Brookhall Mill - A GNR(I) Micro Layout

[Patrick Davey]

After a bit of touching up and pointing, here's where we are - and here's where we'll stay for a while - work gets in the way now for a few weeks....

[David Holman]

Splendid!

[Galteemore]

Excellent. As you say, a real Co Antrim style here. 

[Patrick Davey]

Managed to grab an hour or two today. Wasn’t totally happy with the paint finish so I have darkened it down a bit which has improved that I think, and I’ve also started working on the corrugated iron louvres for the upper windows.  I haven’t quite measured these properly so I might have to redo this later.  
 

Or maybe the irregular lines are more authentic? 

Edited June 18, 2022 by Patrick Davey

[David Holman]

Louvres have to be one of the most awkward things to do in a building. Not seen ones made of wiggly tin before, but suspect that wear and tear would soon give an uneven finish.

[Patrick Davey]

Well the louvres didn’t work….. they all fell apart! I had made a card frame for them to fit into but I don’t think the glue and the material liked each other I had left it all overnight to cure but when I started adjusting it all this morning, it collapsed

This small build really is putting up a big fight

[2996 Victor]

On 19/6/2022 at 7:19 PM, Patrick Davey said:

Well the louvres didn’t work….. they all fell apart! I had made a card frame for them to fit into but I don’t think the glue and the material liked each other I had left it all overnight to cure but when I started adjusting it all this morning, it collapsed

This small build really is putting up a big fight

Would styrene be an option? Evergreen do corrugated "metal" sheets. It could be easier to build a frame from styrene strip and use strips of corrugated for the louvres all joined with solvent.

Cheers,

Mark

[Patrick Davey]

On 29/6/2022 at 8:14 PM, 2996 Victor said:

Would styrene be an option? Evergreen do corrugated "metal" sheets. It could be easier to build a frame from styrene strip and use strips of corrugated for the louvres all joined with solvent.

Cheers,

Mark

Exactly the current plan Mark!

[2996 Victor]

23 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

Exactly the current plan Mark!

I use Evergreen quite a lot, it seems easier to work than Slater's. Looking forward to seeing how you get on.

Cheers,

Mark 

[Patrick Davey]

Just ordered a load of stuff which will hopefully see me through to the completion of all the buildings on the layout...... fingers crossed......

[Patrick Davey]

At last - progress with the seemingly never-ending saga of the louvres…..

I ran out of corrugated tin though so an alternative from the Wills Range was used instead.  Still more work to do, might add more louvres to fill it in a bit more. 
 

Edited July 6, 2022 by Patrick Davey

[popeye]

Looks great and nicely done.

I would add more louvres to keep the pigeons out. 

[Patrick Davey]

Yet another change of direction for the louvres……. the Wills sheets weren’t quite co-operating, proving somewhat brittle and snapping when trimmed, something I have noted before if Wills sheets haven’t been used in a long time. Anyway, I had to resort to plain plasticard……. the old faithful never disappoints!

 

 

[Patrick Davey]

Now at last I’m starting to get this area looking the way I want it to.  The backstory here is that the building on the left was an original pre-railway building and the buildings on the right represent an expansion of the site under the GNR(I).

 

 

[Patrick Davey]

Another achievement this evening, we now have opening doors in the old building:

 

 

[jhb171achill]

That stonework is sublime!

Worth the effort.

[Patrick Davey]

Consignments starting to ship from the mill at last……

[murphaph]

That is brilliant. Really coming together nicely

[Patrick Davey]

I enjoy this part - blending in the buildings.  I also enjoy adding a sneaky filter.....

[Patrick Davey]

Sometimes you get an idea for something, you try it out, and it doesn’t work. This one did though! Open panes in the large window above the vehicle entrance to the mill
 

Detailing can certainly be addictive!

Edited July 14, 2022 by Patrick Davey

[Broithe]

Excellent!

 

Especially with the impending spell of hot weather in the offing.

[David Holman]

Nice. And very neatly done.

[Patrick Davey]

Augmenting the rail service tonight at the mill.
 

 

[Patrick Davey]

A TOTALLY FICTIONAL BUILDING…..

So far, all the buildings on Brookhall Mill have been built in the style of buildings which actually existed, most of which feature the GNR(I)’s polychromatic brick style, pioneered by WH Mills, the company’s first Chief Engineer.  As the main buildings were being completed I realised I had a small space remaining and this gave me an opportunity to try an experiment….you can tell me if you think it worked!!!

The WH Mills style always fascinated me, particularly as it was very adaptable, being identifiable in a range of structures across the GNR(I) network.  At the more modest end of the scale, there are small structures which have been built as add-ons to existing older station buildings such as at Drogheda and Oldcastle, then there are the very many distinctive small station buildings such as those at Dunleer, Ardee, Newtownstewart, and elsewhere, then at the grander end of the scale are the station buildings and locomotive works at Dundalk and also the GN headquarters buildings at Dublin Amiens Street.  The style may also be seen in locomotive sheds around the network such as at Adelaide and Bundoran, and of course in the ubiquitous signal cabins.  All these buildings and many more displayed a particular adaptation of the Mills style according to the function of the building, and it is a testament to the genius of Mills that he was able to create a style that united a range of vastly different structures.

So I have been wondering would it be possible to try out the style in a particular type of building which, as far as I am aware, never actually existed on the GNR(I).  I also have an interest in church architecture so I decided to try out the Mills style in a small church building.  There had to be a reason for having a church building in a mill so the idea is this: rural County Antrim would have had a lot of devout churchgoers, so what if some of them who also worked at Brookhall decided that they would like a space to worship, especially after a long shift ending early on a Sunday morning….. The mill management were just as interested in accommodating the spiritual needs of their staff as they were in accommodating their employment needs, so an agreement was reached with the GNR that if the staff could raise the necessary funds, then a small oratory could be built.  In an early display of ecumenical co-operation, Catholic & Protestant workers at the mill joined forces to raise the money from their home parishes, and the end result was the provision of a multi-faith oratory at Brookhall Mill - the only condition laid down by the GNR was that the building should be constructed in the familiar polychromatic brick style of WH Mills.

Looking forward to your thoughts!!!!!

 

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by Patrick Davey

[2996 Victor]

10 minutes ago, Patrick Davey said:

Looking forward to your thoughts!!!!!

I can't speak for the likelihood of the Mills style on an ecclesiastical building, but it certainly looks very good to my eyes. I love the stained glass windows and the scroll-iron door hinge straps. Great work!

Cheers,
Mark

[Patrick Davey]

The gentlemen of Brookhall have formed their own choir and the first rehearsal is in full swing. 

Introducing ‘The Mill Voice Choir’.

[Broithe]

The light from the window, reflected in the 'damp' setts - marvellous.

I can almost hear Ena Sharples on the harmonium at the Mission, with Minnie Caldwell's cat, Bobby, snoozing on the fence.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Broithe
Spelling, inevitably...

[Patrick Davey]

They’re still going……

[Patrick Davey]

Choir practice is running late this evening and the bus driver is getting very impatient……

[2996 Victor]

On 26/7/2022 at 8:57 PM, Patrick Davey said:

They’re still going……

This photo is phenomenal! So incredibly beautiful and atmospheric.

Cheers,

Mark 

[Patrick Davey]

A bit of reconstruction took place over the past few days on Brookhall Mill.

Recently, this area had started to nag at me:

I realised that the air aid shelter had been badly positioned.  It was making the middle siding inaccessible to longer vehicles and locomotives, and I had previously trimmed one of the corners to rectify this:

The plan had always been to repair this at some point, then I realised that the only realistic solution would be to reposition the shelter, so I took a deep breath and it was duly excavated.  At least I know now that if the Luftwaffe had actually tried to bomb Brookhall, anyone in this shelter would have been quite safe:

Linked to this work was the need to shorten the flat area in front of the office building:

This would allow me to move the shelter closer to the office building and remove the issue of fouling the siding.

Then I filled in the previous opening with thick card.....

...rebuilt the steps leading down from the office....

...and repaired the shelter.  This time I decided there was no need to make a large structure and sink this into the board, instead I would depend on the positioning of scatter material and foliage to hide the shallow walls, although the access steps would still be sunk into the board to give the impression of depth:

Scatter material added, and this will be left to dry thoroughly before painting and having foliage added:

Looks neater now I think!  I also need to provide a water crane so the locos can drink from the tank atop the small boiler house...this will go to the right of the air raid shelter in the V between the platform road and the siding.

 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2022 by Patrick Davey

[Galteemore]

Good plan, Patrick, although it’s hard taking up work already done well! The street version of those shelters were death traps, as the slab roof could collapse if the walls were hit by a blast wave. I have seen many shelters like yours over here and they were often surrounded by an earth bank, overgrown with grass, to soften the blast.

The NI Govt never seriously expected a raid as it was so distant, with relatively small targets compared to GB. As one Westminster official put it, it would be like a shoplifter walking through Harrods to do their pilfering in a corner shop! Sadly, when NIs meagre defences were tested they proved most inadequate. 

Edited July 30, 2022 by Galteemore

[LARNE CABIN]

Goodness, Patrick, that was a lot of work and I admire your pursuit of improvement and, I agree, it looks neater now. A water crane would be a bonus.

[2996 Victor]

Great improvement, Patrick, and as has already been said, taking the "wrecking ball" to what you've already built is a brave step. But the results are absolutely worthwhile!

Cheers,

Mark

[Broithe]

3 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Good plan, Patrick, although it’s hard taking up work already done well! The street version of those shelters were death traps, as the slab roof could collapse if the walls were hit by a blast wave. I have seen many shelters like yours over here and they were often surrounded by an earth bank, overgrown with grass, to soften the blast.

The NI Govt never seriously expected a raid as it was so distant, with relatively small targets compared to GB. As one Westminster official put it, it would be like a shoplifter walking through Harrods to do their pilfering in a corner shop! Sadly, when NIs meagre defences were tested they proved most inadequate. 

I spent a lot of my youth messing about in old bomb shelters. Most were, as you say, earth-banked - this provided added loose mass to 'soften' the blast, and a bit of 'shape' to allow it to pass, having less effect. I was never happy that few of these place had a secondary access - so, if the door became blocked, the occupants would be left in the hands of those outside, who may have other priorities, by that stage.

I have seen it suggested, with an air of confidence, that more people may have died in the UK from TB contracted in shelters than may have been saved from death due to the bombing - who knows?

If you ask people on the Big Island where in the UK, outside London, had the greatest WW2 bombing casualties, by far the most likely answer is Coventry, when it was Belfast, by a long way.