Robert Shrives

John, What took me to the 45t version was the end ladder arrangement. But I can make out from the stills is that one wagon, like the landed tank has a conical end the others look more domed but all have the twin fire tubes and top vent. An interesting wagon . A pic of a bitumen ISO tank would be good to see. Thanks for the potted history of the freight flow, better than I could put it Robert

Great changes and I guess the selection buttons can easily be resised to take Railcars ? ... thanks and I guess a lot of back room geeky stuff we can only imagine about but worthy of a suitable after hours beverage..

Hi The sleepering looks to be ever so slighty wider on the mainlines at the back which is what you have picked upon. For me the neat baseboard join is very well executed, it does not shout "fault line." So well done to the builders.

Talcum powder used in 3mm for loose platform surfaces so would have thought it would do for Gort. - and possibly make it smell nice !! Chinchila dust in 2mm makes for a fine ballast finish. Also Das modelling clay laid into a pva coat can work for a natural surface with just a little texture to suggest it is not tarmac. Coming on well and thanks for the update. Robert

Sligo (Cold Chon )- upto 2002 when it closed. Was a main point but pictures do show individual wagons on other lines - County road repair depots . Cannot find a pic straight away in books to hand internet trawling might gain something.

https://www.oliviastrains.com/trains/mt/bachmann-wagons/bachmann-tank-wagons/bachmann-37-560-45- This looks about right but not yet at market Robert

Leslie, Indeed and the hobby would be poorer without your kits. "Spoils of war" are great wagons and the double beets were great to produce. With a bit of cross fertilisation of SSM, MIR and IRM bits and your 20 foot flat or skeletal does give lots of choice. The coal container could be a quick win with 3D printing - unless you are the designer and printer of course ! The Bitumen wagon that got mentioned needs four suppliers and your skeletal. This is indeed the fun of modelling - get bits together and assembling. But not for everybody so rtr has its place. But the hobby is a place for everybody. Robert

All very likely as I have sweated over a hot cutting mat making all/ working on all of these... Like my luck on the lottery really, time will tell of course.

It will be good to see what comes after the A class - C/MV would be logical at some point. Having got kits of the spoils and the Railbus part done I am confident these should be ok. But P47 and P20 ideas abound - Beets would seem logical given froth they cause. Cement pallets with 4 in build and bogie tanks and bogie cements offer use of existing bogies and as I have some of these in the build heap it would be a good guess that these will be rtr before I finish mine. Really the 80 class and ICR would be fun of course, but would be investment rich so perhaps not yet but good for dreams.

Good looking work all round and the couplings will be an improvement. Hopefully they will have a role in the future development projects like CIE MK4s and the Enterprise stock. might even enhance the class 80 and 450 railcar projects. Having cut your teeth on these for the UK market hopefully the skills learnt will speed up the CIE/ NIR projects ! I`ll get my coat ... Robert

Yes deburring rail and ensuring web is clear of debris/burr is key. I found the tiniest drop of lube oil worked wonders as well. Good to know your first point was "straight-forward." But it is a learning to swim - I had built some 3mm points and the next was a 2 foot gauge 3way stub point- ably helped by a school gang! Layout follows a tradition of cricular 2mmfs layouts. Mine is an N model of Powderham - but currently stored in Wales having wiring refurbished, but I am not in wales ! Happy track building . Robert

Athy is a good choice for traffic and diversions along with the useful bit that back in the last century the Railway Modeller ran an occasional Irish stations article and Athy was done with drawings and trackplan. Just dug out article . June 1989 page 274 - 276. Robert

Gauges arrived today and very good they are , hopefully others will buy and make use of them - my only connection with Paul is as a satisfied customer and fellow volunteers on the World Famous Ffestiniog Railway !

As Garfield notes and as the picture shows a difference was it had operating wheels etc at one end only. Worth checking but IIRC the vac cylinder was at the non operating end, so to get a better look you will, like me, have a little bag of spares. Check out Railtec transfers Irish range for numbers and crests - I am sure that you will have the weathering spot on! Robert

Passed this on to several friends and good to see PRONI getting active again. I still have inquires unanswered from mid 2020 so hopefully news soon.. Sadly at work so will miss this - if any of the pictures could land here it would be very good and I would be very grateful. Robert

Lovely looking work and hours of fun to follow, thanks for update. viz sleeper strips keeping the sprue attached is key even with the jig and yes once rail tip slightly honed to give a fine end rail is easy to make. The point blades will be fun with the curve, good luck! Robert

https://ngtrains.com/shop/product/back-to-back-gauge-for-21mm-gauge/ Hi this might just be of use ... Robert

https://www.flickr.com/photos/johannes-j-smit/3133183400/ Hi not my pic but knew I had seen something so a quick google. Several pics on the page Robert

Well a bit of progress. After umpteen fill and sand cycles now painted in a gloss light grey. I could perhaps add some archer rivets along the top of windows but most pictures they can be barely seen. The join between cab end and door looks better in flesh and will have had rails over. Quite a bit more to do but to me seemed a good leap / stumble forward.

Spoils continue but no pics, jumping back a bit to the Beet wagons I was able from MIR get some bits and pieces last week, along with a restock on kadees. Today as day off between extra shifts has seen a bit of progress: Robert Roche created 3D print of the 4 wheel rebody beet wagon. Resin 45 foot and a 20 foot container chassis - resin NQPs from Ian, boiling water to soften and fix twists and bends. Bogie flat on a pair of Bachmann bogies and kadees fitted. Will need to sort handbrakes and vacc cross shafts as middle is a bit bare, cast buffers and vac pipe from SSM . All in all about 4 hours work over last two days to this stage. The 20 foot took more work as twist and axle box bearing supports all a mess. I ended up with a 1mm plastic floor having cut out and thinned resin to take MJT W iron frets - this has 3 point suspension so should road hold well. Plasticard mounts and kadee fitted. Derailment shot ! showing weights, MJTs and coupling mounts. Buffer housings recylced from the Tank wagons, need to sort heads, brake gear - on both 4 wheelers. But a fun couple of hours. This will get one of the Oil containers shown a while back. Finally, Thanks again to Robert Roche, Mayer and SSM on here, plus Kadee and Peters spares for couplings and wheels . The first of 4 beet bogies now done - others on bench to have Kadees added. I think this is the first completed wagon of 2021.

: //www.hattons.co.uk/stocklistdatabase/154522/mistral_27_01_b001_type_1_ballast_wagon_sncf/stockdetail.aspx Hi, Spotted this the other day , looks really like the NIR beasts , but of course HO - so does anybody have one or three ? and how do they compare to 4mm - Fear they will look much to small compared - time for an HO MV? Robert

IRM or ? will naturally release RTR / made easy 21mm track as your model is featured in a magazine! Robert .

Given few alive who would have ridden in these ! I guess it gives all the pregrouping short train modellers options in making a good stab of a representation , much like the Hattons originated models but the duplication/competition/ splitting the small non profitable market size does seem commercially very strange given the time and place., looking into the fish bowl. At least it will give varations and given the Highland Railway was unable or loathe to replace then these two sources give a good basis of modifications - and I would think enterprising modellers will be able to adapt for Irish lines as well. An acceptable compromise ? But when some suggest the drivers moustache is out of period when a steam loco lands with a fantastic paint job and lovely motion I do wonder how you can please us fickle perfectionists - even if the gauge is wrong and its made of plastic !! ho hum. I guess it does link well with the NRM LNWR loco projects.

Adam has advised that the malnourished Intercity will be redone shortly. Range covers a control car and suburban variants long with catering and genny - which will need some work on a donor of course . Suited best to vehicles with black roof or need to paint donor - but at least its one colour and easily done.

https://www.facebook.com/108205092546125/photos/a.186402504726383/4076042622428999/ A look up for those wanting to create a train .