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Maedbh has gotten a bit of weathering. There's not a great many photos of Maedbh in colour during her working life in CIE. The vast majority I've seen are taken after she was earmarked for preservation and received a fresh coat of paint. It's unlikely she did almost any work after 1958. There's two colour photos of her at work in later years. One is of her at Limerick Junction in 1955, the other at Thurles hauling a train of horsebox vans. These show her relatively clean but with some black grime in certain areas. In their earlier years they were kept almost spotlessly clean, but I intend to model the end of steam. Macha was utterly filthy toward the end. For reference I also looked primarily at the VS class in the 60s. Still kept quite clean, but far from spotless. The domes and corners of the belpaire firebox were almost always blackened! A mix of black and umber wash was used, with excess removed using a cotton bud.

Just a few random photos from Bangor show

Another of my 'banish the winter blues' projects was to have a go at building a cottage diorama, with an emphasis on including as much interior detail as I could realistically cram in. The interior is based on an original building once owned by my grandparents, which still stands today in King Street, Newcastle, Co. Down. The main building material for this project was 3mm mount board, with most details eg. furniture also built from this material. A few additional details are from Scale Model Scenery, including kitchen table & chairs, armchairs and terracotta roof slates. I have progressed the build sufficiently to share progress, as I reach the final stages. Some of the interior detail is known only to me (very obsessive) but most of it was photographed before the roof went on and interior lighting also shows much of it. Further updates will follow!

God remember the days when everyone was just overjoyed about a new Irish model coming out? I really miss those days!

CIE 1961-06-05 Kilmessan yj310. CIE 1961-06-06 Ballyduff 461 yj312. CIE 1961-06-xx Birdhill B109 yj311

Lads, I'm just happy that you are so invested in Irish modelling and have successfully set up a bigger business to subsidise it!

No updates on this thread in quite a while. I have been receiving chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma since December. The treatment resulted in quite bad back pain, so I did not really go near the layout. I had a meeting with my consultant during the week and the good news is that my latest scan was all clear. Cancer gone, in other words. Happy days. The trade off with my particular lymphoma is that it is non aggressive and slow growing, but it can never be fully got rid of. This means it will almost certainly return in the future, but hey, I will take the victories where I get them. I had been making some wall sections before Christmas to go around the railway yard, so hopefully I will have some some pics of those soon enough, now that the treatment is finished. Bet ye can't wait

The BCDR bogie tank is almost done. At last. The bit that should’ve been no trouble, the ready-to-run chassis , fought me every inch (25.4mm) of the way. Part of that was my own fault for hacking and filing bits off without protecting the motor and gears from metal filings. It still makes odd noises going backwards. However there was also an intermittent short circuit which took days to track down and fix. The big hammer was close to deployment more than once. Seems ok now. I settled in the end for Number 12. One of the of the first batch of 5 bogies tanks (“Series A”), it was built by Beyer Peacock in 1904. Still needs a coal load and maybe some more weathering. After taking the pics I managed to destroy one of the tank side number plates so a new one is getting made. Body bits bolted together after painting and lining ... ... and chassis fitted. Crew hide the lack of inside cab detail, as usual. Alan

Two old photos have turned up of a goods leaving Dugort Harbour way back in 1927. The loco is ex-CBSCR 472, then recently transferred to west Kerry….. Happy Easter to all….

UTA Ex GNRI locations May 1964. UTA316 1964-05-11 Warrenpoint , 2 views. UTA306 1964-05-11 Portadown shed 36 .. UTA305 1964-05-11 Lisburn 171 on 2pm to GVS.

It's been a busy couple weeks, including a short break in Paris sandwiched between two exhibitions. Northport Quay behaved reasonably well in the first, though there was still a list of things to look at afterwards. The second show, last weekend, was at Ashford, in support of the National Model Railway Centre. The latter is the brainchild of Cliff Parsons [of Gresley Beat fame] aimed at preserving some of our most iconic model railways. Gordon Gravett's Arun Quay was at the show, but so was Pempoul, his Reseau Breton masterpiece - and with Gordon busy on Pempoul, I had the delight and privilege of operating Pempoul. Those who know the layout will appreciate it is a scenic masterpiece, but it is also a mechanical and electrical one too. It uses one of the ZTC DCC controllers, complete with semi automatic control because the five storage roads are well out of reach at the back of the oval. Choose a train and the route is set, then all you have to do is drive it, via a very nice regulator lever, round to the station. There was an 0-6-6-0 and 0-4-4-0 Mallet, plus three railcars to play with - all scratch built, as indeed is the whole layout. At least 13 years work in total... Helping Gordon pack up Arun Quay after the show, I also saw how well engineered his layouts are. Arun Quay's structure is largely made from laminated foamboard and the two baseboard fit snugly in a beautifully built wheeled box. Baseboards sit on a purpose-built frame [which will also support his new Reseau Breton layout]. This folds up neatly for transport, with carefully made slots for various other pieces, while the fascias live in their own, purpose made gunny sack. Exquisite doesn't begin to describe it all. Came away feeling I really should do better! Anyway, this week, finally got back to the Swilly Pacific. While looking very smart in its lined green livery, for me it was a bit too bright and clean and I wanted the finish to be more like the photos in Norman Johnson's splendid 'Irish Narrow Gauge Railways in Colour'. The two pictures below, while not the best in terms of definition [They are early 1950s colour, after all], give a good idea of what I was after. Fairly clean, but with lining and lettering appearing only faintly behind a haze of everyday grime. So, it was back to the bible that is Martyn Welch's The Art of Weathering. Produced nearly 30 years ago, it remains my 'go to' for such work, because it makes everything seem very achievable. However, I also had to gird up my loins and get out the airbrush - very much NOT my favourite implement, but needs must in this case. The basic work is to spray a fine mist of Humbrol Metalcote gunmetal, mixed 2:1 with tarmac, though as the latter isn't available anymore, I used slate grey instead. The main concern was getting the right amount of misting & overall, it seems to have worked out ok. After leaving the paint to dry overnight, I then used cotton buds to polish the tanks, boiler and cab to give a more cared for look. Glazing was then added to the cab, the roof fixed in place and vacuum pipes fitted too. Judicious use of weathering powders finished the job. Still a bit of final fettling to do, but thought it would be nice to pose the loco on the layout, along with some of my other Swilly stock.

CIE 1965-ca Wexford 2608. CIE 1967 CA Killarney B121 25j+090 CIE 1967-09-09 Dundalk 186 SPL +B173 in bay. CIE 1967 ca Wexford North 25j+081.

Making good progress with the Courthouse. The date for the opening of my exhibition in the County Museum has been moved to Saturday 26th of April at 2 pm. The title of the exhibition is "Breffni in Miniature: A Scale Model Tribute to Cavan".

This is the new home for future postings of photos, negatives videos & slides etc in my Collection. Items already posted to IRM are in the old Topic started by Glenderg way back in May 2012.https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/312-ernies-massive-irish-1930s-to-2005-photo-archive/page/84/#comment-261835 GNRI 1964-05-27 Mount Pleasant WT 54 JGD640316. CIE 1982-03-15 Thurles 080 yj154 CDRJC 1958-05-18 Raphoe, Railcar 16 JGD580125. CIE 1955 ca Cork Shed coaling line. 'Pat'co print 25j+066a

Blackstaff Cottage When Mr. Weaver was approaching retirement in the early 1950s, he began to think about the options for his future, post-Brookhall Mill. As much as he loved living in the station house at the mill with his two cats Merlin and Peregrine, he knew he could not remain there after his retirement, and in any case he wanted to seek new challenges and explore new horizons. As was often the case, fortune found its way to Mr. Weaver, and in July 1955 he unexpectedly became the owner of a cottage in Co. Monaghan, which was gifted to him by his late father’s sole surviving sibling, the rather eccentric Auntie Hester. Mr. Weaver was originally from Inniskeen, Co. Monaghan, which is where he began his career on the GNR(I) as a boy porter, back in 1905. The next stopping place beyond Inniskeen, travelling towards Clones, was the small halt at Blackstaff, and from 1930, Auntie Hester was the crossing keeper at the adjacent level crossing, living in the small railway house across the road from the short platform. Hester had been a lifelong spinster, a passionate feminist, a controversial columnist, a prolific artist, a committed ornithologist, a renowned botanist and a notorious socialite. She was also an obsessive cat lover, with no fewer than nineteen felines keeping her company at the crossing keeper’s house. Since the 1930s, she had also been the custodian of the nearby ‘Blackstaff Cottage’, the ancestral home of the Weavers, and it was this property which she gifted to Mr. Weaver in 1955 after she surprised the family by announcing that she was getting married, at the age of 82, to the obscenely wealthy Lord Ignatius Piriton Meen, the 98-year old chairman of the international pharmaceutical company Sneezoff which specialised in the production of anti-allergy medication. Blackstaff Cottage was located a short walk from the railway halt, and Hester would divide her time between the cottage and the tiny crossing keeper’s house at the halt. The cottage occupied a scenic location on the banks of the River Shinn, a tributary of the larger River Fane, and the two waterways combined to complement Mr. Weaver’s political leanings, which he had wisely suppressed while he had been at Brookhall. Hester’s late night get-togethers at Blackstaff Cottage were very popular among the high and mighty of Counties Monaghan and Louth, and were frequented by everyone who was anyone in the locality. The famous Monaghan wordsmith Patrick Kavanagh was a regular attendee, and on one occasion the Carrickmacross Chronicle published a somewhat risqué tribute from Kavanagh to Hester, and to the quality of the entertainment and cuisine on offer at Blackstaff Cottage: To get to Hester’s hooleys, the locals they are itchin’ They’ve heard about the tasty treats she serves up in her kitch’n They walk the lane from Culloville, they cross the hills from Cooley They bridge the gap from Newry town to get to Hester’s hooleys Micky-Joe McConnell says he’s feelin’ rather wooley After drinkin’ to the wee small hours at one of Hester’s hooleys There came a Sunday warning, from the Reverend Father Dooley But he went astray that very same night, at one of Hester’s hooleys Mr. Weaver was horrified at the implications of impropriety in these lines and he eventually forced an apology from Kavanagh and the newspaper. But Hester was quietly delighted at all the fuss, which only served to enhance her socialite status, and it was thanks to this incident that she first met Lord Meen, when he was an honoured guest at one particularly boisterous gathering at the cottage. Kavanagh subsequently completed his earlier poetic tribute by adding this appropriate verse: Then Hester met the young Lord Meen, he said he loved her truly Cupid was a guest that night, at Hester Weaver’s hooley Needless to say, Kavanagh received an invitation to the wedding, but Mr. Weaver wasn’t too happy about this and he refused to acknowledge the prominent poet’s presence. The marriage of Miss Hester Flora Weaver to Lord Ignatius Piriton Meen was, unsurprisingly, the biggest social event ever held in County Monaghan. Hester insisted that the wedding ceremony be held in the magnificent setting of St. Macartan’s Cathedral in Monaghan town, and that there would be a strong botanical theme. Very extravagant floral displays were created and the 25 bridesmaids (with a combined age of 1,875) proudly carried bouquets made from the most expensive and exclusive lilies, roses and daffodils. And it was, of course, highly appropriate that the chief celebrant was the Bishop of Ferns. Lord Meen decided to make one of his customary generous community gestures on the occasion of this, his 17th marriage, and after consultation with a local Monaghan pharmacy, a wedding invitation was extended to everyone in the locality who had suffered from a debilitating allergy in recent years. The presence of so much floral material heightened the emotion of the occasion, and by the time the ceremony was over, there was hardly a dry eye in the cathedral. The reception was held at Castle Leslie in Glaslough, and all those attending were brought to Glaslough by a special GNR train - Lord Meen was also a former director of the GNR(I). Lord Meen appointed his own wedding co-ordinator for the day, she was the meticulously-efficient CEO of Sneezoff, Anna Phil Actic. Mr. Weaver had been a regular visitor to Blackstaff Cottage for many years, travelling by train of course from Brookhall to Lisburn, where he changed to a main line train to bring him to Dundalk, from where he took an Irish North train for the leisurely jaunt over to Blackstaff Halt. Auntie Hester would usually be waiting for him on the platform, ready to berate him for not being a more frequent visitor. She was the only person who could make the usually stern-faced Mr. Weaver recoil in fear. Mr. Weaver was of course very grateful to Auntie Hester for gifting the cottage to him, because it answered the question of where he was going to go when he retired, but he was also quietly amused by her marriage to the anti-allergy medication millionaire Lord Meen, because it handed the wordplay-loving Mr. Weaver the golden opportunity of henceforth referring to Hester as “Auntie Hester Meen”. Sometime after Auntie Hester had departed for her new life of opulence and leisure, Mr. Weaver was delighted to discover a photo of her from her time as the crossing keeper at Blackstaff Halt, and he maintained that it was none other than one E. de Valera himself looking out of the carriage window beside the photographer, no doubt making his way to Blackstaff Cottage for one of Auntie Hester’s legendary evening soirees: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54253226569/in/photolist-2k5Mnxq-2qEaY76-2mz5zGU/ (Apologies - the photo will only be viewable by IRRS members.) Obviously this is just a totally crackpot story, framing the fact that I have built a freelance cottage in 4mm - it was intended to be an exercise in obsessive interior detail, so keep a look out for a workbench post with more details! **** This is the site of the actual Blackstaff Halt, in a selection of photos taken a few weeks ago. The halt was opened by the GNR(I) in 1927 and was open for exactly 30 years, closing with the end of regular services on the former Irish North lines in 1957. Although one imagines that with so many highly-placed contacts, Mr. Weaver and Auntie Hester may well have benefitted some 'unofficial' services at the halt until the complete closure of the final stretch of the Irish North, from Dundalk to Clones, in 1960. The platform is, unusually, built in concrete, but this has meant that it has survived largely intact. The railway crossing keeper's cottage also survives, with some alterations having been made. The first of my photos roughly copies the angle of the historical IRRS photo.

183 arrives with the Sligo Oil turn

The Courthouse is finished.

A few progress pics of the BCDR bogie tank. Managed to get through the painting process without any major disasters. A first? I think I'm learning, albeit at a glacial pace. Halfords grey etch primer from the rattle can then Tamiya acrylics. X18 semi-gloss black followed by XF70 dark green, both airbrushed. I've started the line dancing now. Fox transfers. This bit always takes a while. Alan

Hello everyone, I just want to say on behalf of my father and his Evenwood layout a huge thank you to those who supported the project. It has been quite the undertaking and we are extremely happy to be able to present it at the North Down show. The project was originally conceived ten years ago with the construction of station building and signal box, it was only last year that we realised that we needed to really push forward and complete the project, using the 200 year of the S&DR as motivation. The layout is roughly 95% complete, with just signals, footbridge and terrace housing requiring completion, which we hope to do so soon. We hope that everyone who observed the layout over the weekend enjoyed it, and we thank those who shared their memories of the surrounding area. The layouts next outing has not been confirmed, but a running video will be created and uploaded to YouTube.

My first time to visit a Model Railway show/event and I was very impressed. The trouble that different clubs and individuals have gone to with their layouts was very impressive, with clubs from all over the country in attendance. There seemed to be a lot of people milling around but not to many to hinder getting a go view of the layouts or the stalls. Above is a map of the event, the rooms/areas were nice and bright and not cramped, I didn't know what to expect but it I was pleasantly surprised by the whole event. Loved the humour of this partial shot of the layout, this one featured running water with one of the builders was saying that they were going to add anglers at some stage??? The detail in this and many of the other layouts was extraordinary for my untrained eye. This European tramline combining the 4 seasons in a single layout, along with a park with cyclist pedalling around in circular route and all to scale... I did like that. Below are a few pictures from the event. This layout is sponsored by Tayto

With NPQ going to Railex at Aylesbury in less than three weeks time, attention has turned to a bit of tidying up on the layout. The trees either side of the station [I'm calling them hawthorns] have never looked quite good enough, so teased out the Woodlands Scenics matting a bit, glued on some more and added some lighter coloured scatter/crumb to hopefully improve the texture. Am temporarily adding the crab & lobster pots I bought for Swillybegs to the quayside, while the donkey & its cart have had a tidy up too. Now find myself wondering if I should try and fit a small fishing boat in next to Acla? The space below is about 35 scale feet. Something else needing a tidy up was my Deutz G class. The roof had come loose and the brass was starting to show through the paintwork in several places, while the buffer beams had got very tatty. Still have the aluminium colour rattle can, so sprayed some into a paper cup and used that to touch in the exposed areas on the bodywork, while the buffer beams have been given a new coat of Humbrol red. The model uses a set of Worsley Works etches, adapted to look more like the early version. Fairly sure I described it all on my workbench thread, several years back.

Hi Noel, Another way to look at it is; previously we had an IRM dedicated cabinet at these shows, and people hardly paid any notice. Now it is mixed in with Accurascale models which are more familiar to the average UK punter, it drew more eyes on them as they had a closer look at something "different". We definitely got more "what's that?" questions since we started doing it. Cheers! Fran

Somewhat 'overstocked' with Cavan & Leitrim negatives at the moment so I have added 20 to the Album. https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/albums/72157713642436207/ they are arranged in location order on it so if you wish to view the additions only just go on the Photostream as they are on the latest additions. There is one colour slide, C&L 1957-06 Ballinamore shed 4T LN173. 19 negatives. 3 below. C&L 1957-06-05 Belturbet signal LN998 C&L 1958-ca Drumshanbo 3T coprint 25j+074c

Finished Cheers Darius

Mark 2D Composite 5156 in the sidings at Heuston North

Great to meet up with @LNERW1, @josh_, @Tullygrainey @WRENNEIRE and others today. My stock has taken a nice dent, but I haven't run out yet! If you're making a trip here on Sunday be sure to have a look at Enda's new PalVans which look just terrific - an absolute winner if I'm any judge. Thanks to those of you who came by today and helped reduce the number of boxes I have to take back! Leslie

Continuing our odyssey into the quintessential wagon load trains of the CIE era, and the maximum usage of the legendary Bulleid triangulated underframe, we are delighted to announce the humble H Van, this time in its widespread, "unfitted" format. History As part of the programme of standardisation and rolling stock renewal instigated by Corás Iompair Éireann (CIÉ)’s Chief Mechanical Engineer, Oliver Bulleid, in the 1950s, a fleet of over 1,300 H vans was introduced. With a body resembling earlier CIÉ types but mated to an underframe constructed to Bulleid’s patented triangulated design, these wagons quickly became a common sight across the entirety of the Irish railway system, being found at practically every station where goods were transhipped, from remote branch lines to the busiest yards, and could even be observed on through workings in Northern Ireland. The loads conveyed in these vehicles was varied, often being employed to carry a broad range of wagonload sundries, as well as serving higher volume flows such as bottles and barrels from the Guinness brewery at St James’s Gate in Dubbin, and beet pulp from sugar factories to be used as fodder. H vans were commonly observed on a wide range of workings, from short branch services consisting of one or two wagons in the company of the locomotive and a brake van, to long rakes of vans or mixed wagon types, and even on mixed trains on branch and secondary lines. The rise of fitted trainload ‘liner’ trains in the 1970s heralded the demise of CIE’s wagonload services, and the H Van fleet became increasingly redundant, with most being withdrawn by the latter half of the 1970s. Today, a single complete example has been preserved and is to be found at the Downpatrick & County Down Railway, though numerous bodies still survive, having been sold on by CIÉ upon withdrawal, mostly to farmers for use as animal shelters or equipment sheds. The Model The unfitted H Vans marks the latest, and one of the most numerous wagons using the famous CIE Bulleid triangulated underframe design which helped standardise Irish freight stock from their introduction in the 1950s. It's our aim to offer all wagons based on this underframe design. Featuring prototypically accurate simplified brake rigging compared to its rarer, fitted sisters, these wagons reached the four corners of the network, often seen in long mixed goods trains, and were a feature of almost every siding and freight spur around the country. Coming in our famed triple packs, we have six different packs to offer modellers, featuring original grey with Flying Snails, grey with CIE roundels and brown with CIE roundels, giving a wide range of possibilities and variety for the modeller. Due in Q3 2025, these models are already nearing production completion at our factory. Priced at £109.95 per triple pack, and 10% off when you buy two or more packs, you can order them below direct, or via your local Accurascale/IRM stockist. Pre-Order Your Unfitted H Vans Here! View the full article

Having produced kits and rtr models for 15 years with marketing through social media, website and New Irish lines. Sales of kits have been primarily been to a group of regular UK based customers by social media (mainly this Newsgroup). I suspect the majority are attracted to Irish Outline because its considered more interesting and challenging that modelling British Outline. The majority of RTR sales were through my website, this Newgroup the most effective in terms of marketing. One of the quirks was that samples supplied to model railway clubs generated few sales, a member of one club commented that he 'could not see the point' of buying an Irish outline wagon while plenty of British RTR wagons were available at a lower price. Interestingly used to get occasional enquiries on Facebook usually from the States requesting a valuation claiming that they had JM Design model trains from their childhood Demographic wise RTR sales broke down fairly evenly between Ireland & the UK----respectively 45% & 40% with 15% from USA with rest of the World marginal. While Irish and UK customers tended to buy 1 or 2 items, US customers consistently tended to place larger orders. When all is said and done Irish Outline is a tiny compared with the British and American outline markets and the IRM founders strategy of testing and establishing a presence in the UK market allows Accurascale to produce Irish Outline models. From small beginnings Irish owned multinationals have become world leaders in building materials (Roadstone) dairy and food (Glanbia and Kerry) engineering consultancy (MF Kent) Construction (Laing O'Rourke) so why not model railways?

Hi folks, Instead of slipping down the dark hole of conspiracy, there is some very simple explanations to this. 1. The 800 and Park Royals were being transported to the UK to me here in Dublin via a IRM customer for the Wexford show next weekend, hence them not being on display. We only have 2 800 samples, the other being with ESU to finalise the PCB. We have Hunslets and bubbles here, so were able to leave them in the UK for display purposes at the show. 2. The ICR is also in ESU in Germany testing the electronics, hence was not on display. 3. As seen in recent months, IRM is being folded into Accurascale as a brand. 4. If you see Accurascale at a show, you can be sure that IRM products will be on display at our shows. Whatsmore, our designer of those items will be on hand to discuss them with you and give you a great insight into them as products. 5. The UK market by and large (97% of them) do not really care about Irish outline, but we always have some on display to show them what they are missing out on. Exactly Keith. End of the day, British show goers want to see British outline models. We cannot stress enough just how small the Irish market is. It's barely viable, and DJ Dangerous assessment of it slowing down is accurate. We have seen that over the last 18 months, and remember; it's not just IRM that we sell. Accurascale UK outline subsidises IRM. The more we sell of that, the longer we can continue to do Irish outline. Sales of Irish models is the biggest key though! I'm sure those of you who visit the Dublin shows, or see us at Wexford this weekend will not that there will be little or indeed no BR outline models on our stand, and only Irish models get promoted. In Ireland, Irish outline is our main focus of promotion. In the UK, it's British outline. Sorry, could you flesh out this point please, and let us know your thoughts? I'm intrigued. Many thanks, Fran

I have uploaded 30 negs & slides to the GNRI Album today as I appear to have over 100 awaiting upload. This is the link to the GNRI Album https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/albums/72157626756740602/ There are now 1322 images on it so it will be easier to view the new items on the Photostream. A few of the new ones below. GNRI 1960-05-21 Strabane JGD600508. GNRI 1958-05-14 Enniskillen + SLNC yard after closure JGD5855 ref 25j+011. GNRI 1958-07-02 Dundalk 31+ wagon 8031 coprint 25j+069d

One of the most requested wagons we get asked for from our Irish outline fans is nothing new, but an icon of our past. The humble cement bubble was the second wagon we ever produced, but was an absolute must have wagon for any Irish outline modeller. It's been several years since the last run, but we're delighted to announce that our Cement Bubbles are back, in two liveries! HISTORY Introduced in seven batches between 1964 and 1972, a total of 150 of these two-axle wagons were built by Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) to convey bulk loads of cement from Irish Cement’s plants at Drogheda in County Louth, Castlemungret in County Limerick and Platin in County Meath to distribution points throughout the CIÉ/Irish Rail and Northern Ireland Railways’ networks. Despite being introduced at different stages, the fleet carried numbers in an unbroken sequence ranging from 25050 to 25199. Affectionately known as ‘bubbles’ due to their distinctive profile, the majority of the fleet remained in service right up until the cessation of cement traffic by rail in 2009. At first, the wagons carried an all-over medium grey livery with CIÉ roundels and ‘Bulk Cement’ text on the body sides. In the early 1970s, they were repainted with orange/tan bodies and grey chassis. In the early 1980s, they received a further repaint which saw them turned out with ivory bodies and black chassis. This latter livery was carried until withdrawal, although it was often hidden below several layers of cement dust! While wearing this colour scheme, a small number of wagons also received ‘Irish Cement’ branding. The wagons were loaded from overhead silos via a hatch located on top of the body, while unloading was conducted by utilising compressed air, which forced the powdered cement through the two cones at the base of the body and into a pipe which emerged at one end of the wagon. Unloading could be conducted at specialised terminals or by road-hauled trailers fitted with the necessary air blowers The Model Our cement bubbles were the second wagon we ever produced, and we're delighted to say that the detail and quality still more than holds its own among other releases since. Now in our fourth production run, we are bringing back the orange variant (only ever produced in small quantities once many years ago. We are also bringing back the ivory livery with CIE roundel, a livery that the bubbles wore for the longest period in their careers, from the early 1980s until withdrawal in 2008. In the early to mid 80s they also ran in mixed trains of orange and ivory liveries, so they can complement each other in a rake. Three packs are available in each livery and are priced at £109.95 per pack, with 10% off when you buy two packs or more. Delivery of the bubbles will be Q4, 2025. Pre-order yours below, or from your local Accurascale stockist! Pre-Order Your CIE Cement Bubble Wagons Here! View the full article

Another nice arrival at Clogherhead today, a superb palvan from Enda Byrne! Truly magnificent craftsmanship and very quick service at a very reasonable price. Winner! Thanks Enda!

Many thanks to NDMRS for a fine show and to everyone who stopped to chat over the 2 days. Enjoyed it very much. Some pics... Alan

I have been doing some more research on the G class, prompted by a discussion with @jhb171achill last weekend about the dimensional accuracy of some G class models. I haven't seen any official drawings of the G class so I've been looking into the origins of the design. Here's a nice photo of the preserved G601, from Jonathan Allen on Flickr: These small shunters are a variant of the widespread German Köf II design, of which over 1000 were built. The standard Köf II was a much squatter loco, because it was designed to be moved long distance on a flat wagon. Nevertheless, if you look at the photo below you'll see some common features with G601 above, things like the axleboxes and springs, oblong holes in the main frames, bonnet access doors, cab front windows. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRG_Kleinlokomotive_Class_II There are dimensioned drawings of the Köf II here: http://www.industriespoor.nl/tekeningDeutzA6M517.htm https://www.gartenbahn-werkstatt.de/de/zeichnungen/horst-dieter-hettler/diesel-lokomotiven/ https://www.woernitz-franken.de/koef.htm There are however several differences from the Köf II, not just the cab but the engine, which is air-cooled on a G but water-cooled on the Köf II. The G601 class is a Deutz model A8L 614 R, a variant of the Köf II produced in smaller quantities for industrial users in Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere. There's more information on the A8L 614 R here, including drawings on all three websites: http://www.industriespoor.nl/tekeningDeutzKK130B.htm https://cftr.evolutive.org/amateur/engins_moteurs/Deutz_e.php https://www.rangierdiesel.de/index.php?nav=1405415&lang=1 Here's a Flickr photo from Alex Leroy illustrating one of them, with a clear resemblance to the G601s. The cab, bonnet and frames appear identical, but the bufferbeams and running plates are different, and the frames are closer together to suit 1435mm gauge. So it should be possible to carry over many of the A8L 614 R dimensions (from the drawings linked above) and check against the G class. Searching for A8L 614 R on the rangierdiesel website gives a list of 67 locos, which include G601 (Deutz 56119), G602 (Deutz 56118), G603 (Deutz 56120); note they are not in order. https://www.rangierdiesel.de/index.php?view=fahrzeuge&object=A8L+614+R&nav=1406157&lang=1&action=results Clicking on 'typengalerie' and selecting Deutz and A8L 614 R gives a gallery of hundreds of images of these locos across Europe, which have a great deal in common with the G601s, although they mostly have a low-level running board rather than a footplate at cab floor height. Here's an example: http://www.rangierdiesel.de/images/basic/deutz_56744_58.jpg There are even three photos of G601 at work which I hadn't seen before: http://www.rangierdiesel.de/images/basic/deutz_56119_51.jpg http://www.rangierdiesel.de/images/basic/deutz_56119_52.jpg http://www.rangierdiesel.de/images/basic/deutz_56119_53.jpg Some of the later A8L 614 R class had the larger windows of the G611s: http://www.rangierdiesel.de/images/basic/deutz_57236_53.jpg So, what about the G611s? These were an improved model with more power, designated A8L 714 R. Searching for A8L 614 on the rangierdiesel website gives a list of just 7 locos - our familiar G611 class. https://www.rangierdiesel.de/index.php?view=fahrzeuge&object=A8L+714+R&nav=1406157&lang=1&action=results The list gives works numbers as: G611 (Deutz 57225), G612 (Deutz 57224), G613 (Deutz 57226), G614 (Deutz 57228), G615 (Deutz 57223), G616 (Deutz 57227), G617 (Deutz 57229); note they are not in order. There's also a link to a photo of the preserved G613. Later, the model designation became KK140 B, such as this example on Flickr from Helgoland01. This may have had a different engine, but I'm not sure. Note the light clusters similar to the G611s but positioned differently: My next step is to overlay the 3 drawings of the A8L 614 R and compare to the Worsley Works etched parts, and we'll see where we go from there...

IR 1995-xx-xx 051r Alexandra Road Dublin Tippler sdgs. 249023. GMK060 CIE 1955-xx Youghal, 12whl Brake Compo (ex tri comp). Probably a bit better to travel in than the coach on its right! GMK008 CIE 1961-04-xx Inchicore A31 TI148

@DJ Dangerous I was hoping to source more from him however I suppose God had other plans. R.I.P Chris. I do believe a close friend of his will be taking the stock, no doubt that it's understandably not a priority amongst the family. Very excited to finish printing the enterprise set. Here are some renders. However, I think I may start smaller as I've never painted/airbrushed so I'm thinking of creating a sign or even just printing some resin and having a go first.

A quick, simple project, started this morning and just finished. The Abbeyland Tower in Cavan Town is an iconic Cavan structure. It was the belfry of medieval Cavan abbey, and is the sole surviving fragment of medieval Cavan town.

https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/news/freight-wagon-contract?

Sligo and Claremorris laden oil trains are seen here ready for departure from the Lakeview freight yard, 018 in charge of the Sligo oil 190+187 in charge of the Claremorris liner.

Ahem, cough cough, hint hint!

So it's getting close to the time for me to say farewell to my Knockloughrim 'working diorama', as it will shortly be moving to a permanent home in the actual station building itself. I ran the final trains today - it was an emotional time for all present (me). Knockloughrim, Winter 1958.mp4

Thanks everyone. Number 12 brings the County Down roster to 7 locomotives. The fitters are saying they've lined out enough locos to do them for a while. Me too. Back in September 2024 I started out to build a small exhibition layout for this lot to run on but got distracted. I probably should get back to that. In the meantime, new arrival No.12 is stretching its legs. Alan BCDR No12.mov

The Radio train returns…. In a joint operation between Bus Eireann and Irish rail we see the Executive train arrive at platform one behind 073 - as two PD type buses off load their passengers for an evening of fun on the train.

If the mods could perhaps limit the pace of posting on this thread, it would give a bit more peace of mind to those of us that couldn't write a To Do List at this pace...

The Oil turn departs behind 171

Couple of photos of G617 with a single Laminate Brake similar to that used on the Loughrea Branch from 63 onwards. The coach was built from a Worsley Works set of parts, I took an each way bet with my 3 WW coaches finishing one side in late 1950s green & one in black and tan. Roof is a Comet BR MK1 extruded aluminium roof cut down the centre, widened to fit the profile of the WW shell, the resulting gap made good in motor body filler supported on a strip of plasticard, detail castings and interior Comet & MJT with some pre-painted Scale Link passengers, bogies use MJT coach compensation units widened to 21mm gauge, made a bit of a hash of forming the tumblehome. These days I would probably use a 3D printed roof. Interestingly when G613 and Laminate 1910? took over branch line working the loco was in the Black & Tan scheme and the coach in light green!

Hi all hope you are all well. I'm just updating the range of 3D printed OO scale items that I'm doing. First I'm doing the Uniload containers unweathered as alot of people wanted them pristine. (€15 each) Replacement 071/141 buffers original style and modern style. (50 cent each) Station signs 3 different sizes depending on the length of the name. Names not included. (4 for €8) Modern station seating unpainted. (3 for €10) RTR palvan. (€35) I have them in grey and redie brown and 6 different number variations. Defibrillator box. (€1 each) Pm me if you want any further information or would like to purchase something. Thanks Enda

A very enjoyable 2 days at the NDMRS Bangor Show. Good atmosphere, lots of variety and some epically good modelling on display - I've posted a few pics in the 'What's On: Bangor 2024' thread. Great to see so many familiar faces and also meet some on-line acquaintances in person for the first time. The Stone Yard behaved itself impeccably all weekend and also hosted a few guest engine drivers in the age 5 - 10 group. Budding railway modellers every one! No locos were harmed in the process. Thanks to NDMRS, to everyone who stopped to talk and to Kieran Lagan for sharing loco superintendent duties. Alan