David Holman

Great pics! The combination of models and the real thing is just perfect.

Seemed like many of the great and good were there... and me too

Great to see so many folk today and put faces to names, not least JHB. The best venue anywhere for a model railway show? I don't know of a better one! Many thanks for the hospitality and support from all the organisers, especially Ian and his wife from Friends of Cultra, plus so many kind comments from visitors. Likewise J-Mo for helping out with the operating too. Thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Well, made it to Cultra this afternoon and the layout is set up and (hopefully) ready for Saturday. Lovely to see all the main exhibits and to pitch up in front of Railcar 1, masquerading as Donegal 10. An interesting trip, shall we say, starting with a battle with Just Say No activists, who made it impossible to access the Dartford tunnels on Wednesday morning. A half hour trip turned into three hours... After an overnight stop to see my mother, headed further up the A1 to Ripon and then across the Pennines to Dumfries. This morning, got the Stena ferry to Belfast. Greeted by the captain saying it wouldn't be a good idea to go outside as the combined wind speed of ship into gale was adding up to 80mph! Turned out it wasn't even a good idea to try standing up in waves close to 20 feet from trough to crest, though things improved once we turned into Belfast Lough. Belfast traffic meanwhile has not improved since we were here last time, but has it anywhere ? At least it wasn't raining while we unloaded. Very much looking forward to the show!

Tasty!

Will always be one of my favourite museums. The railway hall is just fabulous, whether it be the Queen, the C&L 4-4-0, horse tram or any number of exhibits. This time, it will be Donegal Railcar 10, or more properly CVR No1, where Fintonagh will be. Before that, the small matter of gales on the crossing tomorrow morning!

The museum website has been saying the show doesn't open until 11am, when in fact it is 10am, like the rest of the place and closes at 4pm

Coming along rather well!

Exhibition Stuff Watching a young couple fussing over their new baby in town the other day, it struck me that the amount of stuff they need to cart around for their baby is not unlike what exhibitors need to take a layout to a show. Ok, thankfully not nappies and feeding stuff, but no matter how hard you try, the amount of extras required to take a layout on the road often takes up as much space as the baseboards themselves. Later this week, Fintonagh starts its 1000 mile round trip from Kent to Belfast, so have been going through all the necessary stuff, in the hope I don't leave anything behind! First, there are the two baseboards of course, plus the fiddle yard Next comes the support framework: two folding beams and two adjustable trestles The pelmet and fascia, plus the two lighting strips and rear bracket make up the rest of the infrastructure Two very important items are my tool box [hopefully enabling any minor repairs] and what I call the 'sundries crate'. The latter has all the other essential bits and pieces such as all the electrics [transformers, controllers, extension leads], drapes, cleaning materials,[including portable vacuum], fixing bolts etc. There is also the all important notebook, which details loading in the car, setting up, train formations and the ability to record any issues before the next outing. Two more boxes contain the locos/ rolling stock and the loose scenic items such as road vehicles and the pub [which covers the baseboard join]. A couple of bar stools complete the ensemble All this needs to be carefully loaded into the car and hopefully leaving room for personal luggage! It also has to be well secured too, for there is nothing worse than undertaking a long trip only to find that a few miles in, something has come loose and you then have to put up with an annoying rattle. Given the state of many of our public roads, there is also the worry that your layout might be reduced to kit form by the time you arrive, while this time there is the added issue of the sea crossing from Cairnryan to Belfast - which is currently forecast for gales on Friday... Wish me luck!

Lovely work, Ken and notes have been taken for when I get round to detailing Northport Quay! Great to hear you are also coming along well too.

And the dirty windscreens, with the areas wiped clean by the wipers.

Neat, clean soldering too.

Indeed - though varnish will do the same.

The last few bits and pieces for a few days, as I need to transfer my attentions to getting Fintonagh ready for Cultra. Always best to go through preparations and servicing a few days early - just in case! Anyway, as I'm sure most of you know, it is the little things that seem to take longest, especially when they need painting as well. So, did the four lifebelts and got them fixed this afternoon. Also shortened the mast by 3cm, as it was higher than the backscene, while the derrick's boom now has a bracket on the main superstructure to rest on. Spent the most time on a bit of lettering - though not sure if the yellow text [all I had] is correct, or indeed if Westport is an appropriate place for Acla to be registered, so it may be temporary... As already mentioned, the name is Gaelic for Achill, which seems appropriate as this is a key part of the little coaster's territory. Oh yes, there are photos of the other side too.

Fintonagh, my Clogher Valley Railway layout is making the long trek over, via Cairnryan - Belfast ferry. 7mm scale/21mm gauge, with its own thread on this forum. Hopefully going to be in front of Phoenix, or CVR railcar 1 (Donegal 10). Very much looking forward to meeting folk from this forum, so please say hello if you are attending.

Recently added handrails to the forecastle of the Acla, thanks to Gordon Gravett who kindly sent me some spare etches he had from previous projects. Since then, have been trying to complete the general painting. Not entirely successfully as every time I think I've got everything covered, the next day I am still finding areas of primer showing through! Am starting to think that using an airbrush might be better, though the amount of masking required would still take a lot of time. However, slowly getting there, after which there is the weathering [essential to giving the model more texture], plus lettering and the dreaded rigging. Model ships, I'm finding, cannot be done quickly...

Doing b&w photos as a bit of proof reading is a fine idea and one to remember. As for the rocks and stones, generally they were there before the foliage, so would put them in first. I'd be tempted to paint undiluted pva on the surface and then place/scatter the stones and gravel on that. The pva will dry shiny, but this will then get hidden under the foliage. Static grass machines are great fun and therefore worth experimenting with different lengths of fibres according to pictures you are using. Liquid sunshine makes Irish grass fairly bright green, but find that keeping tones a bit more muted is effective and in the boggy areas there may be more yellowy/lighter tones anyway. Spread pva over an area of about 10x20cm, push a small nail into the scenery and clip the grass machine to that, then do the fibres. Repeat as required, vacuuming up loose fibres after a few minutes [hanky over the nozzle to minimise waste] - this also helps the fibres to stand up a bit more. To turn plain grass into other plants, next day, I dip a finger into pva and then lightly run it over the tops of the grass, on to which you can then sprinkle different colours of fine crumb. Works a treat and is very satisfying. You can also use spray mount over previously sown grass and use the static machine again to make longer growth. All very addictive, so don't be surprised if you find a static grass machine soon appears on your Christmas list!

The scenery is already looking somehow very good to me. That uneven (post glacial?), surface really looks the part.

Hatton's are keen to sell remaining 0 gauge Gresley stock it seems. A3 Pacifics (£750) are now priced at £299, with A4s at £350. Gresley coaches are down to £115 each, which in this scale is ridiculous, especially when latest Bachmann 4mm coaches can retail at £75 each.

The Limerick Market branch used a couple of Sentinels. Dapol do a rtr version in 0 gauge and often wonder how easy it would be to convert. Feel sure 4mm versions are available.

Lovely stuff. Great to see brass work being done - and very neat it looks too. Ultimately, it all disappears once painted, so nothing wrong with mixing materials. Brass is very satisfying though!

Gold dust!

Beat me to it John, sounds very much like a Castle Rackrent type project - that first stage anyway. Let's face it though, doing any Irish outline modelling, apart from modern image, has never been easy, but that is part of the attraction. My WCI four wheeler was indeed inspired by the grainy photo in Ernie Shepherd's WL&WR book, which also includes several better pictures of other early coaching stock. However, there really isn't a lot around and what there is is probably in JHB's head! Quite where he gets all the livery stuff from, I've no idea, but am certainly very grateful and likewise to all the other good folk on this forum. Anyway, for what it's worth, my own forays into Irish Railways have shown me that there is stuff out there if you look hard enough, though it does diminish the further you go back in history. Hence a degree of compromise becomes necessary, very much the case with my four wheel coach and why those generic Hatton's coaches aren't the worst idea either. If you are starting from scratch, I'd certainly encourage you to do the right gauge and likewise 7mm scale is arguably easier too. The Alphagraphix catalogue has some wonderful stuff in it, including a 2-2-2WT and four and six wheel coaches, plus a host of card kits for wagons all of which would make great starting points for a WCI project. Come on in, the water is lovely!

You may well be right, Mike. Various drawings below show the interior detail of two different Puffers - an early 'Vital Spark', with just a tiller and no wheelhouse, plus a later one - the Skylark. Interesting to see the berthing arrangements on the Vital Spark. the skipper had a rear cabin to himself, with a couple of berths for crew in the bow, along with basic cooking facilities. No ensuite bathrooms though! The Skylark drawing gives basic details of the wheelhouse controls, along with the arrangements in the boiler/engine room, which show the importance of weight distribution & why the funnel is where it was. Am hoping the built up forecastle on my Acla allows the boiler & funnel to be behind the wheel house! Meanwhile, much as it would have been nice to include all this interior detail, the fact that none of it will be seen means it just aint going to happen.

Thought as much - there is some serious metal forming going on there!