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Calling London

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leslie10646

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At the risk of being branded a self-publicist, I'm giving a half-evening talk on

 

"Irish Railway Modelling comes of Age"

 

to the IRRS London Area at 7pm, on Thursday 16 January 2014.

 

We meet at the Exmouth Arms, 1 Starcross Street, London NW1.

 

I will be covering the period from when everything was scratch built through to Murphy, McAllister and Co with their RTR stuff.

 

I have illustrations of some erarly Irish modelling and of more recent layouts. I hope, if we can sort out the technology, to show a few film clips of Adavoyle when it was in its prime!

 

We'll have some models on display as well.

 

If you're in the South East of England, come and have a look!

 

Leslie

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Less of this talk of groupies, I'm in enough trouble with my wife!

 

Mr Clare, you will be most welcome in London, you'll be fleeced financially at the door! Theoretically it's a fiver for non-members, but as it's a AGM night and you only get a half evening, chuck a few quid in the pot. Just don't tell our chairman I told you that. We DO need the fiver on most evenings, as we have a lot of speakers over from Ireland.

 

Richard McLachlan, with whom I am theoretically giving the talk (he's been rather busy with family matters, so it was left largely to me), is giving a talk based on his drawings research to IRRS in Dublin on 10 April. He may let me put in a bit as an addendum, as I'll be with him, en route for the Bangor exhibition.

 

Talking of Dylan, which we weren't, one of the groups who play at Danny Mann's in Killarney do a wonderful send-up of Dylan singing the Patriot Game!!!!

 

Serious point to finish, the IRRS London welcomes non-members and we even have an offer of reduced price membership in place at the moment.

 

If any of you come, do say "Hallo".

 

Leslie

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Less of this talk of groupies, I'm in enough trouble with my wife!

 

'Cos ye're worth it? :-bd

 

Mr Clare, you will be most welcome in London, you'll be fleeced financially at the door! Theoretically it's a fiver for non-members, but as it's a AGM night and you only get a half evening, chuck a few quid in the pot. Just don't tell our chairman I told you that. We DO need the fiver on most evenings, as we have a lot of speakers over from Ireland.

 

Ryanair package deal.

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Belfast would be fantastic, maybe Leslie you could bring over some rolling stock to sell? ;)

 

Before you all get too excited, mayabe you should wait and get reports on next Thursday - I'm not THAT good!

 

The talk wouldn't really fit with what Charlie sets up for the RPSI Belfast meetings, but there is at least on Model Railway Society who meets?

 

Wait and see what people think after Thursday - silence will tell you all you need to know!

 

Must get the talk finished!

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Photos of anything interesting please!

 

I have opened up a new album here, and have started to upload some of the many photos that I was allowed to take during the course of the evening.

 

IRRS London area meetings now take place on the first floor (known as The Cellar =)) ) of The Exmouth Arms pub, at 1 Starcross Street NW1, virtually next door to the old British Rail Collectors Corner premises, and a brick's throw away from Euston Station. As one of three non-members present, we were made very welcome, and membership forms came as part of the experience!!

 

The evening was a talk led by Leslie McAllister (with Richard McLachlan - the Inchicore drawings man - on PowerPoint) on how far Irish railway modelling has come - some of the slides showing what had previously been available to the average Tom, Dick and Declan were a bit like reading "Humanae Vitae"! Leslie's presentation covered everything from the days of C.B. Fry and Drew Donaldson, and the late 1940s "O" gauge show layouts commissioned by CIE and the former NCC/UTA respectively. The late Tony Miles and his peerless "Adavoyle Junction" got a mention - it seems that the lads at South Dublin MRC still haven't fully worked out what the layout can do! The involvement of Hornby, Lima and then Bachmann into Irish waters, plus all the many kits, leading to Paddy Murphy's ongoing investment in specifically Irish RTR models - an investment which must run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds since tooling up for a new model is never cheap.

 

One amusing point about the talk was the very tight timing in the best traditions of the Belfast-Dublin Enterprise - at one point it was reckoned Leslie was a whole two minutes behind schedule, so he "notched up" and finished two minutes early!

 

A selection of models had been brought along, Leslie appearing to struggle to get his DCC controls underway, and marvelling at the sounds emitted by his own NIR-liveried diesel. He says it was bought to keep his grandson amused, but I do wonder =)) - and two of Richard Chown's "O" gauge engines were also present, as was the man himself.

 

A fairly lively AGM then followed after the break.

 

I thought the whole thing was convivial, especially under the influence of Guinness. You could even buy a selection of books, so I took home a copy of "Steaming In Three Centuries"....which happens to have been co-written by Leslie.

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More photos to follow, so do keep checking the album - I think I took about thirty pics or so.

 

Get Des to stick the commission cheque in the post!

 

I'll quite happily settle for a *kof*"V", "800" or "J15" kit *kof* in lieu :banana:

 

`

 

Ivan,

 

I very much appreciate that

 

Thanks a million,

 

Regards

Des

 

SSM needs more exposure.

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Ivan

 

Thanks for sharing the photos.

 

To give credit where due, the NIR 071 has Gareth's sound chip (Belfast Model Shop) installed and is unbelievably good, right from start-up to running down. The loco even seems to take an age to turn over and cough into life!!!! It even amused a steam man like me. Strongly recommended to those of you who want sound!

 

The Coastal DCC chip in my Class WT is also wonderful - as it captures a lot of the sounds I associate with these engines, even though it's actually sounds from a 4MT of some kind!

 

Leslie

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