David Holman

As the saying goes - imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Coming on nicely and speaking of NIL, see there is a very nice model of a certain diesel in the latest edition. Am going to steal your idea of a central section to support the cab roof for my E class too.

While the Tortoise has built in switches to control the current on live frog points, insulfrog ones don't need that, thereby avoiding the extra wiring.

The latest one has additional interest with a third siding, but not sure about the loco shed (it blocks the view of the headshunt), nor the goods shed (ditto). Also, when you think about it, the latter's purpose is to store stuff for onward movement by road and vice versa, but there is no room for road vehicles. Ultimately though, is this project going to be mainly about operation/play value, or more of a leaning towards creating an interesting scenic diorama that also has a bit of operational potential? Less track is better for the latter and certainly on Fintonagh, two sidings, the station and turntable offer plenty of amusement for an hour or so and even a full day at exhibitions.

Not yet, but reminds me I must order some from Langley.

The third one, above, easily has the best 'flow' about it and keeps all the shunting on scene. I do wish my spell checker would stop substituting haunting for shunting though! Another thought is to use the turntable as the headshunt. This saves the left hand Atlas 6 and space too.

Thanks JB. Neil Sprinks IRRS book on the Sligo says 28' 3" overall. There's a nice drawing of one of the early 0-6-2Ts on the cover, which is yet another loco on my to do list - unless Galteemore gets there first!

After weeks of fitting and testing AJ couplings, along with a host of remedial work as well, NPQ is now back on its shelf as I get back to other stuff, like my E class 0-6-0T. This is not to say that everything is finished on the layout, but hopefully there will be time for final detailing nearer its exhibition debut in October. In the meantime, here are a few photos of it reassembled. The Acla has been screwed to the baseboard, the travelling crane is back on track and Sir Henry is on scene with a short mixed train of the type I've been asking about on another thread. Time to get back to some proper modelling for a change.

Like the "less is more" by not overcrowding with track, but not sure about the front siding as the loco will always be shunting it from off scene. What about having it fed from the headshunt end, as per the beet siding, so stock is always on show? Alternatively, as suggested, use the Wye to feed a turntable where the hill is, because this will be more fun and certainly more Irish. Another thought, if you have the space, is to arrange a hidden siding disappearing off scene (either end), which can then go to any source you fancy, further increasing operating potential. Have a look at my Clogher Valley thread in the layout section. Yes, it is 7mm scale and 21mm gauge, but the principles are similar to what you are thinking about. The layout is 2m x 50cm and includes a station, turntable, two sidings and a third going off scene. All using 90cm radius curves, so you should be able to fit something similar in your space with smaller radii in a slightly smaller space.

Correct, he does - and makes it sound easy too. Chimneys, domes etc are turned in a drill chuck, not a lathe. No DCC either, so the control panel is a bit complex at first with lots of section switches, but ultimately adds to the satisfaction.

Have had the pleasure of operating Ballyconnell Road and it is every bit as good as it looks in the video. The quality of the running is exceptional, aided by correct signalling and reliable uncoupling. All the steam locos have working inside valve gear (yes, really) and there are even a couple of working road vehicles. All in all an absolute joy. Forgot about the new TT being 1:120 - as Mayner rightly says, it is just a further complication to attempting the Irish scene. At the end of the day, it is either a case of accepting compromises of gauge or going the extra mile. Nothing wrong with either of course - it is all about personal choice.

The correct gauge for 3mm/ft scale would be 15.75mm (3 x 5.25), so not far out at all. However, it also depends on how the scale is measured. The old TT ran on 12mm gauge track, so about as bad as 00. One foot is just over 300mm, so a scale of 1:100 is pretty realistic and nominally easy to work with. I think the Irish track gauge is quoted now as 1.6m, so that makes 00 track just half a mm too wide and certainly a lot better than 4mm scale. The fabulous Ballyconnel Road is 3mm finescale and not sure what gauge is used there, though am guessing 15.75 Indeed the sums do not always add up, it seems!

Amazing models. 3D printing is definitely going up in the world and the skills required to produce these are every bit as good as any scratchbuilding.

Wonderful information! Many thanks John. Never ceases to amaze me what is out there.

Excellent stuff - many thanks, as ever! The reason for the request is I'm grappling with a couple short mixed trains on Northport Quay. My 1900s period is a 6w brake 3rd with a semi and a brake van, though was wondering if the brake 3rd could go at the end, to make shunting easier. There again, if the semi was fitted, that solves the problem anyway. Trouble is, did any of the semis ever get vacuum brakes - or indeed any early vans when used for fish traffic? Which takes me back to the original question about livery. MGWR horse boxes were fitted and also painted in passenger brown livery. Would a fitted fish van have got the same treatment? A GSWR fitted fish van in their very dark passenger purple/black seems unlikely though. However, seems like I could get away with an unfitted van in front of the passenger train on a short branch like NPQ, while a 1950s SLNCR consist of a brake 3rd and a couple of fitted GNRI vans won't be a problem. Much easier on Fintonagh, where all Clogher stock was braked, while when I go down the Swilly/Donegal route the same applies - not that the Swilly bothered much with brakes from what I've read.

Lovely stuff. Have to keep reminding myself it is 4mm scale. As for 14ba nuts, bet the carpet monster loves them!

When using DAS to cover a building (to be scribed for brick or stone later), I always put a thin smear of pva on first, which helps it stay in place. As JB says though, any cracks can easily be covered with more DAS and painted over. It is also easily smoothed with a wet finger, spatula or some such.

Eternally grateful for the knowledge they wrote down and passed on to good folk like yourself, JB!

Many thanks, both of you. However, as a further question - in steam days, on mixed trains, presumably any unfitted stock had to be put behind the coaches, with a brake van bringing up the rear and if unfitted wagons were in front of the passenger coach, then customers were not (officially) allowed? Also, could a mixed train do without a brake van if all wagons were fitted and provided there was a guard's compartment somewhere?

This side of the water, fitted wagons (those with vacuum brakes, able to run in passenger trains and at higher speeds) were painted in bauxite, as opposed to grey for unfitted stock. Was there a similar system in Ireland, or did it very from one company to another? I believe the GNRI wagons were treated this way, but what about others? Am interested in all periods, but especially the early 1900s and the 1950s.

Indeed! Many similar experiences trying to use screw link couplings at exhibitions. Many an occasion where it was just as well the onlookers couldn't hear what I was thinking.

Gosh, life is complicated and that's why it's fun, as the saying goes! Hadn't thought about H0 on EM = 17.5 scale v 18.2 actual, though back to the age old problems of finding anything rtr that could be adapted. If I was starting again, 30 years younger, but knowing what I know now, then S would be very tempting and I love the fact that (in a purely imperial scale) the track gauge would be 63/64ths of an inch. And has been done of course.

I've somehow got the full set of MRJs, right back to edition 0, so must look back on 37 and 39! Joined the queue to see Hursley at that Westminster show, not realising at the time that quite a bit of the stock was Gordon Gravett's. Hursley was one of the great turning points in modelling, while Martyn's The Art of Weathering remains one of my most referred to books. Published nearly 30 years ago, while Hursley was very much before static grass machines became available. My favourite picture is the one looking inside the empty loco shed. Minimalist it may be, but about as close to perfection as you can get.

Thanks Ken, am sure you are well equipped to deal with AJs in 4mm scale, where there is a need for a bit more precision. A bit like signal mechanisms, most of the operational side is hidden - in this case under the vehicles' floors. In 4mm scale, hinges (using hypodermic tube) seem preferable to the basic spring wire in 7mm, while the fixing point, especially on a four wheel wagon is almost at the opposite end. At least loco couplings are simpler, with just the basic hook. Found that getting into a routine worked best, so I made up all the hooks at once and likewise the under wagon fixing points. This made setting up each wagon feel simpler and needing less time. I can now fit a wagon in under half an hour. Like you, have no intention of fitting AJs to every wagon and coach. Mine are set up in rakes of two or three with an AJ at each end and three/screw links in between. Also, I had the same problem with Dinghams as you have with S&W. AJs require care, but their advantages repay that. I put three electro magnets on Northport Quay, but have found I only need two to cover all the moves. I also like the way you can uncouple while moving so there is less importance in terms on trying find the exact place of the magnet. On Fintonagh, using Kadees and rare earth magnets, you have to spot a 3mm 'window' from up to 2m away... Perseverance very much the key!

A personal take on AJs Whisper it quietly, but I at last seem to be getting to grips with Alex Jackson couplings. Others more careful and precise than me would have mastered them by now, but it does feel like I'm getting there. The thing about AJs is that it is not just the couplings themselves, but the whole wheels and track relationships too as it seems everything needs to be in order for them to work. Am guessing that P4, Scaleseven or even S scale would work best with them as finer tolerances no doubt help with alignments. However, 7mm fine scale is a reasonable compromise, as long as you make sure of various key elements: Track must be well laid. Any imperfections, both horizontal and vertical can cause problems - so I guess I should be grateful for this, as it is making me fettle everything to the best standards I can. Curves need to be smooth too. On Northport Quay, all four points are 6' [1.8m] radius, but nevertheless, I've had to address a couple of kinks because they were stopping stock from coupling properly. As for the AJs themselves, the articles I've read seem to tell you about angles and ways of mounting, but not really why they are so important, so for what it is worth here's my take on matters; The hook has two key bends. Neither appear to need absolute accuracy, but the 'nose' at 120 degrees is important because when the dropper wire is pulled down by the uncoupler magnet, this bend is what causes both hooks to go into 'over ride' and mean that vehicles can be pushed to any given point without coupling up again. The downward bend of the hook is likewise crucial to this and I've found its length to be important too. Indeed, too long and the couplings will not pass each other to disengage. The couplings' alignment must be on the exact centreline of each vehicle and the height must likewise be consistent on every vehicle. The dropper wire must also be the right length - no more than a millimetre variation or the magnets will either not be able to attract the wire, or will foul the rails. Screw/three link couplings need to be kept out of the way so as not to impede the coupling wire moving up & down. All of this I've discovered through what seems endless testing. Fortunately many of the operational moves are quite simple: the train arrives and stops over the platform magnet. A slight reversal is enough to uncouple & then all the loco has to do is run round and couple up at the other end, ready for departure. Simple, but very satisfying to do 'hands free'. The shunting move for the left hand siding has been described in the Layout thread. The right hand siding is kept free so that wagons can be swapped with those in the pier fiddle yard. Fingers crossed, this move is now pretty successful too. A few more tweaks, but almost there, subject to keeping everything aligned of course - but that is why the stock boxes have been adapted to keep the couplings safe. Am now looking forward to getting back to the E class, especially as the motor gearbox has arrived.