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Hi everyone, As the village elders of this forum and the hobby may know, it's 10 years ago this very weekend since IRM first broke cover at the South Dublin Model Railway Show at Blackrock College. We were buoyed with a dream; to bring a detailed, accurate and Irish specific model railway wagon to market as good as any other Ready-to-Run manufacturer anywhere in the world could muster. We set out and dared to dream, with some banners and leaflets and a spot at the show very kindly provided to us at the last minute by @DartStation at the SDMRC Blackrock show. Soon our humble CIE ballast wagon was born, and with the support of many of you on this forum and beyond, IRM snowballed from a little acorn to a company with 20 full time employees today. We've come a long way, and that's thanks to your support and custom for our efforts. We've produced a multitude of wagons, coaches, locomotives and accessories in that 10 years, and there is more to come. Earlier this year, we said we would mark our 10 years with a very special announcement. We held a special evening at the Fry Model Railway in Malahide, where the first sample of our 800 class was unveiled. So, what else have we got planned to mark this milestone this weekend? Well, we have a new announcement on Thursday that will not be a surprise to many of you (and compliments our range quite well) at 11am, with samples available to view at the show this weekend. On Saturday morning as the doors open at the show, we will unveil another small new announcement, something very limited and very special indeed. Again, you will be able to see it in the flesh at the show. Dying to see our new Palvans, bubbles and unfitted H Vans? They will be there, along with decorated Hunslet locos, which are almost finished production at the factory. "But what about the 800s?" Well, if you come to the show you will see the first couple of decorated samples. They arrive on Thursday being specially completed for the show this weekend, so we wont have time to photograph them before the show to share online. Sorry. "Hold on, what about the Park Royals?" See the latest samples in the flesh as production motors on and is due to be stock in the new year. "Right, fine. But come on, what about these ICRs? It's taking forever." Yes, you have a point there. However, after much hard work behind the scenes, on the one project that techno wizards and lord of the DCC world ESU have said "is the most complex model we have ever worked on" a working sample will be on show too with a full update provided. It has more light shows than Las Vegas, and all off one decoder. It's rather special.... So, there will be lots to see and catch up on as we push on with providing the Irish outline model railway world with the latest and best models we can possibly produce, and are the envy of any market across the world. We can't wait to see you this weekend, please stop by and say hi. We won't be taking your money though, as we will no longer be retailing at shows. We will be there just to chat, answer your questions and shoot the breeze. Marks and Dave Bracken will have everything IRM you need on their stands if you have a few quid to spend. See you there!

I heard today that David Parks passed away.He was a member here as "Derailed".I got to know him a number of years ago and loved his recollections of Irish Railways.I have included two of his photos that are my favourite.First one is the last ever train over the North Kerry line on 23rd May 1984 at Lixnaw,with the weed killer train.The second photo is of the weed killer train on Ballyvoyle viaduct near Dungarvan in 1985 I think. Condolences to his family and friends. RIP David.

The morning local, ten years apart; 1960 and 1970. Todd Andrews has retired now, but strangely he overlooked the Castletown West to Dugort Harbour branch, despite it only seeing twenty or so passengers per day, except fair days. Nothing, of course, to do with who the local TD is……

Thanks to everyone who exhibited/traded and visited the show over the weekend - it was hectic but glad it all went well - Think its time to put the feet up for a rest now. For those not on facebook Here are the winners : Best Layout as voted for by the public - Dundalk Works by the Model Railway Society of Ireland Best Irish Layout - Donaghadee - by Gordon Hunt - representing the Ulster Model Railway Club Best Scenic Layout - Rathmichael from the Wexford Model Railway Club Best operating layout -- Ashley Park - MPD by Richard Brennan Thank you Paul Reynolds Exhibition Manager

County Donegal Railways at Donegal Town Station today. CDRJC 1957 Donegal Town PFF307. CDRJC 1957 Donegal Town PFF317. CDRJC 1957 Donegal Town Coach 15. PFF319. CDRJC 1957 Donegal Town from west. PFF279

Following on from my last post back in December, I finally have some positive news to report from this thread. Some photos of the progress made since May.

I'd like to thank everyone who supported Ckprints.ie over the weekend and all the comments on my layout. It was great to meet and chat with you all and put faces to names. A big thanks to the South Dublin Model Railway Club and all who helped in running another great event . For those who could not attend the show over the weekend below are some pictures of the next wagon I'll be doing. This is a JM DESIGN. Enda Ckprints.ie

Dugort Branch back in the day - tank loco 472 heads “up to town” in July 1956, and A30 pulls into the goods yard in 1959. The branch train awaits at the platform behind it. A wheezing Crossley “C” will do the honours today.

Following on from the South Dublin Show a visitor arrived in to Barrow Street today. First draft engineering samples which are under review. Can t wait for the final version which will be stunning and congratulations to all the IRM/ Accurascale staff involved. Warb

Today I have made a start on some pointwork. I’ve been putting this off for far too long. So far, it seems to be going OK. I have used my laser-cutter to make a couple of jigs to help.

Preparations as almost complete for our upcoming show - list of exhibitors and traders attending will be shared shortly - this will be our biggest show to date. Looking forward to celebrating 50 years since the founding of the club during the weekend!

Recently we promised and delivered an in-depth update on our Park Royal coaches, which are happily now motoring through the production process after a much longer than ideal development process. We promised the same on the ICR too at that time. As you are aware, it's been the long suffering and problem child project for us here at Accurascale IRM. We set a deadline of providing an update ahead of the annual Dublin model railway exhibition which takes place this weekend and we've been cutting it fine. However, the latest development model landed with us yesterday (Thursday)! So, the good news is we have it for the show. The bad news is that we've yet to test it properly, let alone take photographs of it for this update! However, more good news! We couldn't resist putting a sound decoder inside with a first draft of the sound project, so we have taken a short video which you will be able to see below! The model on display represents the latest step in what has been a long journey of development and refinement. Each version has brought us closer to a more seamless and realistic operation — and this latest one takes a major leap forward. Smarter Couplings, Smarter Control One of the most notable (and technically challenging) upgrades is the redesigned coupling system. These new couplings allow a single decoder to control the entire train, a feat that required a complete rethink of the system’s internal circuitry, and has never been done on a unit of this complexity anywhere before. After the factory producing the model felt that it could not be done with our long list of functionality demands off one decoder, we approached the foremost experts in all things DCC, ESU, to help us with the design. ESU themselves have described it as "the most complex project" they have ever worked on, and development took over 12 months to complete between designing, testing and troubleshooting the circuitry for the single decoder design. This was after almost two years of the factory attempting to make it work using their own electrical engineers. This new sample is the first ICR to carry this newly designed ESU circuitry for testing. This change brings two huge benefits: Customer cost savings – Previously, achieving full sound across the train meant purchasing multiple LokSound decoders. Now, a single decoder does it all. Otherwise the RRP would be almost double what it currently is. Hands-free operation – The need for a control wand has been completely removed, making the experience far more intuitive and immersive, just using your DCC controller for full functionality. Digital Communication at the Core With the huge number of lighting functions involved — interior lights, cab lights, dual-colour door lock lights, and more — we needed a smarter way to handle communication. The solution was a digital communication bus, transferring all the output data from the decoder through an integrated circuit (IC) and down just a few wires instead of a nest of complexity! This innovation allows every car in the train to “talk” to the central decoder seamlessly, keeping things tidy and efficient under the hood. This allows the technology to be more robust and reliable. A Peek Behind the Roof For those who love to see what’s going on beneath the surface, we’ll be highlighting the new couplings, providing views with the roof removed, and showcasing the intricately designed ESU PCB — the real brain behind this model’s intelligent operation. View the sample and hear the first draft of the sound file below! Please remember this is a first draft, on a test mule, and both will receive improvements before production. The ICR also offers additional complexity, needing to work in 3, 4 and 6 car formations, adding further layers of engineering complexity to the model from an electrical point of view. So, where does this leave the project? Frankly, we will not know until testing of this sample by us is complete. If it works as it should, then they will go straight into production and delivery will be mid next 2026. If not, it may take longer. It's not the news any of us wanted, but we would rather be honest with you. However, on even early testing as above, the signs are very positive that our ICR functions as it should, so we are getting confident that it's coming together and it will be with us sooner, rather than later. Our plan now is to test this after the Dublin show, and then we will film the model in a more thorough update, showing all the features and how it all works. This will have a more accurate timeline on delivery. We expect that video to go live before the end of November, so watch out for it! We once again thank you for your patience and understanding, and are happy to bring you positive news on our most ambitious model by far to date. With speakers in every car, a serious array of lighting configurations, a wealth of separately applied interior and exterior detail, and everything easily controllable on your DCC controller, our ICR promises to be a show stopping model and the pride of any fleet. We look forward to showing you more this weekend and in our forthcoming video in a couple of weeks. Fancy one? Pre-order yours today below: Pre-Order Your ICR Here! View the full article

Some more progress on the station. Cheers Darius

220 passes through with the Mk2's

Ballast and static grass this weekend. Cheers Darius

Finally -list of exhibitors and traders due to attend our show this year. Thank you to our show Sponsors - ACCURASCALE. ACCURASCALE – Latest British & Irish outline rolling stock on display Lego Display - O’Dunlaing Family St Judes – 00 layout by Michael Hand Brick.ie – Lego display Rathmichael 00 Layout by Wexford Model Railway Club Morcoeaux Ville – Tram layout by Dougal Mc Farlane Barracks Street - 00 layout by Chris Dempsey FREMO HO layout (under construction) from South Dublin Model Railway Club FREMO group Model Buses – Model Bus Federation Derek Farrelly Jim Poots David Rowe & David O’Connor John Keenan /Nigel O’Connor Marks Models Scenic materials - Joe Barlow sales Modelling materials/Soldier display – Gerry Murray G Model Scene – Scenic Materials Irish Retro Posters /Bus and Railway items – Ed O’Neill Times Past - Model Shop Drogheda- Matin Grey Brian Collins Enterprises/Martin O’Hanlon – model buses/cars/trucks/model trains Provincial Wagons Murphy Models Dave Bracken – model railway sales Phil McHugh – model trucks/cars buses sales John Sheridan – vintage model sales MERG model electronics display Tramore – OO layout by John Delaney N gauge layouts (2 compact layouts) by Brendan Buckley T Track modular layout – Michael O’Connor and friends Model Engineers (DSMEE) Irish Railway Record Society Tailte Tours Downpatrick and County Down Railways Transport books sales – Cliften Fluett Irish Plastic Modellers Association - large display Coopers Lane - O Gauge layout – Midlands Model Railway Club Over the Hill – 00 layout by Herbert Alexander Schneeweiss – N gauge layout by David Wynne Somme Sidings – N Gauge layout by Bobby Beegan 7 Eire – n gauge compact layout by Glen Dixon Castlefinn – n gauge layout by Bill Garrioch FREMO HO layout by Jacek Dziworski Dundalk Works – 00 layout by Model Railway Society of Ireland (MRSI) Model layout building sales by Paul Morris Donaghadee – 00 layout by Ulster Model Railway Club Top Choice Embroidery Kildare Town 00 layout by South Dublin Model Railway Club Dun Laoghaire – 00 layout by South Dublin Model Railway Club O Gauge guild Ashfield Park - O gauge layout Past Avenue – 00 gauge layout by Enda Byrne CKprints.ie – 3D Wagons and rail accessories sales Brian Mathews 00 Layout Barnham – 00 layout by David O’Rourke Cottley – 00 layout from the North Down Model Railway Society Earlyton – layout and display Belle Vue – HO North American themed layout by Ivan Thompson Vesper Road – HO linear layout by Adrian Ciapa Model Shop James Street – Model sales Note: list of exhibitors and traders may change due to circumstances beyond our control

Casting around for something to do at the weekend. I'll need a few more bits of rolling stock for Kilmore. I made these moulds from plasticard and brass masters a few years ago. The trick is to pour just the right amount of resin into the mould so it's fully filled but doesn't rise above the level of the top of the mould. I haven't mastered that yet so these castings need a lot of work with files before they can even be glued together to make a reasonably square wagon body. Provincial Wagons this ain't! Making the body is just the start. Chassis are the next challenge. In the past I've used hacked Dapol kit chassis and sprung etched brass kits from Brassmasters. In the case of the BCDR stock, outside W irons are an added hurdle. Currently, I'm using bits from MJT wagon compensation etches to make these but it's challenging, very time consuming and uses only a few modified bits of the etch and not in the way intended. Also, what's left of the etch isn't much use for anything. There must be an easier way! Alan

And some grass to finish. Cheers Darius

Ex Midland & Great Western Railway at Broadstone today. 3 somewhat poor negatives and one copyright print where the negative has been destroyed. CIE 1959- CA Dublin Broadstone y001. CIE 1959- CA Dublin Broadstone y015. CIE 1959- CA Dublin Broadstone y002. CIE 1958-07-06 Broadstone shed B2a 401 coprint25j+067b

Made a start on the down platform waiting room. Cheers Darius

Delighted to add another ‘Brennan Brake’ to my collection - a magnificent scratchbuild by Gareth Brennan, the undisputed master of plasticard! It looks very much at home on Clogherhead and Gareth has given me permission to weather it

4 R M C views at Bantry Town on 13 April 1955. I think the Bandon Tank is 470 as I have other views showing the patch along the bottom of the Tank side. CB&SC 1955-04-13 Bantry 41 RMC26052 RMC 83232. CB&SC 1955-04-13 Bantry 41 on shedRMC26053 RMC 83233. CB&SC 1955-04-13 Bantry RMC26055 RMC 83236. CB&SC 1955-04-13 Bantry RMC26054 RMC 83235.

Well done to the SDMRC on a superbly organised exhibition, I really enjoyed the day out-great to meet so many old friends and some new.

I want to create a Permanent Way formation for Kilmore so an unsuspecting Parkside kits LNER 12T LowFit wagon (Parkside PC66) which I built a few years ago was selected for butchery... Original brake gear and levers removed, then some fabricated W irons and bits of scrap brass etch added... Transfers from Railtec... Then some weathering and a suitable load.

The point rodding is a prominent feature of the Magheramorne Loop so this was fitted using the Wills cosmetic point rodding kits. The Wills rodding is nicely detailed but difficult to fit together as it relies on butt joint gluing rod ends together. Much easier said than done… Cheers Darius

Lovely day today, so a short bus hop to the local modelling clubs show. (Cheltenham) The real treat was Andy Cundick was there, with one of his layouts. This one is CDRJC, based on Bruckless on the Killybegs section, a big oval with staging sidings at the back, and a simple station with just a siding in front. Scale 4mm/ft, gauge 12mm.

Some small painting details this evening - trying for a more matt effect on the smokebox and running plate, plus the dome has been brassed.

The ‘Countess of Antrim’ now has all her separately fitted handrails. I knocked up a simple plasticard jig to try and make sure the handrail spacing was consistent….. this was reasonably successful! I have given the buffer beams an initial coat of red: this will be added to tomorrow, then masked, before I start spraying all over black. The handrails and other fittings will be picked out in gun metal, and the dome and window frames will eventually be brass.

Today (Saturday 1st) is the fiftieth anniversary of the last public trains on the Loughrea branch. While official closure date was Monday 3rd, since the line had no Sunday service for almost all of its life, the last trains ran on the previous Saturday (1st). Also closed with effect from 3rd November 1975 were the ex-GNR Dromin Jct. to Ardee branch, the Claremorris - Collooney "Burma Road" and the Listowel-Ballingrane Junction section of the North Kerry (Listowel-Tralee would close the following year, along with Castleisland). This period marked the last significant reduction of railway mileage here, though apart from the Loughrea branch the others were goods-only. 1975 also saw the end of cattle traffic - as I understand it, Ennis, Athenry and Loughrea were about the last places to ship any out. I recall seeing rows of cattle trucks that year lined up in Cork goods yard awaiting scrapping. They were all still grey. It also saw the last use of the "G" class, which still saw use on the Loughrea branch until the mid-summer, after which re-engined "C"s were used on this line, with an occasional appearance by a B141 or an "A" - though crews dreaded the latter on account of the state of the track. Finally, 1st November 1975 saw the last official mixed trains, again on the Loughrea branch. While officially mixed to the end, in later months crews preferred to do an unofficial mid-day run with the branch loco to the junction and back, acting as a seperate goods train, to deal with the paltry amount of goods traffic, which had declined to 2 or 3 laden goods vans a day inwards. Virtually nothing was going out of Loughrea by goods train by that stage. Barry carse recorded this working on one dull misty day. The loco was G616 and it had two empty H vans and a guard's van to the junction, and it brought back just two other laden ones. Meanwhile, the "mixed" train each way was just the passenger coach hauled by a "C". The one time I travelled on the branch, it was the same; that was about two weeks before the closure. The trains was the single coach hauled by B209; I was disgusted! All that way - Connolly - Mullingar - Athlone - Atrtymon to see an oiul "C" class sitting in the branch platform instead of a "G": sure you can get any oul "C" to Bray or Howth any day, I thought. But that's what it was; and while technically a "mixed", there was actually no incoming toods traffic at all that day for Loughrea. One of very very few mixed trains I've ever been on, and the only one ever in Ireland. (The nearest other one to that, geographically, was on the Austrian narrow gauge Krimml - Zell-am-See line in 1979, when an incoming train stopped at Mittersill, reversed into the siding after doing its passenger stuff, and hitched on three bogie goods vans for the run home).... So, this fine day I lament Gs, mixeds, Loughrea and cattle traffic. And steam, and buses with flying snails on them, and UTA crests on carriages, black'n'tan 141s, grey 121s, Bredin, laminate and steam-era wooden carriages, proper dining cars with steak dinners and dribbly teapots* , South African eight-coupled steam locos battling the Montague Pass, narrow gauge steam in Austria, main line steam in India, wood-burning 2.4.0 tender engines in Indonesia, and all manner of stuff. I lament the view of the Raford River near Loughrea from the train window as the sun set over it on a freezing afternoon; the endless level crossings seen from the train on the Navan-Kingscourt line, wandering round Albert Quay station in Cork watching fertiliser wagons being dealt with, seeing a GNR "UG" shunting at Lisburn, rain seeping through the roof on the Athenry - Claremorris line, the clatter of loose-coupled goods trains, watching a black'n'tan B145 shunting at Tuam, and I'm showing me age. Time to stop burbling. From 1976, all was modern. 071s seemed to cap it all. Illogical it might be, but in all railway matters I hanker after the pre-1976 period, with little to nothing that was new after that being of much interest to me! Odd and ancient I may be - but I know i'm not the only one! (* Actually, my local coffee shop, where I will be in an hour's time, does a good line in those...)

Dunpaintin and duntilin. Cheers Darius

With Swillybegs rehearsals proceeding a pace, thought it time to review the stock and trains that make up the 'new' layout. Fintonagh's last show was over three years ago, so perhaps not surprising that some of the locos needed a bit of attention. Railcar 10 - seemed decidedly sticky and had needed a new [High Level] motor gearbox after its Mashima failed. However, a general clean up and adjustment of pick ups soon had it running smoothly again and it copes well with its new trailer. The Unit - leads the goods train. One wagon shorter than Fintonagh as the new Donegal wagons are longer and bigger that the Clogher ones. Phoenix - has two shunting jobs, the first sorting out the goods, while the Unit rests on the turntable. Phoenix arrives with a single wagon from the front siding, pushes this up to the brake van of the goods and then moves both of them to the train shed. It then runs round and collects a wagon from the front of the out going train, before retiring off scene. In this way Donegal wagons are rotated on successive moves. After turning, the Unit returns to its train, ready for departure. West Donegal Tram - my repurposing of the Clogher Valley 0-4-2Ts. One works the tram, while the other acts as a spare loco, though both are decent runners. The tram comprises three 4 wheel coaches based on Schull & Skibbereen ones. It runs into the front tram platform. After the loco runs round and is turned, it returns whence it came. The Swilly trains The two new locos have caused me a fair amount of grief, but at long last I think I might be getting there. Both have what appeared to be free running chassis, but both stubbornly refused to run well on the track. Thought I'd solved the Barclay 4-6-0Ts problems when I found that two of the outside cranks had worked loose, destroying the quartering in the process. So, the motion was once again dismantled and Loctite 635 used to [hopefully] secure everything. Again. However, running was still erratic and likewise the Kerr Stuart 4-6-2T. The latter is currently running as a 4-6-0T after I removed the rear pony because it kept derailing. This improved things, but still not enough. Salvation came when I realised that both locos were actually not balanced and had too much weight at the cab end, despite both having their tanks packed with lead. Removing the bodies [yet again] and putting heavy brass weights on each end of the chassis suddenly made running much smoother. So, adding a fair bit of weight inside both boilers has made for well balanced locos which now run well. Sigh... Swilly Fish - the 4-6-2T heads this. Just a bogie brake third and a bogie fish van. A simple move: train arrives, loco runs round, turns on the 'table and departs. Swilly Mixed - this move is more involved and suggests that, with their Joint line to Swillybegs, the Donegal and Lough Swilly are co-operating a bit more. The Barclay 4-6-0T arrives with its brake third and two vans, then retires to the turntable. Phoenix now does the shunting, bringing in a new van and removing one from the incoming train. These vans are a mixture of Swilly and Donegal, with the shunting moves similar to the ones on the goods. So, there we are & hopefully ready for Tolworth next weekend. Wish me luck!

Hi folks, More news coming from Accurascale/IRM later this week ahead of the show (including updates and yes, new announcements!) but just to let you know we WILL NOT be selling models at the show, and are just purely there for display and to provide you with the latest updates. If you are looking to buy some IRM goodies, please check in with Marks Models and Dave Bracken. See you at the weekend, and look out for further news on the forum throughout the week ahead! Cheers! Fran

Module in place. Cheers Darius

Sunday proved to be interesting in lots of ways. First thing, a chap arrived and asked if he could film the layout. Never a problem, but wasn't expecting him to stay for two hours! Things were a bit sticky to begin with but hopefully when edited may prove interesting, so look out for Celtic Film on YouTube and please post if you see it before me. One of the other layouts at the show was Cadhay Sidings. P4, but many of the crew had been part of Richard Chown's Castle Rackrent, so during the day I had regular requests to display his WLW Shannon. Good job I didn't take it home on Saturday. Below are a couple more pictures of David's GN stock, plus view of my coaster, Acla. The main mast collapsed when setting up the layout on Saturday morning so the only option was to remove it, along with the crane boom and all the rigging...

Well that was fun - a day on NPQ at Aldershot. A few annoyances - the SG2 keeps shorting out, and there were one or two stock issues which I trace to dodgy back to backs or stray pickups. The PP, on examination at home, has a pickup now bent at a strange angle, which explains at least one derailment….The GN coach needs more finishing work, and the magnetic couplings, highly effective though they are, will get some tweaking, not least camouflage. What an enormously fun day it was all round though. Great company and what an absorbing layout to run. To please Leslie we even ran a through portion of the Bundoran Express! Unless I’m greatly mistaken, I think this is the first appearance of corridor stock on NPQ. The coach is also about a foot and a half long ! I also achieved two personal goals. One was to operate the traverser in turntable mode. This is quite a responsible task, given that the deck is loaded with Mr Holman’s years of effort and dedication and a false move on my part could send it floorwards… The second one was to have a train of my own stock occupying a fiddle yard road and working a full part of the NPQ roster. Lurganboy, which has lurked in her box for months after disgracing herself at Uckfield and Tolworth, ran as sweet as a nut, and hauled my coach 4 and H van quite happily. The van is vacuum braked of course…. Willing suspension of disbelief and all that…. splendid day and always a joy to spend time with David H. Lots of advice, help and general chat in the margins. Very pleasing to see Leslie and companion too!

Working now on the Ballycastle Railway's 'Countess of Antrim' - specifically preparing the superb 3D print from @J-Mo Arts for painting. I have decided to remove the moulded handrails and replace them with separate fittings, and there will also be etched nameplates added to finish off the locomotive. The chimney has also been filed out. The resin is quite brittle but files off easily. A spray of Halford's grey primer shows up areas that require further attention. As always, continued thanks to Alan @Tullygrainey for his ongoing assistance!

Made a start today on the station signal box. Cheers Darius

Added a few more things… Cheers Darius

Since we first announced our new NIR Hunslet locomotives, the most frequent question we’ve been asked is: “Will you do your Mark 2 coaches in original livery to go with the maroon ones?” Our answer has always been yes—and true to our word, here they are, in their classic maroon and blue finery. But we haven’t forgotten about our blue Hunslets either. Although we’ve produced them before, we’re bringing back the grey and blue livery too! History Built at Litchurch Lane, Derby, in 1970, eight examples were constructed for Northern Ireland Railways for its new Enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin. This landmark service featured a range of bespoke vehicles that were quite unlike anything then in operation in Ireland—or indeed on British Rail—despite being a derivative of a BR design. The eight Mk.2b coaches acquired by the newly formed Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) included several new types: one First Open (FO), two Brake Driving Trailer Seconds (BDTS), and a single Grill-Bar—the latter being the only purpose-built Mk.2 catering vehicle. The other four vehicles were designated SOs, although they were almost indistinguishable from BR TSOs. Delivered in NIR’s blue and maroon scheme and fitted with B4 bogies set to the Irish 5ft 3in track gauge, they initially worked in push-pull formation on the Belfast–Dublin Enterprise express service, powered by one of the three Hunslet DL Class 101 locomotives—or by pairs of them, either top-and-tailed or double-headed during the summer months. In 1978, the fleet—which now included five Mk.2c coaches purchased in 1972—was refurbished and repainted in a new silver-grey and blue livery. However, the increasingly unreliable Hunslets—despite sharing an engine and many mechanical and electrical components with the BR Class 20s—were replaced in 1980 with General Motors 111 Class locomotives. The lack of electric train supply on the new motive power required the addition of a generator coach to each Enterprise formation. In 1980, NIR acquired five ex-BR Mk.2b BFKs for conversion, along with an additional ten secondhand Mk.2b coaches and three Mk.2cs. The use of driving trailers on the Enterprise ended with the introduction of the 111s, and the trains reverted to being hauled as conventional coaching stock. With this extra stock, it became increasingly common to see Enterprise trains away from their usual cross-border route. Formations of three to five coaches were regularly used on Portadown/Lisburn–Belfast–Bangor and Belfast–Derry/Londonderry services, typically with a single Hunslet operating in push-pull mode. By the mid-1980s, several ex-BR coaches were rebuilt as open coaches, while others were converted to strengthen 80 Class DEMU sets or replace bomb-damaged vehicles. The Model Our Mark 2 coaches have been meticulously researched and designed, based on surveys of numerous surviving vehicles across Britain and Northern Ireland. Using original works drawings and even partial 3D scans, we’ve ensured the characteristic tumblehome and shape of the ends are as accurate as possible. The research extended to the interiors, with particular attention paid to the iconic winged headrests—each a separate part—that are such a defining feature of first- and second-class seating in early Mk.2s. This new production run of maroon/blue and light grey/blue cars introduce new "Mk.2c" versions that were not included in the first run, taken from the 1972 batch for NIR and the secondhand BR coaches acquired in the early 1980s. Incredibly there are four different roof vent styles across the 12 new coaches, the original Mk.2b 'dome' plus the large 'G', intermediate sized 'GM' and the classic Roe-Vac that were also seen on British Rail's own Mk.2c. This variation has been faithfully replicated on the model. We also correctly replicate the unique to NIR Mk.2c roof without the hatch seen on the British Rail coaches. In our first run of NIR coaches, we depicted Grille Car No. 547 in its modified format. We have now tooled the original version (with the differing window arrangement on one side) to accurately portray these coaches in their original livery. We’ll also be offering No. 547 in grey and blue livery, in its unmodified form as it appeared before the changes made in the early 1980s. The NIR examples presented a particular challenge, with numerous unique variations, a wider track gauge, and additional underframe and roof details depending on the vehicle type. We even tooled an Irish-gauge B5 bogie—used only once—which was fitted to the generator end of the BGV coaches to accommodate the additional weight. The bogies for the NIR coaches are also bespoke compared to the BR versions. The prototypically wider frame has been faithfully represented, allowing for 21mm fine-scale conversion. Common Features: Highly-detailed OO Gauge / 1:76.2 Scale Models on 16.5mm track Extremely fine exterior rivet detail on roof and coach ends Separately-applied etched metal and high-fidelity plastic parts, including handrails, brake/steam heat pipes, ETH cabling and sockets, footsteps, dummy drophead knuckle coupler, and roof vents Prism Free Glazing Pre-painted/printed Western Region destination boards and holders plus water filler covers provided for customer to install Fully-detailed underframe with numerous separate parts, pipe runs and accurate differences between versions The most accurate B4 and B5 bogies ever produced, with provision for re-gauging to EM or P4 (Irish 21mm) gauges Blackened RP25.110 profile wheel-sets with 14.4mm back-to-back measurements, and 26mm over pinpoints Different buffers for retracted and non-retracted positions Accurate interiors with characteristic 'winged' headrests, separate metal interior handrails on the brake and corridor vehicles and fully-detailed guard's compartment Full lighting package, including magnet 'wand' controlled interior lighting with 'Stay-Alive' capacitor in all coaches and directional lighting with DC or DCC control (Driving Trailer only) Minimum Radius 438mm (2nd Radius Set-track) Correct height NEM standard coupling sockets with mini tension lock couplers and kinematic close-coupling Unlike our first run, we will be selling coaches individually instead of triple packs. This allows to build the rake as long as you like, or indeed bolster your existing grey and blue rake! Each coach is priced at £74.95/€89.95, with the DCC ready driving car priced at £84.95/€97.95 each, with 10% off when you buy two, three or four coaches, and 15% off when you buy 5 or more in one transaction. Delivery is Q4 2026, giving your new Hunslet locomotives the perfect train to haul. Available direct only via the Accurascale website, you can pre-order yours today via the link below. This is very likely the only run of NIR Hunslet locomotives and coaches we will ever do, so do not miss out. You have been warned! Pre-Order Your NIR Mark 2 Coaches Here! View the full article

Point rodding added to the down line. Cheers Darius

A few shots I took over the weekend while at SDMRC.

Very enjoyable weekend and delighted to be a part of it. Thank you to everyone who came up to see Barracks Street on its first outing. Thank you for all the advice, tips and insight.

CIE ca1965-7 Coach 1130. CIE ca 1965-67 Waterford Coach 1319S. CIE 1967-09-ca Cork, B154 from Cobh. CIE 1967-09-09 Dundalk 186 SPL

Ballyercall currently having a rebuild/fiddle yard extension.

CIE 1955-04-21 Claremorris 613 RMC83497a Cas25184. CIE 1955-04-20 Roscommon 542 RMC83477 Cas25178. CIE 1955-04-19 Balymoe RMC26111 RMC 83478.

Well it’s Fare Thee Well, Enniskillen……the layout now resides in an Oxfordshire skip. Joined by my model of Florencecourt station, which never really satisfied me. Recent rolling stock purchases meant that the layout/diorama just couldn’t work (see how big the bogie coach looks on Northport Quay). So out it goes as I just don’t have space to keep it. It was a valuable learning experience though. I tried to salvage some of the canopy columns but they broke apart. This means that the next project will be a complete fresh start. It’s still gestating and I will do a proper post soon. However, a trial effort was made tonight on the brickwork that will be required…….

Apologies for the brief interruption. We now resume normal programming. The engine shed was damaged during the flood, so we weren't allowed to access it or the locos inside. Work on repairing it is progressing fast, and last week we were able to remove 90 from the shed and moved to the workshop at the other side of the yard. Yesterday we had about a dozen volunteers working on the loco at one time, so we were able to do a huge amount of work in just one day: Cab front removed Cladding and lagging removed Boiler fittings removed We're now in contact with boiler contractors and are working on a fundraiser for 90's overhaul. Our volunteers come from across the island – from Dublin, Belfast, Kildare, Meath, and even Derry~Londonderry. If you want to learn new skills, meet new people, and play your part in preserving our shared industrial heritage, please send me a message to ask about getting involved.

I have uploaded to Flickr, 10 Richard Casserley photos taken on 4 June 1964. Here are 3, there are over 50 Guinness images in this Album. The first image taken at an earlier date by A Ford, if you click on it is a link to the Album. 1964-06-04 Guinness Conv ags +No 2 RMC 20893 26A009. 1964-06-04 Guinness Conv ags +No 2 RMC20892 26A008. 1964-06-04 Guinness 2 RMC 20887 scan 26A002.