Galteemore

It’s how it goes for the scratch builder isn’t ? So frustrating and so annoying when progress has been good, as yours has on this. I once had to take a slice out of the middle of a nicely rolled boiler. I’ve recently discovered that I will have to desolder the chassis extension on another loco and re-fabricate Sometimes you have to walk away for a while otherwise it’s tempting to chuck it at the wall. It will all be worth it in the end, and this will be a super loco.

The number of people in North Leitrim c 1950 who had any spatial awareness beyond 1 mile of their patch of bog was limited. Anyone who knew the road from Manorhamilton to Dowra couldn’t simply be dispensed with….

And one occasion stuck on a mountain, in 1948. The driver and a boon companion went drinking in Manorhamilton one day after a sporting fixture, and, after heading on a joyride for Blacklion, took the bus on a wrong turn up a hillside track. The inevitable happened and the bus stuck. Next day it was unavailable for duty, and an inquiry commenced. Mr Egan was advised that a large glittering object was visible on Ballyboy mountain. Mr Egan took his field glasses to a suitable viewpoint and identified his lost bus, which was eventually recovered. The driver concluded his SLNC career as a conductor….

Although interestingly Berehaven did have something going for it. In 1898 the Admiralty upped the ante on the fortifications on Bere Island, which did become a significant military asset. A rail connection to Castletownbere could have proved useful perhaps in WW1, when the western naval bases were at full blast. But I suspect the 30s would have seen closure. On a related note, I wonder how the Berehaven, Swilly and Cobh treaty ports were supplied until 1938 and the final British withdrawal. The garrison troops may have been moved by sea, or possibly travelled by train in mufti. Some of the bulk stores may well have arrived by train, especially for the Cobh area. For those unaware of this little byway of Irish history, three UK garrisons were permitted to exist in the south between 1922 to 38 manning British naval bases. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_Ports_(Ireland)

I think government cash was the hallucinatory substance most such imagineers favoured at the time….

Yes, my brother had a complete 009 layout built and operating in the time it took me to build one engine!

Had the plans for Germania come to fruition, it was destined to be a swimming pool, replaced by an even grander station.

Thanks for the explanation- sounds great !

Any more details on the rolling stock please ?

One of the simplest things you can do on a layout is light it. But the effect is immense - as seen here. Great work Patrick

Dear old Bob Symes! I don’t actually disagree with you, John, but would be interested in further comment from you on what you say….

Don’t rule it out at all. You can probably do more than you think. Look at typical instructions here: looks eminently doable…. And the pricing is very keen - amazing value. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0055/7855/5456/files/BMGW_GWR_Box_Vans.pdf?v=1619788802

Spectacular US derailment just popped up on BBC….https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64063945

When Guinness was delivered to the western part of Ireland by waterway, the barrels were overfilled by a biscuit tin sized quantity, different brands of biscuit per type of barrel. This was to account for what the bargemen would take in the normal manner of things, but avoid fiddling the end customer. On cold nights out in the canal, a hot poker was required in the bung hole to get the black liquidation flowing into the tins. Source is the travel writer the late Eric Newby.

Not advertising as such, Andreas. But branded, yes. https://www.steamtrainsireland.com/rpsi-collection/52/504-guinness-grain-van

Except if the livery is wrong, JHB…..

Sad twist to the story Leslie. But the origin of Provincial Wagons is now clear !

Mix of stuff for me - we had a range of stuff used to pass through our house for RPSI fundraising. I got to see all kinds of stuff - Hornby, Triang, Fleischmann , Lilliput. My favourite was Hornby Dublo. The detail was comparable with 70s Hornby but ran far better and was more robust. Various things followed including Japanese N and UK O - and finally Irish 5’3 7mm. What I think is important as we grow is discovering not so much what we like to model as how we do it. For years I thought it was about creating a stage to run as much rtr as you could. I really didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I was meant to, and as I know others really do. Then I discovered making my own stuff….the sheer joy of rolling a smooth brass chassis you’ve made takes you right back to the joy of battery trains on the carpet !

Yes, it’s puzzling, given that so much of our journalism is so historically well informed ….sadly I fear that ignorance is expanding exponentially..

There are 4mm modellers who do change the lamps believe it or not ! Whole thread on RM web about it…https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/174579-acceptable-standards-at-exhibitions/

Lovely Leslie. Slieve Donard looks fabulous, although is the lamp code correct for a parcels train?

As this thread points out, it’s not a particularly useful resource for modellers. These are not dimensioned drawings, and as a scratch builder I’d struggle to do much with them.

Beautifully done Eoin. The deep joy of fiddling and fettling a metal engine - always worth it in the end. The ‘face’ of the loco is captured to perfection.

Don’t worry Leslie -not emulating Chairman Mao…I’d originally thought about describing the day as a Stakhanovite one but thought that wasn’t appropriate either….the forum software actually auto-capitalised Great Leap Forward, which is more of a worry. I’d just meant it as a generic description, not a quote from the Little Red Book!

I’m going to pause making out those range cards then. Left of arc - remains of W1 van - missing ducket. Right of arc - ventilated van….