Galteemore

This is most interesting David. Do keep us apprised as to how it goes - one of your invaluable tutorials beckons I think! Enjoy exploring the new tool. D L O Smith (the engineering academic who made me my 5’3” gauges!) has a guide here which may help too...

You’re not alone JB....

Thank goodness for that. I know it’s a great book but if the price of owning it is a trip to IKEA ....

Is it that heavy ?!

Simple palette of dull paints worked for me when I made 5’3” PCB track last year - this is the semi-abandoned quay siding so deliberately shabby and decidedly decrepit ....

Seven or possibly eight in total, I believe: http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/13/bord_na_mona.htm This 1966 list notes a pair of Rustons at each location: Mallow, Tuam, Carlow and Thurles. Not clear from list if all are 88DS - one of the Tuam Rustons may have been the 165.

Mine was posted yesterday (to deepest Buckinghamshire). Will advise on receipt!

Yes, they look close enough to me and create the right impression. Certainly a better paint job than I could manage......just thought I’d pass it on for those who take a particular interest in such matters !

Interesting comments on these on RM Web. One of the leading 4mm LNW gurus has given his verdict and it’s not a ringing endorsement...

And here it is on Flickr...courtesy Alan Monk. Interesting to compare with the 88.

And Ruston 88DS locos - as used by Irish Sugar and preserved at Whitehead - sorry Dr Pan - didn’t see your post !

Weshty at SSM will make some up for you. Happy with mine.

It’s all O gauge Paul, with plastic sleepers. Here is a shot on my old O gauge layout under construction, showing the bare track on a sector plate next to scenically treated stuff.

I think the ballasting is the difference / the background tracks are fully ballasted as befits a main line. The foreground track looks more like a siding.

Interesting stuff, John, especially this quote: The majority of people who work in 21mm gauge tend to be modellers who enjoy the technical challenges of building (possibly offbeat)models as opposed to running trains (operating) or collecting models. I don’t actually do much operating myself, as I have discovered that I get far more satisfaction out of the research and problem solving which building to 5’3” calls for. Tony Miles and Richard Chown had extensive 5’3” layouts ( a basement empire in the latter case), but also a fair amount of crew to call upon. I suspect for most of us, the choice is between a modestly sized scale gauge layout, and a large operating layout. I tried the latter in Japanese and didn’t actually enjoy it that much. Whereas a few hours with some sheet metal or plasticard and a scale drawing....

That’s terrific Jim - thank you! Broadside views like that are brilliant for detail but not as common as one would like. Thanks too, David - has been a battle with numerous skirmishes!

Final post of 2020! Started on the curves. Splashers done - eventually. I spent a long time matching them up to the chassis ensuring that the front drivers could run freely without rubbing. It’s still a tight fit! It was really tempting to crack on with more interesting work but I have tried to hard to keep the rolling chassis free rolling as the build progresses / will hopefully reduce the final fettling. Boiler rolled - eventually. Belpaire firebox made and fitted - after a few goes!! Had made it too long initially, as I’d forgotten to deduct the 1’1” of firebox that projects into the cab. In an effort to remedy this I trashed the laboriously constructed cab front and had to make another. The windows are the tricky bit and since the photographs I have filed them into a more prototypical profile. Washout plugs are Great Central Rlwy pattern (another Beyer Peacock customer) white metal castings from JPL. This is a great store for model railway parts in Manchester, with a vague connection to Beyer Peacock, so it’s nice to have at least one Mancunian part on the model. Corners of firebox filled with plumbers solder and then filed into shape, rounding off the corners. A 6ba threaded rod - basically a very long screw - runs right through from smokebox to firebox to keep all aligned. All loosely in place to get an idea of what it will be like when brought together - so don’t worry if the fittings look a bit askew! The boiler will be pitched higher up when fixed in, as I still need to fit the dummy frame extensions that the smokebox will perch on. They really are huge boilers on these locos when you see them shorn of the side tanks. Happy New Year to all!

Great job. Scratch building can be so satisfying ! All ready to trip that fuel wagon down to Broadstone...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_Clearing_House Railway Clearing House ‘The RCH went on to set technical standards for various items, such as goods wagons, to promote standardisation across the rail network. If a wagon was described as an RCH wagon, this meant it had been built to comply with RCH standards.’

What a little jewel that is, John. Beautiful.

I think it’s what Coleridge called ‘the willing suspension of disbelief’....... I wonder if any Brazilian or Australian modellers have tackled it - they have 5’3” too.....

Agreed Ernie, it’s a great resource, with some great images dating back to the 20s. Found a fascinating one yesterday showing a wagon turntable leading into a potato supplier at Athlone - fantastic little modelling cameo for a layout corner

The ‘sweet spot’ for doing this was probably 15 years ago when the Murphy stuff came out and made RTR Irish stuff a true possibility. In an ideal world, the range would have included track and a small selection of rolling stock as well as locos which were 21mm by default and 16.5 by conversion. Rather as Hornby Dublo initiated its 3 rail track and stock in the 30s. Many Irish modellers could have started then with 21 mm from the outset, simply plug and play. However, that would have been a huge commercial risk, and I can see why it didn’t happen- those first 141s were a huge gamble in themselves. Much of the subsequent rolling stock production has taken 16.5 as a convenient starting place eg the first Provincial Wagons. The current boom in Irish modelling has rested a great deal on 16.5 underpinnings. I also suspect that many of the Irish locos and stock have been purchased by overseas fans as one-off consists to run occasionally on their HO/OO systems, and wonder just how many single-minded Irish modellers there may actually be, who would plunge into 21mm entirely. Although I am a big fan of true 5’3” track - and model it myself - I suspect that the legacy issues of stock conversion etc mean that 21mm may not be taken up by many.

Looks brilliant Robert!

It’s not a rerun. It’s a new book, focusing on the GSWR rather than the GSR.