Brookhall Mill - A GNR(I) Micro Layout

[Patrick Davey]

16 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

Which is your favourite IRM A class loco........?

I know which is mine!

I recently took my Irish Railway Models A class loco A46 out for a spin on the layout and I realised that I had forgotten just how stunning she looked in her dark green livery, so of course I had to make a video of her shunting at the mill, to a soundtrack of some appropriately 'green' music!! There'll be more from this beautiful loco shortly......

So here's four minutes of glorious green gorgeousness, in glorious HD!

Enjoy!!! 

A shout out to @Mayner for the fabulous CIÉ brake van which also features in this video, as well as @leslie10646 whose excellent Provincial Wagons CIÉ vans also feature!

[leslie10646]

Thanks, Patrick, even more so as your H Vans are the first I've seen with the Builder's Plate in place.

I added them to the kit as an afterthought, when I realised that Steve at Railtec could do them.

To any of you who have my H vans, but didn't get the Builder's Plate transfers, see me at Bangor and I'll see if I can match your van number with the stock of them which I have left - no charge

[Patrick Davey]

From the 1940's until the early 1960's, CIÉ ran annual St. Patrick's Day 'Shamrock Specials' to Brookhall, as a reward for staff who had excellent in company service during the previous year.  In 1961, two such trains were operated, for staff from Galway and Sligo stations.  

The trains left Galway and Sligo at 07:30am and 07:45am respectively on Friday March 17th that year, and both arrived at Brookhall around lunchtime.  The CIÉ staff were treated to an afternoon of legendary Brookhall hospitality, beginning with a sumptuous lunch upon arrival, followed by a lively session of traditional Irish music and song performed by 'The Sozzled Shillelaghs'.

This was the penultimate year of 'The Shamrock Specials' - the final train ran in 1962, with a special overnight trip for staff from Dugort Harbour.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[Patrick Davey]

More CIÉ B&T tonight.

 

[Patrick Davey]

1970s regulars at the mill.

[Patrick Davey]

Currently working through a ‘snag’ list with the layout.  Surprising how many small things still need sorting…….

Drain covers - need to install along the road

Fix loose lights and reposition one light which is fouling the platform road 

Water crane drain detail - need to paint the red bag and add more greenery and paint the drain a rust colour 

Platform surface - needs weathered

Water tower copings - falling apart….need to make replacements from DAS clay 

Lifebelts - need painting for the period 

Signal box chimney - it’s wonky

General greenery ~ base of walls, on the buildings etc

Gun position copings - need DAS replacements 

Level crossing rails - too high and some vans are riding up on these and then dropping down

 

Grateful for any more observations!

[Patrick Davey]

All quiet at the mill this afternoon.

[Patrick Davey]

Working through my 'snag' list..... with thanks to @Galteemore and others for suggestions along the way.

1.  The red water bag has been toned down and dirtied a bit, and the crane has a bit of greenery.  The drain is now also rusted.

 

2.  The lifebelts are now a more appropriate colour for the era. I tried to use masking tape to get sharp edges between the red and white, but the eyesight had other ideas.

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, Patrick Davey said:

Working through my 'snag' list..... with thanks to @Galteemore and others for suggestions along the way.

1.  The red water bag has been toned down and dirtied a bit, and the crane has a bit of greenery.  The drain is now also rusted.

 

2.  The lifebelts are now a more appropriate colour for the era. I tried to use masking tape to get sharp edges between the red and white, but the eyesight had other ideas.

 

Those varied bits of weeds give it all a most realistic look.

 

[Patrick Davey]

THE COPING STRATEGY

Nearly there with the 'snag' list before I can officially declare Brookhall Mill to be 'finished', if a layout can ever really be described as such.  One of the two remaining items on the list was to replace crumbling card coping stones: thin ones on the gun emplacement and thicker ones on the boiler house under the water tower.  The card was only crumbling because I didn't quite prepare it properly.

Anyway I wanted to use DAS clay to fabricate new coping stones.  DAS gives a really good 'stone'-like texture I think, so that was where I was going.....

The smaller ones for the gun emplacement were straightforward enough - DAS was rolled out to a thickness of around 2mm and once dry, appropriate lengths were trimmed off and shaped accordingly.

The thicker blocks for the boiler house were produced as follows:

1. Plasticard formers were assembled - careful measurement was needed to ensure consistency.

 

2. DAS was spread inside the formers and left to dry for a few days.

 

3. Once dry, the lengths of dried DAS were carefully removed from the formers then sanded and scribed to represent individual stone blocks.

 

4. The blocks were coloured using a HB pencil and glued in place.  I might add in some greenery for weeds later.

 

This is the gun emplacement with the DAS coping stones in place and coloured:

 

Good old DAS!

Edited April 6, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[Patrick Davey]

The last major item on the snag list - the inset track which crosses the access road to allow vans to be shunted into the mill.

I could for some reason never get this right - the check rails always sat too high and the vans would ride up over these on their way into the mill, so I have admitted defeat and applied timber inserts.

And they are actually timber - made from coffee stirrers!!

Edited April 8, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Nicely done

[Patrick Davey]

3 hours ago, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

Nicely done

Cheers GL - happy Easter to you and to all here!

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

39 minutes ago, Patrick Davey said:

Cheers GL - happy Easter to you and to all here!

Same to you Patrick, have a good one.

[Patrick Davey]

So after almost three years, I think I can officially declare that Brookhall Mill is finally finished!!  With grateful thanks to everybody on this forum for all the support and encouragement along the way

[Patrick Davey]

MR. WEAVER’S TRIP TO LOUGHAN QUAY

One afternoon in 1944, a BCDR train arrived at Brookhall, hauled by BCDR diesel No. 2.  The train was there to collect a shipment of linen for Loughan Quay near Dundrum.  The driver, Mr. Nixon, was a friend of Mr. Weaver’s from years earlier and soon an invitation had been issued to Mr. Weaver to have a cab ride in the little diesel, and enjoy some hospitality at Loughan Quay.  Mr. Weaver was very fond of No. 2 and immediately accepted Mr. Nixon’s invitation.  Soon the two old friends were making their leisurely way in the loco’s small cab along the Lagan Valley towards Belfast, before taking the Belfast Central line and then the BCDR mainline, passing through all the East Belfast suburban stations and eventually reaching Comber, where they had to wait for a few minutes to allow a Donaghadee train to enter the station.  Soon they were on their way again, passing Ballygowan, Saintfield and Ballynahinch Junction - this latter station was the diesel’s usual workplace but she was away from her regular duties this week and instead, a CIÉ 2-4-2t locomotive was working the Ballynahinch branch.  After passing Crossgar, Downpatrick Loop platform and Tullymurry, the train slowed for the junction for Loughan Quay, arriving shortly after.  Mr. Weaver certainly enjoyed the hospitality at Loughan and indeed he spend much time getting to know the locals.  Later on, Mr. Nixon and diesel No. 2 brought Mr. Weaver to Newcastle, just in time to join the final GNR departure to Belfast - Mr. Weaver alighted at Lisburn where a locomotive was waiting to bring him back up to Brookhall.

With very special thanks to Alan (Tullygrainey) for making all this possible, by letting me create this little story using his fantastic BCDR stock and also his stunning 'Loughan Quay' layout.

[jhb171achill]

Superb - the music too! One of your compositions?

 

[Patrick Davey]

5 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

Superb - the music too! One of your compositions?

 

Not this time - it was actually composed by one of my students under my direction!  A GCSE composition project!!  Aren't Alan's BCDR models amazing JB, the Loughan Quay layout has to be seen to be fully appreciated and I feel very privileged to have seen it twice now.  And it was a true pleasure to have such stunning BCDR models visit Brookhall Mill.

[Galteemore]

Fantastic. Wonderful work all round. And if business picks up you could run a shuttle service.

[Patrick Davey]

BCDR  VISITORS TO BROOKHALL

By the late 1930s, the GNR(I) had begun supplying Brookhall Mill linen products to other railway companies, principally the neighbouring LMS-NCC and BCDR.  These shipments became less frequent once the mill was called upon to contribute to the Northern Ireland war effort, and they did not properly resume until after 1945.  One exception to this however was an order received from The Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle, Co. Down, in early 1943.  The hotel was owned by the BCDR and the railway company wished to refresh the hotel’s stocks of tablecloths, napkins, bed linen and certain staff uniforms, so after negotiations with Brookhall it was agreed that this order could be fulfilled by mid-1943.  The delivery day was scheduled for Wednesday July 7th 1943 but the GNR had informed the BCDR that due to operational demands with wartime traffic, they could not supply locomotives or suitable rolling stock to assist with delivery.  Prior to the war, the distinctive cream-liveried Brookhall linen vans would occasionally have been seen in Newcastle, having travelled via Banbridge in either passenger or goods trains.  But in 1943 the NI railway companies were making an essential contribution to preparations for the imminent invasion of Europe, and the GNR found themselves sufficiently stretched that day that they would not be able to deliver the order to Newcastle nor to Belfast Queen’s Quay.  The BCDR was therefore tasked with collecting the order using their own rolling stock and this produced possibly the most unusual BCDR workings to Brookhall, involving both steam and diesel traction.

The day started at 10:03 in Newcastle, when BCDR 4-4-2t locomotive No. 30 departed in the Castlewellan direction, with a short train consisting of three covered vans and a brake van.  The train ran onto GNR metals at Castlewellan where a GNR driver was collected, and made its leisurely way along the scenic northern foothills of the Mourne Mountains via Ballyward, Ballyroney and Katesbridge to Banbridge, arriving at 10:40.  The train had to wait at Banbridge for 17 minutes to allow GNR traffic to pass, before being cleared to continue to Lisburn via Dromore & Hillsborough.  The train was signal checked at Knockmore Junction for 3 minutes before being cleared to proceed into Lisburn, arriving at 11:45.  No. 30 ran around her train at Lisburn and departed for Brookhall at 12:01, taking the Antrim line at Knockmore at 12:09 and arriving at the mill at 12:16.

This was when things started to unravel, when it emerged that due to a staff shortage and other operational difficulties, the shipment would not be ready at the agreed time of 14:00, and instead it would take a further three hours to before it could be checked, packed and loaded.

This presented the BCDR with an immediate problem in that No. 30 was rostered to bring a troop train from Tullymurry to Belfast at 14:35 and of course the troop train would have to take priority.  Experiencing similar wartime demands as the GNR, the BCDR did not have another locomotive available to haul the troop train so after a frantic telephone exchange between Brookhall and Queen’s Quay, it was decided that No. 30 would return immediately to Newcastle to collect the carriages for the troop train, and the BCDR vans would remain at Brookhall to await collection later.

After having her water and coal topped up, No. 30 departed Brookhall at 12:55 and due to anticipated congestion at Banbridge it was decided that the locomotive would run non-stop through Lisburn and on towards Belfast, take the Belfast Central line and then bypass Queen’s Quay to join the BCDR main line and head directly to Newcastle.  There was a signal check at Ballynahinch Junction at 14:05 which caused some concern to the locomotive crew, but this cleared after 3 minutes and after a lively run via Downpatrick Loop No. 30 made it to Newcastle for 14:29.  It was decided that to save time, she would run bunker-first to Tullymurry, which was reached at 14:42, where the awaiting soldiers were taken aboard with no further delay, and only a certain amount of grumbling from the officers in charge…..

Back at Queen’s Quay they were having to think hard about how to retrieve their vans from Brookhall, as the manager of the Slieve Donard Hotel was getting impatient to receive his valuable shipment.  Then someone realised that diesel No. 2 had been in the workshops at Queen’s Quay and had that very morning been released for duty.  It was normal practice for a recently-outshopped locomotive to be given a short running-in trip so it was quickly decided to send the diesel to Brookhall to bring the vans back onto the BCDR.  The diesel was usually found on the BCDR’s Ballynahinch branch but due to the aforementioned wartime demands, a locomotive from the Great Southern Railways had been borrowed in 1941 to help work the branch - this was ex-DSER 2-4-2 loco No. 430, which  eventually retuned south in 1945.  Diesel No. 2 left Queen’s Quay at 15:23 and after reversal at Ballymacarret Junction to access the Belfast Central line, the locomotive ran directly to Brookhall, with only a short stop at Adelaide to collect a GNR driver.  Brookhall was reached at 16:21 and immediately upon arrival, the BCDR crew were informed of another unexpected problem.  The three BCDR vans which had arrived behind No. 30 that morning were not sufficient to transport the complete shipment, so the GNR offered to provide one of their own linen vans to resolve the situation, knowing that it could be easily returned from Newcastle via Castlewellan.  There was some concern that four fully-laden vans plus a brake van might be a bit heavy for the little diesel to haul, but after a further telephone exchange with Queen’s Quay, it was agreed that the load should be fine for the locomotive, as long as a speed limit of 20mph was observed on the descent towards Knockmore Junction.

The GNR had helpfully shunted the vans ready for the diesel’s arrival and after the paperwork had been signed, the train departed Brookhall at 17:01.  Lisburn was passed at 17:25 and in one final unusual act of the day, the train slowed to a crawl as it passed through Adelaide, to allow the GNR driver to alight onto the platform without the train actually stopping.  This was done due to concerns about the diesel’s ability to restart the train after a stop because the thought of a BCDR train blocking the GNR main line so close to Belfast wasn’t particularly appealing to anyone.  The train continued onto the Belfast Central line and although the climb over the ‘shaky’ bridge was taken at a snail’s pace, the little diesel didn’t stall and successfully made it to Ballymacarret Junction.  The train reversed into Queen’s Quay station, arriving at 18:25 and the vans were coupled to the 19:55 Newcastle train that evening, arriving at 21:27.  The GNR linen van didn’t quite make it back to Brookhall that same evening but it was eventually returned the following day.

And so ended a rather unusual day of BCDR workings to and from Brookhall Mill.

Edited April 12, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[Patrick Davey]

Here's some video footage from the above escapade!

With continued thanks to Alan (Tullygrainey) for his excellent company and for making this all happen!

 

Edited April 12, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[jhb171achill]

5 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

BCDR visitors

…….And so ended a rather unusual day of BCDR workings to and from Brookhall Mill.

Perfect back story; straight out of a mid-60s IRRS Journal!

[Billycan]

Modelling, story and music are on another level.  Super.

[Patrick Davey]

On 12/4/2023 at 3:06 PM, Billycan said:

Modelling, story and music are on another level.  Super.

Very kind @Billycan, thank you!  The stories are inspired by the creativity of @jhb171achill and the ongoing shenanigans at Dugort Harbour 

On 12/4/2023 at 1:46 PM, jhb171achill said:

Perfect back story; straight out of a mid-60s IRRS Journal!

Cheers JB!

[Noel]

Stunning. Reeks of atmosphere. Love it

[Patrick Davey]

1 hour ago, Noel said:

Stunning. Reeks of atmosphere. Love it

Thank you Noel, much appreciated!!  Hope the preparation of Gort for the show is going well!

[Patrick Davey]

AN OLD FRIEND RETURNS!

Lots of excitement at the mill today as an old friend returned following a chassis upgrade, courtesy of Alan (Tullygrainey), a craftsman in brass!  This venerable lady started life as one of the excellent Studio Scale Models T2 brass kits over 30 years ago, built for me by a friend. The model spent most of the next few decades hiding away in my attic, but received an overhaul from Colm Flanagan a few years back when she became GNR No. 64.  Recently I decided to replace the chassis with one cannibalised from a Hornby Adams Radial tank and Alan very kindly carried out this work for me. Now No. 64 is working on the layout and is a perfect complement to the blue-liveried U class No. 205 ‘Down’.

With grateful thanks to Colm and Alan for bringing this beautiful model back to life for me

Edited April 21, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[Patrick Davey]

A few short clips of No. 64 in action at Brookhall Mill. Mr. Weaver is very excited. 

[J-Mo Arts]

What a stunning model! Wish I had the skill to turn out something like that. She and 205 make a great pair.

[Patrick Davey]

Delighted to say that at long last, Brookhall Mill will be exhibited - for one day only!!!  Very many thanks to the Ulster Model Railway Club who have very kindly accommodated me on the second day of their upcoming exhibition, which runs on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th August, I will be there with the layout on Sunday 20th.  Looking forward to that very much!!

[Patrick Davey]

Getting very excited to bring Brookhall Mill to the Ulster Model Railway Club Exhibition this Sunday, am gutted not to be available on the Saturday to exhibit although I hope to call in towards the end of the day.

I'm planning a running sequence that starts in the 1940s and ends in the 1970s, and as well as my own stock, I will have the pleasure of running some incredible scratch built locos & rolling stock including ballast wagons, an NIR brake van and ex-BCDR diesel No. 2 all made by Gareth Brennan, a rare NIR MPD and other items built by Kieran Lagan, as well as @Tullygrainey (Alan Nixon)'s stunning BCDR models, the first time these have been seen in public as far as I know!!  Here's what will hopefully be running on Brookhall Mill:

1940s

GNR(I) 442t T2 No. 64 & 440 U class No. 205

NCC Jinty No. 18

A range of BCDR locos

 

1950s

CIE ‘Woolwich’ 460 & A class A30

UTA UG No. 49

UTA AEC railcar Nos. 111 & 115

UTA (ex-BCDR) diesel No. 2

 

1960s

CIE B188 & A15

 

1970s

NIR MPD unit

NIR Hunslet No. 101 'Eagle'

CIE 132

 

With the following operations:

 

GNR(I): Brookhall Mill staff shuttle, goods workings

NCC: goods workings from the NCC via Antrim

BCDR: goods workings from the BCDR via Belfast Central line or Banbridge

CIE: goods workings & passenger excursions from the south

UTA: Brookhall Mill staff shuttle, goods workings

NIR: Brookhall Mill staff shuttle, goods workings

And a 'ceremonial' final working featuring NIR Hunslet 101 'Eagle', a restored linen van and NIR brake van

 

There will also be a range of complementary road vehicles to match the era.

 

Really looking forward to this!!!

 

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Really looking forward to the video Patrick.

[Patrick Davey]

For the first time, Brookhall Mill has left the building!!  All packed up for its first outing tomorrow to the Ulster Model Railway Club show in Belfast.  Sleeping tonight with the window open, directly above the car…….

The workshop seems kinda empty now……

If you’re there tomorrow, come say hello  

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Best of luck Patrick, enjoy.

[Patrick Davey]

Fantastic day at the UMRC show!  Many thanks to everyone for the great organisation and hospitality!  A special word of thanks to Alan @Tullygrainey and Paul for helping out as 'The Brookhall Millers' 

 

Setting up before the show:

 

The GNR years:

 

Alan's amazing BCDR models:

 

BCDR diesel No. 28 in UTA livery, built by Gareth Brennan:

 

Alan's exquisite model of BCDR No. 29:

 

Alan and Gordon Hunt talking all things BCDR:

 

The futuristic CIE diesels arrive:

 

The final years at Brookhall Mill, featuring Kieran Lagan's superb NIR models:

 

A Belfast Corporation bus pays a visit to the mill:

 

Just before the mill closed in 1975, a brand new NIR 80 class railcar paid a visit:

 

The Brookhall Millers looking pretty happy with themselves!

 

Other amazing layouts on display included The Northern Counties Group's 'Fenaghy Junction':

 

Gordon Hunt's amazing 'Donaghadee':

 

And the very charming 'Nene Wharf':

 

A superb afternoon!

 

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by Patrick Davey