Brookhall Mill - A GNR(I) Micro Layout

[popeye]

Did they not have one with flute?

[leslie10646]

7 hours ago, popeye said:

Did they not have one with flute?

Perhaps they could persuade James Galway to don a Templemore Avenue Flute Band uniform again and be "scanned"?

[Patrick Davey]

14 hours ago, popeye said:

Did they not have one with flute?

Almost - there is one with a whistle which I missed!!!!  The photos on the Modelu website show stunningly amazingly painted figures, my attempts are very embarrassing in comparison, hence the B&W photo of the musicians on the platform..... 

Edited January 11, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[Patrick Davey]

Updated the platform lights today, hopefully that’s all the lighting completed.

Lovely old fashioned lamps from layouts4u

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Nice 

[murphaph]

Lovely atmosphere. 

[Patrick Davey]

A TRIBUTE TO TWO FINE RAILWAYMEN

It’s August 1970 and senior NIR and ex-GNR(I) driver Ned O’Hara is at Brookhall Mill with brand new Hunslet locomotive 101 ‘Eagle’, barely a month after the loco entered service.  There is a public event taking place that warm summer’s day and groups of visitors are being shown around the mill.  Ned notices a young lad standing on the platform, admiring and photographing the locomotive.  Ned comes down from 101’s cab for a chat and then invites the lad up into the cab of the loco and shows him around, noting the look of awe in the young eyes as the lad hangs on Ned’s every word, asking questions which show an obvious understanding of everything Ned was saying.

The young lad sits with Ned for some time in the cab of the locomotive, listening to incredible stories about Ned’s time as a senior driver with the famed Great Northern Railway of Ireland, driving top link expresses to Dublin with gleaming blue steam locomotives bearing names such as “Peregrine”, “Merlin” and “Boyne”, and bringing long goods trains through the Irish countryside in the dead of night to far distant places such as Cavan, Enniskillen and Strabane.  The young lad is mesmerised by these almost mythical stories and he may not realise that this brief encounter with a highly respected and experienced railwayman is helping to fire a lifelong passion for railways, past and present.

As he gets ready to leave, the young lad shows great courtesy and respect to Ned, thanking him for his time:

“Thank you sir, perhaps one day I’ll be an engine driver just like you and I might even get to drive the steam trains too!” says the young lad with a twinkle in his eye.

Ned smiles and asks “What’s your name son?”

“Noel, sir.” comes the reply.

 

[Patrick Davey]

More tiny details..... I had toyed with the idea of getting a pic of an actual GNR(I) cast iron notice for this little job but in the end I just went for these neat signs from Scale Model Scenery - not totally authentic but the proper GNR(I) one might not have been readable at this scale.  I fixed two of them to some short scrap pieces of rail, suitably painted, and placed them at the end of my two platforms.  The others look fine affixed to brick walls.  Detailing is addictive......

 

Edited January 30, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[Patrick Davey]

Making progress with the surround for the fiddle yard.

 

[jhb171achill]

Superb!

I hope to see this at exhibitions! Will that be likely?

[Patrick Davey]

1 minute ago, jhb171achill said:

Superb!

I hope to see this at exhibitions! Will that be likely?

I hope so too - bloody work gets in the way......

[leslie10646]

Ah, Ned O'Hara!

Gave me a footplate ride on "207" from "The Wood" to "Pordydown" one Sunday evening in 1964.

Never to be forgotten.

As will Noel be.

[Patrick Davey]

4 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

Making progress with the surround for the fiddle yard.

 

I went to my local decorating shop and asked for decent quality matt black paint - the guy asked me what material I was painting so I said it was wood and he gave me blackboard paint!  It covers well but jeepers is it potent.....decided to wait until tomorrow before continuing with the painting, so I can do it outside.....

[Patrick Davey]

This can definitely be filed under 'Too Much Time on my Hands'..... it started off small then snowballed....and this is only Part 1.......

 

Brookhall Mill Anti-Aircraft Detachment, PART 1

 

After 1945, the anti-aircraft emplacement at Brookhall Mill fell out of use. The gun, which was already obsolete at the time of installation in 1941, was simply covered in camouflage netting and all the stored ammunition removed by the army. The gun was eventually taken away for scrap in 1950. Thereafter, the emplacement became a popular viewing point for railway enthusiasts (Mr. Weaver forbade the use of the term ‘trainspotters’) but the by then empty underground ammunition store also became a favourite gathering place for those mill workers who were fond of having an ‘extended’ break.

 

 

By 1956, Mr. Weaver was getting suspicious that certain members of his staff seemed to be spending an unusual amount of time down in the ammo store, so one quiet Sunday morning he made his way down into the store and upon entering, was instantly horrified by what he saw - a collection of highly questionable reading material, ‘enhanced’ by graphic illustrations. Mr. Weaver was bitterly disappointed that the high moral standards which he had always encouraged his staff to uphold were apparently being eroded by external nefarious influences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Weaver immediately had the ammunition store locked, ensuring that he, and only he, would have the key, and he issued an emergency directive advising that henceforth, any mill employee caught in possession of similar highly offensive reading material would be instantly dismissed.

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[Patrick Davey]

Back to normality for a while….

The surround for the fiddle yard is largely finished, it has been built up as a series of boxes which interlock and slot together for strength. The blackboard paint is excellent, it’s a bit high maintenance, but really worth the effort and I will eventually use it across the complete layout. 

 

 

Yes I know, not much of a fiddle yard!

Edited February 2, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[the Bandon tank]

looks fantastic.

[David Holman]

A good painting deserves to be properly framed. Layouts likewise. Am sure Iain Rice would have approved.

[Patrick Davey]

Sammy Screech and Bertie Bellows have been away on holiday and seem to have got a facelift while they were away.... looking well there lads!

Thanks to Nelson @Dunluce Castle for the great paint job!

 

[Patrick Davey]

Brookhall Mill Anti-Aircraft Detachment, PART 2

 

Following on from the previous instalment in which Mr. Weaver discovered some dodgy diesel dudes up to no good in the disused ammo store at Brookhall.....

 

The question of what to do with the redundant gun emplacement began to exercise Mr. Weaver’s mind, and he even considered having it demolished, until one morning in March 1956 he received a very polite phone call from one Colonel Flack, who introduced himself as the Commanding Officer of the new Anti-Aircraft Training Detachment based at the nearby former RAF aerodrome at Maghaberry.  Colonel Flack had been alerted to the presence of the disused gun emplacement at Brookhall Mill, and he was expressing a willingness to return a weapon to the emplacement and make use of it on a regular basis for training purposes.  Mr. Weaver was very pleased at this prospect because it would surely put an end to the dodgy dealings in the ammo store.

Soon the mill was buzzing once more to the sound of jeeps and gun tractors, as dapper military chaps with shiny boots and handlebar moustaches barked out orders to terrified subordinates who snapped to attention in an instant.  A retired Bofors gun was taken out of storage by Colonel Flack and installed at Brookhall, a weapon which had served in North Africa during WWII with the famous Airfix battalion.  Weekly anti-aircraft weaponry training began at Brookhall in February 1956, and the regular officer in charge of the training sessions was the somewhat dogmatic Major Mindup (who was always right) and who along with the scatterbrained Captain Kayos (on secondment from the Greek army), would usually be seen scaring the life out of the fresh-faced Gunner ‘Tommy’ Gunn and Private Lane.

Mr. Weaver didn’t exactly hit it off with one member of the detachment, a certain Trooper Slane who hailed from just outside Carrickfergus.  Trooper Slane would deliberately antagonise Mr. Weaver by saying that the NCC had always been better than the GNR, and how he was delighted that the ‘dirty kettles’ were being consigned to history.  Mr. Weaver disliked Trooper Slane but he eventually got his revenge one day when he ‘accidentally’ locked Trooper Slane in one of the railway linen vans which was just about to depart on a train for Cavan - the unfortunate trooper managed to alert staff at Lisburn to his predicament, and once he was rescued from the van he had to walk all the way back to Brookhall, to receive a stern reprimand from a rather red-faced Major Mindup for being AWOL (Mr. Weaver was very amused by this).

The detachment was completed by the sharpshooting Private Eamonn Wright, and the observer, the binocular-wearing Sgt. Luke Farr, who more often than not would make his way to the top of the mill buildings to get a better view of….well….only he knew.  Mr. Weaver wasn’t too impressed by this because he hadn’t consented to granting military personnel access to anywhere other than the gun emplacement, and as soon as Sgt. Farr was spotted on top of the mill, Mr. Weaver would be sprinting up the stairs to remonstrate with him.  After a few weeks of investigation during the summer of 1956, it was concluded that Sgt. Farr’s appearances on top of the mill buildings happened to coincide with Mr. Weaver’s daughter Millie’s sunbathing sessions in the garden of the station house, so that brought an abrupt end to the anti-aircraft training at Brookhall Mill.

 

The Maghaberry AA detachment marching in formation to another training session under the watchful eye of Major Mindup.

 

Trooper Slane and Mr. Weaver having another 'discussion' about the relative merits of the GNR and NCC railways.

 

Mr. Weaver was very suspicious about the motives behind Sgt. Luke Farr's frequent visits to the roof of the mill.

[Patrick Davey]

Lunch break tunes at the mill.

[Galteemore]

Excellent. That’s very sharp and crisp work for 4mm - looks more like a 7mm scene. But shouldn’t the bloke on the right be in the fiddle yard ? 

[Patrick Davey]

Hoping to have the first ever official running session of the layout on Sunday afternoon, with a few friends and mentors in attendance!  I have rearranged the railway room by bringing the layout forward, so I will be able to operate it from behind. Spending the next few days putting the finishing touches to a project which is approaching three years in development!

 

 

[Tullygrainey]

Three years well spent Patrick! It looks really well. A lovely piece of work and beautifully finished too. The cameo framing sets it all off perfectly. 

[jhb171achill]

I was delighted and privileged to be invited to Brookhall Mill today, and meet the formidable Mr Weaver, who told me off for trespassing round the mill doorways……

Photos don’t even begin to do justice to this layout - the level of minute and highly accurate detail in it is phenomenal.

Very many thanks, Patrick - and of course also for the good company and choccy bikkies…. 
 

Classic W H Mills architecture, all hand-made.

Locos and rolling stock

[Tullygrainey]

Brilliant! Just wow!

[Patrick Davey]

Great photos JB, Mr. Weaver would like to hire you as the official Mill Photographer!

A great pleasure to have you here - thanks for dropping in and for your kind comments above.

[GSR 800]

On 10/2/2023 at 6:25 PM, Patrick Davey said:

Lunch break tunes at the mill.

Jaysus Foster and Allen transcend time itself...Mick has some explaining to do next time I see him..

On 9/2/2023 at 7:48 PM, Patrick Davey said:

 

Mr. Weaver was very suspicious about the motives behind Sgt. Luke Farr's frequent visits to the roof of the mill.

"Balloons Weaver, Balloons, that's all I can tell you. The rest is classified."

"Balloons?? Go down the road to the circus if you're looking for those...ya feckin clown"

 

[jhb171achill]

13 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

While I was wandering about the mill premises yesterday taking pictures of the linen vans I noticed that I was being followed by Mr Weaver….

Edited February 19, 2023 by jhb171achill

[Patrick Davey]

OPEN DAY AT THE MILL!

 

It was a great pleasure to welcome some friends and mentors to Brookhall Mill today, to watch the first official running session, featuring a range of rolling stock from the GNR, UTA, NCC, BCDR, CIE and NIR. Huge thanks to everyone for coming along and for the very positive and encouraging feedback, and special thanks to Norman Close and Kieran Lagan for bringing along some of their fantastic models for a run on the layout. Charles Friel was with us and he took some superb photos and hopefully I will be able to share these shortly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A particular highlight was the amazing creations of Norman Close, including a GNR(I) 'might have been' in the form of an S3 4-6-0 locomotive!

 

 

More of Norman's impressive work:

 

 

[jhb171achill]

Sorry I missed the event! (Though I did see it on Saturday...!)

A really excellent little set-up. I was familiar with several of these linen mills in the past, and this model really captures the atmosphere of the likes of Barbour Threads or the Island Mill in Lisburn......

[jhb171achill]

A few more pics I took at Brookhall Mill the other day, these ones mostly showing locos and rolling stock.

Those GNR coaches look excellent, as does the inevitable (Leslie's) UTA Brown Van. After 1958 they started infiltrating the ex-GNR bits of the UTA's declining rail network, and were to be seen alongside silver, green and eventually black'n'tan CIE "tin vans" on both the Dundalk - Gt. Victoria St. stretch, and the Derry Road.

[Galteemore]

Now there’s a lot of familiar faces! Wonderful event - thanks for sharing. Last time I had a running day with Norman was about 25 years ago when we ran our live steamers on each others lines. Is that a GN 4-2-2 he’s built lurking in the background behind the NCC 2-4-0? Lovely models. And a fabulous setting. Know anyone who could compose a Planxty in its honour ? 

Edited February 20, 2023 by Galteemore

[StevieB]

I particularly liked the 4-6-0, a might have been. I understand that Dundalk works was the limiting factor for the creation of such a loco.

Stephen

[Galteemore]

Yes, it was length of traverser and the size of the shops - 39’: Glover tanks needed their buffers removed to fit in! Whether the GN actually needed a 4-6-0 is also a moot point….the proposal came along in 1911, before Glover’s arrival and the design of the S class. As an NER man, Glover was well used to 4-6-0s but obviously chose not to build his own. Indeed, on the NE Glover would have seen how Worsdell’s R class 4-4-0s took over work that the 4-6-0s struggled with! Pic by M Peirson.
 

The S proved that a large 4-4-0 could effectively do anything the GN asked of it and an S on form with a top crew was even a match for the V and VS. And unlike them, it could also work the Derry Road - and even reach Enniskillen if the civil engineer wasn’t looking….. 
 

Sorry Patrick - thread creep!! What would Mr Weaver say? 

 

Edited February 20, 2023 by Galteemore

[Patrick Davey]

4 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Now there’s a lot of familiar faces! Wonderful event - thanks for sharing. Last time I had a running day with Norman was about 25 years ago when we ran our live steamers on each others lines. Is that a GN 4-2-2 he’s built lurking in the background behind the NCC 2-4-0? Lovely models. And a fabulous setting. Know anyone who could compose a Planxty in its honour ? 

Yes indeed good spot, in a tasty green livery!

2 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Yes, it was length of traverser and the size of the shops - 39’: Glover tanks needed their buffers removed to fit in! Whether the GN actually needed a 4-6-0 is also a moot point….the proposal came along in 1911, before Glover’s arrival and the design of the S class. As a NER man, Glover was well used to 4-6-0s but obviously chose not to build his own. Indeed, on the NE Glover would have seen how Worsdell’s R class 4-4-0s took over work that the 4-6-0s struggled with! Pic by M Peirson.
 

The S proved that a large 4-4-0 could effectively do anything the GN asked of it and an S on form with a top crew was even a match for the V and VS. And unlike them, it could also work the Derry Road - and even reach Enniskillen if the civil engineer wasn’t looking….. 
 

Sorry Patrick - thread creep!! What would Mr Weaver say? 

 

I’d like to think he would appreciate the informed post!