Galteemore

I’m a long way from Tipperary Greater Belfast by birth but 50% of me is Co Leitrim. Took my user name from this….

New steam loco produced by IRM/Accurascale, announced last week. Pulled trains on Cork main line 1939-c1960-ish.

Very short vid of PP chassis crawling with wander leads. Next job - try and fit inside the body. Clearances are tight to put it mildly….

There’s also lots of excellent YouTube tutorials on kit building, soldering etc.

You might also look at his Wickham Railcar. Great way to learn the basics of bending brass (golden rule is to bend, never crease). Will give you a result fairly quickly, which you can detail as much as you want. Only 27 euro too.

Nice load on that PP - would have been some rather noisy chimney action when lifting 5 bogies!

At seventy years plus distance, you’re unlikely to get challenged on this one David! Seems like an ideal chance to let people see that deep rich lined Swilly green. Gets my vote anyway. And that delightfully elegant loco deserves it!

That’s looking very tasty indeed!

Wow just wow. Amazing how quickly you have managed to do this. Jaw droppingly good work.

Gives a new meaning to ‘H-block’…..

Jim McGeown, cited by Mayner, sold me my first kit. He’s a genius at writing friendly instructions which will teach you the basics, and has a how to manual on his website. Here’s the instructions for his O gauge starter loco. It will give you an idea of what’s involved. Brass is a great part of the hobby to get involved in, so do go for it. 0 Gauge Starter Loco pdf print off.pdf

Can’t speak for LRM, but try looking on RM Web or similar sites for reviews. What I would not do is start with a B4 though. The way you learn in brass model making is by making mistakes and finding out how to fix them. The B4 will cost a lot if it is a learning project. Added to that, it’s a 4-4-0; one of the most difficult types of loco to balance and get to run. Start off with a brass kit of a wagon - or even a plate layers hut. That will give you a feel for how a kit works and teach you not to panic when things go wrong. Then go up to a coach or a small tank engine, then your B4. I’m no brass master but have built a few metal engines (finishing off one right now) so have learnt a little bit….this one has caused me significant problems. Had it been my first engine, it would probably have gone in the bin before we got to this stage…..

Ideal way of producing that classic variety of profiles that characterised many GSR/CIE trains, by adding one or two of those to a rake

It’s a real shame. I used to travel regularly from Edinburgh to Belfast in the early 90s. Direct train from Edinburgh to Stranraer-with catering- and step straight off train on to ferry. That journey would be much less pleasant now.

Fabulous shot of the GN van being tractor shunted. Love the nonchalance of the shunter sitting on his pole! I was at university with one of the Omagh Scotts many years ago. At a dinner one night, I discovered he knew disappointingly little about the family’s use of wagons for grain traffic.

Many thanks Paul !

The average punter on a heritage railway will not care what is up front. What they will care about, quite reasonably, is - can I park easily? are the toilets clean ? is the food of acceptable quality for the price ? Did the staff treat me as a guest or as an inconvenience?

Thanks both - and yes please Paul! David

Not to mention the financial contribution that the IRRS London area makes …..

Just after some advice please. For a GNRI J4 coach, what wheelbase of bogie would be desirable? Any particular standard pattern used eg Fox ? Just thinking about a possibility…for some reason I suspect @Paul 34Fmay know…...thanks David

Are you an IRRS member Colin? The photo archive link only works if you are.

Agreed JHB. The one lesson I learned from it all (having been pressed into fundraising work since I was able to walk) is that the general public’s generosity subsidises the enthusiast community to an incredible degree.

I understand that option has been scoped but has proved unviable. There are also no main line locos ready for service in NI, and the commercial road moves required to shuttle engines back and forth would be prohibitively expensive.

Latest info suggests no steam in NI outside heritage sites for the foreseeable future. In any case only steam locomotive in ticket at Whitehead is 3BG AFAIK.

Having retrofitted a 32mm model to 36.75, I wouldn’t do it again. And that was a single wheeler with no valve gear to worry about! The advice above sounds like a polite disclaimer on the same lines! I know that @Horsetan is building the SSM one to 21mm. Might you be kind enough, Ivan, to provide some pics of what you’re up to, so that people can see what’s involved? If you are new to kit building, don’t start with an 800, but it will at least give an idea of what such a kit involves and what (challenges and rewards 21mm (and 5’3 modelling in general) poses.