Horsetan

Thing is, sprung suspension allows plenty of tilt - sometimes too much so. CSB suspension started to become a thing some years after Rice's book was published; it's a bit more controlled than coil springs.

"Gedditoutthereangiddyup, like"

I think that AL was absorbed into the SSM range It's quite telling that, back in 1993, Iain Rice didn't venture into discussing sprung suspension in his book - I think he thought it the work of the devil!

I think this is also a driver option on Euro Truck Simulator 2....although I haven't checked, as I prefer driving Volvo FHs...

Posted here a few days ago....

An Australian P4 modeller friend of mine who is currently visiting the UK says that the FREMO module idea has taken off amongst the Aussie OOn9 community and some quite ambitious networks have been put together at meetings.

I quite like the idea of a junction station layout/module - trains can call and then go off on two/three/four different route options. Claremorris had five exits at its peak....

No

I can just feel the excitement

Didn't Bulleid design/procure coaching stock that ran on them? Or were these the Laminates anyway?

There's at least one Accurascale "Tulyar" on eBay at the moment, but not the DPS edition

That's why FREMO module networks might actually be a practical way of achieving the ultimate layout... Me, I keep thinking of stations like Claremorris (with the pre-1975 track layout), Macmine Junction, and so on....

Probably being released on eBay now....

This is the first time I've seen this one. We don't often see details of Northern Irish engines in that limbo between withdrawal and ultimate scrapping, so this was quite a useful watch - especially the glimpse of the Baltic tank.

Some fascinating footage of the state of the railway network in the North, provided by the BBC Archive service. Includes views of the erstwhile NCC, GNRI, BCDR and SLNC lines. By 1956, the writing was already on the wall in terms of purely economic viability, with some methods of service improvement being tried. Road transport gained its stranglehold, which remains to this day. There are some very rare views of the dismantling and scrapping process on BCDR, NCC and GNRI routes - see, in particular, the brief views of County Down engines (spot the Baltic tank) awaiting cutting-up, the auctioning-off of redundant engines to a crowded room of scrap dealers, and a plaintive appeal to keep the SLNC in operation; we all know what happened there.

There's a small number of Australian modellers who gone a bit further with 1:87, and they work in 18.37mm gauge to P87 standards.

The side benefit of 5'3" in HO/18.25 (strictly speaking 18.37) is that you can run Australian stock as well....

Possible to extend to the later period if you borrow certain castings from the SSM J15 kit, I think.

I think you'll struggle with this one - there's nothing RTR that's remotely close to "Sambo". You might be able to produce a hybrid version from various RTR bits, though. I'm not aware of any reliable drawings since the real thing was itself an ad-hoc hybrid of old parts. The saddle tank itself looks close to the one on the very old Hornby "Caley Pug" (which was oversized), so a cheap body shell could give you a start. The footplate could be derived from the old Hornby GNR J13 tank, maybe with some repositioning of splashers. Not sure which RTR model would provide smokebox boiler and firebox - "Sambo" is quite unique in this respect. Likewise the cab is a mish-mash. Here's some bare dimensions: 0-4-2ST.... Sambo Number 842 (not carried) Class L2: 1914 Constructed from spare parts and used as Inchicore pilot. 4ft 6½in coupled wheels, 16 x 20in cylinders, .... The only RTR 0-4-2T chassis are those for the GWR 14xx, which is too long for Sambo, plus the wheels are too big.

If you think the Robinson A5 tank is bulky, you should see his L1 (later L3) 2-6-4T.....

There's an IFM Laminate upstairs that could do with a better pair of bogies....

Hopefully the bogies will be available as spares, just as with the Mk2s.

I seem to have one green one and one B&T one on order, supposedly both preserved examples.

....and note the "open" footplate in front of the cylinders, adopted (it is said) from Charles Fairburn's 1945 2-6-4T design for the LMS. Fairburn was an electrical engineer by training, but is best remembered for that single mixed-traffic/suburban tank.