murphaph

Yeah the orange/black on white were not really visually impaired friendly either. Barely any contrast between orange and white. I hadn't noticed the platform number signs in the background in the image posted by Rob. They are exactly right, why they needed to use a different design between the two signs is a bit of a mystery to me. The sign in the foreground would be far easier to read if it just had the three platform number "shields" like the sign in the background!

The new signs are ok and hopefully will last a bit longer this time. I have no problem with the idea of a common typeface and sign design for all PT nationwide. That's a good thing, but pick a design and stick to it. I find the use of the "Platform" agus aris as gaeilge to be completely superfluous on a railway station. There's no need to clutter the sign with words that are not needed. There's even a pictogram of a train if it isn't clear enough with the numbers alone. Signs should convey information as quickly as possible and wherever possible words should be replaced by pictograms and numbers. There are people who have difficulty reading be it due to being sight-impaired or dyslexic or whatever. There's no need to over-complicate their lives and we can all understand pictograms. Anyway I don't mean to be overly negative. The common "identity" is most welcome.

I believe the mk2d stock was vacuum braked as it was ordered new from brel and it could be specified like that to maintain compatibility with the loco fleet of the time. The mk2ac stock was bought second hand and was air braked.

I wonder will we see more UK retailers offering a trunk service to cut down on customs handling fees and shipping costs after Brexit.

The 4-4-0 was shown to me by a member here. Beautiful indeed.

I'm not suggesting Leslie do this for EU sales of course but it's done a lot. Kits and stuff like that are easily declared "commercial sample" which means they cost the recipient nothing and are therefore vat and duty free. The lighter parcels barely get looked at by customs anyway. I got this little envelope the other day from Switzerland and this is very common. If it had actually been checked by a customs officer there would be a green sticker on it. Small envelopes are rarely even looked at. The postal systems of the world would grind to a halt if stuff this size was properly inspected by customs:

Hattons have placed my 3 IR 121s in my trunk so they are in stock (though sold out on pre-order). Fingers crossed they ship them asap and that they get here before Brexit because I've paid UK VAT on them now.

If you've got family in Northern Ireland you're all set I'd say. NI is not leaving the UK customs or VAT territory. Parcels can continue to be sent domestically to NI from GB. There are continental model railway shops that ship to Ireland too. Even UK outline stuff is available from https://www.modellbahnunion.com/ They have in fact expanded their UK range ahead of Brexit.

What is the threshold for triggering an obligation to charge Irish VAT? Is the threshold for all sales into the EU or per sales to individual member states? I'd be happy enough if UK retailers had to charge me German VAT and attach such a VAT paid invoice as that would hopefully mean no DHL handling charge on my end. Essentially no change there to the end customer.

Fascinating stuff. Thanks John. Phil

I note that most but not all of these vehicles had through piping for air brakes. Was this just a legacy of their BR days or something or why did they need that, seeing as the Cravens were vacuum braked?

I reckon any viable steam loco in RTR would have to be something that survived to preservation so us 'modern' modellers can buy it too. I'm conscious as a newly returned member of the fraternity of the need to support the kit suppliers if we want the more exotic items that will never be viable RTR. First orders placed with SSM, Railtec and DC Kits this week I'm also looking at other items from other smaller suppliers but I'm also being careful not to buy more materials than I can assemble in my lifetime!

Model railway items are zero rated under the WTO. It's only vat and the handling charge so really it's just the handling charge as vat rates are close enough as to make no difference. If you can combine orders you will push the per item handling charge down of course. But if sterling loses further value then at least in the short term your UK purchases get even cheaper. Eventually the UK manufacturers will have to put up prices as they aren't paying the Chinese factories in sterling. Used items would not necessarily increase in price however but the typical sellers on eBay can't deduct the vat.

In some of the transfer kits for these vans I see a max 30mph decal. Was this only applies after they were transferred to brake van duties at the end of their lives?

The thing outside the window is the Ghost of Brexit Future.

Anyone know when the last ballast wagon lost its CIE roundels?

They all sold out on preorder with Hattons so it's impossible to tell but I've heard nothing from them regarding my preorder.

Yep I ordered some small bits and pieces from Des the other day and got a prompt response from him

When did the dolomite traffic cease? Were the wagons identical?

I hope Hattons do a better job packing my 121s than they did last week. Multiple broken display cases on Oxford diecast items. Virtually no protection inside the parcel. One thin layer of standard bubble wrap inside the parcel and that was it.

Fantastic stuff. I see an awful lot of similarities between Heljan and IRM. Small home market diversified into larger neighbouring market but the home market still being well catered for. There must be a market to tap into in North America too. Loads of Irish Americans. Loads of model railroaders. Common EMD heritage.

Any idea where 104 would have been heading in that pic?

Does anyone @WRENNEIRE cough cough know when Hattons of Liverpool will be getting their allocations of IR units? I pre-ordered with them months and months ago and feel bad cancelling even though Brexit is drawing nearer and nearer and I don't much fancy my models spending weeks in a customs warehouse in January. If they don't have them soon I expect my shipment will not make it back out of the UK and over to me in Germany before the end of the year, what with Christmas and Covid slowing the post right down.

I've posted links to both offers on the (admittedly small!) German 00 forum I'm a member of. I hope that's not a problem.

Some folks clearly saw the red eBay mist towards the end pushing the price way up. That's why I can only recommend people who place bids on eBay to do so using a bide sniper/proxy setting the max price you feel genuinely comfortable paying and then forgetting about the auction unless eBay tells you you've won. Stuff that sells for £276 today might go for under £200 the next time. If your bid is reasonable then eventually with a bit of patience you will get what you're after for a price you feel comfortable with. You will lose more than you win but if the opposite happens your bids are probably too high Aim to lose most and win the odd one at a reasonable price.