Old childhood attic layout memories

Noel · February 21, 2021

I found this last night rooting through a box of old scenics retrieved from my childhood layout dismantled back in 1980. Electric light signal I made when I was about 13. Candescant bulbs, body cut from plastic card, pole made from rolled up grease proof paper laminated in PVA as I had no suitable plastic tube and plastic school markers were too wide in diameter. It worked off 12v but I cannot remember where I salvaged the bulbs from. The clear bulbs were painted green and red. I remember forming the lens shades around a hot screw driver shaft to deform the plastic suitably. Its wierd how detail memory can be reactivated. I was chuffed as cat who got they cherry off a cake when I was a child and was able to operate this sole signal on my old layout. The height of modernity when such was only visible in the then recently renamed Heuston station (formerly kings bridge).

Was quite chuffed back then to have something 'so tech' and modern, nostalgia for my rail travel experiences in the 60s and 70s has since pulled me back to the glory days of CIE black'n'tan and flying snail green, when lanterns and quadrant signals were more the norm.

Lima class 33 CIE hauling Lima BR mk1 and repainted Hornby coach into CIE livery. There were actually wires between those telegraph poles

This single line branch station provided hours of entertainment and operations.

The old main station mainly a mix of Triang, Airfix (now Dapol) buildings. Only Irish thing in shot was the kit bashed shunter in the goods yard. I still have some of those buildings up in the attic. When my dad died and we left that home I salvaged as much of the layout as possible and still have scenic elements stored away in boxes