2996 Victor

Hi jhb, many thanks for your kind words of welcome! Thanks for your confirmation of liveries, that's a good start from my point of view - as soon as I can pin down some appropriate drawings I can make a start on a wagon or two - locos and coaches will probably have to wait a bit longer! The dark grey of the goods stock is interesting, would you say that the colour equates with the Great Western's goods stock grey, which is often said to be among the darkest of greys used, or would it have been darker still? What about lettering sizes and fonts? Thanks again and very best regards, Mark

Hi Eoin, many thanks for your post - the book list is very helpful, thank you. I've had a few of Iain Rice's books in the past, all of which were very erudite, but never got as far as locomotive building. Perhaps the time has come.....! I wasn't aware that Worsley Works did etches for the MGWR - again, I'll have to have a look at their website! I've seen references to Marcway supplying bespoke 5'3" track, and they're not a million miles from me. I've also seen C&L's stand at a couple of shows. Thanks again and very best regards, Mark

Hi Galteemore, many thanks for your post - the link is extremely useful. The brake van is great, and its good to know the IRRS drawings are a good source of information, and although the Compendium seems quite expensive I think I'll be investing in it before long. I've had a look for the Alphagraphix kits, but haven't been able to find them! I'll try looking again..... Thanks again and very best regards, Mark

Hi MM, many thanks for your thoughts, they're much appreciated! It's great to know that there is an MGWR community, as that hopefully helps with the circulation of good information. I'd love to come over to Dublin, and hope to in the near future! In the meantime, I'll probably need to rely on the t'internet, even without the current Covid-19 situation. I've not really decided on whether to model a real location or create a fictional station; it'll probably be the latter due to space and time constraints, but I'm always open to suggestions for small wayside or terminal stations. Interesting that Oakworth looks like an MGWR station, though! Again, due to space, I'll be sticking with 4mm, although I do appreciate that it's possible to create a convincing 7mm layout in a relatively small space. I realise I model a slightly difficult era, but no pain, no gain as they say! Thanks again for your kind words. All the best, Mark

Hi David, many thanks for the photos - what an inspiration! Your attention to detail is incredible. I absolutely agree that the infrastructure should define the owning company without the need for locos and rolling stock to be present. But I have to say that its the latter that make it for me, particularly Sir Henry! I shall be following with great interest! Thanks again and best regards, Mark

Dear All, Being new to the Forum, I'm going need to ask some obviously "newbie" questions for which I sincerely apologise. Also, if this should be in another part of the forum, Mods please feel free to move it! By way of explanation, although I've had a more than passing interest in Ireland's railways for longer than I care to remember, I've only just begun to think about a layout. At the same time, I'm also busily building rolling stock for a Cambrian Railways layout and a projected GWR layout depicting Stogumber Station on the West Somerset Railway, so I'm busy! My chosen period is 1900-1905, with a year or two's leeway either side, and this is the case here. Don't ask me why, I just like to keep my models contemporary with each other. I also model in 4mm/1ft scale, my English and Welsh projects being to EM Gauge Society Standards. My planned layout, therefore, will be Midland Great Western Railway, 1900-1905, 4mm/1ft scale running on 21mm gauge track built to EMGS standards. I have several books on order: Ernest Shepherd's "Illustrated History", Jonathan Beaumont's "Rails to Achill", and Stephen Johnson & Alan O'Rourke's "Modelling Irish Railways" for starters. My questions at the moment are: References: Are there any other useful books that I should have in my bookcase? Drawings: I'm happy scatchbuilding, and particularly enjoy building wagons. I understand that there are some drawings in the Shepherd book - are they accurate? I also see the IRRS offers a compendium of MGWR wagon drawings - at £45, is this likely to be a useful if expensive investment? What about structure drawings - station buildings, signal boxes, goods sheds? Liveries: I've found some references to MGWR liveries here on the Forum already which are very useful - thank you to all those who've posted. However, I thought I'd read somewhere that goods stock lettering was a pale cream, but can't now seem to find that - am I delusional? Also, building paint schemes - cherry red and pale cream/stone? Presumably, window frames white? Available models: So far, I've found a few possibles. As I mentioned above, I enjoy scratchbuilding, and also kit-building, however, I'm not terribly confident with etched brass..... (ham-fisted springs to mind!). What are the options for locomotives, carriages and wagons. For instance, the SSM MGWR covered goods wagons - are they suitable for my time period? And the JM Design horsebox and fish/meat wagons - how "easy" are they to assemble (bearing in mind they're etched brass!)? Are there any other suppliers that have suitable locos, carriages and wagons? Track: As mentioned above, I intend to go with 21mm gauge, so who should I be contacting for track gauges, axles, back-to-back gauges etc? Apologies once again for the "newbie" questions and many, many thanks in advance for any information! Stay safe and stay well! All the best, Mark

Hi, I see @Mayner has already replied, but I was going to add that brake vans with side doors were not that uncommon in England, and were usually known as Road Vans. Their purpose was carriage of consignments too small to warrant a whole wagon. The LSWR built some to what became SR Diagram 1541, one is preserved on the Bluebell Railway. The NER also used quite a few, I believe. The GWR, however, had only two converted from existing vans, which were restricted use, one of which was allocated to Cirencester. Chris Leigh modelled a variety of Road Vans in Model Rail December 2018. All the best, Mark

Hi David, I've just finished reading through your thread, and rather than comment on individual posts (most of them!) can I just echo all the other comments and say that you have created a beautiful model railway that is quite frankly a work of art. I've only recently joined this forum, despite having had an interest in Irish Broad Gauge for many years - Arigna and now Belmullet are an inspiration to get something built sooner rather than later! Please keep the photos coming. Stay safe and stay well! Mark