Galteemore

That picture sums up the appeal of Irish railways, and why I model a 1950s backwater. Pure class.

There’s a thought ...three little words put me off though - Outside Valve Gear.....

Have a look at the site I mentioned earlier, MM, and those books may be helpful. A set of French curves will give you templates for most curved shapes. What you could do is draw an outline and photocopy it (assuming you have access to such equipment in your place of confinement). Stick that on a sheet of 10 thou brass and then cut with strong scissors or tinsnips, just outside the drawn line. Then file to shape. This may also be of use...

MM - modelling is all about the mistakes and learning to fix them. If you’ve not come across them, Simon Bolton or Geoff Holt’s books on loco building are excellent. As is this thread..,https://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=666 Look forward to seeing what’s next ! .

Well done - great start!

Interesting comment JHB, on which I have been reflecting. In truth, I’m not sure that things were casual (it was in many ways a more formal and stratified world ) so much as built on a greater level of implied and unspoken trust. Drivers let you in the cab believing that you were who you said you were - and trusting that you would make no spurious claims for liability in return! The word of officials was taken at face value and generally followed - if grudgingly. We live now in an era of much less public trust and the consequences can be sad to see ....I was shocked yesterday to receive a parcel of tools and sheet metal for which I had not yet paid - the vendor trusts me to pay on receipt (which I did!). My surprise was because this is no longer a way businesses customarily trade with private individuals. It was a nice and unfamiliar example of old values...

Have a look on this excellent resource - click on image to move into it. It seems to suggest that buffers tend to actually have a smear of grease on the contact surface rather than the scuffing one might intuitively expect.

This is lovely stuff, JHB. Your dad was a real old school railway ‘officer’ and I well remember his gentlemanly and quiet style - a glimpse into a world that we have now largely lost.

Nice job!!

Thanks David. It’s Roger’s. I’ve got a few learning points about building it to 5’3” - the lugs for 36.75 brake gear end up concealed under the folded in beams which need ground away at that point. Usual nice little compensated axle feature though. The CIE works plates are exquisite, although that’s not what I said when I was sweating them on.

Looks like a Palvan beside the brake, MM..

One of Mr Bulleid’s triangulated underframes. Suppose I’d better put something on it but am just liking its shininess for now!

You can only try - you’ll be amazed what you can actually achieve. Practice a few techniques and you’ll be well away. Have a look at Connoisseur Models website for O gauge kits. I learned how to solder and build brass kits from the advice there.

I do love that workshop David! It’s what I aspire to. Yours is pretty good too Robert. Tonight I’m modelling on the kitchen table which is best option right now. I think we can all find space to do something - even a small project. After all, many of the greats such as Peter Denny managed on a tray with a soldering iron heated in the kitchen stove.......

I like the sound of that idea, David. I have a corner of the dining room where Rosses Point sits, with cupboards for stock and tools underneath. Any serious work requires temporary possession of the table, and I don’t like cluttering it up for long hours (while I’m at work) with soldering kit whilst the family might want it for other purposes. My wife gets creativity (she works in a variety of mediums) and is very understanding but a soldering bench is not a pretty sight to inflict on her!!Working with plastic card is much easier as that’s much quicker to set up and take down. Much of my modelling requires a psychological self-kicking to get over the inertia of setting up the kit for a few hours work. I do draw comfort from Richard Chown who had similar issues. He’d go to the workshop even when he couldn’t be bothered - saying that he’d leave after twenty minutes if he couldn’t get motivated. Twenty minutes generally got him going!!

I was plugging through this for clues but missed that one!!

Charleville

Portlaoise ?

Ballybrophy ?

Limerick Junction?

Yes. I suspect - if it is Broadstone - that JHB has captured 129 on a trip down from Liffey Junction to swap the bus fuel tanks over. The livery would fit with the chronology.

It is possible, MM, as CIE retained a siding into Broadstone - until the 80s I think -to bring in fuel oil for the bus station.

Brilliant !! I have passed that many times and never knew that was the inspiration for Airfix (who made the original kit I think)

Thanks LM - he thinks it might be too! I spent a lot of my teenage time looking through his photos and remember that he did seem to take a lot of No 49 in various place, so it’s highly possible.

Showed this to my dad during a What’s App chat tonight - he was on pretty much every enthusiast trip in Ireland from 1959 till now. He thinks it’s Drogheda on a trip to Kingscourt. In fact I think I can spot him in front of 49’s smokebox...