fishplate7

I passed by the Ramble Inn at Halfway on the N71 in Cork this afternoon. I noticed that the various bits of railway stock (the brake van, bulleid wagon, etc.), which were visible from the roadside, have all disappeared from view. The site looks like it's being cleared out! See some of my photos below from some years back. Does anyone know what has happened to them? Thanks

Once again Patrick, excellent stuff. You have created a wonderful atmosphere!

Patrick. Absolutely fantastic! Its my era and totally inspirational! Keep up the excellent work and more importantly, keep posting!

That is terribly sad news indeed! My thoughts and prayers are with his wife and family at this very sad time. Ar dheis De go raimh a anam dhilis.

Many thanks Dart 8118. Re the paint I used a 500ml can of Halfords Primer Grey. I think it cost me c. €9. The best advice on using I got is to first put the can in a basin of warm water for a couple of minutes. Then remove and shake the can vigorously for over 2 minutes to agitate the paint. I sprayed it outside in a sheltered area with little or no wind. Hope this helps. Leslie's cattle wagons are next on my list. Good luck!

With Covid-19 affecting us all in one way or another, I decided it was time to get off the sidelines and dip my toes into a bit of modelling to pass the time and develope my skills! I had bought this SLNCR cattle wagon kit from Leslie (Provincial Wagons) at a show some years ago. I have no experience of building a resin kit, nor much more in the modelling world tbh. So following the instructions, and spending an hour or more each night over the last couple of nights, this is the end result! I have a small portable workbench, some sanding files, Swann Morton scalpel, steel right angle, tweezers, Loctite glue (the small 3 pack glues), good lighting, etc. With these I set about the task. I found it a really enjoyable experience, and learnt a lot from it - (this was a trial run for me before I attempt the first of 10 kits of the CIE cattle wagons, also from Leslie). So to some of the points I picked up, and things I would do differently next time: I should have painted the full buffer casting before fixing it in place. Much more difficult to do when it is stuck in! The gloss black also looks wrong I taped over the barrel of the buffers to keep the chrome appearance of the working element, but I failed. Ended up painting them all black. Pay more attention to aligning the sides and ends before gluing. There are gaps between the roof an the body which are noticeable on the ends. But this adds to the charm of the van in my view and i think I will leave it as is! The roof needs to be painted a darker colour - that will have to wait for another day when the shops are back open! I hope to fit Kadee couplings soon So to anyone thinking of having a go - just go do it! It is great fun and more importantly you'll learn a lot. There are lots of inspirational modellers on this site, and if I can develope a smattering of their talents over time to come then I'll be more than satisfied! All comments, tips, tricks etc welcome! Thanks Eamonn

That is top notch Noel and exactly the era I want to model! Many thanks for posting and giving us valuable information!

Ah yes Leslie, there's no hiding place to be found. Yes, you got it in one - fishplate7 aka Eamonn G. Don't worry about the children, we wont starve this Christmas (and I'll still take 10+)

Looks amazing Leslie! I'll take 12 minimum - built or in kit form! I think I'll have to give the turkey and ham a miss this Christmas so!!!!!!!!

Here are two examples from my collection. The colour photo is the down home and loop signal at Kilcock station from the early 1970's. The B & W is of the up loop starter at the same station in 1974. Hope this informs the discussion. Cheers. Eamonn

Great stuff Leslie. between 10 - 15 for me. Would love them in RTR format but kits are equally good!

Just adding my voice to the above thread. I bought Park Royals and a TPO from Tom/IFM at the beginning of this year. Sent him a cheque. Could not fault the process and the models arrived, well packed, and the finish is excellent! no complaints whatsoever from me. Eamonn

Well, my pair of IR ploughs arrived at a secret address in daylight hours during the week, and will be transported to their home under cover of darkness very shortly! Not much that I can add that has not been said already about the quality but they are simply superb! I have never seen a RTR wagon with such wealth of detail, irrespective of whatever angle you view them at! I saw my first weathered set at Bangor yesterday, courtesy of Graham from Mark's Models! 2019 is going to be an exceptional year for those of us into the Irish scene, with the arrival of the 121's from Murphy Models, the A classes, container traffic, etc, etc. I have now started saving to have full medical check-ups on a more frequent basis!! I want to be around to enjoy all this exciting rolling stock! Well done to Fran, Stephen, Patrick and Richie for giving us all a reason to live much longer!

Oh my sweet Lord...I'm not going to get any sleep now!! Amazing!

That's terrific news altogether. What a great achievement! Well done to everyone involved!

Done and dusted from me too! Good luck!!

Eoin. That's fantastic news - thanks for posting the thread. Eamonn

The instruction sheet that comes with the Murphy Models locos, lists all the spares you can order, which includes the staff/tablet catcher. Well I thought I'd be clever and order some of these a while back through Marks Models, which I did, as I wanted to add them to an A class. Alas when the spares packs arrived (I ordered a few of them), the only thing missing was the staff/tablet catcher. Seems it is not included as a spare! So no point going down that road. Is it possible to make moulds of the ones on the 141's/181's and make them that way? - someone on the forum would know I'm sure.

Great to see and read the full page review of the 'cement bubbles in the February 2018 edition of the British Railway Modelling magazine, but above all, to read the reviewer's comments that this is, perhaps, one of the very best RTR models ever released (not the exact quote - someone will have it)!! Very high praise indeed and richly deserved!

Here's a very interesting website - Britain From Above! There are plenty of photos from the 1930's to the 1950's, and there are plenty of photos of Ireland! You have to register, which is free, but after that, there is an amazing wealth of information to be found. Here are just two examples: - O'Connell Street, Dublin in 1933, and Tralee, County Kerry in 1934. The images are zoomable once you register and you can zoom in closer than what I have posted. The detail is amazing! This looks like a fantastic resource for us modellers! The website is www.britainfromabove.org.uk Eamonn

Super job guys! Really well done and good luck with the show. See ye all tomorrow. PS - no pressure from me for my order - happy to wait!

Richie, Fran and Co. Only one word to describe this - OUTSTANDING!! Cannot praise IRM highly enough - this has been so well worth the wait! I look forward to being well and truly broke by the end of October!!

For those of you who may have missed it earlier this evening (and I include myself in this!) tune in to BBC FOUR (tv) at 2.30am tomorrow morning Monday for a programme titled 'The Joy Of (Train) Sets - the model railway story from Hornby to Triang and beyond!

I collected mine a couple of weeks ago. They are simply superb! They have set the bar at a new level for RTR freight stock and it will be very interesting to see the reception they get in the modelling press over the coming weeks!Huge congratulations are due to Richie, Fran and all the team for the tremendous work put into this project. The bubbles will be awesome at this rate!

PM sent also!