dave182

1. Donelli Cranes Hi Guys, Time to bite the bullet! I've recently had the time to get back in to Model Railways again, and as you are all so kind and willing to share your work here on the forum, it's only fair that I share some stuff aswell. I've been working on a couple of small projects but this one jumped the queue as it's been topical here on the forum. Thanks to Wexfordloco10 for sharing his images and answering Heirflicks original question about the Donelli Cranes. I've had a go at representing wagon #770 (which is how I remember seeing them) which is a 60' frame as opposed to the 42' #774 & #776 in the pictures. Painting and detailing to follow. The second wagon carries the gantry arm that is suspended between the 2 cranes and lifts the track panels. I will run this with 5 or 6 60' flats with track panels. Should look the part!

Thanks for the comments guys! Yes, I have the above mentioned Telerail Video which gives glimpes of the unloading of the tankers and the plant itself. Des, looking froward to your Ammonias release! A small update- I've layed everything out this afternoon and this baby is going to be big!!! I'm looking at 8' by 4' (which I'm limiting myself to so it doesn't get completely out of hand!) so we have on the right the large tower (using porridge cylinders for the body of the tower), then on the left the large sheds, where the fertilizer was stored and palletised. There was a single track (I think?) came across the Avoca river to this side where Pallet Fertilizer wagons were loaded. Running through the middle then will be the river, and in front of all this I'll be able to place the sidings for unloading the tankers. (In real life this is further away from the factory, but space dictates). Finally at the front I will have the single line running to Arklow and beyond. As this forum is about buildings I'll keep on topic. Nearly all of this model will be built using plasticard, which I like working with. The plan is to get the skeletons of the building put together, after which I can spend time adding details, painting, etc. I'll have a small bit of room behind the main buildings to do a back drop of various chimneys and tanks and cylinders, which hopefully will add to the atmosphere. Blu Bianco reminded me how magically wierd the factory looked at night with its massive flood lights- I'll have to give that some more thought when I get round to building the layout proper. Finally, I'll tie the whole lot together with the bridge across the river and the pipe network that ran all around the factory.

I saw Garfields post on this yesterday and though like the rest of you that this has to be fake. However, it dawned on me to check Irish Rails website- surely as a large company if you are rolling out a new logo this is the first place you would start?! Nothing on the main page, but sure enough if you open any of the new 2013 'printed timetables' there it is! I am lost for words....

Hi Guys. With the prospect of me (finally!) getting a room to build a layout in, I've been slowly building up a collection of rolling stock and bits and pieces. I'll have a space of about 12' by 12' and have decided to resurrect an idea I've had for a layout before, based in Wicklow and with freight being at the fore, and with the Shelton Abbey Fertilizer Factory as a feature. (I attempted this in N gauge a few years ago but lost interest). Along with the factory, I am hoping to fit in a commuter station 'Annaghmore' and a small port scene, both drawing inspiration from Arklow I suppose, but maybe the port will be rail linked for additional interest. Anyways, I've always been facinated by the factory at Shelton Abbey. The wonderful picture below from 'National Geographic' really captures it. As a youngster I regularly travelled on the train to Enniscorthy, and passing through the beautiful scenery around Rathdrum, then suddenly emerging into this cloud-covered valley with a big mysterious factory was always something facinating! http://www.nationalgeographicstock.com/ngsimages/explore/explorecomp.jsf?xsys=SE&id=104041 Having researched a little more I realise that the Factory was a real case of love/hate. Lots of issues with pollution and health and safety, but a serious source of employment in the area for many years, and closed prematurely in 2002. So, I've started in ernest to build a representation of the Factory, which is going to be huge by the looks of things! The starting point is the huge concrete tower (which still stands today) and surrounding buildings. West of this was a massive set of sheds (might still be there, green in colour) where pallet fertilizer railway wagons were loaded. In front of all is the Avoca River which I intend to include, and finally there was a yard with 5 or 6 sidings and specialist unloading facilities for incoming Ammonia tanker trains from Marino Point in Cork. I had to start somewhere so tonight I finally got the finger out (along with all my notes, pictures and measurements!) and here is an evenings work! I will keep the pictures coming over the coming weeks to update on the build. I will start a new thread in the 'layouts' section when I get the actual layout started. If anyone has any pictures from the factory I'd be delighted to see them as I have very little to work with at the moment! Regards, Dave

Thanks Irishtrains2730. Items delivered today. A plessure to do business with you! Regards, David

Please tell me this is a spoof?!? That is awful. A badly drawn tri-colour. How innovative. Flag protests outside Irish Rail HQ me thinks!

Railer, no headshunt as per picture. (copyright Google Earth) Agreed, it seems to be very time consuming and complicated. It never ceases to amaze me how complicated Irish Rail seemed to be able to make things. As far as I know the Ammonia tanker train had to be split in 2 for unloading. Driving Guinness kegs a mile to Hueston Station. Foynes Silvermines trains were split in 3(!) for unloading! 2 trips up from Sligo quay on the timbers... the list goes on! Dubin Port.bmp

Hi guys, What happens at the Dublin Port end when the Tara Mines loaded train arrives? How does the loco run around the train? I know that there is a tippler for unloading the wagons individual wagons, does the locomotive have to pass through the tipple aswell to run around?

GM171, great find there! I also stand corrected, I thought those cranes ran on rails along the sides of the wagons, as opposed to temporary rails on the ground. Are they still in use?

I beg to differ Garfield... Here is a quote from the link Broithe posted... (It refers to the Donelli gantries) [I]Some additions to that list lads. 737 is withdrawn awaiting disposal at Portlaoise Depot. There is a new Tamper/Dynamic Track stabiliser numbered 710 delivered to I.E in 2007 currently being tested on the Coolnamona branch south of Portlaoise There are additional Donelli Gantries 770, 772 and 774 772 is generally confined to loading in Portlaoise while the other gantries travel the country as required. 728 is also a converted to a Sandite machine 780 a ballast cleaner formerly jointly owned by NIR is stored in Mullingar Per Way Yard[/i] I've also looked a bit closer at the pics from Greystones, and these wagons are definitely not in the formation [ATTACH]5253[/ATTACH Been trawling the internet for picture of the Donellis but I can't find any. I'm sure someone on here will have a picture in their private collection. I'm fairly certain this is the wagon (minus the cranes)! greystones.bmp

Been looking for a picture on the Internet but can't find it! Here is a more modern version http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/fcgi-bin/nlathumb.fcgi?id=1000582&mode=

A guess here, is that the wagon that goes with the sleeper train (as in the 90's). It had an Italian name, carried 2 small cranes that ran along rails fixed to the side of the wagons? My thinking being the in the pictures you have 2 hydrolic turntables, the cranes were carried sideways during transportation, the the hydrolic rams would lift them up slightly, spin them 90 degrees, and lower them on to the rails along the wagon (painted red in the picture) Just a guess, might be completely off!

Great pictures! As a modeling project it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possiblity to fit this into an 00 gauge scene/layout. Using the containers as a rough measuring tape, these ships are coming in around 80 to 90 metres in length, so a scale model would be around 1.2 metres. I'd love to model a port scene with rolling stock being unloaded e.g. Shiny new 201's or railcars. It becomes an expensive scene though to have 5 or 6 static locos sitting on the dock doing nothing! And another 3 or 4 on the ship still to be unloaded! A bell container ship might be the way to go.

Did Irish Rail ever have Bogie Tanker Wagons at any stage? (for fuel oil) I'm aware of the ammonia tanks and the bulk powder cements.

PM sent registering my interest. Regards, David

Des, and everyone else, here's a useful picture that I hadn't seen before http://www.geograph.ie/photo/2678387 Quite a good amount of railway content on geograph.ie, and wouldn't be the first place you would think of looking!

Good question Anthony! Just to clarify, on many forums when a topic is discussed it can very easily slip into the negative and sometimes personal attacks are made or comments get taken out of context. Quite often if a problem exists it can be dealt with first and foremost with the supplier etc. I'm not one for big drama over little things! The point of my post I suppose is that it's great to see so many options available to Irish Modellers, and with such a small market and tight community it is very important to recognize these small scale suppliers. In the case of 'Irish Freight Models' suddenly we have a whole range of quality, ready to run rolling stock, unthinkable 5 years ago! Looking at their website I suppose my initial thoughts are 'this is too good to be true!' If it is what it is then well done to Tommy, it's great to see someone spotting a gap and filling it! I suspected that if members on this forum had any problems or issues with IFM product then they would have been flagged here long ago! Sometimes we forget to give praise when it's due! The other point is that people like IFM, studio scale models etc. have to keep shouting about what they do. I've been a member on this and the previous site now for 3 years and I'm still not sure as to who does what and whether it's for personal use or for the masses- Glenderg makes cardboard buildings?! Hidden Agenda does brass kits?! Anthony weathers... Anything he can get his hands on by the looks of it! I wonder if other newer members are as confused as I am?!? It's the circle of life- Murphy Models locos and coaches have renewed interest in modeling Irish Railways, this in turn drives interest in Studio Scale Models, IFM and encourages more cottage industry, giving more choice. This leads to even more interest/demand and so the circle continues! It can only be good for all of us to give some encouragement!

Thanks for you input guys! I want to pick up some 42' container flats and it's always great to ask for an opinion here!

Hi guys! I have been keeping an eye on the manufacturers forum and am impressed by the range of products that 'Irish Freight Models' have added over the past while. I would like to make some purchases but am nervous as I don't feel I know enough about them or their products! Can I just request the following before we go any further: 1. I'm posting this because I feel that (and I hope!) this is a success story and someone has taken a big chance and a punt, and is filling a gap in the market left by MIR 2. I would like here positive comments and words of encouragement relating to 'Irish Freight Models'. If you have bad experience then maybe take it up directly with IFM first. So back to my questions! Anyone running IFM stock? How is it? Quality, running etc. Is this business a continuation of MIR? If this is someone who has turned a hobby into a business, then tell us newbee's some more!! There is too much negative going on at the moment! A bit of background and a story would give me and others who may not yet know you (and your products) the confidence to support you! Lastly, might I suggest that in the manufacturers section- if you are a manufacturer/supplier, the take five minutes to post a bit of background (who you are, what you do, where you're based etc.) I see many new members signing up everyday- the banter and the knowledge is great but not everyone will know who you are or what you do! Hope this is answered by the creaters of 'Irish Freight Models', who on the face of it look like they are on to a winner, and should be commended and encouraged, as well as members who can share their experiences Regards David

Killucan, I think you are closest to the mark with your reply! Yes, the one I remember seeing was at Connolly Station- I definately remember the 'IR' on the door ends, and as I say it was just one craven with the word 'intercity' on the side, maybe done as an experiment. hopefully, someone on here might come up with a photo!!

Hi Guys, Robert Davies has posted a wonderful link to Dave Sallery's images of Irish Rail in the 90's in another thread, and it reminded me of a question I've had and never asked before... I have a memory from that time of a single Craven carriage in the newer IR livery having the 'IR intercity' logo on the side of it. Any one else have any memory of this or is my mind starting to fail me finally?? Was this single Craven knocking about in the 90's?? Regards, Dave

Rob, what a brilliant find! I'm in the process of moving house lads and I've been granted 'planning permission' ahem, for a railway room, so I hope to have my first permanent layout started by the summer time. I'm going to be modelling in the 90's and this collection is a great reminder of how delapidated the network and fleet had become by the early 90's. Dave Sallery references breakdowns in nearly every image of the Rosslare Line for example. I love also the fact that many of the 141's/181's and cravens were still running in old CIE livery well into the 90's. Cannot wait to get stuck in to my layout! Along with all this you get to run shiney new 201's and 2600's and still lots of freight aswell. My favourite period by far, and wonderfully captured by Dave!

Fitz, Just saw this now. What have you got in mind? UK, American, European. I've a bit of n-gauge stuff thats packed away. PM me if you are still interested, off the top of my head there's a class 47, class20 or 25 maybe, and maybe still have 1 or 2 American co-co locomotives aswell. Regards Dave182

Hi Rob, I'm stuck for space at the moment but I've been slowly building up a stock of Irish Rail models and enjoy scratch building aswell. As I'm on a serious budget I have to work with what I got, but I'm not afraid to give things a go. If they look 'something' like the real thing then I'm happy. So I've started into a rake of 20' timbers, I'm looking to build 12 in total as I have 12 wagon frames that I picked up cheap at a show recently. Each one I build is slightly better than the next and I will keep modifying them until I am satisfied. As you can see they ain't no masterpieces (the frames look like they are off tank wagons, so I might go back and strip back the underframes some more), but I am posting these pic's to encourage others to have a go and show off their work too!

Thanks for that gm171. I'm thinking that a small narrow gauge railway would add another bit of interest to a layout. I love Steve Johnsons model of the BnaM Hunslet loco and the milled peat wagons are class too. I have a heap of n-gauge stuff lying idle, there might be a raid for some parts for a bit of kit bashing over the weekend.