2996 Victor

Noel, The cattle wagon is looking really splendid! With regard to cattle, good ones are available from Dart Castings, Langley Miniature Models, and John Day Models. IMHO, the John Day ones are the best available, but all are good (no connection with any of the vendors other than as a satisfied customer!). They're all whitemetal castings, so add a decent amount of weight to the finished wagon. HTH! Kind regards, Mark

Thanks, again, chaps - that sounds like a plan! The code 55 rail does look nice, and I think it'll contribute nicely to the overall look of the thing (when it gets built!). That 5thou is well beyond my limits of perception - the reason I don't have an HD TV is that I don't have HD eyes! Kind regards, Mark

Thank you @Galteemore and @Angus, that's brilliant info! I'm ashamed to say I haven't properly read my copy of "Baronial Lines".....slapped wrist.....so the equation of rail weight/section to model "code" is great, thank you. I bought some Micro Engineering code 55 N/S rail a couple of years ago for an 009 inglenook project (yet another project that remains unfulfilled!) and I was very impressed with the quality and finish. ME is an American company, of course, but their rail is available in the UK from a few outlets. I got mine from NGTrains with whom I have no connection other than as a satisfied customer. Code 55 rail sounds like it would be about right for an MGWR branch line, if perhaps just a smidgeon on the light side, but I wonder if code 70 would be more practical..... Thanks again and kind regards, Mark

Dear All, In planning my MGWR 4mm scale/21mm gauge branch line project, I would like to know what weight of rail was most likely used on branch lines around 1900-1905, and what "code" or model rail would be most appropriate to replicate it. I'm presuming flat-bottomed rail would have been the norm on branch lines. Thanks for any advice! Best regards, Mark

Hi David, I got mine from Historex Agents. They cater mostly for military modellers, but of course a lot of materials and techniques are applicable to railway modelling, too. As I mentioned above, Archers do rivet transfers intended for various scales, I would say something like their sheet no. AR88032 might be suitable. Cheap, they ain't, but worthwhile IMHO. Kind regards, Mark

Hi David, For the rivets/bolt heads, have you considered Archers Rivet Transfers - neat straight strips in various spacings and different sizes for nominally different scales. I've got their 'S' scale rivets for my 4mm wagons. As @Galteemore says, Plastic Weld is pretty strong stuff. I use MEK which I got in a large bottle from fleabay, and I decant a small quantity at a time into a glass jar with a screw lid. Excellent work on the 'H'. Kind regards, Mark

My copy has arrived - excellent service from Martin Bott (no connection other than as a satisfied customer). Fascinating stuff, and Ahrons' prose is an absolute delight to read. Many, many thanks @Galteemore for the suggestion! Kind regards, Mark

Hi David, There's no doubt that the article and photos do fair justice to your superb modelling, and the fee is a nice little bonus, I'm sure! I hope you'll forgive my little observation on the track diagram, though - it was a combination of OCD and worrying that I'd completely lost the plot (again!). Kind regards, Mark

Fantastic results, David, this should certainly get you back into the rolling stock groove! Lookingforward to seeing your next build. Kind regards, Mark

I've ordered a copy from Martin Bott, one of my favoured booksellers - always worth a look for anything you need. Looking forward to its arrival! E L was Ernest Leopold, apparently! Kind regards, Mark

Thanks @Galteemore, I'll be looking for a copy as well! Kind regards, Mark

Hi David, It may be me (probably is!), but isn't the connection to the exchange sidings shown trailing instead of facing (or vice versa!)? Not that it matters, it's a fabulous layout and I do hope to be able to see it in action one day! Kind regards, Mark

Reading the RM article again - is it me, or have Messrs PECO drawn the track diagram incorrectly? Kind regards, Mark

I wonder if they could be persuaded to broaden their horizons slightly.....

Dear John, many thanks for your thoughts and your photographs - I was planning on having a look on Google Maps, but you'r suggested location adjacent to the town definitely looks feasible - as a first thought I was envisaging the fictional branch running more-or-less parallel to the R358, topography notwithstanding, from a junction with the main line at Ballinasloe. To be honest, I'm not actually planning on building any pointwork - as I want it to work, I'm going to outsource it - so a double slip is certainly a possibility and would provide a siginificant reduction in length over two conventional points toe-to-toe. Edenderry has much to commend it both as is stands and as a jumping-off point for fictional terminus. I don't have a huge area available for the layout so length is my main issue, and one of the key characteristics of the MGWR's terminii is their spaciousness. I'm going to have to be a bit clever, I think! Thanks again and best regards, Mark

Love the lathe and pillar drill, superb! Kind regards, Mark

Although I dislike making negative comments, I have to concur. This particular manufacturer has many items listed that I would be most interested in. However, a couple of years ago I ordered some narrow gauge War Department Class D bogie wagons for an Ashover Light Railway layout project. The models when they arrived were terribly striated and the surface details were very poorly defined. Unfortunately, this supplier's models seem to only be available in one single type of material, which I've been informed isn't ideal for fine detail, and so I've made a conscious decision to not order from him again. Kind regards, Mark

Crikey, its been a while since I posted anything here. That's not to say that nothing has been occurring, but unfortunately what has been occurring hasn't been particularly tangible! I'm still looking into the signal box issue, and it's looking increasingly likely that, as a fairly large proportion of MGWR cabins seem to have been to McKenzie & Holland pattern, that will be the style of cabin I'll go for for my project layout, which has the working title of Mount Bellew. As far as a model cabin is concerned, I have been looking closely at the Ratio kit of Highley Signal Box on the Severn Valley Railway because, yep, it too is a McKenzie & Holland cabin! The orientation of the planking seems to be at odds with at least some of the MGWR cabins, but hopefully not all which will give me the "could have been" get out of gaol clause..... In other news, I've been spending a few pleasant hours looking at the historic OSI 25-inch maps of the MGWR's terminii, in an attempt to get a feel of how they were laid out. The reason for this is to hopefully come up with a track layout for Mount Bellew that is "typically MGWR", and to accomplish this I've been making pencil sketches of the terminii so that they can be more easily compared. I've only Loughrea to do to complete the set (I've not sketched out Clara as its a bit of an odd one, being part junction). Far from there being a "house style", however, they all seem to be different: the only recurring theme throughout is the turntable. However, the goods shed is often sited behind the platform adjacent to the station buildings, and in the "western" terminii, i.e. Achill, Clifden and the "Baronial Lines" the presence of multiple loops is a distinctive feature. Its quite funny, really, when looking at the "western" terminii how they're actually quite train-set-like in their layouts! Now, where did I put my childhood Hornby track.....? So hopefully there should be some progress soon toward a definitive track layout for Mount Bellew, and when I actually "cut the first sod" I'll start another thread over in Irish Model Layouts, but I suspect that won't be for a while yet..... Stay safe and stay well, everyone! With kind regards, Mark

Hi, nothing wrong in my book with tried and tested methods! One question, though, have you engineered some means of positively locating the switch blades against the stock rails? Looking forward to the next video! Kind regards, Mark

Hi MM, if you go to the NIL website here, at the bottom of the Home page are links for subscriptions, which are priced according to where you are - click on the appropriate link and away you go! You can subscribe using either a card or via PayPal. There's also a Contact page. With kind regards, Mark

Hi, I've just recently subscribed to New Irish Lines and today received my first issues, November 2019 and May 2020, and I just wanted to say that the photos of Rosses Point in the November 2019 issue look fantastic. With kind regards, Mark

Sadly, there's no been progress to report, as yesterday was spent trying to make some headway in the garden, and today has been largely a lazy day. Having said that, I've spent an enjoyable couple of hours looking at OSI 25" maps of MGWR terminii, while sketching out plans for my project layout. Nothing definite yet, but some ideas are coming together. The one common aspect of the terminii plans I've looked is a very long overall length, which unfortunately I can't reproduce, so finding a way to crop the length while maintaining the feel of space is exercising my limited intellect..... Not currently having any gainful employment to go to, hopefully I'll make some progress on my wagons tomorrow! Cheers for now! Mark

Sorry to hear about your enforced change of plan, but I'm certain it'll be worthwhile! Definitely looking forward to seeing progress and your trackwork. Stay safe! Best regards, Mark

Hi John, Fantastic info as always and superb photos, particularly the works photo of "Robin". I should say that's the perfect photo for a loco in my period. Bizarre, isn't it, how often in works photos of locos the chimney rim appears to be angled due to perspective/parallax/whatever it is! Best regards, Mark