Ironroad

Regardless as to the origins of this livery and whether it achieved the desired striking corporate image, it was perhaps an unfortunate choice of colours given their historical association. As a kid I remember some disquiet on the part of a family member but don't know how it was received generally. 

If it was influenced by a cat there was precedence.

Thank you folks,  from this I found Leslie's email address on this site and have written to him.  Again thank you

On 23/4/2012 at 5:16 AM, BosKonay said:

http://www.provincialwagons.com/

 

Contact Leslie McAllister

Is this still the correct web address for Provincial Wagons? If so there seems to be a problem.

And as they say Rome wasn't built in a day.  As I recall Murphy Models only produced the EGVs and Restaurant cars subsequent to the successful release of the coaches they were complementary to. I think the same logic can apply to the AEC railcars.  There are all sorts of options that could be taken with an initial release that could be expanded on over time.

It may be that the Cravens were slow to shift but that may have been related to the quantities produced and the market size at that time. Those were still pioneering days and the market has probably increased since then. It is worth noting that Murphy Models suggested a rerun depending on demand. So Paddy does not seem deterred.

2 hours ago, GSR 800 said:

The railcars are an odd one though, not sure what the viability threshold is for railcars (since its basically two power units minimum, add on coaches etc?) Perhaps the lads can enlighten us on that one.

I think they are viable. Anyone interested will likely want more than one train and in the various liveries (GNR blue & cream, CIE green as well as black & tan.  They were ubiquitous for a long period on the network and ran in consists I believe of two up to eight. with all sorts of intermediate coaches including Park Royals and Laminates and were ultimately converted to run push pull with C class locos which are a natural complement to them. Assuming the availability of a C Class I'd even buy them in their final state on Dublin Suburban services with the blanked out cab windows.

I think there is a lot of mileage to be had over time from the tooling (more than a loco) and they broaden the market for earlier coaches for which there is probably a solid demand following the release of the A class. 

Ideal for offering as a four car trainset !!!!

5 hours ago, BosKonay said:

If it helps, between both Irish and UK/Europe/row irm has 4106 registered customers. So the market is a bit bigger than you might think. .

That sheds a more positive light on matters and is encouraging. 

1 hour ago, Colin R said:

May be a B or a C class loco would go down well, if you are looking to model a certain time period in the Irish scene, for what it is worth I happen to like the late 30's to early 60's period so I can run a mixture of both Steam and Diesel locos.

Yes a C class is an obvious choice and they together with the AEC railcars that would open up lots of possibilities.

I see it as lobbying and I don't see any harm in keeping hopes alive. Most certainly some of our wishes are probably unrealistic commercially but we have not seen outright dismissal of the suggestions being made and it would be a shame if the goose that laid the golden egg was forgotten entirely as I sometimes fear is the way things are going.

I think these are the figures posted by Stephen on RM Web quote;

"Generally if we can make 20-30k of it, if its a wagon, 15-20k of it if its a coach and at least 5-8k of it if its a loco, it's 'viable' in our eyes. "

The problem is that if John is right in his assessment above that the market is as small as 1,000 active modellers/collectors, that number is not necessarily representative of the interest that may exist for particular offerings because it is diluted by bias for particular periods.  

So I think the best we can hope for is items that spanned long periods of time that will sell in multiples.  A possibility here is the AEC DMUs that ran in various liveries from 1951 to the early '80's.

Running contrary to all of this was the production of the ballast plough. The probability is that few of us purchased more than a pair and they did take a while to sell out and that maybe a reason for hesitancy to go with such a unique item again. But given the fact that they are essential to completing a ballast train, did they contribute to sales of the ballast wagon?  So I don't think items that may have low volume demand can be entirely ruled out. It is noteworthy that Paddy Murphy seems to have had success in selling purely complementary items such as EGVs and Restaurant cars.

So is the glass half full or half empty??? 

6 hours ago, BosKonay said:

Wait until they see what’s coming  

3 hours ago, Sean said:

finally,  can the kadee be somehow wired into the DCC chip for remote uncoupling? I would much prefer this to having like 4/5 decoupling ramps littered around like my current plan calls for.

They are much simpler or perhaps should I say more sophisticated than that. They uncouple magnetically, via a magnet under the track bed.  Reversing the stock over this magnet opens the couplings, you can then  change the direction of the loco and leave the stock behind. I think Noel has posted extensively on this subject and has included a video.

3 hours ago, irishthump said:

Pretenders? I suppose that's why diesel supplanted steam......

Even a kid knows what a CHU CHU is 

38 minutes ago, irishthump said:

Sorry but I have absolutely no interest in steam locos, and could never see the attraction of them, except perhaps for those who grew up watching them.

Yes, nostalgia is probably a big part of this, but steam made the railways possible and steam engines are the epitome of them. Diesels for all their practicality are pretenders.

2 hours ago, Noel said:

The 201s prototypes grew on me especially intercity green'n'grey. Travel on them frequently. I find in model form, they are rather long, no reflection on the model. The prototype lacks the distinctively interesting shape of the earlier GMs with their walkways and space 1999 style cabs that look like the extremities of a space station module. Not steam but a 141 had a certain presence about it. The prototype 201s and A class bodies were less interesting due to their simpler shape. I actually have two 201s, but don't operate them often. 141/181s the most used models on the layout. Singly or in consist pairs. They are still my favourite model of all time, not a critique just a personal preference.

That about sums it up. The GMs except for the 201 have more interesting profiles than probably any other diesel prototype in Ireland or the UK. but that doesn't justify describing those less interesting profiles (long or short) as bricks or briquettes. They are what ran or still run on the railways we aspire to model and so we need to accept them otherwise what's the point. They are what they are.

1 hour ago, Westcorkrailway said:

Characterless, peat briquette, doorstop, paperweight unreliable bricks that some may think of them. 

For those that say this I would ask, "As compared with what?",  besides no diesel has the character of a steam loco.

Never saw that before, very dark. Opening scene is definitely Rathdrum.  For a well made piece there is a bit of sloppiness at the end,  in that, the train arriving at the station  is not the one that departs in the final scene as she walks along the platform.  

5 hours ago, connollystn said:

If the Murphy Models 201[new] was bombed it'd improve its appearance, probably.

This is insulting rather than funny. You have been relentless in knocking this model and won't say what you see as wrong with it despite being asked many times to do so.  

1 hour ago, Sean said:

well maybe whoever is ripping them off could churn out some fake 071's to appease all of our lusting for one 

On no please don't even suggest that,  if they are not part of the official production runs they represent theft from those that took the risk of commissioning them. 

1 hour ago, Traingamer said:

Murphy in Hong Kong.

When I see these, I'm suspicious of their provenance.

2 hours ago, DiveController said:

Were they commonplace in Ireland in the 50s? Far fewer road vehicles then. Interested to know what was popular on Ireland’s road from a modeling perspective 

Ford was the top selling car maker in Ireland in the '50s. Not sure how many

Ford 8s were on the road but the late '40s model Prefect (similar profile) was common as was the newer model of of the Prefect that was introduced about '53 (more boxy) , I have a vivid memory of seeing one in a spin and overturning onto its roof on the bridge over the Tolka in Drumcondra.

Have a look at this https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2056353489/road-vehicles-in-ireland-in-1950s#:~:text=Anyway OP%2C the 50's would,popular among the working class.

One of the postings states the following;-

New Car registrations for January 1959
Total 2,680
Top 10

1. Ford 852 (696 Anglia/Prefects, 132 Consuls, 24 Zodiacs)
2. Morris 458 (395 Minors, 2 Cowleys, 61 Oxfords)
3. Austin 411 (314 A35/A40s 6 A45s, 80 A55s)
4. VW 273
5. Hillman 118
6. Standard/TR 100
7. Renault 98
8. Fiat 94
9. Vauxhall 50
10. Simca 40

Didn't realise there were two other doors that are so close in that landing, but a pocket door might still be possible within 10cm, if that's the depth you have without interfering with the trim around those doors on either side. EG https://www.homedepot.com/p/Masonite-32-in-x-80-in-Unfinished-Pocket-Interior-Door-Frame-59824/202082314?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=Shopping-VF-F_D30-G-D30-030_025_INT_DOORS-NA-NA-Feed-PLA_LIA-2144823-WF-AllInteriorDoors+PL3&cm_mmc=Shopping-VF-F_D30-G-D30-030_025_INT_DOORS-NA-NA-Feed-PLA_LIA-2144823-WF-AllInteriorDoors+PL3-71700000033101425-58700003868916472-92700031718764240&gclid=CjwKCAiAxJSPBhAoEiwAeO_fP3q6EJ_QS33u8E-ZI0EQUQPPYj5BYzWH_TEX9wfX2dHXQFZvNf9xdBoC6wwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds 

I know this is from a US store but according to the specs the pocket is 3" deep and covering it with 1/2' plasterboard is still just under 10cm total. Might be worth checking locally for what's available.

Another solution to consider is a "Barn Door"

On 6/1/2022 at 9:16 AM, murphaph said:

Tiled now. I was able to salvage about a third of the tiles used from a previous miscalculation. They still make these "utility room tiles" and they're cheap so I ordered more and although there is a slight colour and size difference, I think I got away with it. Most of the floor will vanish under the layout anyway. The tiles are 30 * 30 cm to give the room some scale. No baby GMs were hurt in the making of this photoshoot:

I wish I could just let rip on building the layout but for now it's still "shared space", though I will be more selective about what non-railway stuff can reside here. For example my tiling tools won't be needed again any time soon, so they can go into the attic for now.

I'm giving serious consideration to reversing the door so it opens outwards. I didn't give enough thought to it when I hung the doors in the basement. Bit of a faff reversing German doors as they are surrounded by expanding foam and this needs cutting away to free the frame.

Have you considered a "sliding pocket door"   The pocket could be placed in the hallway on either side where you have the display cases.

Hi, much had been said on this topic previously on this website but all over the place as part of other topics and this is a topic that finally deserves a thread of its own. Nonetheless you should search this site as there is a mine of information available

It is not possible to give a complete answer to your question as there are many variables but for what it is worth I'm pasting a response I provided  to a similar question by another member quite recently:-

  On 4/1/2022 at 2:03 PM, patrick said:

What Kadee do you recommend for the brake van John?

If I may offer an opinion, this is not a straightforward question to answer.  Some trial and error may be needed to achieve the outcome you desire as all circumstances are not the same. A key objective is to achieve the closest possible coupling, and Kadee offer 4 couplers to fit NEM sockets, #s 17, 18, 19, & 20, the shortest being 17 increasing in length up to 20. I have found that #17 is not suitable for use with rolling stock fitted with buffers as the buffer length prevents the couplings from coming together (assuming #17 is used on both items of rolling stock  but may work with a 17 on one and an 18 on the other).  The minimum radius of the track on your layout needs to be taken into consideration since coupling may be achieved satisfactorily on a straight section between two items of rolling stock fitted with say # 18s but they may not couple on a curve, and if the  radius is too extreme they will buffer lock and derail, note buffer length is a factor here and is not standard.   Mixing the coupling lengths used on your rolling stock may be an option to achieve a better median distance between wagons or coaches  but personally I prefer standardisation particularly for goods stock which is more likely to be shunted than coaches.  Hope this helps. 

18 hours ago, Mayner said:

who often literally don't have time to answer the phone or reply to e-mails as they focus on the manufacturing side working long hours for relatively low returns.

This is very valid. At one point in my career I found I was spending most of the first half of my day answering e-mails to the detriment of getting anything done and this was a vicious circle.  It's about time management and I would suggest that some patience is in order.  From accounts of those who have interacted one on one with this man, it would seem he is well intentioned. 

Wrong line working? If I'm missing something ignore me.

OK I've no problem with this but try convincing the "trouble & strife"

Hi Phil, agree that Keen Systems are cheaper but I think Keen is more suited to bogie stock and refitting the springs the odd time they come loose is a bit of a pain.  The Symoba mounting plate is a very neat sealed self contained unit that is wafer thin and only 12.2mm wide x 11.2 mm long and should work with most stock (bogie and rigid),. That said I don't know if it would perform as well as the Keen system on say a Mk 3 coach on a tight radius again Symoba's primary market is HO.