leslie10646

I'm not sure how many narrow gauge fans are on this site, but if we broad gauge types thought life was expensive - then think again! A mere 352 pages, with exquisitely reproduced photos (almost one on every page) of both the Railway and the area it served. Michael has made use of research done by his late father, the famous PB Whitehouse who produced a slim hiistory with help from John Powell. Others have followed them including David Rowlands and Cork's own Walter McGrath. The photos are by "everybody who was anybody" in the railway photography field up to 1955. At sixty pounds, it is easily the most expensive Irish railway book to date. However, if you want a copy, PM me and I may be able to soften the blow, especially if I can hand you a copy, rather than post it. I'll supply post free to UK only - although I understand that a bookshop in Tralee should have copies. And I could bring some to Blackrock in the Autumn. Needles to say, I haven't read it - I have two others to finish first, including Tony's.

My pleasure - sold my first copy today - to a man from Kerry! We did meet for him to pick up the new Tralee and Dingle book, but I persuaded him that he needed a dose of the GNR as well. I'll put up a post about the Tralee book tomorrow, after I've scanned the cover!

My trade order arrived this afternoon and I downed-tools to have a look, then another look and even read a bit! Great stuff, Tony. I look forward to reading it fully. Available from me to UK addresses - profits to RPSI.

Now, that would be going too far, Darius - but those of us who are old enough remember that the fabled Drew Donaldson was a master there! Thanks for that wonderful display of Milwaukee Road motive power! The "Bi-Polars" were remarkable looking beasts. Those early electrics were nothing if not the very manifestation of complexity. They must have costs ten times what a Choo choo would have cost!

The Syndicate has its first Trade Order in. I look forward to seeing it early next week!

Darius - I've met you (a privilege by the way) - you're a youngster - HOW DO YOU FIND THE TIME FOR THIS SPEED OF PRODUCTION? Re the next project - Good luck - reminds me of the Milwaukee Road's "Little Joes" - it's the double streamlined ends which give the illusion, but the Little Joe had a massive truck sticking out at the front - but what a loco? Believe it or not but this steam enthusiast has a copy of the book covering the Milwaukee Road in the Rockies ("Milwaukee Road West") with all their early electrics. Maybe you should try one of those - or a Milwaukee 100mph Atlantic steam loco!

Ah, yes, that's the downside! Alan, I didn't commend you for the lovely little loco. The late "Mac" Arnold and Des Coakham would have wept to see such a lovely model from a favourite railway.

Hold on, David, your Dad told me what your grandfather did as his trade. You've benefited from the not-uncommon generation jump of skills! Now, I don't dabble in this stuff, for obvious reasons - not least: shaky hands and one eye .... BUT, I have learned that buying the right tools for the job makes everything a lot easier? Money spent on the best tools and material that you can afford usually pays off.

Have to agree with David's sentiment expressed here. In German terms it's an Eilzug these days - a fast-ish limited stop job. NOT the train for which the Pess in 1947 lauded the GNR(I) "for Their Enterprise"!!!! At least I had the pleasure of footplating an 071 on the non-stop version way back then, with the late Willie Graham, who drove with exemplary thoroughness which might have surprised those who saw him as a bit of tearaway! What a pity we don't have him around today (another good man taken before his time), as he'd have loved to have driven our steam engines, which as a youngster he'd fired to many great men.

Thanks for the Portadown shot, Ernie. Two of my T Tanks have never been numbered, so now I know what one could be! Your photographer found a very different angle for his shot of Banteer on the All-Ireland tour. Quite unlike several we have from David Soggee and Lance K.

Your ingenuity knows no bounds, David. Great stuff! You've reminded me that an absent member of this Forum has a SE&CR Class C to convert to a PG for me ....... It was a BLACK one - not even I would have someone hack one in that lovely SE&CR livery.

Commiserations, David, that you dropped your little Robin on the floor and what an amazing job of repair! You're simply in another League. I'm now going downstairs to surround "Rosses Point" with bubble wrap and cushions - for I'm pretty ham-fisted. Mind you, once on Galteemore's track, things stay there, it's just if I do the "Hand of God" bit. I did exactly the same with my "QL" dropping it on the floor of the attic where Portadown Junction lives - same result. Now this is where a robot with a very soft touch might come in handy?

Nice one Patrick - I really asked for that! Now, about the advertising ON THE ROOF -are you expecting passing aircraft to "'drop in" for a cuppa char? I assume that Clogherhead is going to include a local Flying Club with a suitably flat-ish field to land bi-planes?

Yes, G'More, that story, Apocryphal or not, did do the rounds. If he'd got No.207, I wouldn't be saving a couple of Million to build a new one from scratch! Great building, Patrick, especially the interior - one wonders what your fertile brain will come up with next? You could build an Orange Hall for that well-known Co. Louth Lodge LOL 1916?

Stephen, Don't hang about - I get the impression that most of the run has been spoken for. I woke up just in time to order No.186 IN BLACK with a BIG tender. I've been told to expect it in September - I think that that is partly that I'm a bit late ordering and also he's working through the variants?

Answering two of the above posts - Bob,they were VERY OCCASIONALLY as clean as that - vide: The St Pat's day tour to Youghal in 1962. Yes, Mr G'More, ex-DSER No.430 (2-4-2T) was loaned to the BCDR from July 1941 to October 1945 for £15 a week. Source: McMahon and Clements, to whom thanks!

Lovely to see that John Dewing slide of the famous St Pat's Day tour to Baltimore - which arrived back three hours late due to issues with late-running (diesel) service trains! John must have been on his bike! Lance King took loads of slides of that tour, but all around the stations, as he was travelling! One of Lance's slides shows 464 as station pilot at Glanmire Road next morning!

Diplomacy itself indeed, as you would expect from someone of David's Calling? Wonderful model, David H, your skills and speed astound me! Still I guess lots of practise helps? Lovely to see the little engine in its finished brass form. It almost seems a pity to paint it! When I had a GNR AL Class built recently, I asked the builder to photograph it in its brass state as they look so nice like that. It occurs to me that there will soon be more of these little E Class in 7mm,than ever were in 12inches to the foot?

Nice pictures to have got, Ernie. Grand Canal Street was not too often photographed - is that the famous Boland's Mill (where Dev was in command at Easter 1916) in the background? The BT may not be dumped - the left hand tender looks is though it's just been through the Paint Shop! Maybe she was there for repair? An interesting survivor - there is a photo of one at Lisburn on the Motor Train in Dr Patterson's history of the GNR.

Re M2 - we could get one of these "Stop Oil" loonies to dig up a bit of the embankment during a protest.

Great stuff, Darius. Now what are you going to load them with? Does anyone do "4mm Genuine Maghermorne rock"? Keep it up, you're my best salesman! Your order brought the Spoils in circulation to 220 (three times the number produced in reality!). Your beets brought up 242 sold - the quarter century is in sight!. Michael was highly impressed with his Birthday present of your painted beets!

He's not finished yet - I've another parcel of kits to send to him in the morning!

A couple (?) of strategically laced loops would do the job and cost a lot less. It's hard to believe that quadrupling is necessary in Ireland.

Thanks, Darius, they do look very well. However, I'm just the middle man - the Modelling Genius is Michael Rayner, who is EIGHTY on Wednesday! I must get a card in the post!!!! Having persuaded him to do the Bulleid corrugated wagon (not an easy modelling task) - they sold pretty well (my best seller); the next step was to copy IR, stack two bodies on each other and make a flat chassis to go underneath and Hey Presto a Double-height Beet wagon. Not content with that, we sell the flat on it's own .......

We had a term much used in NI when I was young - "He's a Chancer"! We'll see if they're sold at that price........ There are guys who collect all Dapol commissions and I think that this outfit is hoping to kid some of them into filling gaps in their collections! They ignore that while they were Dapol wagons, what was on them WASN'T! No, I wasn't rooting around in my garage - I was commissioning more wagons from Dapol ........