leslie10646

Super, Noel Not only a master class in building it, but you've got what Michael called the "dustbin zinc colouring" to prefection! I'm afraid you didn't need to rush - the Post from Frimley to The Republic seems to be taking two weeks plus. Did you ever build the Bulleid open kit I sent ages ago? I'd like to see the outcome of that after your treatment. Keep it up. Great stuff.

Hi Mark I was intrigued by the name you use - you obviously like Bagnall locos? I can supply the IRRS (London)'s MGWR picture book at its original cover price (£2.95) plus postage (about a quid at the moment). It will be from The Syndicate's stock. FYI, The dubiously-named Syndicate is a small group of UK based Irish enthusiasts who have raised funds for Irish preservation for half a century. If you are interested in the GSWR loco book, I am pretty certain we've got that as well - again at Cover Price (£30 - £35). Just Message me with your interests. Leslie

We've found a much better picture of Anthony, on the happy occasion of the IRRS 70th Anniversary meeting at the Irish Embassy in London. The Society will miss him as much as his close friends. Best to remember him with that smile on his face?

(Oh dear, Patrick, you should have been sent them with the kit! Mea culpa. I'll get some to you asap.) Oh, just read the post properly - maybe I should do a "Vac Pack" for you guys who want to treat the poor animals to a frightening ride? Bad enough that they probably got soaked in the Irish weather with those planked roffs!

It’s impossible to do justice in a few words to Anthony’s memory. A guy who lived a half century of life to the full – in fact you might say he crammed two half centuries of life into one. The word enthusiastic was made for him - for when he was on a favoured topic, not only his eyes, but his whole being lit up with his passion for the subject. Some of you will know that Anthony acted as Provincial Wagons agent in Dublin, attending the last two Wexford Easter exhibitions on my behalf. He also built a large number of wagons from my kits for clients who wanted a RTR version. If you’ve got one of those, treasure it, for he was a master modeller, as well as a really great guy. Richard, who has been digitising the IRRS drawings archive, has lost an able and helpful assistant. We can both testify to how a request turned into speedy action and useful results – we just had to ask! If he didn’t know something, he knew someone who did! When I said “PALVan” to him, he arrived in England a month ago with thirty pages of drawings, photos and details. A man of many parts - from his younger days in England (he was no stranger to the House of Commons, no-less); a really serious cyclist; very involved in Scouting; a first aider; a very competent engineer with an eye and enthusiasm for detail and getting things just right; skills he demonstrated anew in smaller scales. Shamrock Rovers has lost a passionate supporter, the President will have to cheer louder in future. But most of all he will be dreadfully missed by his wife Lorna, Caoimhe, Oisin and little Fainne (pictured with her Daddy at Wexford in 2018), to whom all our love and sympathy is showered at this very sad time. Pax tecum, noster amice Leslie McAllister and Richard McLachlan

First, to restate the @Wrenneire point, if it looks too good to be true, it usually is. That said, we've all been there, except we are unusually astute. Needless to say, no-one will get anywhere challenging as corrupt a system as the Chinese one can be. (It has many good points so I don't condemn everyone). It was a standing joke in my Hong Kong days to see people walking about in the UK in very expensive, badly made, "Designer" clothes - when you went into China (as I did often) you saw the least well-off folk in gear with all the Big Names on them. We used to smile at Chinese guys who walked around in SUITS with the Fashion Chain's label still on the outside of the sleeve, to show off. Don't misunderstand me, the ordinary people were lovely - nosey, staring at you but as helpful and kind as you could imagine - as is the case almost everywhere - it's the politicians who muck it all up.

Hi MM Thanks. It probably got lost in my verbiage, but it's only a loading platform for goods and is part of the Richhill station on the layout.

Well, for good or ill, I've made a start to scenery. I'm ballasting the Junction area and of course, you can only do a bit before you go crazy and in any event, it's best to leave each section to dry for a day or two. Soooo...... It so happens that the station at the North end of the house - Richhill - has had beautiful buildings for the past 5/6 years, but nothing else. The builder is a man of great renown on this site and I'll name him when I get the buildings planted. A large area needs to be built up to platform level for the station yard facing the building entrance (on the level, no steps) and a goods "beach" (dock to most people who didn't hear the local stationmaster call it that). The building up has been done - photos later, but for now, that "Beach". No laughing at the first efforts for fifty-odd years of a one eyed (LEFT, by the way) right-handed 73 year old bloke, who was never any good at modelling anyway. This is the side everyone would see and this other side is invisible, except you crawl under the board and view it from the suitcase storage area behind! You can see my "method" - platform height batten with a Plasticard surface. The Plasticard embossed sides were painted and then stuck on with good oul' Rocket Cardboard glue. Those sides were given a "mortar" undercoat and then "dry-brushed to bring out the stones - to say that it's a slow process would be a fine piece of English understatement. The gravel surface used a method championed by Gordon Gravett in his landscape modelling book - a thick coat of paint and then scatter the preferred surface material. I did it in small sections, scattering the material when the paint was barely off the brush. I have made an error in that the prototype had edging right down the ramp and the edging stones should be off-white. You may wonder at the long wall with no surface. Just a feature of my design tactics - it WILL get a surface! Final point - I first modelled this beach in 1970 (in the bedroom of my digs in Manchester) on the first Richhill - believe me, it was crude!

Actually, David, it's neither. If I've got the name right, it's Paddy Dobbin who did Ballymena to Belfast start to stop in 34m43s on 8 April 1969. My best time between Ballymena and Belfast. The fireman (on the other side, of course, is Albert Plews. My other tank is No.10 (presently out of action with a broken buffer beam (the result of a 4ft fall from my display cabinet). No. 10 is my fastest tank and the driver modelled is the late, great, "Saint" Thomas Crymble. 83mph at Muckamore on a very wet day - I got soaked timing it put of an open window.

OK, a quick opportunity to listen to and see my No.53. There's a lot of ballasting work going on, hence the pots, paints etc in the background. I can't let you hear her bashing round with eight coaches as I'm also working at Richhill at the other end of the layout - logical, you see - work at one end and while that dries out, or sets, work at the other end? You CAN turn the sound up - no commentary! Gosh doesn't the Digitrax reverser make a lot of noise? Loco by Colm Flanagan, from a Hornby Fowler tank, digitised by Coastal DCC who put a LMS 4MT 2-6-4T sound chip in her No 53 sound.m4v

Terrific model Mr R. Glad to know that the 4mm boys can set a few challenges for the 7mm guys! I did ask Michael to include a representation of the consignment clip if possible. If only that a dab of white to represent the the document would relieve the endless Halford's grey. I wonder do they realise how much of their primers are sold to non-car men!

I can claim to have been born within the sound of a GN whistle, so I suppose I can claim proper GN parentage. However, the greater part of my life in Ireland was within a few miles of York Road and it was the performances of the later NCC men (on the Tanks) which set me on a lifetime of timing trains worldwide. I once told Frank Dunlop, then in his eighties - he had kindly given me a lift after one of Charles' RPSI meetings - that if he and his men hadn't been such consummate enginenmen, I might have spent the last fifty years differently! I'll get No.10 out at Portadown Jct and let you hear her.

Hmmm. Wot about the long bunker on the WT? That's neither Ivatt or Fairburn (who was an electrical engineer anyway?). What the heck, it's Noel's railway! Back to dry-brushing embossed stone Plasticard. I don't know if it drives me more bonkers, or the ballasting!

I hate to rain on this parade, but the "Tanks" were a parallel boilered loco. The base used for the two built for me (by a well-known gent in Co. Down) is the Hornby Fowler tank - which was, anyway, the grandpa of the Class WT. That said, thanks for the video of the Fairburn, Noel. I had one ride in 1966 behind one between Birkenhead and Hooton on the day I was interviewed for the job which is still paying my pension!

I thought there was no room at the Inn? Interesting how pubs are mentioned in the Bible? The Samaritan popped into one as I remember?

Maybe one of our pals in the Republic can confirm that back in day, depending on your school - you learned either Latin OR Greek?

Mr R, Did you have to do Classical Greek as part of your studies?

Yes, Noel, a Happy and Blessed Easter to you all. I have many wonderful memories of Easter steam in the 1960s (to Warrenpoint and POrtrush), but the most memorable (sorry to return to the real reason for the Day) was Easter in Shanghai in 2002 in a church where the English speakers sat upstairs with headphones on for the translation and the church was packed with Chinese Christians half an hour before the appointed hour. And boy, could they raise the roof. The first hymn - as in Christian churches everywhere - "Jesus Christ is Risen today". Christos Anesti!

Enough for this Day. But not without lighting a candle and raising a drop of "Bush" to the only railwayman in the family. Great Uncle Gabriel (a locomotive fireman in Canada) fell during the great Canadian attack on Vimy Ridge in 1917 and died of his wounds 103 years ago today. At least, unlike those poor NewYorkers seen on the News today, he has an individual marked grave. RIP

Back to Albert Quay for a moment. In the 1970s, I watched a load of slide evenings at the IRRS London by Lance King and the venerated gents known to us all as "The GLO". They always referred to the loco area as "Rocksavage" so, regardless of any evidence to the contrary, it'll always be Rocksavage to me. I'm sure if someone looks up Colm, or Ernie's books on the "Bandon" they'll see it in print? ------------------------------------- Wrenneire, Sorry you're going GaGa with the lock-up - you should know all about that anyway, if anyone does? Keep fit during House Arrest like me. I'm not allowed out of the house as I'm in an "at danger"group. I keep fit running up and down the 25/30 stairs from where I'm sitting (and where I have my modelling tray) to the loft, where the railway is. Every time I cut something out - I'm up the stairs to see if it fits, then back down again. Before you ask - it seldom does and as for right angles - don't make me laugh!

Great stuff, Mountain Man, 7mm DOES have its advantages in that you can see every detail and with your skill - we do!

Damn, you've discovered my secret - now you'll wanted the kits cheaper! I feed them good Isle of Wight grass - never a Chinese takeaway.

Ah, Jon, nice to see a Bulleid-chassised PW flat used as such! We did my KIT from a photo of one with a new car atop it. I suppose you could bash the resin body of my Bulleid open to get that "worn top" impression. Any views on how heavy a hammer (this competition is not open to RTR people). The pair of corrugateds trying to produce baby corrugateds in the background of one of the shots is pretty easy to set up! Back to ballasting and working on Richhill upstairs in a very warm loft!

Well done, JHB, you've completely stumped me!

Very well done, Eamonn. As I explained in an e-mail the SLNCR cattle wagon kit came into existence when Michael realised that he only had to make two new moulds to move from GNR production to SLNCR ones. The GNR one is nine years old this very day - the first one rolling off the line on 5 April 2011 - they were all sold built then! At 230 wagons, they were my second best seller - helped by the fact that Old Blarney and I have TWENTY each. In my case to run the Enniskillen Shipper, which was the big train of the day on the Armagh Line - yes the Midland cattle went over the SLNCR, then the Irish North to Clones and then the Ulster Railway via Armagh and Portadown Jct to the boat at Belfast. I'll get the wagons out of storage and put a video on the layout thread. The SLNCR wagon has a nice old fashioned look to it, I think. Still got some of the kits upstairs (hint!).