Horsetan

Märklin might do modestly well if it offered British-outline EMU stock - then the 3-rail system might be justified! At the moment, the HO Gresley A3 is probably just a one-off, a bit like the Rivarossi "Royal Scot" or the Fleischmann "Warship". Not meant to lead to anything else, but useful to compare to Continental outline stock for an accurate idea as to relative size. You can see from the CAD and test-shot model that Märklin have applied their traditionally robust standards (not greatly changed from what they were doing in the 1980s) , so the valve gear links and pivots have been made overscale whilst the wheels have massive flanges. No, that was a Great Western "small Prairie" which also went to Poland and helped to run regular service on the line from Wolstyn.

The other railways companies weren't exactly short of their own motive power. By the end of the First World War, there was a great deal of Government Surplus stock sitting around, particularly ex-ROD Robinson 2-8-0s, needing new homes. The convoluted story of how these engines were flogged off is worth a read.

Neither of them are 1'10" gauge anyway

Interestingly, at least one book "Ireland's Largest Industrial Railway" (by Hugh Oram) has it the other way around, with boilerless no.15 being at Dromod, and no.22 being at Stradbally.

There's not a lot of the brewery infrastructure left for a restored engine to run on and, with a gauge of 1ft 10in, I'm not sure there are other preserved lines that would host it.

That's more or less correct. If I recall correctly, the tender footplate was also widened. But note that the cab width stayed exactly the same, as did the tender body.

That's probably no.15. It doesn't have a boiler, as that was pinched for use on no.22

Gary Skelton would probably be the descendant of the Guinness employee who bought no.21, which was withdrawn as long ago as 1959. Given the state it was in back then, I'm not sure that Mr, Skelton had any real plans to restore it - rather it was more of a keepsake to remind him of his workplace. Private collections are exactly that - not for the general public or the internet to see. If no.21 is dismantled or scrapped, we're not going to be able to see that either.

It was one of two kits available. I bought one, but I don't know who swiped the other one.

Did anyone spot this oul Jeremy Suter GNR(I) bread van kit?

Hmm....

Some of that footage featured in a DVD from several years ago, but appears to have been remastered/improved since then. Still have it somewhere on the shelf.

As can be seen from the photo, Tony's K1a/393 no.395, was a fabulous thing. Almost entirely scratchbuilt. It was only years later when I was able to track down the dimensions of the Woolwich Moguls that I realised Tony had made an error in the relationship between the greater width of the footplate and the cab. When the Moguls were assembled in the late MGW/GSR era, the engine frames were spaced wider, and the overall width of the footplate was wider. What did not change was the cab width, resulting in an appreciable ledge between the cabside and the footplate edge. The same applied to the tender tank, which remained the same width as the original SECR/SR design. If you look at the above photo of 395, the cabside is too close to the footplate edge, which suggests Tony widened the cab when there was no need to. The same goes for the tender. That said, his is the only model of a K1a I have ever seen, in any scale. Maybe it's still the only one ever built.

I have exhumed the few scans of the Chatham gig. It was in late Spring 2002. I had been called in at fairly short notice so it was straight from the office in Shepherds Bush on Friday evening, driving direct to Chatham to help set up - I think it took the best part of three hours - then back to the hotel for dinner and drink. To my horror I had left my toothbrush and toothpaste at home, so woke up on the Saturday with distinctly furry teeth. That was the year the rain really came down, making the show tents a humid place to be. Unfortunately one tent roof partly collapsed under the collected volume of rainwater, and a trading stand was underneath it - I understand a substantial insurance claim had to be made. Note that Tony's eyesight appeared to be not as good as it used to be..... He sent me a letter of thanks after, and I'm happy to post it up here if you want a look.

Sometimes 'tis better that way.

I do. I was on the operating team for Adavoyle at Chatham one year, and still have a few non-digital photos from then.

Andy, I think @jhb171achillmeant kits currently available. It's all very well saying you've built the Backwoods Donegal kits, but they are not available anymore. And, yes, I know N-Drive Productions now own the Backwoods Irish range but I'd be surprised if they all reappear in the 5-10 years ahead. It's not their full-time job.

One day, I'd like to see an IRM announcement in the style of "Miss Otis Regrets....."

It does seem as though coach rakes were more a matter of "whatever stock was available to form a train"

Will she be looking to flog 'em on eBay? Or are they family heirlooms to be passed down the generations?

The German SWR railway broadcast service on YouTube is just after posting a tribute film for Noel:

....but I only wanted the one!

Busáras Busarse!

The first one looks a bit like Galway Station goods yard.... Second one, no idea. Third one: is there anywhere on the Dublin-Cork route that had what looks like a full crossover?

Almost as many Prods as there are in Ulster.