DJ Dangerous

Good old Marks Models... Never change, guys, never change!

Are those Bulleid open bodeis on the original triangulated underframes or on newer underframes?

Lovely scenes, @ttc0169, both the night time shots and Lakeview Freight Yard. @Arran's new boxes are sublime. How did you find the Shapeways stuff to work with? I'm interested in a few bits and pieces but don't know what to expect.

Think that's you and I together in the first pic, Miss Ear-Licker. Definitely wouldn't get away with that nowadays, the always-offended crowd would be all over Twitter in a flash.

The lower level weathering in particular is photo realistic, can almost hear her rumbling along when looking at that.

These look lovely! Am I right in saying that the Permanent Way variants ran in the eighties? So they'd be right at home with a Super Train 121 or A? Are the plastic stanchions removable on the model, or fixed in place? @leslie10646, will you be running more bread boxes and beer tubs to go with these?

El Hierro (a bit feint in the photos), La Gomera and La Palma, from left to right. When all three are visible from this low (I'm probably only 200m or 250m above sea level) we're in for some bad weather!

Biggest tip I can suggest is be extra patient. IRM's wagon packs are excellent value, and every Black Friday, they hit us with something even better. Everything will be re-run eventually, whether locos, wagons or coaches. Going even more buget, there is a thread on British locos that can be disguised as Irish locos here: https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/11073-british-locos-and-stock-that-can-be-disguised-as-irish Hatton's quite frequently have open wagons, closed vans, containers, Mk1 coaches, Mk2 coaches etc very cheap. The other day, they had brand new Mk3 coaches for £15 GBP each. All of the above would be ideal candidates for re-painting. Bachmann N Class Moguls show up in SR livery and BR black livery for £50 to £80 at Hatton's from time to time. De-badge with a cocktail stick and you have a relatively Irish loco. And, as you say, @leslie10646's wagons are brilliant value for what you get! I guess there's going to be a trade-off between budget and realism, almost on a linear scale at the centre, so the budget you want to keep to will determine how realistic you can go. @Sean posted a thread on budget Irish modelling, back in 2019 or 2020, prior to his workbench thread, but I can't find it at a glance. One could also look for non-runners to repair, as in this thread: https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/12359-wanted-non-runners/

Winter blues.

I know a man who knows a man... Roll on April! These will sell on eBay for twice the price the moment people start seeing them in the flesh. Looking your way, Evan and Billy!

I think the rebuilt Jubilee's are closer.

Vaseline. Had some left over from the weekend you were here.

You don't say???

Still missing two that are on my hit list.

Everybody already knows that I'm the villain!

And, sure while we're in Fantasy Land, or Rule 1 Land, or whatever it's called...

Speaking of cats... I literally didn't turn my back for a second while setting up for the photos, and still... Nothing was harmed during the photo shoot, feline nor railway related.

Speaking from a non-engineering and non-railway-insider angle, is there any way of futuro proofing to an extent, without increasing costs too much? For example, leaving space between the platforms for four tracks instead of two? The two tracks would obviously need to run far enough apart to service both platforms and leave space in the centre for future tracks. This probably applies more to new builds. Surely, in this case, the only additional cost is more landscaping and a longer bridge? Or building one of the two platforms as an Island platform, with hoarding to hide that fact? Therefore allowing two more tracks be laid the other side of the Island platform in the future? This probably applies more to adding stations to current trackwork. Again, speaking from an outsider perspective.

I'll note that in my journal.

Team DAF!