Galteemore

Looks like plunger pick ups too ….do those have enough spring in them to cover P4 width?

Well done - I wouldn't be brave enough to use superglue !!

Very neat soldering !

Wow what a story Darius. So glad it made a difference

Thanks for that. Very informative!

Terrific. Always liked those locos

Main effort of late has been finishing off some printed cattle wagons. These arrived in fairly good shape, 36.75mm wheels already fitted, with just painting, fitting of bars (0.7mm wire was what I figured would work) and putting the doors on. As supplied the planks had a distinct curve across the length of each, so I cut new planks from 10thou plastic and superglued these on top. Make a very nice rake. Ther is the odd irregularity, but one tends to look at a whole train in the case of wagons like this, so it all blends in. Cattle trucks, like signal cabins, are tricky to make, and this has saved a lot of work. Just need to fit couplings (thinking of using S and W). The 7:20 has a few empties tonight !

Looks fabulous Patrick - well done!

Very nice Patrick. The buffer housings should really be black to replicate GNRI practice

Lovely Patrick. Narrow Planet/Light Railway Stores can do BP worksplates, although in 4mm a dot of red paint or fine liner might work just as well

Ballymena had 2, including an unusual one with double arms ; one SG and one NG.

More common in NI perhaps

About 68 years before the second!

Ironically it’s the Anglos and the English who have actually invested significantly in Irish preservation - the Guinnesses at Straffan, the Cosbys granting access at Stradbally, Lord O’Neill at Shane’s Castle, David Laing at Giants Causeway - and it was English enthusiasts who kept money rolling into the 70s-80s RPSI tours. A few more eccentric peers might actually have been a good thing for Ireland’s preservation scene ….

It’s probably no coincidence that railway preservation in GB coincided with unparalleled levels of prosperity - Macmillan and ‘let’s face it, most of our people have never had it so good’ etc etc. That epoch is now gone. In the USA, for instance, the amount of disposable income spent on essential services has now jumped from 27% to 37% (slightly puzzled on relationship between ‘disposable’ and ‘essential’ but I get the point). The generations growing up now in all likelihood will not have the time or money for this kind of stuff in the way that the postwar generation did. I suspect the UK preservation movement is going to hit a demographic and financial cliff edge. Fact is - and it is fact - most preservation volunteers here are 50 plus males. I am now the age at which my dad retired - I can’t even begin to think of that, and fully expect to be working up to 70. Wealth disparity in the developed world is growing - more money concentrated in fewer hands - and the cohort of people with time and money for things like steam railways is shrinking . And that’s in a country which actually loves the things.

Also worth adding that running trains, however full, on a preserved line often doesn’t cover costs. What makes it sustainable are all the incidentals such as cafes, shops and family events. RPSI steam is largely funded by Dublin families taking their kids to see Santa, and buying lots of assorted nick-nacks. Similar story in GB.

Nicely put. Another big issue in the mix - as well as Northern Ireland and its economy - was RIC pensions. For some unaccountable reason DeV objected to using Eire funds to pay ex-RIC men (inc my great grandfather)resident in the 26 counties… eventually Westminster agreed to pay. One worthy individual managed to accumulate pensions from Eire, the Dublin metropolitan police and MI5, who gallantly paid him despite him being an IRA double agent!

That railcar looks terrific

Yes. Apparently a trade deal on barter terms

No definitely deserves a wagon of its own with spotlights and a theme song. Beautifully done

He means the pic of No 90, JB. Is it a Sulzer?

Careful what you wish for! Making up that curved footplate was ‘interesting’

Only met him once but left an impression of a really decent man. Influential outside modelling too https://dublin.anglican.org/news/2026/06/30/death-of-david-j-wynne

Arguably you could start with a Bachmann J71 if you want a quick conversion. Better sized driving wheels and DCC ready https://railsofsheffield.com/products/bachmann-31-069-ner-e-j71-68260-br-black-early-emblem-steam-tank-locomotive