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Excellent and educational night . Thanks Jonathan

Thanks for the great presentation tonight!

The loco appears to be similar to that used in a cheap G gauge train set widely available (Australasia & United States) about 18-20 years ago. The set was popular with large scale modellers loco had basic but effective radio control, and locos/stock good basis for kit bashing into something less toy like. Main differrence between Australiaian and US versions was the placement of the batteries, cab of local version and tender in United States.

Burma road freight on Tara junction. 132+152 work the Sligo-Limerick van train crossing with 027 which is working the Limerick-Sligo van/oil train Thanks to @Past-Avenuefor supplying the goods brake van-seen here at the rear of the van train.

we have liftoff!

The sample is a 375/6, so a South Eastern example, which do exhibit the mastic sealer joins.

They turned grey on the ferry coming over….! I think the lower one is late GSWR.

Excellent talk. Well done Jonathan.

Christmas tree trainset taken to another level… Saw these in Leroy Merlin earlier:

https://www.steamtrainsireland.com/whats-on/55/santa-special-dublin

Nice - thank you. The brown one 18459 is in H van, but the grey one 15242 is a former GSWR ‘Big Boy’, longer and higher than most other vans. Originally it would have had planked sides but many were later sheeted.

A bit late to this topic, but I found a couple of pictures of grounded van bodies. They were taken in 1980 at Cavan cattle market, which was based in the former railway goods shed of, I presume, the GNRi station. The pictures were taken with a 110 film camera. Hopefully of use to someone besides myself? The cattle auction was an experience I would recommend to everyone.

I think that time it was the airport tug, after Tonka wouldn't start. Maybe they went to best of three..? The tug was because we had a hovercraft to move the forgings around between gantry crane runs. It was much easier to 'organise' things to be in the right place, when you could manoeuvre with more flexibility than only running on rails. This meant filling in the flange gaps in the inset rail lines, to avoid losing too much air. Just done with bits of wood, if someone could remember where they had been put after the last time the hovercraft was used... Not twisting your ankle when cross the many tracks around the place was an important skill, particular outside. One morning, glancing down to be sure I was OK, I saw a foot, with a blue trainer on, flash in, as though to trip me. Ready to sort out my assailant, I spun around to find there was nobody at all there, And I was in the middle of an outside yard, with 100 feet of empty space around me - odd, but I just put the hallucination down to overwork. Then, in the afternoon, I had a cup of tea and put my feet up, to reveal that I had a black leather safety shoe on one foot, and a blue suede trainer on the other...

To misquote a Michael Jackson lyric: "I'm looking at the man in a hurry..."

Good on, tell us... Who won the tug of war?

Signalbox completed - bar a few details. Cheers Darius

You might want to take another look at the bodyside near the intermediate ends, where you have a bold raised bead line running vertically. The end module (last 800mm or so of each end of the carbody) was bolted on with 6 big bolts (2 M36 and 4 M30 if I remember correctly from my time in U shop). This left a gap between the end and the bodyside, which was filled with black Sikaflex sealant from a big air-powered sealant gun. The gap was filled flush, not to a raised profile. Also, the end module included the part below floor level. So that joint continued down across the solebar. This photo on Flickr (not mine) shows what the end joint should look like: Not like this: More recent builds may have a slightly different treatment in this area, but it's still not a raised bead line, and again the joint continues below the solebar. Again, a photo on Flickr, not mine. The raised bead between the doors also looks wrong to me. The doors were designed to seat very flush, there isn't a raised portion where they join: Cheers Mol

19:30

Recently, we received the first sample of our highly anticipated Electrostar project — a model we’re developing in conjunction with our friends at Rails of Sheffield. This early, unpowered sample has been sent for us to inspect the fidelity of the moulds and to begin our feedback process, allowing us to accelerate the model into the decoration stages. Well, we were certainly taken aback when we saw it. We know self-praise is no praise, but wow — it’s a bit of a stunner! As with any early sample, there are a few areas that will need some fettling before moving forward. The kinematic couplings, for example, will require a little refinement. Our development team will also be revisiting the roof access and fixings, as they’re not entirely satisfied with the magnetic fittings and roof removal — particularly on the PTSOL. These areas will be adjusted to ensure a more secure and reliable fit. Another element under review is the mechanism that enables the fitting of destination screens. The concept works, but it needs further evaluation to see how it impacts other areas of the design before it’s finalised. On a more positive note, the underframes are looking excellent, with plenty of fine detail and an accurate shape — especially around the cab. The overall weight, centre of gravity, and balance are spot on, and the integration of the mechanics — including the motor and pantograph — has turned out very nicely indeed. We expect a fully powered version to arrive shortly, allowing us to begin performance evaluation and electronics testing. This next phase will bring a whole new level of interactivity and fidelity not yet seen on any UK-outline multiple unit to date. If everything goes according to plan, we hope to show you decorated samples around Easter 2026, and at this stage, our delivery date remains unchanged. All in all, it’s a very encouraging first step for the Electrostar — a few tweaks still to make, but plenty to be happy with as the project moves closer to production. Look out for videos taking a closer look and offering more in-depth insights from both Rails of Sheffield and ourselves next week! Fancy one? Place your pre-order (with your reservation fee) through Rails or directly via the link below. Pre-Order Your Electrostar Direct Here! View the full article

Not Ebay and no connection to the seller but:- https://www.elaines-trains.co.uk/index.php?pg=bg

Nice MK3 CIE exec coaches

Who remembers tracking the ship the IRM A class container was on around Covid time

Fear not! They'll have a crew out in one of their many submarines, making sure that things will progress in their favour. https://boskalis.com/activities/offshore-energy/subsea-services/subsea-irm

Not been approved by the mods yet............ I think they are a bit busy chasing Class 66's across the North Sea

I don’t see those….would love to see em!