leslie10646

Hi Nelson Thanks for the sales pitch for the Spoil kit. I'll slip you a fiver when I next see you! It must be reasonably easy to put together, as rakes of them seem to be popping up everywhere! I have good stocks of the kit, if any other UTA period enthusiasts fancy a rake, or a few to use as pw wagons in NIR '70s. Leslie

Hi Nelson Thanks for the sales pitch for the Spoil kit. I'll slip you a fiver when I next see you! It must be reasonably easy to put together, as rakes of them seem to be popping up everywhere! I have good stocks of the kit, if any other UTA period enthusiasts fancy a rake, or a few to use as pw wagons in NIR '70s. Leslie

Noel Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but ....... NIR Blue is great - it's like GNR Blue - the World's greatest ever livery (mind you the Milwaukee's Hiawathas had a pretty amazing colour scheme); Supertrain orange and black was simple but very effective - it did look good on an A Class with a rake of uniform Mark 2s BUT, have to agree with you, the Black and Tan livery had a certain je ne sais quoi and really looked good on certain locos and stock. For me, a silver A Class, please (although i've got one of John Silverfox's) and a grey / yellow single-ended Yankee. A final point, the 201s are a bit characterless, but they really do look good in the two tone grey / green livery. Thanks Mr Graham, who supplied mine. Leslie

Careful, Seamus, you might need her for baby-sitting one day! Then you'll be glad she doesn't run out of fuel! I speak with passion, having helped supervise my grandson's birthday party today!

Sorry, Noel, but you're ignoring the little matter of the numbers. The phone in your pocket - the manufacturer makes them BY THE MILLION. The sound chip guy is probably turning out hundreds? I haven't heard a Hornby "chuff" or "gurgle and roar", so can't judge whether their £25 version is up to the quality of the £50 - £100 version, often specifically "made to (Irish) measure". Sorry to repeat myself - we're in a minority sport and you pay for your pleasures in such a situation!

Re: my Spoil Wagon kits on Kieran's workbench. I like the "a while ago" - it was TWO WEEKS ago, I should know when I send things to people! Terrific stuff to have all five nearly complete in that time. Very well done, young man. Look forward to seeing them painted - looks like there REALLY will be twenty of them with a tank at each end running on Bleach Green in three week's time - maybe I should fly over to see it? Leslie

I'm glad Noel isn't looking at my bank account, as my sound-fitted Class WT cost me £500 - mind you it IS semi-handmade, but the chipping etc was £150 of that. Is it worth it? Personally I think it's great - I put sound in it to amuse my grandson, but honestly, it amuses me more! My NIR 112 was a lot cheaper (somewhere round £200 from Gareth at the Model Shop in Belfast) and it's brilliant (for a diesel). An insane, but useful side-benefit is that when you're wiring droppers for DCC (hundreds of 'em, in my case), if you have 112 sitting on the piece of track being electrified and you're connecting the droppers to the "bus", she leaps into life (ie, you can hear her) when you've got the connection right - I'm using those little gadgets nicknamed "suitcase connectors" to connect the droppers to the "bus" and it takes a lot of squeezing with pliers to get the connection just right!

Folks Almost time for Warley again. Same Hall as last year, opening times are - Saturday 0945 to 1800hrs Sunday 0945 to 1700hrs Advance ticket holders get in half an hour earlier. I don't see an Irish layout among the exhibits, but the Irish Railway Record Society (London Area) WILL be there on Stand B33. We will have a modest exhibit of Irish models from our private collections and will be selling Irish Railway books, IRRS publications (including back number Journals) and books of GNR loco and carriage drawings from the IRRS archive. I won't be selling wagons at this event, but I am happy to deliver orders to customers, who will then save some postage - please discuss your needs with me via the Provincial Wagons' website. I notice Mark will also be in attendance. Whatever you do, if you are there, be sure and drop by and say "Hallo". Leslie

Richard McLachlan is reproducing the GNR carriage books from originals held by the IRRS, but I don't know if he plans to do GSR types. Several volumes of GNR at about £35 a volume, if memory serves. You can see them for yourselves at Warley (Stand B33).

I put my money where my mouth was and bought a Park Royal suburban - I think it's a nice job and runs well (behind steam, to boot!). Puzzled by the wheels which seem small - anyone know if they had small wheels? I plan to get a couple more, though quite what excuse I'll use for having it in Portadown ......

Paddy may have been right a few years ago, but my customer database is 300 strong and there's quite a few of the 386 of you folk who have never done business with me (yes, yes, I know, I don't deal in anything built after 1970!). Not all the 300 are "active" but at best the marketplace is about 500?

Not just the densest railway network but one which receives a massive subsidy. Or, at least it used to. About twenty years ago, they had so much money to spend that they put their streamlined Atlantic through Leuven Works, together with four period coaches. They then ran about eight trains over a couple of days on a circuit from Brussels Nord out to Mechelen and back. A seriously lovely loco. They had TWO ex Caledonian designs in preservation - the "Dunalastair" (4-4-0) still exists, but the 0-6-0 goods, based on a McIntosh design was SCRAPPED in 2002! Yes, nice pics - mind you some of their stock is pretty vile, but those emus (like 481 above) are very nice (especially in First Class!). However, lots of loco hauled still, which makes a visit, or even a transit, quite enjoyable.

Come on, Colm, there's no such thing as GN mahogany! EVERY coach was slightly different. You might ask Mr LIMA above how he did mine, which I think he did very well on the dozen coaches he built me about 15 years ago (a couple of them hammering round in a mixed test train upstairs, Ivor, by the way). Apart from the effect of "scumbling", the effect of sun, rain, soot (lots of that) ensure that very quickly each coach took on its own hue. Personally, I prefer a rather "orange" mahogany - probably because of the wonderful photos of a blue Class VS with a rake of them - who couldn't LOVe the GN? Enjoy the hobby, it's YOUR railway, so YOUR colour is the right one? Leslie

You could view the piccies easily, I just clicked on the link - for which, thanks. Mind you it takes young Nelson to know how to get round the technology! Leslie

Not offended in the slightest. Glad you are doing your bit - keep it up. Leslie

Actually, Tony, I DO, and the 1,100 other folk who are members of the RPSI. As (I think it was) Niles who says later, we'd have a lot more nice coaches if more of you youngsters joined, smelt the paint and lent a hand! There were sixty five of us at the inaugural meeting on 30 September 1964 and we formed this Society so that you, then unborn, guys could enjoy steam-hauled travel in the future. Mind you never in our wildest dreams that night would we have realised quite what we were unleashing. However, a lot of hard work, both engineering-wise, fundraising etc has ensured that we are still here now. So, if you're not a member, come and join us. Final comment, the coaches are a major transformation and a great credit to all concerned. Good luck Jim Deegan with your latest Enterprise! Leslie

Hi Kieran Thanks for displaying the goods for me - I didn't dare empty a pack to photograph it in case I'd never get it inside again. You missed the transfers, which were a special commission (and had ANOTHER page of instructions!). Good luck with the build - as you say, the original idea of having a very few parts went out of the window when the hopper part was redesigned and introduced another half dozen or so "fiddly bits"! Still, it'll keep you out a mischief? Leslie

Folks I'm pleased to say that the first couple of dozen kits landed here today. Colm Flanagan already has ten and is feverishly building, for Cultra! So, available for pretty well immediate delivery is this kit for a spoil wagon, including all required parts and a generous mini-sheet of waterslide transfers, allowing you to build different number wagons. £24.50 for a single kit, £117 for a pack of FIVE. Both post free. {ictures and a little more info on my website provincialwagons.com Thanks Leslie

Friends Norman, who was the founder of Colourpoint Books, passed away a few days ago, after a long illness. His funeral was today, 3 September. Author of several books, including the indispensible Locomotives of the GNR and with Charlie Friel, Railways of Co Fermanagh. Many excellent books on Irish Railways would never have seen the light of day without him and his company and we are all in his debt for his brilliant work as a publisher.

Hate to say this, but the idea is to work hard while you're young, buy a big house with a good loft and then when you're old and decrepid like me, find yourself without the skill, or the sight, to build the layout that you have room for! Maybe I should start a timeline on my layout and be shamed in to making progress?

Calling any 21mm men interested in the PW Spoil Wagon. Gents (ladies?) I have a customer who wants this wagon in 21mm, which is not as easy with some of my wagons - see Michael Rayner's comments below. I really need to know about how many of you would plan to buy some of my spoil kits, but for use on proper Irish gauge - ie 21mm - then I can decide whether to absorb the extra cost, or whether it must be passed on to 21mm folk. The existing client only needs about ten - are there others among you? e-mail me on lesliemcallister@aol.com if you are interested. The "00" kits will be with me next week and will retail at £24 for single wagons - if you want a rake, I'll reduce that as I save on postage - likewise if you want to supply your own whells ....... Thanks Leslie Michael's reply to Robert follows - "Robert - Leslie has asked me to reply to you direct about the 21mm chassis for the spoil wagon. All of the wagons that I have made for Leslie, I have made to scale and the only compromise for 00 has been in the chassis casting, which is a separate casting that inserts in between the sole bars and head stocks, this means that fitting fresh axle boxes to the kit's sole bars should bring them pretty well to 21mm gauge. To master the chassis I normally utilise an existing commercial 00 chassis and chop it around to get the wheelbase et. al. The problem with this kit is that the chassis is an integral part of the model and your proposal to split and widen the chassis would not work. But all is not lost! On this chassis to gain the alignment of the brake gear, the manufacturers have increased the spacing of the axle boxes and added extra to the inside of them for the use of the short 16.5mm axes, this means that 18.5mm gauge should be accommodated quite easily and I think that with a bit of persuasion I could get 21mm. Obviously it would be easier for me to master a fresh chassis to use the 21mm wheel sets and get it right and cast them, than you try and alter each individually, that is unless you only want one or two. I would have to charge Leslie for this task as not only would the mastering need to be covered but a fresh mould would be required but the cost would not be large as the new casting would replace the original supplied. If you could give us some idea as to the quantity that you would want and, if possible, if any other 21mm gaugers would also be interested it would be of a great help, not only for this kit but also for the next planned - the Bulleid corrugated open which perhaps should be called a 'poubelle' wagon(?) One further point, if I am doing this I should also be able to accommodate your preferred couplings at the same time. I hope that this has been of some help and I have also sent a copy of this email to Leslie. Best wishes Michael Rayner" So, it's up to you guys! Leslie

Just to say (admit?) that I have NIR 112 sound chipped by Gareth at the Belfast Model Shop and I think it's seriously good. Of course, no-one knows that I have been testing the new spoil wagon at high speed behind her! Sounds were even better when I tested the new wagon behind my sound-fitted No.53 (steam 2-6-4T for the younger members) which has sound fitted by Coastal DCC here in the other island. I'm reading this thread with interest as I am VERY slowly getting my layout under way and have gone for DCC - mainly for the sound, which amuses my grandson AND his grandfather! Leslie

John First, No.207 was named after Ireland's Holy River - "BOYNE"! Yes, you could have seen 207 somewhere on the GN Mainline during that period, as she worked shoppers' specials (every Thursday?) for CIE before the UTA bought her. With the UTA she worked the weekly tourist train to Dublin, from Belfast; she worked the Sunday express from Belfast to Dublin and back in summer of 1964 (why, oh why didn't I opt for a few of those, rather than trips to Warrenpoint - which DID yield S Classes etc). She also ran specials for things like rugby matches at Lansdowne Road and, I assume Croke Park finals? - But she wasn't used that much - the semi fasts were in the hands of the 2-6-4 tanks. Leslie

This thread is started, in answer to a comment by Mayner, quoted below. John" Well, John and others - I now know THREE attempts at doing a rtr UG, without going the expensive Worsley route - not everyone is happy to pay £400 plus for a handmade engine! I had hoped to get "My Man" Michael to do a resin body / tender to sit on an existing chassis - he favoured the Bachmann J39, which was close on wheelsize, spacing etc. However, his stroke may have scotched that. Then another friend is looking at doing a brass one, in batches, as John suggests - I've seen a cab to date! This would be a pretty expensive engine by the time you pay for a modeller's time. Certainly for the purist, but not for the "average" enthusiast, who may be happy with a "close-enough" loco? Finally, GLR3D unwisely sent me a photo of an early attempt of his - so he is being mercilessly pursued to do a complete job! Don't hold your breath, gents, but I am still on the case with this one. It would be nice to point to a complete train that wouldn't exist without my prompting! You may be sure of my enthusiasm to do this, as i haven't got a UG myself! Leslie PS Richard (GLR3D)'s little JT is pretty close to be a quick win rtr loco, but it doesn't have quite the appeal of a UG!

Well, Sulzer, I'm sure I don't have to tell you what you've got there? Most of it looks only fit for the bin, but the locos will be of interest, if only to guys using the Hornby motors in clockwork locos - as the late Drew Donladson did in those amazing models of his. Have a look at eBay, where there's a lot of wrecks on sale and fetching tens of pounds. Good luck - interesting find. Leslie