DJ Dangerous

Cold and cloudy today so I have the luxury of doing some drilling and cutting on the balcony for a change.

A family with big hearts, John. I’ve always found that one, two, three or four involve a very similar level of care, but as the numbers climb, and some develop special needs, it can become quite daunting. If the numbers at home get over 20 odd, it becomes unmanageable, for me at least. Speaking of unappreciative ingrates, one here has allergies and needs to be helped with cleaning her fur. She always seems happier AFTER a clean, but during is a different story…

Absolutely nothing wrong with them. I think that John has a few RTR brake vans in stock right now. https://jmdesignmodelrailways.com/products/copy-of-cie-20t-brake-van-light-grey-23580

Just watched the video on YouTube! Outstanding!!! The slow speed and the flange squeal are incredible. It's almost as if whoever was driving actually knows something about the real life counterparts.

And another here: https://www.ebay.ie/itm/126268243056 Don't mind the description, that seller always writes fanciful stuff on how rare his Irish stuff is, and how it's almost always brand new ex-shop-stock... Just check the photos, see if you're happy, and ask him to post from NI rather than the UK.

Thanks, @StevieB. Kidney failure is just awful. It's almost always too late to do anything by the time it's detected. I have lost so many to it over the years. Around five odd years back - maybe slightly more, maybe slightly less - I started introducing kidney food into their diet. It was a slow process, increasing the percentage over time, but their dry food is now around 80% to 90% kidney food. Half that 90% is Royal Canin and half is Purina. The remaining 10% to 20% is a cocktail of Purina Gastrointestinal, Purina Hipoalergenico, Afiniti Advance and Optima Nova. Since the change in diet, kidney failure has become one factor of several for those passing away, instead of one of the main factors. The amount passing solely due to kidney failure is almost zero. Four passed away this past year, one of undetermined age, multiple organ failure, died within weeks of me finding him, one of kidney failure, aged approx 14, two of multiple organ failure, aged a little over 15. The vets reckon the last three would have been dead years ago if not for the change in diet. Sorry, waffling a bit there! Cheers! Well, I don't intend passing away myself before I get to 120 odd, so you're probably in for a bit of a wait. I've already nominated @murphaph as the unlucky one who has to fly down here and help the family sell it all, after my rotting corpse has been removed, in case all of the sausages and rashers reduce my optimistic expiration estimate. The display cabinets will FORM the bulk of the layout when done, running along most of both walls, if all goes to plan. Two new cabinets every three months sounds like an attainable goal. Then it's just six removeable sections to cover the areas that I can't / won't be putting cabinets. Cheers, @Rob. Only do it all because I live too far from East Wall! Hint hint.

Well, I got distracted last night thanks to the excellent second season of Reacher, so my progress was limited to measuring, marking and scoring. Everything is stacked and ready for assembly, but with today being Reyes / Three Kings, I’m not sure that whipping out Drilly McMelterson would be appropriate. In theory, only three of the four lateral panels need to be cut, but cutting them all gives more modular flexibility further down the line. Get it? Down the line?

All mixed race, either dumped or unwanted. I only take home the ones who are old, sick, terminally ill, unloveable or unlikely to survive on the streets for whatever reason. Oldest one at the moment is estimated around sixteen. Quite old and weak, needs to be syringe-fed several times per day. All microchipped, too!

So, back to see if I can get one of the two 40’s at least cut and prepared for assembly. Revising things a little. Was initially thinking of running cabinets along one wall only, and having them finished for summer. Now thinking of doing both walls and being finished a year later. One wall is 6m, with a 95cm entryway, the other is 6,95m. The last unit each end will be 40cm rather than 80cm, as I want 1,2m curves in all four corners.

Speaking of… https://touch.adverts.ie/models/model-railway-murphy-models-coaches/32626686

I often flick through the "Pre-owned" section on the Hatton's website, and see an 0-6-0T that I have to double check whether it's Irish or not.

Same! Was thinking about an O Gauge one when they were on offer, but on lookind at the photos, there were just too many differences to turn a blind eye to. Maybe IRM's first O Gauge loco.....

So, is it true? I looked at the video on Tik Tok but it shows 073 in orange and black livery, not grey. I'd have expected one of the forum's 071 class titans like @ttc0169, @MOGUL or @Rob to have let us know! Screenshots from video:

P.S.: I'm sure that there is "somebody" viewing this thread at this very moment, just dying to troll us about IRM re-runs, but can't do so due to his scold's bridle and recently broken fingers, thanks to a hurley kept under the counter at the IRM stand.

Nearly sure that aul' Billy from Adverts.ie had the same wagon listed on eBay at the same price a few days ago. Billy buys anything Irish on Adverts.ie, then lists it for twice the price on eBay. His stuff rarely sells, so he's probably hemorrhaging a lot of cash.

Somebody, possibly @jhb171achill, told me about a conversion like this before. Hopefully, whoever it was sees this and chimes in.

I never got that email, so thanks for letting the good folk here on the forum know. Mine are still "in transit", boooooooooooooo! You mean two-tone green, Silly! How common were Dublin Atlanteans in Cork anyway?

As with the IRM wagons, try sending a PM to @WRENNEIRE and emailing Chris Dyer. Also worth periodically checking Adverts.ie, and adding them to your Hatton's wishlist. They vary in price at Hatton's, sometimes surprisingly cheap and sometimes overly expensive. Paddy Murphy did say the he may consider another run of Cravens, here, so it may be worth hanging on a year or two to see what happens. With any luck, that will tie in with another pack of RPSI Cravens - or two packs, a blue pack and a blue and cream pack!

Try sending @WRENNEIRE a message, he often knows things and sees things and hears things... Also, try sending Chris Dyer an email, another gent who comes across treasure troves from time to time. Worth checking Adverts.ie periodically, they do appear every now and then for less than they would on eBay. Just to clarify, much as he's a nasty piece of work, that DJD character, the Lyons tea was for sharing!

What's the closest thing to a Sambre et Meuse Y33 bogie in O Gauge? The Dapol Turbot wagons are lovely but the bogies look funky compared to the Y33's on the IRM Flats.

A few different Hapag Lloyd boxes. Disappointing Dapol 20' with print layers not lining up. Two of @Arran's lovely C-Rail 40' boxes, an 8'6" and a 9'6" High Cube. 1:48 scale unbranded 40' x 9'6" High Cube from eBay. I have quite a few of these in different liveries, and aside from the first order being damaged in transit due to poor packaging, they're excellent O Gauge boxes. Have a few more pics to take later, will add when I can.

Dapol Dong Fang 20' box. Print quality is not as bad as usual, love the opening doors, not a fan of the moulded body-coloured locking bars. Thanks to @MOGUL for letting me know about these! Any info or phoros that anybody would like to share, eras, routes, contents etc, please feel free to do so!

The tunnel faces are incredible, @derek! The moss really adds to the overall impact.

Just lovely. The loco, the livery, the layout, the atmosphere!