Warbonnet

One last one, the two GE Dash 8's sound impressive chugging at the front, but then the 4 SD40-2s at the rear bring the house down. Again, plug it into a decent stereo or head phones... [video=youtube;VPA-SrEFWvw] No DCC sound set-up will ever get near this!

Great price George. Think I'll wait for the Blue/Grey version to run alongside my Bachmann 4-CEP

I've never seen a Spectrum one up close. The Kato one is nice if a little dated. Beautiful weight and running though. I have a couple of Proto 2000 ones too which are fab but the new ones are too pricey. Athearn do them too but I have yet to see the latest version but they're meant to be very nice.

And NS SD40-2s running long hood forward

If you've got a decent set of speakers/headphones stick this through it. The later SD45-2's but you get the idea...

Happy birthday Seamus!

Cheers guys. Pat; At the rate I work at expect a bit of a wait! I have a rake of unfinished projects around the place. I really need to sort that out. The Alco is almost there though Rich; As you said, since they usually run in lash-ups there doesnt seem to be a point in having cabs at both ends. Railroads like Southern and Norfolk & Western also specified their diesels to run 'long hood forward' namely to run with the cab at the back as it was like driving a steam locomotive. Norfolk Southern inherited their locos in their merger and still run this way from time to to with their older locos although it's getting rarer. I was the same as you about American locos, but when I looked closer at the EMD units I saw just how similar they are to our locos. Cabs aside it's uncanny. And then when you look at stuff like these SD45s running in consist attacking a climb it's seriously impressive. After all, 071s have 12 cylinder versions of the 645 engine, the SD45s have 20 cylinder versions of the same engine. Amazing locos.

I heard the same in Marks on Hawkins Street yesterday. Is it a Marks Models conspiracy? I hope it is, it's a spectacular layout.

Sorry to hear you're having to give things up Fitzy, hope things pick up for you soon.

Well it wasn't long until I turned my attention back to Yankee projects. I recently bought a body for a Kato SD45 as I had a spare frame and bogies. I will be detailing this as a Penn Central unit, so a bit later in its life to this current Pennsy guise. I have a Kato motor with the proper mounts somewhere in stock but for the life of me I can't find it right now! Once I do the chassis will be a runner. In the meantime I'll be drawing up a list of parts for detailing and getting them from the States. Always loved SD45s, those flared radiators just look so good.

Scrappers ready for the chop in Inchicore I believe.

Thanks John, I'll be interested in one.

Interesting. A pic of the Mark III in question would be cool, hopefully one will end up online.

According to this month's Rail Express magazine one of the Mark III Executive Coaches has been used for test painting a number of schemes including two tone green on one side and one shade of green on the other with the bogies picked out in grey and the doors in white or silver. Sounds a mess but I wonder what the schemes will be used for? Cork stock? Enterprise?

Great pics!

You'll be doing a kit of her next...

It'd be cheap too, you'd only need to buy about 3 people....

In today's Irish Daily Star if anyone missed it in the Times.

Excellent, I fancy a late one so, I take it these will be built for both OO gauge and 21mm gauge?

2014 maybe John? She looks sweet, when would the late condition version have been withdrawn?

Cheers Seamus, that sounds pretty straight forward to convert them. I'll bare that in mind when I do some Irish ones for my 141s. Thanks Rich, just wanted to show that there is no voodoo magic in doing these, it's just about having a go and if you muck up then nothing much lost, just try again and learn from your mistakes. Stuck a couple of the queens pounds I had left over, one over each axle. Don't intend on travelling across the water for a while so they wont be missed!

Hi everyone, When it comes to kits I am some what of a novice. Indeed, I'm miles behind some of the masters on this site. However, I've decided to get stuck in and get my hands dirty and give it a go. I also want to show other beginners that kits are nothing to fear, and the fun is in building the kit itself. I'm definitely one who believes 'If I can do it, then anyone can!' Now, my interests are BR and American. However, I've decided to do a step-by-step guide on the Parkside Dundas kit of the BR Palvan. This kit will be of good interest to Irish modellers as it's very similar to the Irish Pallet Van shown here I'll be keeping mine BR though! Now, this isn't a top professional job, and my sloppiness will receed with practice, but all I can say is that the kit itself goes together beautifully. What you begin with First, remove the sides from the sprue and cut the protective 'L' section off. Then glue the vents to the end (I used plain old Humbrol poly cement for all these jobs. I think I'd use Revel's in future though) Stick Sides to chassis ends. Ensure you test fit EVERYTHING before you make merry with the glue, and file any tabs left by the sprue with fine sandpaper or very lightly with a file so you get a nice square fit. When they're stuck in and dry and look even then attach the sides. Test fit the roof to see if all is well and square between the four sides. I got some superglue and stuck in a couple of coins inside to give the wagon a bit of weight. Stick them over each axle. A couple on each will do. After that I stuck the roof down once I was happy. Next up, we turn our attention to the chassis Cut the solebars off the sprue, and clean them up before adding the brass bearing cups into the back of the axle boxes. This will ensure smooth rolling of the wagon Once that's done, attach the tiny axle box covers to the front of the axle box mounting Once all is dry you can attach the solebars to the chassis, making sure you've lined them up properly. Glue them to the guides. While the glue is still soft clip in the wheels to make sure they go in correctly, are free rolling and are square fitting. Once dry you should have a nice free rolling wagon! Next up comes the brake gear. This fits in line with the wheels and can be a little fiddly but overall not a problem. Just make sure you attach square and that they dont rub off the wheels when in place Brake cylinder comes next, as per instructions... Just glue it to the underframe and make sure it doesnt foul any wheel movement. Finally, attach buffers, cosmetic coupling hook and hinges. And there you go, one built wagon! Couplings come separate, but parkside provide a mounting and instructions to add normal hornby/bachmann couplings. I just need to pick them up myself. Then it's on to painting. There you go, it might be a bit rough and ready but it rolls beautifully and with a bit of paint and weathering it'll look the part I reckon. You don't need to have major skill, just patience and a willingness to give it a go. The kit cost around a tenner off parkside's site so you're not losing a fortune by having a go. I bought a few other wagon kits to try out, and I have to say I'm hooked! With more Irish wagon kits on the way from the likes of D&M models and SSM now is the time to give it a go. This is a cheap but good place to start and can be made look Irish and look great behind a black and tan 141. If you want to go for a true rendition of the Irish van then I'm sure some of our more learned members can tell you the detail differences and where to modify the parkside kit. Any questions, just shout. I hope it was of help.

Waste of a good ACe that.

Loving the coaching stock. Are they Bachmann, Dapol or Hornby coaches?

Duly moved