Ironroad

3 hours ago, Noel said:

Sure, but don't want people to suffer falling into repeating history such as the great Lima 201 debacle selling for close to €1000 when rare on ebay, but barley fetch €50 once the superior later MM 201 was later released. Its not like fine art or stuff like original beetle music score sheets. This false market is temporary, don't like seeing model train enthusiasts exploited.

Hi Noel,  No one is being exploited. It really doesn't matter what price someone might be willing to pay for any model. That will always drive the market at a particular point in time. And of course the appearance of a newer better version of anything will affect the market and buyers are aware that this may happen,. In the end the price paid is a price the buyer is content with, whatever their reason for paying it.  We can't second guess this or read minds.

You have on a number of occasions described the Lima 201 as a "doorstop" and that is not a fair way to describe a landmark model which was the very first of its kind and as such is still of interest to collectors (and even to those who cannot afford the newer one). Those that secured them at exorbitant prices wanted them and are probably quite happy with them regardless of the collapse in market price. I can think of a lot worse stuff produced by Lima and Hornby that predate the 201 that collectors have an interest in and are prepared to pay for.

42 minutes ago, RedRich said:

Boutros Boutros Ghali would have loved you man .

He wasn't entirely as pure as the driven snow, none of us are.

I'm just suggesting that a poor choice of words be ignored, and we keep our focus.

Oh please, live and let live

Oh Dear, there's no hope for you, following up glue with acetone.

error

I should apologise. after more research it would appear the footbridge in Connolly Stn was only truncated in the early '80s. From photos posted by Irishwissernie it looks like the section spanning the terminal side of the station may have only been removed as late as 1995. 

49 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

That's a totally new one to me!

Same here, I was using the commuter services daily in 1989 and never saw the green strip depicted in the photograph above on either a loco or a Mk3 coach.

There is something very odd about that photograph, if that is Connolly station and I think it is,  The footbridge that is visible was removed in the early '80s as part of the renovations made to the station in the early '80s in preparation for the introduction of the DART services and long before introduction of the tippex livery Additionally there are no over head cables visible.   Photoshopped???

Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end.  Catering services were suspended as part of the Covid19 restrictions and it seems there has been difficulty negotiating a contract for a resumption with service providers.

However, it seems there will be some limited resumption on the Dublin Cork route in the course of this month. From the IE website; -

Intercity Routes (excluding Belfast)

Catering services will resume from early April 2023 on the Cork to Dublin route on a phased basis. For further information please see our Catering News story.

Belfast Services

On-board catering is available on the Dublin - Belfast Enterprise services. See below for the menus available on Enterprise services.

Enterprise - Full Service Menu 

Enterprise - Trolley Service

Since it would appear this project never came to fruition, did anyone that placed an order and advanced a deposit ever get a refund?   I have a particular interest in this question and in the event anyone does not want to respond publicly I would appreciate a PM. 

Thank you Tom

3 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Plus, has anybody actually paid off their Mk2 coaches and ICRs yet? I know that I haven't!

I have, and have always paid up front anytime something I like is announced. That way I won't be caught short if there are other things on the horizon at the point of delivery For me right now would be an ideal time for an announcement.

There was a hard border at that time, I think all trains stopped at Goraghwood, for customs.

I know railcars were used to operate the Enterprise service at some point post steam, but I don't think it was a straight switch from one to the other.  I definitely did travel to Belfast late '50s behind a diesel that was substituted for a Jeep at Goraghwood and I didn't dream that. 

I don't think diesels operated all the way through to Belfast in the late '50s. I remember travelling to Belfast and the diesel was substituted with a Jeep at Goraghwood.

I agree, let's not speculate but if what I'm reading here is correct this was an accident waiting to happen.

Since this was a head on crash on a double track line one of these trains was on the wrong line. I believe trains in Greece travel on the right and from the pictures it looks like the passenger train was on the left.  How that happened is the question, it is an incredible error in this day and age. I also wonder what the protocol is when a driver realises they are on the wrong track as surely must have been the case.

Admins, a couple of posts from earlier today appear to have been deleted from this thread. Seemed innocuous, please explain.

We are headed for the 28th minute of the 28th hour of the 28th day of the 28th month

Less is more, a great example of what can be achieved in a small space, really exceptional.

19 hours ago, Mayner said:

 

I was charged VAT on my first order of books from the IRRS London area during the early 80s 

To my knowledge bound books of more than four leaves ( 8 pages exclusive of the cover) have always been zero rated for VAT in Ireland, whereas magazines are subject to VAT. So I think someone in Customs may have overstepped on the definition.

3 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

The incompetence of An Post knows no bounds!

I have to agree. We posted a batch of Christmas cards to Ireland in the US on Dec 12. Some of these were delivered quite late only arriving after Christmas the worst being  a delivery date of Jan 31, (50 days in transit when the expected norm is 6 days). The fact that some did arrive before Christmas would suggest that all were in the possession  of An Post well before Christmas.

As much as you can do at present is to add them to your wish list on Hattons website and that option has been there for a while. It may be a means of measuring the level of interest, as I recollect some of Paddy's proposals are contingent on this. 

3 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

But what about traders, even small traders, who buy from IRM?

Or what about people who want to re-number locos?

 

Is IRM is a direct to customer online retailer or not ?  If they sell to traders it should be with the understanding that they cannot exceed the recommended selling price and the traders margin is dictated by the trade price from IRM.  That's how Murphy Models operate. 

The quantities required by those who want extras to renumber etc. would hardly be great enough to raise a red flag.

Cannot disagree with what is being said but I would point out that even a supermarket can place a limit on the quantity you may purchase of any particular product.

I'm also guilty of snapping up but not excessively more than I probably need and will ultimately settle on and I have disposed of surpluses, but always at a  fair price even to the point of accepting a loss. I don't view my purchases as investments.  

My concern is, and it should be of concern to all of us, is purchasing for speculative purposes and that is something that should be obvious to vendors. 

11 hours ago, JasonB said:

Why are these prices a constant topic of discussion on here. We are all aware it's excessive. If someone decides to chance their arm, and sell for that price, and another decides to buy, what business is it of anyone else. 

It's hard to ignore and it should be a matter of concern.  It encourages some to speculatively  purchase new releases on a large scale and has the effect of squeezing people out of of the hobby. While I appreciate that the likes of IRM have a commercial need to clear production runs as quickly as possible, I have wondered how aware are they of significant orders and whether they might consider it prudent to place limits when it is obvious an order is not normal.  It also has to be acknowledged that this would be beyond the control of Murphy Models since they distribute via the trade.

The real solution is more frequent reruns.

Hi Darius may I ask who makes or where did you source the containers? thanks