Barl

Hi Mayner, Wasn't there a bit of a scandal in NZ a few years back about asbestos insulation still being used in new locos purchased from China? I vaguely remember hearing about it when over there and the cost associated with removing and replacing it.

That makes more sense thanks Fran.

Just got a notification to say my Tara Mines pre-order has shipped. Looking forward to seeing them as I missed the last run of these. Hopefully the current flooding issues at Tara Mines will be resolved soon and won't affect the future operation of the mines. Out of curiosity, any particular reason why 2 of 3 packs have been shipped and the other hasn't? Or is it just logistical?

Thanks Stephen I'll give that a go

I finally got to open my A Class delivery and they really are stunning models, even better in the flesh! The packaging is excellent too, no fear of them being damaged in transit. Just one question; are there screws under the cab connecting the body to the chassis? There's just a tiny gap (literally tiny, I'm being very pedantic) between the cab and buffer beam on the fan end of A46 but I'd say it just needs tightening.

I'm told mine were delivered this morning too. Unfortunately they're still about 200km away so will be a while before I can get my paws on them but at least I know they're there

I'm in a similar boat, was hoping mine (2xxx series) would be delivered by the weekend as I'm heading up home to Kildare and they're being delivered there. I'll have to try persuade the auld pair to come visit before Christmas

Thanks for the update Fran. It's great to see how popular these have been and must be a good sign for the future of Irish railway modelling.

Hi Fran, Just out of interest do you know if the 2018 (just) pre-orders are likely to continue to ship this week or more likely into next week? Before anyone thinks I'm giving out far from it, we all know good things - or very good things in this case- come to those who wait! I'm just trying to sort the logistics of getting my A's from inside the Pale down to the Rebel county! Cheers, Karl

Agreed there aren't many consultants in Ireland specialising in rail engineering. In my experience most of the rail design is outsourced to Spanish consultants - as part of a joint venture - who seem to be the opposite and have an abundance of railway specialists. I always remember trying to explain to the geometry designer on a scheme I worked on several years ago that the platforms had to be a fixed height above the rail, and I'm not a railway engineer! I think at this stage ARUP are so big they have a department for every discipline of engineering and are first choice for a lot of tendered schemes. I know our consultancy has merged highways, bridges and rail under the 'transport' discipline so hopefully it might help for future project wins.

I picked up these in Dealz today, they might be handy as decorative trees in an urban layout setting with a bit of flock applied.

The pictures so far show what a stunning model this is. Have to say A46 in dark green is my favourite so far and I'm glad I've ordered one, but A30 is looking very tempting too - was someone a little heavy handed with the front handrail on A46?

Delighted to see the new announcement with the never previously released blue Tara's. I missed out on them before but they only thing is now I have to decide between them and another A class I was just about to click checkout on..

In terms of a brand new 141/181, I think the existing model more than holds it's own when put beside the new 121. It just shows what a great model they were - and still are - when released. In my opinion, the only thing that really stands out in terms of aesthetic detail would be the windscreen wipers being a little more clunky than the 121 but that's something that's easily fixed. It may not have a speaker fitted but, as brilliant as it is, not everyone wants DCC sound fitted to their models. As said above, a rerun of the Bachmann/MM model would be very welcome, however unlikely in the short term!

I'm not sure if the builder of this layout is on the forum but it's an excellent piece of work and nice to see it being covered in the media also. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=959309198171753 Hopefully the link works I couldn't find the article on the Journal itself.

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/travel/ireland/end-of-the-line-for-ireland-s-luxury-sleeper-train-1.4488644 Sounds like Covid is the main reason.

There's an interesting article on the opening and closure of the WCR if anyone hasn't seen it; https://www.echolive.ie/nostalgia/arid-40253438.html

I was on it as Barl also - wish I'd picked a better name now!

I'm pretty sure the Facebook post is from Marks Models page and not Murphy Models. I imagine the retailers were the first ones to be told and it was Marks who released the news on Facebook, where it can be seen instantly by anyone who follows their page. As far as I know PM is a one-man band so I'm sure he will update the website when he gets a chance.

Similar to others who have posted, steam was well before my time but personally I still think there is something different and nostalgic about steam models - this is coming from someone who thinks 2600 'Arrow' railcars are nostalgic! The video Accurascale have on their website - with Hornby Magazine - is a very good watch and shows the level of work requred to produce a steam model! It also shows the draw of steam models with the Manor class emerging from a cloud of it's own smoke making for a beautiful sight As much as I'd love an 800 class, realistically I wouldn't see myself buying more than one in preserved livery for an RPSI special. On the other hand, I would probably buy more than one J15 for example as they crossed such a long period of time and have appeared in so many variations, even fictitious ones for filming (I think?) and as preserved. Maybe IRM could reintroduce the smoke effects on steam models like they used to have years ago!

My wife's aunt has a nice photo of this actually, I took a quick pic of it a while ago. Always thought it would make an interesting scene to model! A bit more modern but I think the scrapped MK3 coaches at Punchestown(?) feature in the Barry Keoghan movie 'Calm with Horses'. I also remember seeing a random music video featuring an 071 but can't remember the name of it...

I got a chance to take my 121's out of their boxes and it looks like I've been one of the lucky ones with the only damage I can see being a slightly bent, but not broken, vacuum pipe on 124. 3 of these are from IRM and 2 were collected from Marks. I haven't run any of them yet but hopefully they will be ok!

I purchased 134 in IE and 131 in B&T on Wednesday in Marks. Have to say both of these liveries make them look even more stunning than the yellow and grey, can't wait to be able to run them. Out of curiosity, does anyone have a head on (cab face) picture of 125 or 131? I'm not sure if the printing is slightly skewed on mine or my eyes are gone wonky from the lack of sleep a 2-week old baby brings with it!

I never knew there was a model shop in Kildare town, and I'm from Kildare! Does anyone know if the Model Shop in Capel Street in Dublin is still open? I know they mostly focused on RC but they did stock railway items too.