N. Ireland Railways build - a junction query

R

rjhowie

Active member
I am presently and slowly building the Northern Ireland Railway system. However I have a query re a junction. North of Belfast there is a junction just beyond Whiteabbey Station at Bleach Green Junction. This is where the Larne and Londondery Lines diverge. Travelling from Belfast onto the Larne Line trains used to traverse the sharp curve under the LD Line to the left but is not longer used due to being too sharp for the modern CAF trains. The linear track plans booklet I have shows this but I am sure there is a a new junction layout for trains heading for Larne. Coming back is still the same. Anyone able to help as to what the layout now is? I may pop over for a few days break to satisfy my pressing curiosity instead of guessing!

In the meantime I have completed the whole of the Bangor Line with scenery and working on the Border Line which i will take as far as just over the Border to Drogheda. When I get further up the Londonderry route (and solved that junction) I will add the Portrush Branch and also put in the presently mothballed Crumlin Line. Belfast Central and Belfast Gt Victoria Street area is done.

I had long felt there wasa little from over the Irish Sea on Trainz and hope this will be some kind of filling the gap. There is the excellent part coverage in the steam days but this is a modern situation I am doing. If I can't solve this minor junction query it will give me an excuse to jump over there from Glasgow and dash from one side of a train to the other to see what Bleach Green is now like! I have tried before to solve this query with no luck.

ps. I hope to put up a website on my N.I.R. build and have a slideshow of each of the lines as they are done.
 
At last. Irish routes are sadly lacking. I would do the Belfast suburban route myself but I am currently working on the Glasgow one after a fashion. Who knows, if I get bored, I may well do so. It's small but there are a lot of stations

I live in Belfast but I doubt I'll get a chance to head out to Larne to help you out. You probably know this already but the CAF units are used on the Derry route and the older DMUs still cover the Larne section (as a rule).

I look forward to seeing your work.
 
Hi pfx,

Well you could do that but I am going to do the whole of the NIR anyway and have done the Bangor Line as indicated and Belfast city stations. I am a wee bit puzzled on the matter of that Bleach Green Junction above Whiteabbey. When I was over I was sure over travelling towards Larne that the line down and under was seen to my left but it may have been a memory blip. I contacted the Irish Railway Preservation Society which is nearby and a man there emailed and said the CAFS do travel under the L/Derry Line on that sharp downward and under curve while the line back to Belfast is still at normal level. Unless I find different I will take it as that. Not living there is a drawback and I might not do the system justice but it will fill an Irish Sea gap!

The Crumlin mothballed line will be awkward as you can't travel on it (!) Google Earth is just no use there nor is it any use south of Lisburn and the rest of the Londonderry , Portrush and Larne tracks. I have odd notes and rough reminder sketches but imperfect or not I will do NIR. Recently I discovered a rail expert in Dublin who has been supported by Local Councils in the West of Ulster for the old Derry Rd via Portadown, Omagh, etc, the Armagh and Enniskillen bits. Needles to say at over 460 million a pipe dream but would loved to have modelled that!

I do think that NI was the worst part of GB to be rail savaged and the old UTA when set up was bus orientated and within months shut down lines everywhere some of which would have been of use now. It is when you look at the "Along UTA Lines" on Trainz and you see what was in that part of the country alone it gives an indication of what is generally gone. NIR has done great strides for what it inherited and won the best train company last year. Was quite impressed with my runabout and could have done with staying abit longer and think I tried to squeeze too much into a pint jar.

When I get a website up early in the New Year I will mention it here and let you know - will be shortly. I will have slideshows for each of the lines and start with Belfast-Bangor the city centre tracks and up to Whiteabbey which has scenery done. As a local you might not think it pristine but it will help fill an Irish gap and will give Trainzers something that bit different!
 
rjhowie2 said:
As a local you might not think it pristine but it will help fill an Irish gap and will give Trainzers something that bit different!
Click to expand...

Don't knock it. Anything is better than nothing. I'm only a recent local having moved over from Falkirk about a year and a half ago. The train service here is fantastic (as long as you're on the CAF stock!!!) and it's handy for getting around if you want to leave the car at home, ie, go drinking though I've only used it in the Belfast area and the Bangor line.

If I knew how to use GMAX or even had it for that sake, I'd try doing some NIR stock. Unfortunately, I can't find anything that would even come close to it with the exception of a payware Turbostar that could be reskinned and Eldavo's Class 67 reskinned to take the place of the Enterprise 201s or 208s.

It's a pity that Google only covers such a small area in high detail but I'm looking forward to seeing the results of your work.
 
JCitron said:
Have you checked out the bird's eye views in Bing?

http://www.bing.com/maps/?FORM=Z9LH7 Scroll over to Ireland and then zoom in. Some areas have a bird's eye view of the cities. Bangor is one of them.

John
Click to expand...

Just had a look at that. rjhowie, seems Whiteabbey junction is covered quite nicely by this. Unfortunately you won't get all the way out to Larne with the birdseye view. Good luck with it.

Nice one John.
 
Thanks John but as is with Google Earth only a limited part of Ulster is available and I can see the junction on that!

Just to say pfx, I have for the moment switched to work onto the Portadown Border Line. Did this with my Glasgow tramway to give a bit of a variety and when I felt was getting bogged down. So at the moment I will work on the section between the Adelaide Yards (already down) and Lisburn Station which I have in place along with the trackwork and the Crumlin Line as far as where it branches off cross-country including that short uphill bit. My rough plan will be to work between the Border and Londonderry Lines (and Portrush Branch in time) jumping between them for variety (!) and leave the Larne lot to penultimately later as there will be some very fiddly bits with that.

Finally that elusive temporarily mothballed branch via Crumlin which will be more guesswork due to the situation and it vanishes in the maze of Google Earth. If I don't get the NIR Trainz website up next week I will give a link to some temporary pictures of some of what is done (Bangor Line, Yorkgate, GVS-Central).

Much, much later I might if I get like Caesar and extend south beyond the Border and add a couple of closed lines for the fun of it in a different NIR build. For now it is important to do the existing NIR and as you commented the NIR has come on by leaps and bounds. The company also has as you probably know an order in for modern sets for Larne. Now I have started this project I ust discipline myself to keep at it with wee breaks in between.

Now back to somewhere just north of Lisburn working back towards Belfast.......will keep you posted.

Now if only there were Trainz CAFS in NIR colours to drive?

Bobby
 
A postscript John (!). Much of the NIR does disappear too on Google BUT you were right to direct me to Bing as it does give the whole of the Larne Line which is a great improvement over Google. Thanks for that one as that will be a great help.
 
rjhowie2 said:
Thanks for that Innis. Anything with the modern NIR livery would be nice!

Bobby
Click to expand...

Hi Bobby. Do the CAFs exist then? I can't reskin the Turbostar as it's payware but I could do a class 156 (similar to a NIR 450) or a 158 though that wouldn't be quite as prototypical and I would need permission from the authors.

Cheers
Innis.
 
Last edited:
Hi Innis,

As you say slightly different (!) but either would be great if I can get something in modern NIR livery. Would be a good start. Haven't found a CAF on Trainz so would be quite happy with any modern alternative. I do have trains I got from Railwaves which of course as you say can't be touched. I like the trains with wider driver windows but I am not going to turn my nose up at a 156 or 158 driving through Belfast in the colours that suit it! Would be more than pleased at your kind offer. Will start working on a Trainz NIR website this week but will give a link to those temporary pictures to give an idea what I have done or doing pn Tuesday or Wednesday.

Once the snow gets lost I think I may just have an excuse to pop back over for some note taking again and the challenge of the Crumlin Line amongst some other passing queries.

Thanks again and anything you can do is A1.

Bobby

(fiddling about between Lisburn and south Belfast.........)
 
Ah that is very encouraging and looking good. More than can be said for an area I have just got rid of south of Belfast and re-doing - it didn't seem too good so re-doing from the Crumlin Line junction beyond Lisburn again. Only had track and stations as it happens to just before Newry. Your NIR effort is much appreciated Innis.

My hope is that I will have re-done the greater part of the Portadown Line to the Border during January then move back to extending beyond Bleach Green. Know it will be slow off and on but needs must.
 
I'll keep bashing away at the stock and will await permissions from the creators to upload them. Will let you know as I get bits done.

Cheers.
Innis.
 
Nothing worse Ish and know the feeling when you do something and realise what's lost.

Think I will start a completely new thread about the NIR as I have pictures to show and this thread title may give the impression it is prolonging a problem already solved!
 
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