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Time to share my latest efforts!! Anyone of a railway persuasion who travels along the A6 road from Belfast to the North West will be familiar with the small station at Knockloughrim, located a short distance beyond the Castledawson roundabout. Knockloughrim was the first stop out of Magherafelt on the oddly-named Derry Central Railway, which meandered through the eastern edge of the county, almost in County Antrim. The line eventually closed completely in 1959 but most of the stations survive and Knockloughrim in particular is beautifully preserved, with station building, goods shed and adjacent road bridge all in excellent condition: I have long been an admirer of Knockloughrim so this year I decided to have a go at creating a winter diorama of the station. The owner Aidan was very welcoming and I have had the pleasure of visiting the station on a few occasions and he has even provided me with some very interesting historical photos: The last photo above is of great interest as it shows a Mogul passing through Knockloughrim - an unusual visitor. I also received a very useful plan of the smaller Derry Central stations from Kieran Lagan: I started into the build a few months ago and unlike my usual situation, progress has been fairly rapid and the build is almost complete. I decided that although it would be a diorama, I wanted to have trains moving, and that is still the plan. The station is depicted in the final years of the DC line, under UTA ownership, although modellers' licence has been used to make the station appear a bit busier. Passenger services stopped in 1950 but goods traffic lingered on until 1959, although by then the line was completely closed north of Kilrea. The 'Kilrea Goods' workings were the final regular movements on the line but there were also occasional passenger specials during the final years, some of which are described by James McIlfatrick, in his charming and highly readable 1987 memoir of the line ‘The Derry Central Railway’. The diorama is 41 in long with a depth of just 16 in, and the baseboard was constructed in foamboard - this material is not very strong but I do not envisage any outings for Knockloughrim. The landscape was built up using foamboard and plaster bandage, and winter scenics came from Noch and All Game Terrain. Gabor Evenich supplied three beautiful handmade winter trees and further trees were obtained from the scenics section of Hobbycraft. Buildings are my greatest interest in any project and all have been constructed with a mount board core. The exterior of the station building was finished in Metcalfe brick paper but the goods shed and bridge were finished using Das clay, with the stonework scribed once the clay was fully dry. Wills Random Stone sheets were used for the vertical platform face. I also made use of a suitably wintry backscene from Model Scenery Supplies and I am particularly happy with how this has worked. Final scenic work remains to be done and I am also hoping to add some basic lighting to the building and the platform. Motive power on Knockloughrim will mostly feature ex-NCC U Class No. 80 'Dunseverick Castle' which was converted for me a few years back by Colm Flanagan, from a Hornby LMS 2P. One of the recent Marks Models Jinty tanks will also appear, along with the OO Works ex-GNR UG class No. 49 - I doubt if either of these latter two locomotives ever visited Knockloughrim in real life but it would at least have been possible. A number of UTA-liveried wagons and vans from Provincial Wagons will also feature, along with a few ex-GNR vans, as well as Gareth Brennan's superb scratchbuilt UTA brake van. And I feel a story coming on............

Thursday May 15th 2024. The last train on the South Waterford Line leaves Grange headed for the Cork fiddle yard. There the rolling stock will be boxed and work will begin dismantling the layout. Maureen and I have decided it is time for us to move, first to a rental property near her mom who needs more and more help by the day and then look for home with with a garden, something we did not have in a condo and sorley missed. Of course a train room will be a requirement in any new house!

Hi guys, a "few" pictures of my layout. I started building it around 2013/14?, after looking at Johnathan and Barry's wonderful picture of Gort station, in their book 'rails through the west'. The initial plan was to try and build a 1970's Gort station,but as always with this hobby I got carried away, and it got bigger and bigger. So it is basically a fantasy Irish railway from the 60's, 70's and 80's. I really tried to stay ' supertrain', but I couldn't resist the Crossley A classes, and grey 121. It's hard to know if it will ever be finished, because I have chopped and changed a fair bit since I started building it. The terminus is the latest endeavor, so fingers crossed to see how that goes.? Paul.

Bear in mind this is only an early test print, still rife with imperfections both digital and in terms of print settings, even the primer didn't go on perfectly, but it fits the chassis as intended

800 is almost complete. Window frames, name and numberplate added along with the long process of lining. Whistle, Tender chassis and cab interior remain to be finished. Gloss varnish worked nicely to clear the 3d printed window frames. She runs quite nicely on the 6x4 test track, clearing its tight curves with ease. The green paint is from vinny byrnes, RBS381 Mid Brunswick green in gloss. Took a while to find the right match but I think this is pretty much bang on to my eye.

A very well preserved colour slide from summer 1958 sees the afternoon local from Castletown West arriving at Dugort Harbour.

Sporting its brand new 'Inter City' livery, 229 leads the liner waiting at Heuston North freight yard after earlier arriving from Ballina, before heading to Ocean Pier.

With great sadness I learned our fellow forumite @Junctionmad railway expert, electronics genius, master mariner, and my faithful pal Dave McCabe left this life on Monday after bravely battling a long illness with fortitude, dignity, gentleness and kindness. If you needed to get something done there was no better genius than Dave at making things happen. He was a dynamo and generous with his time, always happy to share his technical knowledge. Dave left a positive impact in every sphere of life he touched, from the space programme, to sailing, inland waterway community, navigation technology, railway modelling and in recent years his massive contribution to WMRC. Dave pioneered innovative baseboard technology, layout electronics using can bus, and signalling. Dave designed WMRCs massive ‘Little Siddington’ O gauge exhibition layout. Dave was also a hero of RNLI, having been a founder and first chair of RNLI Lough Ree life boat, and subsequently responsible for the permanent lifeboat station at Cowman point. Fairwell faithful friend, and fair sailing in the new life you now live. One perhaps we cannot fully comprehend, but may you be now sailing on a broad reach with 12kt of wind, the sun beaming on your broad kind smile. Care and prayer for your soul mate Siobhan, daughters Sarah, Jamie and son in-law Liam. Big friendly giant with such a huge heart, you will be missed. Meet you for a coffee in the next life. PS: Dave's handle here @Junctionmad came from his nostalgic love of Limerick Junction from years of travel back and forth to college in Limerick from his native Waterford. RPSI rail tour 2017 - Dave insisted on bringing his own linen table service complete with candelabra, much to the bemusement of people on the platform looking in, wondering what sort of ticket that table had.

I regret to inform you that Ken (KMCE) passed away this morning, peacefully, at his home. Many of you may know Ken, either personally, or through this forum. Ken was a perfectionist at heart and this is evident in his modelling where his patience, skill, and attention to detail shine through. I will miss him. Tom McElhinney.

This year the South Dublin Model Model Railway Club is celebrating 50 years in existence. From humble beginnings of a few like minded individuals coming together in a members workshop in Rathmines to where we are today in our purpose built club rooms in Knocklyon in Dublin. Our Exhibition in Blackrock College this year will have added significance and we are planning on it being our biggest and best show yet. Dates of our show: October 25th,26th & 27th. Thank you The Organising team.

Happy Christmas to all.

Apologies for the lack of updates, but due to work commitments I was unable to get much done on the layout for over 7 months. However, the last four or five months have been more fruitful, and I've managed to make some progress on the goods yard area behind the station. I was planning to wait until the whole area was finished before I uploaded some photos, but my brother is home for a week or two, and he took some nice shots with his camera, and I couldn't resist sharing them. I should be able to finish the entire area, including the goods shed and oil tanks, over the next month or two, so I'll post some photos when I'm done. Paddy

The Dugort Harbour branch has had a set of four GSWR six-wheelers allocated to it lately. The all-1st, a compo and a third are in pretty good condition given their age, but the old 1888 brake third badly needs a repaint and tidy up. It’ll meet with its end once these new laminates are all built, but they’re due in summer 1959, so we’ve almost eighteen months of this thing….. Received from Eoin Murray today; as always, truly outstanding master build of SSM kits. Note the realistic canvas roof patches on the brake, faded paint and general weathering with brake dust.

Received the 800 last Friday, been working on her since! Good bit more detail and painting to do, lining needs to be added to the cab sides and tender, window frames need to be put in, number and nameplates need to be fitted. Here's how she looks so far

2025 marks the 10th birthday of IRM! That's right, it's been 10 years since we first made a public appearance at the Dublin show in Blackrock with some CAD drawings of a ballast wagon and some leaflets on a school table. We've come on a bit since then! It's a major milestone for any business, and we've had some interesting challenges thrown our way over the years, but a lot of success too. That's down to you, and your support for us and what we want to do. So, with that in mind, we really wanted to mark our first decade with a truly special model. An icon of the Irish rails. We also wanted to produce the first highly detailed, ready-to-run, authentic Irish steam locomotive. There was only one place we could go to; the GSR B1A Class, or the 800s/The Queens as they are better known! Despite the high profile of the three B1a locomotives, and even with 800 Maeḋḃ, being preserved since the 1960s, we found ourselves in the position of having very few dimensioned drawings to work from, with just Rod and Pipe side elevation and front elevation official drawings being sourced. Thanks to the late Ken McElhinney, a few more drawings were shared which at least gave a starting point, but to really get to grips with the subject, it was decided to 3D scan the loco. Fortunately, we’d already decided to make a start on the Hunslet 101 project and so we found ourselves at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum in Cultra one April morning in 2022 with two locomotives to scan; our British based scanning company partners having made the trip across the Irish Sea for the occasion. A full photographic and measurement survey was also undertaken at the same time, which gave us the necessary information to begin the CAD process. As ever, a master drawing needed to be completed from the cloud point data and from there, using as many archive photos as could be sourced, the variations across the three locomotives were also drawn up, allowing the factory to complete the process by adding in the requested 5-pole, fly-wheel motor and the gearing, prior to tooling. There were two particular areas that we particularly wanted to address in the model; the realism of the sound and the connection of the tender to the locomotive. Steam tenders in the modern era of railway modelling tend to be connected to the locomotive by a fixed coupling, with a loose wiring loom connecting to the PCB via a ‘devil’s plug’ connection. We wanted to avoid this, and so tender and locomotive will be connected by a multi-pin connector integrated into a kinetic coupling, which will allow push fit/pull apart connection and, hopefully, a better tender to locomotive close coupling distance, with the cab fall plate covering the gap prototypically. Early testing has proved positive in this respect, and the full DCC fitted deco samples should refine this further. We also wanted to improve the sound ‘experience’ for customers, so in addition to the new ‘megabass’ main speaker that has been fitted into the tender (with suitable outlets for the sound to ‘escape’), a secondary sugar cube speaker has been mounted in the smokebox, directly beneath the chimney, and this should replicate the distinctive exhaust ‘bark’ of the B1a locomotives. The sound project has been built from the ground up, using a combination of newly recorded 4-6-0 3-cylinder sounds, which our sound engineer has then married to the sound curves taken from archive recordings of 802 Táilte. This should provide for a complete authentic sound file, with great drivability. With assessment of the first EP now completed, and very few issues, the artwork files are currently being finished off and passed to the factory to produce the deco samples. The PCB schematics have been completed by ESU as well, which means that the deco samples should also be fully sound functional, an exciting development in the project. Once the decorated samples arrive with us we will continue to test ahead of production of this very limited run. Like our NIR Hunslet locomotives, this is planned to be a very exclusive production run due to the nature of there being three class members in various guises during their all too short careers. We cannot guarantee that there will be a future production run of these locomotives, so we would advise anyone who wants a museum quality 800 Class locomotive in OO gauge to get ordering ASAP from this production run. With a large amount of diecast construction, a wealth of detail, separately applied parts, a museum quality finish, a vast tooling suite to cater for detail variations and a high quality drive and sound system, we feel that we will do the first ever, authentic highly detailed Irish outline steam locomotive justice! Due to the highly limited nature and quality level of this model, it is priced at €349.00 DC/DCC Ready and €449.00 DCC sound fitted. This is in line, and in some cases cheaper, than large British outline steam locomotives of similar or poorer quality, despite them benefiting from larger production runs and sales. Delivery of our Celtic Queens is slated for Q3 2026. You can reserve your loco below with a €40 reservation fee via the link below. Pre-Order Your GSR/CIE 800s Here! MODEL SPECIFICATION: Die-cast metal locomotive chassis and footplate, with ABS plastic body. Locomotive/Tender weight of 498g. Centrally mounted, high quality 5-pole skew-wound motor, with single flywheel. Helical gear box for maximum performance and slow speed running. Gearing arranged so locomotive can achieve a scale maximum top speed of 100 mph (128.75 km/h). Scale lengths: Locomotive: 163.917mm over buffers. Tender: 104.916mm over buffers. Operation over a minimum radius of 438mm (2nd radius set-track). Blackened 00 Gauge RP25-110 standard 11.3mm bogie wheels, 25.8mm driving wheels and 14.8mm tender wheels, set in blackened brass bearings or contact strips and conforming to Accurascale standards of 14.4mm back-to-back, on 2mm axles. Fully fitted brake rigging, aligned to wheel centres for 00 Gauge. Fully detailed die-cast underframes with all cylinders, linkages and piping applied separately. Eroded metal, plastic and wire detail parts, including (but not limited to) handrails, lamp brackets, running gear, brake gear, draw gear, nameplates, cab side plates. Prism free flush cab glazing. Duel-LED flickering firebox. Locomotive/Tender connection by multi-pin custom designed male/female connector. Designed to work with the ESU LOKSOUND V5 21-PIN Decoder. Decoder and main speaker located in the tender, for easy access. Supplied as DC Sound Ready, or DCC Sound fitted (based on archive recordings). Fitted 25mm x 25mm x 7.50mm rectangular 8Ω ‘Megabass’ speaker in tender, with separate ‘Sugarcube’ speaker fitted in smokebox. View the full article

Hi everyone, We've been known to "throw the kitchen sink" into models in our range, and the term can become quite literal with our coaches. Those familiar with our Enterprise Mark 2 coaches will attest to this, and now our Park Royals can boast the same with their snack car conversions. Showing our fully decorated interiors against our integral interior lighting just sets these classic CIE coaches off a treat. Pre-ordered yours yet? Our order book is filling up fast, so we recommend you get your n pre-order in fast to avoid disappointment! PRE-ORDER NOW: https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/park-royal-coaches Cheers! Fran

I used Neill’s Hill, just over 2 miles out from Queen’s Quay on the BCDR main line through East Belfast, as the basis for a model of a country station building for this layout. The original building is long since demolished though a number of photographs exist. It had a fairly typical BCDR look but with less of the special brickwork on station buildings like Cultra or Carnalea which make them trickier to model well. It's not a slavish copy of Neill's Hill, more a nod in that direction. The pics are self-explanatory I hope. Brickwork is Slater’s English Bond plasticard, windows, doors and roof tiles came from York Modelmaking and the chimney pots are 3D prints from ModelU. Paint was applied, removed and re-applied so many times in the course of trying to get the effect I wanted that I reckon the brickwork genuinely is weathered.

We certainly alluded that the humble H Van was in our future in our launch of the Grain Wagons, and now we can reveal our model of the standard CIE goods van, here in fitted form! History The programme of rolling stock production undertaken by Oliver Bulleid during his time as Chief Mechanical Engineer at Corás Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) in the 1950s contained a number of now-iconic vehicles, among them being the humble H Van. With a 10ft wheelbase and 12-ton capacity, these unassuming vans became CIÉ’s standard covered wagon and they found their way to every point of the Irish railway network during their time in service, present in long rakes or mixed trains in larger yards and in smaller groups or singly in sidings and goods sheds right across the island. In addition to over 1,300 H Vans constructed with hand brakes only, in 1953 Inchicore Works outshopped 219 wagons with vacuum brakes, with a further 99 H Vans being retro-fitted with vacuum braking between 1961 and 192. These wagons were distinguishable by the presence of brake wheels rather than the usual levers found on unfitted stock, and in most cases by the presence of “Vac Brake” wording on the body sides. While commonly found running in unfitted trains with standard H vans and other wagons, where the vacuum equipment was not utilised, these vehicles could also be attached to passenger and mail trains to convey mailbags, parcels and other time-sensitive loads. As with most other stock aimed at wagonload operations, these vehicles continued to ply their trade with CIÉ until the latter half of the 1970s, when more modern bogie stock was introduced and the network was optimised for trainload liner operations. Many of these vehicles were transported to CIÉ’s scrapyard at Mullingar upon withdrawal, where they were subsequently disposed of. The Model Probably the least surprising addition to our "Project Bulleid" programme of wagon launches around the famous triangulated chassis, the H Van is the must have wagon for anyone modelling mixed goods trains during the heyday of CIE freight operations. Seen in long mixed trains alongside their counterparts the corrugated opens, the flats, grain wagons and more, they were a staple diet in the Autumn of steam operations along with the diesel dawn. Modelled accurately in high quality ready to run format for the first time, the accurate proportions and quality materials and details used does these humble vans justice in OO scale. With brass bearings to ensure the smoothness of running characteristics, high quality die cast chassis for weight, a wealth of separately applied details including fine plastic and metal brake rigging, museum quality injection moulding as well as crisp tampo printing and paint application, our Bulleid wagons set a new standard for IRM rolling stock and this will be demonstrated with the H Vans. At home in a mixed goods, passenger mixed train or even a mail train, the fitted vans offer great flexibility for modellers and the unfitted variants will follow in a future production run. These wagons are due to arrive in stock in Q4 2024 and are priced at our unbeatable price for authentic Irish scale models of €89.95 for each triple pack, with 10% off when you order two more more sets. Pre-order yours below and benefit from free shipping around Ireland and 3% cash back in the way of loyalty points off future purchases. Pre-Order Your H Vans Here View the full article

A full year late but Ballyercall is in full test mode. Great to be running trains again

Dear friends I am giving serious consideration to retirement. If I get to 2026 (DV), I'll be 80, so maybe the time has come to stop? Reluctantly, I will not deny as I / we get plenty of fun out of it but the "work and getting there" bit is a lot less fun! At present, postal sales are almost nil, thanks to Brexit - and of course the excellent products from a certain bunch of youngsters in Dublin! Any sales I make are at exhibitions in Ireland and an invitation to attend the NDMRC (Bangor) exhibition in April has provoked much debate between Richard McLachlan and I whether to do "one more year" (even to the extent of checking hotel rates in Blackrock in October!). We're sleeping on it! It is no exaggeration to say that each exhibition is knackering, takes up at least two weeks of time, each time - more if I'm bringing new product as I would be chasing the producer for months before! At best I cover my costs. I don't intend to produce more kits beyond what is on order now, or in my attic. That is: NCC Brown Vans 6 SLNCR Cattle 4 GNR Brake 0 Double Beet 10 GNR Y5 Van 3 GSWR Brake 4 CIE Cattle 12 GNR 10T Ftd 9 GNR 10T U/Ftd 6 GNR 9T U/Ftd 6 GNR Cattle 4 GNR 6 Plank 7 GNR 4Plank 7 GNR Loco Coal 3 Spoil wagon 0 (but some on order) Bread containers 17 I still have about ten Grey RTR CIE van with broken wheel and 20 or so Brown vans, also with a broken wheel.

Summer 1957, and there's still steam on the midday mixed. Soon, "C" class locomotives will take over for good, and the old GSWR six-wheelers will only be seen on GAA and pilgrimage days....

Sitting outside Patsy O’Donoghue’s bar at Dugort Harbour, just the sound of seagulls. Behind me, the smell of fish and seaweed, as it bobs up and down on the ebbing tide over the quay wall. Nearby, a fisherman tinkers with the engine of an antique Fordson Major which refuses to start. Anotherpint. Yes, I know, it’s an hour before opening, but there’s a “local arrangement” for the lobster men who have been out since dawn. The guy from the fishing tackle store approaches the potholed station approach road with his donkey and cart. He’s collecting something from the morning mixed train, which took a connection from the Tralee goods in Castletown. Turf smoke drifts from the two cottages across the road from from the station. Biddy and Sarah are opening up the paper shop. They’ve spent all their sixty-plus years in that shop, since the pair of them were born in the room above it. In the distance, we hear the unmistakable sound of a locomotive horn. That’ll be Tully gates he’s approaching. He’ll be here in under five minutes. It sounds like one of those new American ones, not the usual Crossley. You hear that? Very different sound, isn’t it? Probably the same one that was on yesterday. Let’s get the telephoto out and see what sort of picture we can get from here. Here we are! Got a snap of him just coming round the bend. Finish that pint and we’ll go over the road and watch him shunting. I think the two vans in the goods yard will be going. Something on the wireless about the President of America bring shot. Did you hear that? Sure he was only here a few weeks ago, in New Ross. We’ll have to get the paper tomorrow to read about it.

IR 1994-07-xx Sligo Goods station 121 + 141 class shunt loco fuel tank. Sligo Oil train on left with a couple of shiny wagons with bright red underframes just out of the box! Bagged cement right. Bell Containers in background. ref249024. UTA 1961-xx Dungannon BUT Railcar 128 yj101 West Clare, 1959-CA,possibly earlier. Ennis yj100

On a quiet summer evening, Dugort Harbour reposes, since the late afternoon mixed went back to Castletown. Since it’s fair day tomorrow, several cattle trucks and spare passenger stock are stabled here this evening. Smell the salt air and drifting turf smoke….. beyond the gulls down at the harbour, silence. This might look better for 1959!

Back to the 1990s, fresh from the IE paint shop at Inchicore is 2601+2602 sporting original as delivered Arrow livery. I was fortunate to be invited to the unveiling of the railcars at Inchicore paint shop yesterday…

It was something of a great pleasure to visit this stunning layout as Alan prepares it for its first exhibition outing.

I've been gradually working on the weathering on E410. It's so easy to overdo it and I fear I have ended up with something a bit more grubby than I was aiming for. It's not as bad as some of the prototypes though! It has moved on a bit since I took these photos, I have taken some of the weathering off and added more in different shades and places. I can't quite settle on the right look. A black one would have been much easier! The green on the transfers looks too bright in this lighting, that may tone down with some weathering, but it looks better in sunlight. Tomorrow I hope to fit the cab window glazing, then reassemble. That's about as much as I can do before the loco's trip to Cork and Fenit at the weekend. I think it looks a bit better now than in the photos above. If the weather stays sunny tomorrow I'll take the photo plank outside for some pictures. In due course I may revisit and refine the weathering. I haven't got a driver figure yet but I will need one. I also think there's some fine-tuning needed on the DCC motor control as the loco seems to almost come to a stop and then lurch forward a little. But it feels like I'm very nearly there. The instructions are almost complete too. Once I've finished them off I'll add them to this thread and then you can see what you're letting yourself in for if anyone wants to build one for themselves. I still plan to build a second loco in black livery, and I have the parts to do so. But I have an embarassingly large queue of other things to make...

Life has quiet and busy patches and this week is a busier one, but I have got round to fitting the buffers and painting the bufferbeams, and it's a sunny morning today so another couple of pics. The electronics parts have arrived (DCC decoder, stay-alive, LEDs etc) so that's probably my next job.

Some small stuff for No.6. Step this way… A nice little hand wheel etch from Wizard Models (51L CWSHB)... Smokebox door casting also from Wizard (MT329)... Slight flaw in this one. Never mind. Scrap etch for a reverser lever... Some cut down wagon springs from Dart Castings (MJT 2284) plus 0.45mm brass rod Over time I have gathered a small collection of chimney and dome castings, none of which were right for No.6 of course so it was back to cobbling together bits of brass tube, washers and dowel. The old Black and Decker earned its keep yet again. Trial fitting of some of the bits. Fussy little blighter isn't it. Back to the tender now, I think. Alan

No sooner had we announced that our next locomotives for IRM would be the utterly distinctive and characterful NIR 101 Class "Hunslets", that we already had progressed to decorated samples and they have now landed with us for assessment! We have some minor amendments to make which we will go through below. But first, let's feast our eyes on some proper Hunnys! Quite tasty, right? We're so thankful to the Ulster Folk And Transport Museum for allowing us access to the Hunslet so we could scan and measure it up to bring you this model. If you haven't been to Cultra, make sure you put it in your diary. It's a great day out as explained by Clare Ablett, the Transport Curator at the museum. Of course, this is just the next step in the development process as we work toward creating the finished models you will receive. We have improvements to make at this point too, which include the following: Improve paint application on GSM aerials. Improve operation and alignment of sprung buffers. Factory fit drawhook, and separate couplings into accessory bag. Allocate accessory items to each SKU. Improve manufacturing process to eliminate ejection pin marks. Improve casting process on chassis block to eliminate odd areas of rough casting. Improve paint coverage on MU fittings. Want to know more about the project? Check out our video with Hunslet Project Manager, Paul Isles, below! Overall, we are very pleased with progress so far, and the above has been fed back to the factory already with these amendments now well under way. Production is due to begin just after the Chinese New Year break in spring 2025 with us still on course for a delivery date Q4 2025. Order Your NIR Hunslet Here! View the full article

A trip around the layout. The main station is Swords, and the fiddle yard is either Phibsborough or Adelaide, depending on which direction it is approached. Not many people are aware of the alternative route from Dublin to Belfast via Swords. 7mm Scale, 32mm gauge.

My Belfast and County Down stable has been quietly growing to the extent that it’s getting a bit crowded at Loughan Quay. I’ve been toying with the idea for a while now of building a small layout for this stuff to run on, something fairly simple that could conceivably be taken out to exhibitions. What I have in mind is a typical BCDR country through station with a goods siding. I don’t plan to model an actual location - that’s too constraining (actually too difficult if I’m honest) but places like Tullymurry, Ballygowan and Ballygrainey are the sources of inspiration. The intention would be to select features from various places and bring them together in one layout. Here’s a rough sketch of the likely track plan. Templot it ain’t but it’s fairly simple. I wanted the scenic area to be a single board but the minimum length needed for the track plan ended up 15 cm too long to fit in the car so it’s now two boards and that being the case, I’ve taken the opportunity to stretch it out to 2 metres. I’ve made a start on the boards, aiming to make them as light as possible, using plywood in various thicknesses (3.6mm, 5.5mm & 12mm) and MDF for the track bed, all largely assembled with wood glue. The strength of the design lies in the twin longitudinal L-beams on which everything is mounted. As far as I can gather, this approach to construction is fairly common but it’s the first time I’ve tried it. The end product is probably lighter than a traditional flat top with whitewood framing and it’s also considerably more rigid. We’ll see how well it stands up to handling. Landscape profiling from cardboard and cereal packet. I've parked work on the boards now to concentrate on some of the building and structures. I'm still trying to get an overview of how this thing will look and whether it will work. More soon Alan

Here's a few... ... the glories of pre-grouping - including a certain WL&WR loco by the amazing Richard Chown.

The wisdom of good quality colour film in the 1950s and 60s may be seen with many colour slides from the period today. Some retain vibrant colour, others (like most of Cyril Fry’s!) were taken on cheap film and have deteriorated since. But our intrepid photographer in the south west in summer 1958, used only the best of materials when he captured the 11:40 mixed making a spirited departure from Dugort Harbour one sunny July day…… Once it gets to Tully Fish Siding, it will pick up three wagons of marine produce - which will end up in Farringdon Market in London less than 13 hours later, via North Wall and Holyhead.

Cab detail from the first finished model, it will be tomorrow before Im able to take proper photos

Finally settled on a number for the BCDR 2-4-2T. No.7 was delivered from Beyer Peacock in 1896 and lasted until 1949. Number plates made from brass with Railtec transfers. Some weathering of the chassis before it got a DCC Concepts chip and stay-alive. This all fits in the boiler, leaving plenty of room for lead in the tanks and cab. Crew getting to know their new charge. And we have movement, though what a passenger working is doing at a commercial harbour, I've no idea. IMG_0607.MOV

Bellmont House is finished.

Murphy Models Class 141/181 2024

Glazing added. It looks better on the photo plank in the spring sunshine! A few pics with a short train of equally grubby silver trucks.

I have had these UTA May 1964 slides for a few months whilst awaiting the rest of set of 130 odd images. Unfortunately the 65 odd missing slides have not come to light so I will start adding the ones already held. The 4 below are all Newry Edward Street. Railcar 104 failed on arrival so 36 was substituted for the run on to Warrenpoint and return. 45 was on a goods in the yard. 11 May 1964

A smokebox for No.6. I don't think I've managed to make a smokebox the same way twice. The smokebox and saddle for this one were built as a single piece made from two matching formers, a front plate which is wider at the bottom than the saddle, a baseplate and a wrapper. In order to make as much room as possible for the DCC gubbins, the centres of the formers were cut away to keep an open space through the boiler and into the smokebox. The downside is that the smokebox can’t then be easily bolted to the front of the boiler. The wrapper is 10 thou brass, all the rest is 15 thou nickel silver. A captive nut inside the baseplate of the saddle will allow it all to be bolted down to the running plate, with peg into a hole in the cab front locating the firebox end. As is becoming standard with this build, it took a couple of goes, the first pass generating the mistakes to inform the learning process. Getting the wrapper on neatly was the hardest bit. !**!*!!? If at first you don't succeed, have a cup of tea before trying again. It keeps the big hammer at bay. The finished item was seam soldered to the front of the boiler. A few other details added and some holes drilled, mostly in the right places. We're getting towards the small bits and pieces now. Cab steps Alan

Connemara railway project. The revival continues at Maam Cross Connemara Railway Project, Public toilet facilities now on the site Signal relocated and connected to the cabin interlocking frame Cosmetically restored beet wagon Former Bord na mona wagon master locomotive LM 284 on driver training duties. The junction bar is being prepared for service….

Hi, I'm new to the forum, but not new to modelling. My real name is Paul but online I'm Mol_PMB which is based on my nickname and initials. Some of you may recognise me from the RMWeb forum. As a child in the late 1970s and the 1980s, we had a family holiday in Ireland every year. Normally about 10 days near Ennis (always at the same farmhouse B&B) plus a few days somewhere else, which was different each year. I was strongly into railways and modelling, and my first Irish models were a Lima 33 and a Mk1 coach in CIE livery, no doubt bought on one of our holidays. We used to visit the railway station at Ennis regularly on our holidays, although it was closed to passengers there was occasionally a freight train to be seen, and of course the West Clare 0-6-2T was plinthed there too. I think it was in 1987 when we found a poster advertising an excursion to Dublin by train, which would be happening a few days later. I was about 11 at the time and had just got my first camera. I begged and pleaded with my parents for us to go on it! Eventually they agreed. Our loco for the last leg from Limerick was A class 007. I had marked the rare occasion of a train ride in Ireland by wearing a jumper knitted by my mum, featuring a CIE train. Here I am with the real thing after arrival back at Ennis. Embarrassing now... I started more serious Irish modelling about this time, and got about half-way through building a model of Fenit in 4mm scale, EM gauge. Rolling stock included Q-kits locos, MTK carriages and MIR wagons, plus various kitbashed/converted items. But to be honest my modelling skills in my early teens weren't good enough, and the project foundered. I no longer have any of those models. My next attempt in my later teens was a model of Ballygawley on the Clogher Valley Railway, 4mm scale, 12mm gauge. My skills were improving and I think I still have some of the rolling stock including lots of wagons scratchbuilt on etched chassis, and a part-completed scratchbuild of the 2-6-2T. Life got in the way of this - a year out and then university, and my interests changed. Once I'd settled into employment, I decided to move up to O gauge. I mostly modelled British prototypes in 7mm scale, but I did try making a few Irish wagons and a coach in 6mm scale on 32mm gauge track. They were nice but I soon realised it was a dead end, and that was the last Irish modelling I did, about 20 years ago. I still have my 3 shelves of Irish railway books and retain an interest in the prototype; last year I visited the last of the Bord na Mona railways for a week: My major project at present is Swiss narrow gauge in 1:45, 22.2mm gauge track, but I also have a small O gauge layout based on the Manchester Ship Canal railways that were local to me. So why am I here, trawling the forum for information and inspiration? Well I blame Accurascale / Irish Railway Models! They've just announced those lovely NIR Hunslets, which have long been a favourite of mine. And then I discovered there are CIE Park Royal coaches on the way, which I have so many childhood memories of around Limerick. I have several friends with OO or HO scale layouts and I quite fancy putting together one or two Irish trains to run on them. But I'm also mulling over the possibility of a small shunting layout in 21mm gauge. Hmmm...

Hi everyone, One of the stars of the show at the recent MRSI show in Dublin was the unveiling of the decorated samples of our Park Royal coaches in CIE black and tan, IR orange and black with white strips and classic CIE green with silver underframe and bogies liveries. For those of you who missed them, here is a closer look! As per our most recent update, there are some tweaks and adjustments to be made ahead of delivery next summer. Pre-order yours below before the order book closes ahead of production! Pre-Order Your Park Royal Coaches Here!

Hi everyone, Thanks to you all who dropped by our stand over the weekend. We had plenty of sales, great feedback and it was great to see people and say hello once again. Then again, bringing a celeb like New Junction with us helped too! The support we received regarding the ICR was brilliant too, and would like to thank you all who chatted with us about it. I think many of you were subsequently blown away by our EP samples in the cabinet, alongside our new Hunslet. Finally, and for me personally, most importantly, I would like to extend a sincere and big thank you to the MRSI team for a truly fantastic show. We had many members of the public comment favourably about the new venue, but from a trader point of view they were absolutely first class. It cannot be understated just how much work goes into setting up and creating a show like this, and completely on a voluntary basis to boot. Many people complained about the previous venue 2 years ago. We (IRM) felt a bit guilty about this as a big part of the jam on the Saturday was our sale of the “Dicky Tara’s” and the demand on space that whipped up. I think the MRSI should be commended on listening to feedback, going out and finding a more suitable venue and running an absolutely first class show. Well done to Tony, Dave, Ed and all the club members who gave us a brilliant show. You got bodies in the door and looked after us all superbly. This is why clubs need to be supported, as without them we won’t have shows to go to in the future. It’s great to see new clubs pop up in the Midlands and in Limerick. If you have one in your local area, go down and visit and consider joining. Theyre the ultimate men’s shed that operate in your area of interest. Cheers! Fran

The S&DJR's ex GNRI 205 heads a goods crossing the Drowes River in 1959. Purchased from CIE to alleviate the Sligo & Donegal Railway loco shortage caused by increased traffic after closure of the ex GNRI Bundoran branch the re-numbered 205's purchase was at the behest of the S&DJR Chairman who had fond memories of the class on the 'Bundoran Express. This was much against the advice of the General Manager who wished to dieselise and didn't go down to well with the loco crews who saw the improved working conditions of the CIE Diesel Drivers working some of the through traffic from Dublin. In reality 205 doesn't work much on the layout as it has the usual 4-4-0 weight balancing problems. Second view, The original 204 shortly before purchase 16 May 1959. Oops ! I'll have to invent a few more 'facts' er The Chairman particularly liked 205 but the UTA wouldn't sell it so he purchased 204 and re-named and re-numbered it. Phew! I am off on Thursday to the Ffestiniog Gala, my first solo trip away since March 2020, hopefully back intact next Monday.

HATTONS CIE 4 COACH PACK. As this is the last thing I will ever get from Hattons it's nice to end on a high. Lovely coaches with lots of detail and nice crisp lining and numbers. Thanks to Rails of Sheffield for taking this project on.

A bright day in summer 1965, and B141 is heard above the seagulls as it idles its way down to Dugort Harbour with the mixed. Only one van to unload today, with rolls of Irish Linen from Brookhall Mill for the local textile firm, O'Shea's who make linen souvenir goods for tourists, and some cases of Persil for McInerney's Cash Stores. Seen from a hill opposite the station, B165 shunts the following day. C201 appears in Dugort Harbour with a rake of empty trucks one day in 1966. Coal boats, once reasonably common here, only turn up about three times a year now, but when they do, the coal is unloaded into wagons and taken away.....

The patient has made a recovery. The builder is feeling a bit better too. Plenty of time between stages to evade disaster and a better result with the airbrush this time. Paint was too thick before and the air pressure maybe a bit high at 15psi? 12psi used this time with paint like melted ice-cream. Rivets courtesy Railtec and lining from Fox Transfers. Phew.