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@DJ Dangerous Reminder there are two Qashqui's so no reg swapping required!!

Indeed. I can picture a modified traction engine pottering along the SLNCR with a few cattle trucks much more easily that I can visualise an 0-6-4+4-6-0 articulated monster!

It might also explain an historical oddity. Would have made far more sense for the SLNC’s infamous putative loco to be a Beyer-Garrett rather than Garratt - much more in their line I’d have thought

I never knew the origin of the name. Fascinating! The advantage of a Garrett locomotive over a Garratt locomotive is the much smaller size of layout required.

An excellent talk, thanks to Leslie for publicising and Roger for the talk itself. Sorry I wasn’t there in person, but rest assured I do attend my local Manchester meetings and I may even have had my arm twisted to give a talk next year.

Sounds like an amazing space! Speaking as someone who has started a lot of overambitious layouts and finished few, I would recommend building a module at a time to start with, whilst keeping a grand plan in mind that they will eventually fit into. Don’t try and build 20 baseboards at the start.

That’s a whopping area to run trains in! Glad it’s not @Dave Lindfield, that could get messy.

Late report 3002+3003 worked 1050 allegedly on Wednesday

I believe the room is around 4mx8m and i have not gotten through to the baseboard guy yet (dont worry its not the MRB guy)

That sounds excellent! What size is the room? How much do the FREMO boards cost?

I did, 'tis a garden room Half needs to be usable as a spare room, so I'm using the brilliant FREMO system and making it modular. Most of the time it will be a 100% railway room, but I can take down one corner in just a few minutes and it can be used as a guest room. It'll house a folded double track loop, made up of two C-shaped or L-shaped halves, connected by a helix at either end. The helixes are not portable, as the plan is to make it possible to exhibit the layout with the two halves connected on the flat. There'll also be a few junction modules (custom made with FREMO dimensions and endplates on the main line ends so as to be compatible with the rest of the layout) one to connect Ardree in to the main layout. However, there'll be one or two other small terminus layouts connected as well- but that's a story for another day!

A little postscript to my previous notes on the tar tank wagons built by or for CIE. I was having another look through the GNR wagon diagram book today (available to purchase as a pdf from the IRRS) and I've realised that the GNR had some tar tanks as well, some of which were inherited by CIE (and others by UTA). So for completeness I'll describe them briefly. GNR wagon diagrams 56 and 56A show 'Creosote or Tar Tank Car' and are dated 1940 and 1950 respectively. Both show vehicles that are outwardly similar in appearance though with small dimensional differences. They are converted steam loco tenders, retaining their 6-wheel underframe, but fitted with a wagon-style lever handbrake accessible from the ground. The body appears to comprise part of the original tender body, extended upwards into taller rectangular tank. Their capacity is in the range 3425 to 3725 gallons, so a bit larger than the biggest of the cylindrical tanks described above. The laden weight was up to 33 tons (on 3 axles, of course). A total of 5 are listed, the first three were built as engineers' wagons in 1940 but two were transferred to traffic stock in 1950, at which point two more were built for traffic. 'old plate number' 42, engineers # 8192, remained with the engineers. 'old plate number' 48, engineers # 8193, traffic # 6025, went to CIE 'old plate number' 35, engineers # 8194, traffic # 6026, went to UTA 'old plate number' 39, traffic # 6027, went to UTA 'old plate number' 40, traffic # 6028, went to CIE The diagrams (which I can't reproduce here) are well-dimensioned and also show the livery details. The underframes are of the inside spring type of the 1890s, but I haven't been able to work out exactly which type of tender they were. I've no idea how long they lasted in service, but noting their large capacity and the growing need for tar tank wagons in the 1950s, I suspect they ran for a few years with CIE. I'm now wondering where I might find a spare old GNR tender. Having said that, I don't think any of the GNR loco kits include a sufficiently old tender. So far I have failed to find any photos of them. Has anyone else seen one? This photo from Ernie shows a similar type of tender, unconverted. The diagram indicates that the coal rails and flared top were removed, and the plain rectangular tank extended upwards by a couple of feet.

It’s a garden hedge. He knows how much you love your nocturnal hedges. Is it a layout room?

How 'bout you just tell us?

Yes George, a traction engine on rails. It is called Sirapite and was originally going to be named after a gypsum product - plaster of paris. Until somebody realised that Parisite didn't sound too good.

I had to run out and film it on my (not very good) phone, in about -1 or -2 degrees, at 9pm, in November, in my jim jams. I could see my own breath better than the garden room! And it's too dark now to get anything better. I'll be back with a picture in the morning, hopefully.

Not quite sure what's going on here. Is this a remake of The Blair Witch Project?

@Railer posted a list HERE.

I have used 2mm thick card painted with BR rail grey enamel. The concrete inside the real shed is likely to have a non dust/non slip coating so no need for a textured finish. Outside the slab surface may be tamped in real life for grip and frost protection so perhaps apply the talc to external hardstandings with slab joints scribed in with a sharp knife. Cheers Darius

I used artists grey card-suitably weathered,worked well for me.

*makes notes for future reference *

126+152 work the Sligo -Limerick van train crossing 027 which is working the Limerick-Sligo oil/ van train

Hi all, Just out of curiosity does anyone know what paints to use to spray carriages into the post 2008 enterprise silver and green livery please? I think I have found tamiya colours that are close enough but I’d prefer to get it spot on if anyone knows the best match. Thanks in advance?

Many thanks Andy, will do!

If its any help contact Ducket Models as Stuart does a replacement ventilator for the horsebox to its proper square section rather than round.Andy