Railer

Have to get that on a sound chip of an 071 starting up. Never saw anything like that before.

Yeah read that a few times, but now there is only one DVT left and it's in Northwall. Most of the surviving 63xx coaches are in Dundalk from what I can tell and they will never move again the state they are in. Slim and none are the chance of saving a set now and if is was saved there is nowhere to store and look after it. Granted the RPSI now have a Mk2D so they are learning how to look after aircon stock but still.

But we can't even manage to preserve the most comfortable rolling stock we ever had, the Mk3s. It would have been nice to save a push pull set for 124 to haul on future rail tours. Too late now though.

How times have changed. Now the UK operators are crying out for more rolling stock with stored Mk2s and 3s being refurbed and pressed back into service. Some of NIRs old Mk2s are back in use in the UK today.

You'd be one of the few to miss their sound. I hate the sound of them screaming away on HEP in Connolly. The best sounding 201s though were 220 and 233 with the silencer mods and for a short while 206 was doing a great impression of an 071 while in HEP on the Enterprise. Caught me out a few times, I when I was expecting a tara to show up.

Ah, thanks for that. All the Xmas drinks are ruining my memory already. I'll have the attention of a gold fish this time next year.

Great snaps, never seen ones for those locations before. Nice to see how the new livery is holding up, 9 months down and it's holding up well.

The scary thing is 201 and 202 were the first 2 201s put in storage and they went in mid December '08. 205 had to come back out for a few months to help out on liners as there was a shortage of working 071s in mid '09. 204,212 and 214 were the last working orange 201s. 204 being withdrawn only a few weeks before the last which was 214 that failed to start in Ballina yard in August of '09. It was hauled to Inchicore by 078 (of all locos ) with a few empty timber wagons to act as brake force.

They have surplus pp 201s to requirements as it is. Even now they are not bothered to fix up and return 216, 225 and 230 to service. If they won't touch the pp locos, the standards have no chance. I would love to see a 201 in the new slate grey livery though.

Some were withdrawn as they failed. Either 210 or 212 blew a piston rod threw the body work. 214 failed to start somewhere and was hauled back to Inchicore and withdrawn. As far as I know 214 was the last orange 201 in service. Although in the IC livery 215 was withdrawn for a few months but managed to escape Inchicore only to be replaced by 216 which was then stripped of alot of parts.

But what I don't get is that they are selling the UK versions single packs at the exact same price point. They are selling them for €50 each and we are paying €110 for the IE twin pack. If the shops here split the twin pack into singles and sold them for €55 each then happy days. I don't see why that can't happen. I can see alot of genny units being left over but better than aload of twin packs sitting in shops that modelers half want but not willing to pay for what they are not going to use.

Speaking of shops commissioning manufactures to produce models, whatever happened to the Autoballasters? If they would sell the standard unit on it's own I'd buy about 4 of them. The BR Railtrack versions sell for about €50 on their own. I know the autoballaster twin pack may not have sold well but modelers don't want to be left with a load of left over genny units. I'm going to get a second twin pack myself shortly and would lover some more standards to run behind a grey 071.

There are 10 orange 201s in long term storage in Inchicore. Basically they are being stripped of parts for the rest of the fleet and are being left to rot. That's 201-205 and 210-214. 216,225 and 230 are withdrwan too.

Those Lima sets are going for big spondulas lately. There is a set of Mk3 Execs, Galway Mk2s and 207 all up on Saturday afternoon and by the looks of things will make some big bucks.

Wow really, yeah that should do it alright. I have heard stories of rails being greased up to stall freight trains so they can be lightened of their loads.

What was with some of the 42' flats that had a end piece at one end only. What was the purpose of them or where they left over from a conversion from another type.

No they can't, the 8500s/10s and 20s have to be a 4 car minimum. On the 85xx series the driver cab units numbered in the 86xx range are unpowerd, the intermediate cars numbered in the 85xx range are the power cars. A 3 car 8500 may be possible with a bit of modifying but too messy to set up if it is possible. In the LHB DARTs the 8100 cars are the power cars and the 8300 cars are the trailers.

Didn't those liners run up to Dundalk yard and Belfast. I remember seeing the liner on Friday afternoons between Howth Junction and Killester heading for Northwall. Sometimes towards the end they would have a few bubble cements attached, I assume picked up in Drogheda.

It was either a shunt or the 141 failed. 071s are not permitted to double head with anything under IE rules.

There are still 201s yet to be released. 209 in NIR blue and 230 in half face Enterprise. There is no full face Enterprise announced, 207 or 233. No 121s till 2015 I reckon.

Going to get a MM grey one then get someone to file off the grab irons and touch up the marks left behind and add the infamous orange wiper. I'm trying to over look them but I just can't, shame they were left on the production models.

Wanted to get a few 071s but bought myself a PS4 instead. Will pick up a grey 071, 080 and 111 in the new year though once I start offloading a load of airsoft gear I don't use anymore. The man with the beard couldn't track down any SF Mk1 GSVs or Mk3 EGVs sadly.

Now that is just fantastic, you can feel the christmas coming off it.

Nice touch adding the numbers to 078 in 085 style. Wonder will the real 078 get them when ever it escapes back into the wild.

I think the Freightliner livery looks better on them than the Colas one myself. I'd like to see one in the new DRS livery, it might somehow help improve it's looks a bit.