Horsetan

The view over Waterford is interesting for me, as that gives a distant view of the road traffic signal arrangement at the junction with the bridge. This being the late 1970s, the signal equipment would have been relatively new, and Siemens got the gig here as it did all over Ireland in this period, notably in Cork and especially so in Dublin, where brand new signals regulated the complex O'Connell Street / O'Connell Bridge intersections for the first time ever, finally displacing Gardaí officers from hand-signalled traffic control. Unfortunately, signal maintenance in the decades following wasn't a strong point and in 1988 I regularly observed Siemens signals with missing hoods, lenses or simply non-operational. I've had a go at trying to identify a few of the cars waiting at the lights: the yellow one is a Fiat 128, whilst the aquamarine blue at the back of the queue is a Fiat 127. The big brown hatchback is a mystery: I thought it might be a Rover SD1 but the tail lights are the wrong shape. The only other big cars that adopted the hatchback/fastback shape at this time were the Lancia Gamma and the Citroën CX. It's definitely not a CX as the tail light and concave rear windscreen would be easily spotted even at this distance.

If anything, I'd think the mails were treated with greater priority than the passengers....

Mine's a kit, so I have every opportunity to make my own mistakes on paint shades

You know it makes sense. The bogies will need to be widened somewhat for 21mm gauge.

Is it your intention to take on the 4mm Irish 5ft 3in etches as well? There were a great many of those too....

Like Sambo, it does seem to have been an improvised one-off.

Further TPO update: The CIE TPO is now available, and I'm just after paying for one. The basic kit only (not RTR) is 90 Euros, plus a further 20 Euros for delivery to UK by DPD. Tommy accepts payment by Revolut, or IBAN transfer to his Revolut account.

For now, anyway

Longer insulating muffs would help

I'm guessing that with typical Irish summers back then tending to lack that essential ingredient - actual heat - heat absorption problems with a predominantly black livery were not considered a problem.

"Mass now is ended. Go in Peace to love and serve the Lord."

I'm sure priests use the same two fingers when making the sign of the cross....

Theoretically, I should have one green one, and a BnT one, coming this way. Both being the preserved vehicles. I wonder if they'll be as challenging to convert to 21mm as the Mk2s (split 1mm pinpoint axle and insulating muff arrangement)

Just after paying the second Park Royal invoice

I wonder what the spares situation at IRM is for "A" class parts at the moment? I'm sure there's bits in there he could cannibalise....

It's a hybrid of two different engines, - frames and wheels of 61.002 - rear frames, trailing truck and outside cylinders of 45.024 topped by a Reko 39E boiler. I think the tender came from a Br44.

"Is it a kind of nudey thing, Father?"

I remember it as The Passion Of St. Tibulus.....

Have you not tried your hand at doing banknotes?

Not had that happen with AGW outside cranks before. Having said that, I have experienced some being loose on the axle, and a couple (the specific type for the 08 shunter) have actually split when eased onto the axle. There are a couple of ways to alleviate this: 1. Countersink from the back of the crank; once seated, Loctite 601/603 or Nutlock 242 should help the bolt keep its grip. 2. Don't overtighten the bolt when you get it in. 3. For the axle, partly running a 3.2mm drill from the rear will allow the axle to be inserted more easily. Then it's a case of either running Loctite in as the crank reaches its final position, and/or running a fine drill through the crank and into the axle so that the crank can be pinned in place - not easy. Note: AGW and the old Sharman outside cranks seem to be based around a generic 22" stroke. Ultrascale only produce outside cranks for their 08 shunter wheel, and these rarely if ever give problems. Their crankpin system seems to be more secure; some people redrill AGW wheels to take Ultrascale crankpins instead.

That escalated quickly.

I think someone's trying to tell him he should go back to work

News update: Jeff sez his retirement hasn't had the ideal start: last week his car broke down and then some feral stole the new motorbike he'd only just taken delivery of.....

Actually, no.

Looks like one of my cousins has finally decided to retire from the railways This is the fella who got me into model railways back in 1975, with the birthday present of a Hornby Freightmaster set. My parents never forgave him for that. The rest, as they say, is hysterical.