dave182

Would 'crowd funding' be an option in consultation with Paddy Murphy? I'm guessing €250k would be the number needed to move this to production. Would very quickly indicate if there is a genuine demand or not!

Bloody hell Paul, that's amazing!

Happy Days! Very impressive, you can really see the 2% gradient coming out of the tunnel arch. Just out of curiosity, how big is the layout roughly? As Kirley points out, 6' by 3' for a helix alone! Wish I had the space!

Did a few of these make it into the two-tone green of Dublin Bus?

[video=youtube;P7I_z6k-MOY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7I_z6k-MOY A nice alternative to Miniature Wonderland! Well done Vladamir! Nice to see Russia in 1:87, a very interesting railway to be modelling!

David, pm sent re above

[video=youtube_share;5HmkCBIsOW0] In the video above 2:50 onwards (credit: Irish Rail Trains youtube channel) you see the Tara mines heading off empty while the 201 approaches on the left inside track with a container train. Just wondering in this instance (my health and safety hat is on now!) where are the drivers getting instructions from? In the case of the 201 there is no signal protecting the points ahead. He rolls the train right up close to the points- but I don't see any protection (signal, trap points etc.) What prevents a scenario where the 201 coming in to the yard and for some reason doesn't stop, crashing into the taras? Are the yards managed locally by on-the-ground personnel? What safety protocols are in place? I'm assuming the guys form a train and release it back to CTC when it's ready to go and vice versa? Any info appreciated, may be of help for operating sessions and prototypical shunting

I want to know more!!!

So the question once more is- do railways actually make money? Any one know of a clear-cut profit making passenger or freight line that makes money? I assume for example that if you took some thing like the Timber or the IWT freight and added in the actually running costs (labour, fuel, a percentage of line maintenance etc.) then I'm sure they must be loss making too?

Thanks Josefstadt! I'm always learning on this site!

Good stuff Glenderg. I would imagine it might be the other way round though- import Biomass to Ballina to feed the plant until local production and farmers pick up the slack. Would be great if it was being produced for onward shipping though. Edit: yup as I suspected: http://m.mayorenewablepower.ie/#content This would indicate that the Biomass flow will be short-term or seasonal, so can't see IE investing too much.

Ak425- just a quick question re your post there- Beet on Bray Head?? Just asking as I intend to build a layout based on that route and I suspected the occasional beet train might have been diverted? Any further info? (Sorry to bring this off topic, maybe start a new thread?)

I know of a guy in the Wexford area who installed a biomass facility to provide heat intensive business, and he said it was the worst thing he has done because he can't source product here- Irish farmers simply not growing enough and don't seem to have an appetite for it either. Price is now higher than oil or gas. He's pooling resources with othe users and gonna start importing by the ship load. My idea was that farmers in the west my have embraced it and be railing product to the south. I also think that the big ESB plant in Edenderry has been upgraded to Biomass. I assume that the plan would be to plant old bogs with willow and draw it back like the turf.

Jesus Phil, you're putting us all to shame! I can't believe how much you have achieved in 6 months, and a subject matter that is on the other side of the world! You're weathering and attention to detail is unbelievable. Seeing the rolling stock against some scenery is just fantastic! Keep up the good work!

I get more and more frustrated with this country every day! I am reading this thread with my mouth wide open- In my naivety I thought for a split moment that we might be EXPORTING biomass, or at least moving it to industry at the south end of the country. Never mind that we have a super climate and lots of unused land across the west and north of the country, sure why would we be bothering with that biomass stuff? (And don't get me started about natural gas!) Back on topic, it would make sense for IE to use containers in the short term for biomass. A 45' high cube container for example holds 86 cubic metres, about 2/3rds of those purpose built Drax wagons. I'm also thinking that because the product is pellets, the might use something like a 30' IBC/IFF style of container. These have hatches in the roof for loading, and are emptied using a tipping road trailer. Not sure what kind of weight is involved with biomass- I've seen 45' versions of these containers for carrying light pellet product like plastic pellets. It would certainly add some variation for modellers. Is there enough freight to Ballina yet to warrant the re-opening of the western rail corridor?!? With Sugar Beet coming as well it could potentially be a very busy line once more.... (as he drifts off into an orange black and white filled dream world...)

And just an afterthought, if rail were being considered then surely that would involve the Limerick Junction to Rosslare line being revived? Is there an appetite at Government level and IE to be investing in rail freight? Another potential 'gift' of a freight flow that they probably don't really want.

I learned over the past week of the fairly ambitious plans by Beet Ireland PLC to bring back sugar production to the island. This is steaming ahead with farmers having secured quotas for 2017 and beyond, only 3 years away. I'm speculating, but I believe a preferred production site has been secured in the South Kildare area, which is very well served by road and rail. As well as sugar the plant will be producing liquid ethanol. If this rough location were to become a reality, do you think there is a business case for a rail link, given the much improved road network across the south? This location would put much of the traditional beet growing areas within 2 hours drive. Surely difficult for rail to compete with?

Biomass traffic????

What's with the flooding in Glasnevin?? I'm thinking of the recent flooding in Ennis that closed the line, didn't seem to be a problem back in 1993!

Has anyone ever made Dapol aware of the fact that the prestwins are the backbone of Irish modelling?? As in, could they do a run of RTR chassis for us? Just a thought

Sweet!!!

Cheers Anto!

Just looking into various weathering techniques and you've given a superb tutorial here David. To follow up on Pop eyes question, can the weathering be 'sealed in' to allow for some handling? Anyone can advise?

Super stuff as always, you've been busy on Ballykay! Thats a great shot of the old C Class in NIR colours all lined up- just waiting for the cutters torch!

Wow! Love it already! It's amazing how the addition of one or two scenic items suddenly brings a layout to life and sets the 'tone'! Happy days, plenty of fun ahead