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CIE 1967ca Mullingar 25j+076. GNRI 1929-09-19 Fintona Junction, Horse Tram HCC Glass 6312 Cas25016. CIE 1955-04-26 Rosslare Strand 314 10.05 ex Westland Row, RMC83665 Cas25197. CIE 1955-04-21 Tuam 54 RMC53507 Cas25187

On Saturday past, work brought me to Armagh, the 'ecclesiastical' capital of Ireland. Armagh was once a 4-way railway junction, with the last surviving lines through the city closing in 1957, although there seems to be a remote possibility that Armagh might see trains again, sometime in the future. Armagh was located on the Ulster Railway route from Belfast to Cavan, later taken over by the GNR(I). The first station beyond Armagh on this line was at Killylea, and the station is an absolute gem of a preserved station, with station building, goods shed and signal cabin all surviving, along with a tiny brick building on the down platform which may have been a - very small - waiting room. There is also a huge stone overbridge at the Cavan end although this has been partially filled in. I visited Killylea once before but I did so again on Saturday, and with the kind permission of the owner, I took some photographs: Looking back towards Armagh Looking towards Cavan Goods shed Goods shed and signal cabin Main station building Signal cabin, with station name evident Rear of signal cabin So naturally this has started me thinking of a project for the future. Plans for my next project are well advanced so these musings would be for the one after that...... Killylea would be an excellent subject for an exhibition layout and it would suit my interests, and current rolling stock collection, very well. Even before the 'what if' is considered, a Killylea-based layout would offer the following: * Double track main line * Attractive and varied architecture, with a mix of (presumably) original UR buildings and later GNR(I) buildings * Passenger and goods workings, featuring fast passenger expresses as well as local services, with steam locomotives & railcars in attendance * Classic overbridge scenic break at one end * Goods shed for operational variety I also have a suitable signal cabin built already. Then 'what if' the route didn't close in 1957 - CIE diesels could appear on diversionary services via Cavan and Clones, and at a stretch, if the line survived into the 1970s, NIR Hunslets and 80 class railcars could feature. The cogs are turning.......

Per my recent post, I recently wrote a strongly-worded letter to the ITG instructing them to move their locos from Moyasta to Downpatrick. I think these photos speak for themselves. Delighted to see the ITG following up on my letter and following my advice – well done to all concerned.

Touchdown! Both locos had landed by about 6pm last night and are currently stabled outside the Maghera Shed

I was out for a walk yesterday, the twigs on a dead tree cought my eye, I have no idea what kind of tree it was, but five minutes with some lichen and some scatter, they came up beautifully.

A van of many colours - the IRM 'H': While I continue working on regauging the underframes I have also been repainting and lettering some of the bodies. These still need some matt varnish and then the weathering will begin. 17053 will ride on the conventional underframe I built from Parkside parts (so it's no longer an H) while I plan to scratchbuild a new body for the spare underframe, to represent one of the 15 H vans converted to a Palvan prototype.

Ok, here are a few ideas. First up, Cyril Freezer's 'Small Layouts'. A bit dated now, but worth a look, because there may be something you could adapt. My favourite layout designer has always been Iain Rice. Always appealing and practical, but also so clever. The one below is what I based my Northport Quay project on This next one is based on Llanaster, one of the first exhibition layout to do away with the entry points to the loop - using a sector plate instead. This next one I have always thought particularly clever, arranging three small layouts one above the other on wall brackets. Trains progress from one scene to the next via a cassette. This one [above] was actually designed for 7mm scale, but should reduce to your parameters in 4mm. Idea to avoid are things like the two below from Barry Norman. Usually love his ideas, but when you look at these, you'll see that your locomotive will spend most of its time hidden off scene! This one I DO like though. It is a fairly accurate rendition of Wantage Town, minus the tram shed. However, even with the latter the whole scene needs just 7'2 in length in 7mm scale! Been there, done it & it works really well. Finally, a new book I picked up at Railex, by James Hilton & published by Wild Swan. It takes a fresh look at micro layouts, some of which are very simple indeed, but explores the concepts scenics and operation with each plan. Hope this helps!

Next, drill out the buffer holes to 1.5mm, then stick the buffer bodies back in place, making sure they are straight and square. Add a pair of 21mm gauge wheelsets to assist in positioning the brakes. Then, you can re-instate the brake hangers, into their new holes. I didn't stick them in place just yet. As you can see, the regauging has left a gap in the middle of each brake cross-stretcher. I chose to cut some 20mm lengths of wire and glue them across this gap - it's not a perfect solution but I don't think anyone's going to be looking too closely when the wagon is in service. Whilst gluing these, if necessary you can tweak the position of the brake hangers so that they don't touch the wheels. A dab of glue on the tops of the brake hangers will secure them in the right place. Make sure the wheels spin freely. (pic) I decided not to reinstate the links across the axles - they're almost invisible from normal viewing angles and they prevent the wheels being removed. Now to the buffer heads. The buffer shanks may have become partly blocked by glue. If so, use a 0.7mm drill (exactly) drill to clear them out. Then push the buffers (with springs) firmly back into place. Now check the fit of the body corner stanchions over the repositioned buffers. It may necessary to file a little material off them to achieve a good fit. Then re-fit the body, which is harder than you might think and the guitar pick will help. If any other small bits have fallen off, stick them back on. There's a little bit of paintwork to touch up, otherwise it's done.

Bit more done to the cattle dock. Stone added and a back wall. And of course a few cow pats. Small bit of weathering too. Lighting is probably too bright in these pics, now that I see them properly. The sun was actually shining in the window behind me- who would have thought. Oh well, you get the idea.. Started on the railing work by making a couple dozen of these lads

I finally acheived reasonably reliable running with E421 after around 15 years storage! I completed E421 using a Shapeways 3D printed body with etched n/s detail parts on a Bull-Ant Motor bogies supplied to 21mm gauge, I recently re-gauged the loco to OO for use on a small dockside shunting layout. Loco turned out very tempremental in operation would run momentarily before shutting down shorting the DCC system. Eventually traced the fault to a break in the insulation on the feed from the power pick up on one side of the decoder harness, where the edge of the flywheel had cut an nick in the insulation. Problem solved resolved by moving the pick up leads away from the edge of the flywheel. I need to replace damaged decals on both E421 & G617, fit window glazing and complete paint touch up E421 and look at the options for fitting working lighting. E421 is fitted with a TCS decoder with 'Stay Alive" bought many years ago. Now that I have a couple of shunting locos that are running reasonably reliably on of the next jobs is to try and restore wireless DCC operation of locos and points and re-install the Kadee uncoupling magnets to restore hands free operation. Although currently hand operated points are wired for DCC operation with using Lenz Stationary Decoders I bought about 20 years ago

CIE 1955-04-20 Ballina 599 RMC83486 Cas25179. Limerick Junction 147 ca 2000. GNRI 1950-05-17 Ballyhaise 156 HCC 72971 Cas25051. GNRI 1929-09-19 Fintona Junction, Horse & Tram from ground HCC glass 6308 Cas25021.

Couldn't agree more! Variety is the spice of life and while standardisation, container traffic and multiple units must make sense economically, most of the fun in watching trains has gone when you know beforehand what they will look like, number of wagons, coaches etc. A while ago, there was a train spotting series on TV and all they had to get excited about was liveries, because the stock was essentially all the same. Ok, sweeping generalisation, but you know what I mean... Northport Quay, despite only being able to accommodate two six wheel coaches and a van (or equivalent wagons) offers 10 trains over two periods and each one is different, with nothing duplicated in each line up = more stuff to enjoy and make. Works for me, anyway! That said, you only have to look at layouts like Ballinacraig to see that modern image modelling can still be fabulous.

I’m not entirely sure about that one! I think that some modellers (and I include myself) prefer making to having , if that makes sense. Again, that’s not a better/worse thing. I just like the process of taking a flat sheet of metal and making it look like an engine. I’ll happily subcontract chimneys and domes to a supplier (and have some 3D stuff being designed) but the joy for me lies in the construction. Takes all sorts. I suspect that scratch builders like me will just have to learn basic CAD as another skill on top of soldering etc. I suspect too, that one of the reasons Ahern and Denny’s stuff has aged so well is that their layouts are consistent - the same set of hands and eyes produced everything from buildings to bufferbeams.

In these days of world turmoil, constant complaining, negativity, and division, sometimes it is nice to highlight the positives. So, i just want to say a big thank you to IRM (Accurascale) on some wonderful customer service. Late on Tuesday (around 5.30pm), I submitted quite a big order for wagons. Fast forward to midday on Thursday, and a big box of goodies turns up. You couldn't ask for more. No connection, apart from being a very satisfied customer (although my wallet may not agree!!! ). I'm going to get my pre-order in now for some unfitted H vans and some bubble cement wagons. Time to get saving! Thank you IRM David

Inspired! They look superb. It’s amazing what natural materials can offer to the modeller, this is great inspiration to the rest of us. Thank you!

Meanwhile yesterday….

Sulzer locomotive 107 works the Burma road goods train through Tara junction.

It’s that time of the year again when the weed spraying train visits Tara junction seeing here being hauled by sound fitted locomotive 160.

It's photos like this one in the NLI archive that make me want a variety of goods vans, rather than a whole train of the IRM H vans (which are, admittedly, superb models). https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000305732 We're at Tullamore in 1961. On the left, the nearest van is an H, followed by a former GNR 1950s 12-ton cement van, then some opens and another H at the end. On the right, a GNR 9-ton van, then a GNR ventilated vac fitted van, then a GSWR 'Big Boy'. A gap, then another GSWR 'Big Boy' and an H van. Another gap, three cattle wagons and then in the distance is a GSR bulk grain van. There are at least 3 different types of open wagon as well, with 6-plank opens on both wooden and steel underframes, and a Bulleid corrugated too. What a variety! It's not like this is a massive marshalling yard, it's a mediocre main-line station and we're only looking at the contents of 2 sidings.

John, Very many thanks for providing that valuable information - from a source I didn't have access to. It's interesting to hear about the Guinness vans that were predecessors to the IRCH standard ones, and I'll keep an eye out for photos of these, I'm sure I've seen one or two though they may have been GNR examples. Regarding the MGWR IRCH vans, it's great to know that there were 150 'convertible' and another 150 with continuous roofs. I suspect that the small height difference you quote was a result of the longitudinal rib across the middle of the roof opening (visible in two of the photos in my previous post). The number lists are very useful. It's interesting that all the numbers I had identified from photos are in the 3200-3350 range of the 1923 batch. I think there are 289 numbers listed so almost all of them. 18 built in 1922, 188 in 1923 and 83 in 1924. I wouldn't have guessed at all the random numbers of the other vans (no doubt replacing withdrawn older vehicles with those numbers). There's another NLI archive image of a rake of freshly-overhauled wagons at Limerick in 1964, which includes several IRCH-type vans. One of them is 1726, seen below. The number has a suffix but I couldn't read it, and potentially it could be N or M. https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000307038 We now know from the number listing you quoted that the MGWR had a van of this type numbered 1726 (in the 1924-built batch). So I think it's likely that this image does show 1726M rather than a former GNR van. It has a continuous roof, which may be an original feature or a later modification. The livery here is pale grey with white roundel and lettering. Thie IRRS photo dated 1955 shows an IRCH van in CIE snail livery, with a suffixed number - again the suffix is illegible. There's also a very similar photo in Ernie's collection on Flickr, also linked below. https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53501264990 Since 1955 was before the GNR split, I think this must also be an MGWR example. The visible part of the number is 370 but there may be another digit hiding in the shadow. Thanks for the summary of the models - the whitemetal kit would appeal to me if it were still available but it sounds like they're long-vanished. The construction style of these vans is very different from most GB goods vans, particularly the side planking flush with the solebar, and the vertical timbers. I haven't found anything similar to use as a basis. Here's a link to the image of the GNR 10-ton van on Leslie's website. I asked whether he still has many (any) in stock, but he's on holiday at present and not in a position to check. Given Leslie's impending retirement, I think these IRCH vans could be a good subject for a 3D printed kit. They would be prototypical for a 50-year period (1920s to 1970s) across the whole island, and could be lettered for MGWR, GSR, GNR, CIE, or UTA. The drawings are available (see link in the first post of this thread) so it should be possible to make them dimensionally accurate without any guesswork. In due course I'll write about the GNR vans and the GSR double-skinned variant. I need to do some more research on both of those first! This nice photo from Brian Flannigan on Flickr shows one of each, in 1971:

Sorry Wrenneire, I’ve been on a bit of an MTK crusade of late. Although:- Cheers Darius

It is certainly all part of the hobby's evolvement. Often say that, if I was starting again, I'd probably stick with rtr for stock. For me, the problem is finding scratchbuilding parts, like coach bogies, w-irons, axles boxes and the like. The ranges available are now much less than ten years ago, so it is a good job I have most of the stock I need, especially for broad gauge.

Thanks to ebay and @Stoby of this parish, I now have a full set of IRM grey bubbles - only two packs were produced in this livery: From left to right, we have 25069, 25083, 25084, 25109, 25159, 25187. All the IRM bubbles are the same moulding, which accurately represents the later batches (delivered in 1970-1972), but the early grey ones had some detail differences. Of course there's nothing I like more than destroying the value of collectable models by modifying and weathering them, so I'll be working on these fairly soon to back-date their details. The brakes are the biggest difference but there are many other detail adjustments needed. And of course I need to re-gauge them which isn't so straightforward on these early IRM models. In preparation for that I've been reviewing the available photos of grey bubbles and I thought I'd just summarise the findings here (some of it repeats links earlier in this thread, but I have found some more). As correctly modelled by IRM, the 'BULK CEMENT' lettering is white on the grey bubbles, which helps to distinguish the grey livery in black and white photos. There's also the date as a clue, of course. In the IRRS archive, a photo at Inchicore dated February 1964 with what must one of the first bubbles, still in primer I think: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53505734117 From the NLI O'Dea collection, a bulk cement train (mix of 1964 and 1965 batches) at Straffan in 1965 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000306759 From the IRRS archive, two photos of a pair of bubbles at Boyne Road in 1966. The nearer one is 25074 of the 1965 batch, and the other is from the 1964 batch: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53508783939 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53508466241/ From the IRRS archive, a bulk cement train at Hazelhatch in 1966. The wagons are a mix of the 1964 and 1965 batches: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54327467196/ From the NLI O'Dea collection, a photo of 25062 (1964 batch) at Derry in 1967 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000307375 From the NLI O'Dea collection, a bulk cement train (the nearer four are all from the 1965 batch, including 25083) at KIldare in 1967 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000306704 From the NLI O'Dea collection, a bulk cement train (mix of 1964 and 1965 batches, possibly the two clean ones at the front might be 1967 batch?) at Hazelhatch in 1967 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000306218 Other NLI and IRRS photos with distant views of bulk cement trains in 1967, few details visible: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000306208 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000306209 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000307373 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000306207 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53570455706/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53447301180/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54257011099 From Ernie on Flickr, a super pair of colour photos at Belfast GVS in April 1967. The wagon immediately behind the locos is 25068 (1964 batch) and the remainder are a mix of the 1964 and 1965 batches: There's also a colour photo of a grey bubble at Derry in 1967 in the 'UTA in Colour' (Young) book, page 66 Another colour photo in the IRRS archive showing Cabra in February 1968. Only 3 bubbles are visible, all rather distant but all grey: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53510447552/ A black and white photo of Cabra also in 1968: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511485009/ So then, we've got up to the year 1968, and very confident that the 1964 and 1965 batches carried the grey livery initially. Not so sure about the 1967 batch based on the evidence above, many of the photos pre-date their construction. Can anyone confirm? I haven't found any bubble photos dated 1969, but there are lots of them in 1970, maybe because they changed colour. In June 1970, here's 25129 of the 1970 batch being painted for the first time. Most of the tank is still in primer, with its delivery address stencilled on and even bearing the name of the ship it crossed the water on! But the tank is being painted orange and the underframe grey. So the 1970 batch never carried the original grey tank and black underframe livery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53570447106 But it wasn't just the new ones that were orange. Here are 25051 and 25053, from the 1964 batch, each with a coat of orange in May 1970: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53510419397/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511314086/ From Jonathan Allen on Flickr, a whole train in orange in October 1970, and this includes wagons from the 1964 batch as well as newer types: Again from Jonathan Allen, this rake contains 1964, 1965 and 1967 or 1970 wagons in orange, photo dated December 1970: By the early 1970s everything was orange: So, it seems that there was a major (and surprisingly rapid) repainting campaign in 1969-1970, the older wagons becoming orange, and the newly built wagons in 1970 and 1972 entering service in orange. That sets my grey rake firmly in the 1960s, and requires me to back-date the details to the 1964 and 1965 batches, maybe also the 1967 batch as I haven't quite confirmed if they entered service in grey or orange.

I haven't seen much mention of this here (maybe I'm slow), but hats off to the Mid West Model Railway Club on their first exhibition in Limerick this weekend gone. There was a good vibe and lovely to see a great turnout for a first time event. Their Treaty Junction layout really evokes that Limerick junction feel. Looking forward to next year already!

There’s an article today in The Derry Post newspaper, about my model of Knockloughrim station. And that more or less draws this very enjoyable little project to a conclusion! Knockloughrim.pdf

More deets here: https://www.irishtractiongroup.com/2025/itg-locos-on-the-move

No….No…. myself and GSWR90 worked on this all night long. Lots of AI and CGI.

Info from P O'Cuimin Feb 1970 IRRS Journal Paper "Wagon SAtock of the MGWR Midland Hard Topped 1915 Covered Wagons for Guinness Traffic The MGWR predominentaly used Standard Covered (convertible) Wagons as opposed to Cattle Wagons to handle the heavy cattle traffic from the seasonal Fairs. The Midland listed 1646 Covered Goods & 635 Cattle Trucks in its 1910 rolling stock return. The 1924 return lists 459 Cattle Trucks ) no Covered Goods are listed in the 1920 & 1924. Although the Midland had a small (approx 400) fleet of covered Cattle Trucks, covered cattle wagons only became common on the Midland following the Amalgamation with the arrival of large numbers of ex-GSWR 14' Cattle Wagons (classed K) The MGWR continued to build its "Standard"7t -14' Covered Wagons with curving roofs up to the 1915 introduction of a 10t -9'6" ---16'8" (overheadstocks) covered wagon with continuous roof for Guinness Traffic. Released into service in 1916, Nos 19,46,112.127,235,286,302,332,448,492,561,579,812,839,899,936,945,966.988,1020,1-69,1173,1183,1409. These 'Guinness" wagons appear visually similar to to the outside framed vans used by the GNR(I) and SLNCR during the same era. The Midland had an earlier shorther curved roof version of the Guinness Wagon complete with large "Guinness" lettering on the side panels. I don't know whether the 1915 wagons carried similar lettering. Midland Hard Topped and Convertible IRCH pattern Wagons 1922-24. Between 1922 & 1924 300 1oT 10T-9'6" wb 16'11"(OHS) wagons were built to the IRCH specification-------------150 Open Centre. Height over rail of the open centre type 11'71/8 " same as the 1915 Guinness Wagons, Continuous roofed 11'5¼" 1922 batch:35,5587,131,279,809,838,859,884,980,1174,1186,1202,1211,1386,1388,1428,1482. 1923 batch 1,9,21,38,70,65,80,113,146,210,217,,217,217,533,609,620,636,707,806896,943,1091,1175,1412,1436,1473,1222,1737,1767,2110,2187,2288,,2430,2479,2535,2898,2909, and 3200-3350 1924 batch, 41,147,212,298,313,323,347,,363,398,401,,456,483,536,590,606,611,629,650,663,685,696,700,701,716,719,720,725,755,,762,779,,790,,880,891,905,908,917,927,944,951,953,959,961,990,992,993,994,1008,1031-33,1038,1058,1059,1188,1212,1726,1751,2037,2060,2095,2204,2296,2459,2664,2466,2468,2469,2471,2472,2480,2482,2488,2496,2499,2500,2403,2510,2526,2532,2533,2537,2543,2454. Models of IRCH vans My first attempt in 4mm was to scratch build the vans in plasticard about 30 years ago with scribed planking and Northwest Stripwood framing in 21mm gauge wusing SSM Wirons 'standard' Gibson EM/OO wheel sets with axles extended to 28mm by cutting and sleeving with 2mm brass tubing, models never progressed to the detail stage but look ok at a distance,I had a attempted to scratchbuild a MGWR 1875 Goods Brake during the same era with individually applied plasticard bolt and strapping detail on the timber framing. Jeremy Suter released a very nice whitemetal kits or the GNR/IRCH van, along with a MGWR "Open Box Wagon" and GNR & NCC Bread Container Wagons about 25 years ago but kits have not been repeated. I have a 'stash' of Leslies Provincial GNR IRCH Vans and Cattle Wagon kits, if I ever get round to assembling them!

Describes my situation perfectly! I agree with every word of this David.

More good news! Our very lovely and pretty little Buckjumpers are now complete and on the way from the factory in China. With that news shared, let's take a closer look at them in all their finery! As you can see, these are looking very tasty indeed! You may note that each locomotive does not come with a coal load. Due to the shape of the bunkers, the variance in coal consistency and the detail within the bunkers, we have decided to omit a plastic simulated load as it would be too difficult to remove and also omit that lovely detail. We encourage modellers to add their own real coal loads to add that extra touch or realism. Not only that, but they're already well underway on their trip to this side of the world, and will be in our warehouse before the end of June. Keep an eye on any surplus stock being added to the website when they arrive by clicking the link below: Browse the J67/j68/j69 Buckjumper Range Here! View the full article

As far as I read re the take over (And like @Colin R I also got a copy of the email) It's only all the 3mm range that is so far spoken for (By the 3mm society). He is in discussions with others re the 4mm narrow gauge stuff. Might be worth someone getting in touch with the 7mm society to find out if they have heard anything and more crucially what they may plan on doing.

on the move! https://www.facebook.com/groups/irishrailwayspresentandpast/permalink/9866755523415551/ includes pics and video of the locos, about to start heading north... cheers, Keith

Loughrea will feature at a book launch hopefully planned for Saturday 1st November, the 50th anniversary of the last train there. Quite a few rolling stock photos in it, too.

Sorry, I should have worded my response more carefully. I should have said they would have considered and explored modern techniques. Fundamentally, I agree, there are those who prefer to 'make' and I would include myself in that camp. Albeit, my 'level' is at a terrible standard when compared to some of the masterpieces produced here. Anyway, it might be good to contact Allen sooner rather than later, as I fear stuff will disappear into a black hole. I for one don't want to miss out. I would like a couple of West Clare Walker diesel etches for 00n3, and a couple of G Class ones for a wider gauge. I've got a feeling I may have missed the boat though!

Theoretically it should be feasible for the business or group that takes over Worsley Works to supply their existing Irish models using the photo engraving/etching business that Alan currently uses to produce the models. Basically it should be feasible to supply existing models at marginal cost (cost of etching the model + P&P) the tooling (Digital Photo tool) was a once off cost in producing the initial order. While in my experience repeat orders/sales of existing etched kits/scratchbuilder parts are miniscule, I still find it worth my while to supply etched kits direct to customers from a photo engraver in the UK.

It was very enjoyable indeed, one highlight for me was Paul Herbert's exceptional early railways stand VID_20250601_141750275.mp4

Interesting. 18778 was one of the supposedly green ones (at one time), though whether it actually was painted green is far from certain. There's another shot of the same van on the same day here, which shows that it has lost its vac pipe (despite still saying vav brake on the side) and has also lost its end ventilator hood. A fair few patches on the bodywork too! I may well renumber the two that have so far retained their IRM numbers, and 18778 with its painted brake wheel might be a good candidate. Some of these vans also received strips across the roof in later life and I might do that modification on the brown one - photos show 18731 ended up in that condition. The nearly black ones were scarce but I have identified three in photos, here's 18861 which I have chosen to model:

RM Arnold has provided the answer:

Thanks for the updates and photos, great to see the GM Locos on the move and at their new home, well done all involved, donation to ITG sent

1915 is the date for carriages according to a Brendan Pender article in the IRRS journal (61), in that 1290 appears the earliest built in the new numbering, and was 1915. Don't forget the TPO from 2950, and the GSR brake compos 2490/1. The Park Royals went to 1948. And 1949 was the last (RPSI, GNR 9) in the 2000's.

On the workbench, something green is occurring... Packers for the buffers Fitted to the chassis, ready for the buffers to be refitted in front: This will be painted black once complete. The body is unmodified except a coat of paint. In the absence of any better ideas I'm using Southern Railway Malachite to represent 1960s CIE light green. Maybe Bulleid brought some with him? Almost ready for transfers now.

Here's a step-by-step guide to regauging a fitted H van; having done a few now I've learnt what needs to be done and what can be avoided. Firstly remove the chassis from the body - a guitar pick inserted just inside one of the bodysides will do this quite easily. You can leave the chassis attached to the metal floor. Now use some sharp side cutters to cut through the brake cross-stretchers on both sides of the longitudinal link between them. You can now remove the wheelsets. Upper chassis = before, lower = after. Next, use fine pliers to grasp the block at the top of a brake hanger. Twist it, rotating gently side-to-side until you hear the glue give way. Repeat for the others. Now, carefully use a scalpel as a gentle lever to lift the brake hanger out of its hole. You're not trying to cut through the peg, the brake hanger should come out intact: Now you should have something like this: For the outer brake hangers, you need to make new mounting holes to suit the 21mm gauge wheels. This is tricky - start with a tiny drill in a pin vice and work up to the right size for the pegs. The inner brake hangers don't need new holes, they can be pushed into the gap between the old hole and the diagonal frame member. The next step is to deal with the buffer spacing (sigh...). Firmly pull the buffers and they will come out, try not to lose the springs: Using a length of 2mm metal rod, insert this into the buffer surround and wiggle it side to side until the buffer comes off: Usuallt the plastic shears off almost flush, but if the glue is a bit weak then the square shank comes out with the buffer. Now your bufferbeam will look like one of these: If you have a square hole, fill it with some plastic strip. Otherwise it will be very difficult to drill the new holes in the right place. Then, use some microstrip to fill each end of the bufferbeam channel outboard of the former buffers. Once the glue has set, sand it all down flat, flush with the front face of the bufferbeam channel: Mark new buffer holes at the correct spacing (25mm) and drill out to about 1mm diameter. Now you need some new buffer bases, which could be bits of microstrip but I made some etched ones in a spare corner of my E410 body etch: more to follow in the next post...

Fiddle yard points all wired up ready for fitting. One has been fitted. Only 13 more to go

So there was this satisfying thump on the front doormat yesterday, and my “New Irish Lines” had come, bang on time. Some of the favourites from IRM, Alan Nixon’s BCDR 2-4-2T, Patrick Davey’s NCC station, and then Tim Cramer bringing out models at the age of 89, very good to see. It’s a great resource from Alan O’Rourke, I really appreciate that you can have free access to all the back issues on line, then when you compare the early publications with todays issue, which could be placed in with the glossy magazines in a W.H.Smiths newsagent rack. Terrific achievement. A reminder that there’s not much happened on the Irish side of things in my model room for far too long. A guy with a clipboard and stopwatch going round would tell me it’s simple, I’m going off in far too many different ways, but it’s all interest and modelling enjoyment. Then I want to have a layout does have the proper Irish gauge, like the two Dave’s, so it’s one more line on top of the standard gauge British and Continental Europe lines I’m doing. This spring has seen me start off on a rebuild of these which should help simplify things, and pull it all together. It was sparked by a competition being announced on the “Microlayout Dispatch”, I’ve mentioned on here before. I’m not a Competition Hound, but thinking it all over, how would I tackle it, trying it out with items of rolling stock, track, and a tape measure, then I got convinced of the possibilities, and knocked up a line. The brief is to design a “tuning fork”, that’s two sidings converging in a point, and on to a headshunt, for a space three square feet. I’m doing it in 0 scale on a board four feet by nine inches. (After the competition I’m thinking of adding extensions of around three inches each end of the running line, which will give just a bit more flexibility) Rather than the usual two goods sidings in an urban setting, I’m thinking of it as a small station on a branch line with a siding, then the pickup goods just exchanges a wagon or two in the siding. its more compact than the terminus to fiddle yard setup, with just one unit, and operating it, you get more of a railway feel, shunting wagons over a point. O.K., it’s really limited for operating otherwise, and the amount of rolling stock needed is very restricted, which can be a good thing. im thinking now of reworking the line I’ve showed on this thread in a similar way, it’s ground to a halt needing more sleeper strip, but the good thing is it’s built out of foamboard, which you can hack about, reshape and re glue with extra supporting blocks, not that the underneath is a pretty sight afterwards. Will it be done by the time the next N.I.L. comes out? Good question…

Good lord stuff leaving Moyasta? time to buy a lottery ticket now as long as we dont get someone handcuffing themself to the loco we're laughing..

See you soon hopefully Darius - thanks for all the inspiration delivered at speed!

Ok, Sorry, I had looked at the content rather than the identity of the person posting. As someone who has given close to a thousand man days and tens of thousands of pounds/euros to railway preservation projects I get particularly wound up by people saying ‘someone’ should do ‘something’! I confess my involvement in Irish preservation is limited to a weekend working on 226 with Aidan Brosnan at Carrick, and spending a chunk of money on railtours and entrance fees at various sites.

If you look at the seller's other items, virtually all of it is way overpriced. He's notorious for it. Seller's name is Greg Diffen - I seem to recall he was born in Australia and emigrated here many many years ago. Australians are famously hard-nosed capitalists - see Macquarie Bank which drained all the money out of Thames Water over the course of seven years' ownership of the utility, and also loaded it with massive debt which has now grown to such a degree that Thames Water is effectively insolvent. His eBay ID "gostude" is derived from his other hobby which is collecting Studebaker cars - at one point he was a very big noise in the Studebaker Owners Club UK. It is entirely possible that the price gouging on model railway items is to help pay for his Studebaker habit. This is Mr. Diffen

Continuing the theme of lesser-known locos at Fenit, here is 'Erin', early in life when it worked at Waterford. A photo in the NLI archive. https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000036650 It is recorded that 'Erin', later GSR 300, worked at Fenit in the late 1920s, but was then scrapped in 1930. Sister 'Shamrock' GSR 299 lasted much longer. I also found a photo of GSR 100 at Fenit in Martin Bairstow's book 'Railways in Ireland Part 4: GS&WR' page 89. Plenty of choice then if I fancy an 0-6-0 tank engine!