Barl

As the rest have said that really is a stunning layout, very atmospheric! The grass is some of the most realistic I've ever seen too!

Haha Karl will do, Barl is my (not very imaginative) nickname and no its not because I'm shaped like one:D I remember when making the gen van that the roof was probably the most time consuming part and was difficult to find detailed pics of!

Thanks for the comments lads, its nice to get a bit more work done on the layout. Hi John, the Dutch van is scratchbuilt. I made it a few years ago when I couldn't afford the kit. It's made from plasticard with the rounded section of the roof created from balsa wood strips sanded and filled, and sanded again.......many times:eek: The bogies aren't right but I think they look alright for now! I've included a few old pics below. Hope these are of some help. Karl

Its been a while since I've done anything with the layout but over the last few days I've managed to get a bit done on the freight yard/harbour area. This included creating the hill and road behind (what will be) the engine shed. I've yet to decide what material I will use to cover the walls. I've used ordinary fillers from B&Q with a few drops of black poster paint added to give it a grey colour but it will still be painted at some stage. I left the fillers to dry for a few minutes before using the rounded edge of an old bank card to create the gap for the wheel flange. This was pressed against the track and run along its length, stopping at short intervals to remove the fillers that has built up on the card. Kirley and Vincent have been discussing concrete areas in their threads and this was something I'd been putting off for ages but in the end it wasn't too bad. This area will contain some low-relief warehouses which I still have to build. Still have to finish off some of the hard-standing and then some sanding and tidying up!

The layout is coming along nicely Vincent:) You're right about the genny van, it was an SSM kit as were the decals on the coaches. As for the concrete areas, I've been doing something very similar to Kirley (maybe not quite as well though) over the last few days but I've just been using standard filler. Its not finished yet but I'm pleased with how its turned out so far, I'll try post some pics soon!

Hi John, the mk2a's did run with a restaurant coach at some time in their life. I'm not sure if this was only when they were used as mainline fleet or not but I have seen a picture of a mk2a restaurant coach, I just cant remember where:confused: From what I can remember it was the same as a standard but with 2 windows plated over but I'm not sure if this was the case on both sides of the coach. Others may know more on the subject and it would be interesting to see one modelled!

It looked like a great event and well done to George for organising it! I was actually in Cork on the day but was rushing to get the train home and was a little bit hungover too so I couldn't make it

That's a great job on the weathering, really brings them to life!

Really interesting, and excellently built, piece of kit and very nicely weathered!

Was there on Saturday, as Blaine says, it was mostly farm and truck displays with the odd exception. The Wexford and Midlands clubs were the only layouts on show. I think the fact that Mark's Models only had a few starter sets, in terms of railway stock, on sale tells what the target audience was this year. It was good to see the NDMFC being well represented. The Back to the Future Delorean was nice to see too. Hopefully it was successful and continues next year, maybe with more railway displays included

Ah here, we're in enough of a hole as it is at the minute

Not railway related, but I've heard that the Newbridge & District Model Flying Club (NDMFC) will be in attendance at the show to add a bit of variety!

Those night shots look great and very atmospheric!

You could always build an underground man cave/bomb shelter, which just happens to contain a layout! At least if there's nuclear war and you're stuck in it, you'll have something to keep you entertained! As for the Planning Guidelines/Regs, Glenderg is right, they'd bore anyone to tears:((

Laying the LUAS to Irish gauge to cater for heavy rail, while it could have its benefits, would have lead to much higher costs. Not only do you have to consider the increased size of track foundations and improved load bearing of bridges and support structures, but the trams themselves would have had to be specially built to suit rather than buying an 'off-the-shelf' model as was the case. As for HS2, I saw a good joke about this on Mock the Week where they said wouldn't it just be cheaper to move Birmingham closer to London

Very nice job George, excellent work as usual!

Great to see such healthy looking statistics and, as the others have said, a big well done to all involved in keeping the site running and constantly improving!

The airshow in Salthill used to be an annual event but was stopped, presumably due to 'red tape' issues, and was always a good show! The only annual event at the minute is the Bray airshow which is normally very good, albeit not quite as good as the Salthill event!

They're great pics Glenderg, it really is a beast of a plane! Was at the show myself, was very well organised and got a good viewing spot too! Only had the phone with me so photo quality isn't great. Here's a few snaps; Got a few short video's too, apologies for the sound it was very windy! Aircorp Casa's and PC-9's: A380: B17:

Not many layouts put the real thing to shame in terms of stock variation and quantity but I think this comes very close Excellent stuff!

Very impressive work! The station looks great too

Looks great Kirley The curve on the station actually makes it look even better for some reason

Sounds like a great event and the Stillorgan Park Hotel is very handy to get to, best of luck with it! Just in case you didn't know the Flightfest for the Gathering is on in the city centre on the same day so bus routes (145, 46A etc?) and other modes of transport may be restricted, but I haven't heard anything yet.

Apologies for being slightly off topic but its a coincidence that the Ford Anglia 100E was brought up here. I saw one of these the other day when I was travelling down a country lane in Monaghan but I couldn't figure out what it was and the 'Anglia' badge on the front threw me in particular! I was trying to describe it to my Dad and he said it sounded like a Popular so he was nearly right, just a 2 door version Thanks for solving the mystery for me

It was apparently an NTSB intern playing a prank so the email to the news station would have been an official NTSB one, but still you'd think someone would have copped it! Have they never watched the Simpsons:confused: If its true I'd say his superiors aren't too pleased with him!