for withdrawal, likely joining dozens of other locomotives at the gantry for scrapping. The Craven is being trialled...lucky passengers

 

.....

 

Hello friends, my apologies for the hiatus. Mullingar is currently undergoing an overhaul and that dreaded word...' rationalisation'.

One of the main issues I had with Mullingar was fitting it into my available space. The original layout was end-to-end, but this was not particularly satisfying and prevented any ability to operate the Sligo side other than as sidings. I've also wanted to model a terminus, hence Amiens Street. But now there were two models. What to do with them?

After various attempts, the idea came with a 10x6-ish board. This gives just about enough room to loop a line back for Sligo. Mullingar's platforms were shortened somewhat to fit within this, with the shed and yard to be placed on the other side. An offshoot board will serve for Amiens street, the 'scenic fiddle yard' for the layout. So far so good, I will update as it progresses. The island platform structures will be interesting, the canopy is very ornate and intricate. Perhaps a job for the 3d printer..time shall tell.

Thanks for looking.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by GSR 800

[David Holman]

It's been a while, but welcome back. Certainly all sounds very interesting!

[GSR 800]

Some detailing work, upgrading, patching and painting was done this week. The ornate window frames on the station building were added. These were made from toothpicks! Quite interesting to see how far this area has come.

 

 

Next up was the water tower in front of the signal box. Mullingar had three water towers at the station, plus a water crane on the island. Only the one on the Galway side is left these days, unfortunately.

Both water towers are Peco, though the new one has a considerably shortened tank and stack. This was achieved with a blade run a few times along a convenient score line, then breaking it off.

After this, I added some roping around the base. I cannot for the life of me remember what this is called. I knew once. At any rate, the rope is for hanging paintings steeped in tea. It looks quite overscale, but I don't mind.

Interestingly it doesn't appear in the 1957 photo above but does in other photos. The other tower is similarly inconsistent. While doing this, the roof on the main station building has been replaced with a simple piece of framers card. The previous roof was strips of plastic roofing, but I wasn't happy with how it looked. I think it makes a big difference without taking away from the building.

 

Back to the 50s and 60s...

Looking much cleaner than A1, A30 is on similar goods duties in 1957

 

A15 is running light engine toward Dublin as a 141 slows with a passenger train from Dublin. A15 will split the train and move it to the Sligo side of the station

A Plethora of Diesels at dusk! 

B141 is on the Galway Mail train 

 Meadbh takes on water as she prepares to take her express onto Dublin. The PW gang are joking that they've lifted some of the track on the Sligo side to prevent her from going any further in that direction!

 

Thanks for looking

 

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by GSR 800

[GSR 800]

A wee bit more has been done...

I've mainly focused on detailing work on the station model itself. I have a new baseboard cut and ready for assembly, so Mullingar will be relocated and linked up to Abbey Street.

Truly a glacial pace...

 

[Galteemore]

Fabulous. That 800 really is the business. 

[Darius43]

What an absolutely wonderful layout.

I do have one question though:-

After this, I added some roping around the base. I cannot for the life of me remember what this is called. I knew once. At any rate, the rope is for hanging paintings steeped in tea. It looks quite overscale, but I don't mind.

Why would they steep paintings in tea and then hang them on the base of a water tower?

Cheers

Darius

[GSR 800]

3 hours ago, Darius43 said:

What an absolutely wonderful layout.

I do have one question though:-

After this, I added some roping around the base. I cannot for the life of me remember what this is called. I knew once. At any rate, the rope is for hanging paintings steeped in tea. It looks quite overscale, but I don't mind.

Why would they steep paintings in tea and then hang them on the base of a water tower?

Cheers

Darius

Hi Darius,

You won't believe, I only caught that earlier myself!

One can only imagine some of the lads must have had a bit of revolutionary zeal going on...maybe the painting was of Boston Harbour...

Also, LAGGING was what I was trying to think of!

[GSR 800]

11 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Fabulous. That 800 really is the business. 

Thanks Galteemore, hopefully I'll have a MGWR 4-4-0 at Mullingar in the future!

[leslie10646]

5 hours ago, Darius43 said:

What an absolutely wonderful layout.

I do have one question though:-

After this, I added some roping around the base. I cannot for the life of me remember what this is called. I knew once. At any rate, the rope is for hanging paintings steeped in tea. It looks quite overscale, but I don't mind.

Why would they steep paintings in tea and then hang them on the base of a water tower?

Cheers

Darius

Yes, Darius, I'm also blown away by this layout - well done GSR800!  Who wouldn't want to build this station with it s amazing refreshment room at the East end. Anyone here ancient enough to have had a cup of tea in it? I ask especially as there's a tea fixation about this thread, of late!

[Markleman]

6 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

Yes, Darius, I'm also blown away by this layout - well done GSR800!  Who wouldn't want to build this station with it s amazing refreshment room at the East end. Anyone here ancient enough to have had a cup of tea in it? I ask especially as there's a tea fixation about this thread, of late!

Yes Leslie - even I am ancient enough to have visited the refreshment room in Mullingar. In 1974 I was doing an all-Ireland rover trip. On 3 July 1974 we travelled to Mullingar from the Athlone direction and were changing trains to head towards Sligo. Being July it was cold. The place was called something like "The Woodbrook Refreshment Room" after the racecourse.

Present with me were Aubrey Dale and Michael Norris as he was back then. We had tea and a scone. The place was run by a very strict lady, assisted by two girls who looked about 16 and seemed very alarmed by their boss. The boss barked orders to them. The staff had white pinny-type covers on, like the tea room in Dad's Army. We had to put in a bit of time before heading off for Longford so it was a good chance to get into the warm.

We knew at the time that we were enjoying a bit of history. We also used the refresh in Claremorris which was totally different place - just a dark room and totally informal. Mullingar was bright and neat but clearly run to a strict routine. It could never have lasted, but it was great experience to sample it while we could.

Great layout - how Mullingar station has changed over the years.

[leslie10646]

Great story, Jim, thanks.

Sorry to have missed it!

[GSR 800]

56 minutes ago, Markleman said:

Yes Leslie - even I am ancient enough to have visited the refreshment room in Mullingar. In 1974 I was doing an all-Ireland rover trip. On 3 July 1974 we travelled to Mullingar from the Athlone direction and were changing trains to head towards Sligo. Being July it was cold. The place was called something like "The Woodbrook Refreshment Room" after the racecourse.

Present with me were Aubrey Dale and Michael Norris as he was back then. We had tea and a scone. The place was run by a very strict lady, assisted by two girls who looked about 16 and seemed very alarmed by their boss. The boss barked orders to them. The staff had white pinny-type covers on, like the tea room in Dad's Army. We had to put in a bit of time before heading off for Longford so it was a good chance to get into the warm.

We knew at the time that we were enjoying a bit of history. We also used the refresh in Claremorris which was totally different place - just a dark room and totally informal. Mullingar was bright and neat but clearly run to a strict routine. It could never have lasted, but it was great experience to sample it while we could.

Great layout - how Mullingar station has changed over the years.

Hi Jim, wonderful story, many thanks for sharing.

I believe the refreshment room was the 'Newbrook refreshment room'. There were photos in the O'Dea collection on platform 2 that showed the advertisement for the Newbrook refreshment room, but alas, I cannot find them now.