Horsetan

When all's said and done, it all helps to make you think a bit harder and develop your own methods to get round the problem. That's modelling. Having said that, when Dapol brought out their Class 52 Western diesel-hydraulic, the bogies worked on the same split axle / stub axle principle. To convert it to P4, Ultrascale produced a limited batch of P4 wheels with the stub axles already fitted, and the wheels themselves were non-insulated. They weren't cheap, at 60 quid for 12 specially-produced disc wheels, but they worked. Thereafter the model performed the same way that Dapol designed it to. I'm not sure Ultrascale would do the same again for a limited number of 21mm gauge coach conversions - I can see it would be an expensive exercise.

They won't work on 21mm gauge without cutting and splicing-in new inserts to take up the wider spacing. However, that's relatively minor compared to what will be required to install new wheels (and axles). The Murphy Models Mk2s are much more straightforward in that respect, but will themselves need to have the bogie frames widened to match the IRM overall width.

The parts diagrams are spectacular.... ....and so are the full-width bogies.... One thing I note is that the conversion to 21mm gauge (P4 profile wheels) may not be completely straightforward, as the IRM bogie wheels work on a split-axle principle, with the wheels being an interference fit on 1.5mm dia stub axles which then plug in either side of the insulated centre tube. Conventional P4 wheels are generally mounted on 2mm dia axles and if these were swapped straight in, then the lighting function will be lost as the P4 wheels tend to be plastic-centred. Somewhere in the bombsite that is my worktop, I have a pack of the old Exactoscale P4 coach wheels which - unlike the conventional type - were designed to mount on their own 1mm dia axles. This is going to require a bit of lateral thinking....

Update: it looks like they did, so that's a relief. Next job is to convert everything to 21mm gauge.

Alan's Irish 21mm output is sublime

The wheels and some of the motion were salvaged from no.54, I think. I don't think the RPSI managed to save a spare boiler, otherwise they wouldn't be building an all new boiler and firebox now. Interesting to note that the driving wheel pattern is the same one used on the LMS Black Five.

Presumably the more expensive ones are the ones with the fewest flaws!

RPSI have quietly made considerable strides over the last decade in building an all-new one.

Here's one way of doing it My understanding is that the bogie frame itself should directly support the main chassis frames and be permitted to slide from side-to-side, and not permitted any vertical movement. Only the bogie axles themselves should be allowed to go up and down. Chris Pendlenton explains his bogie principles here - he's one of the few who understands how a model bogie should work, and how you get there.

Branchlines does a fret for the central buffer, chopper-type couplings.

I haven't had time this week to open the wreck of the parcel, but will get round to it on Saturday. It's currently sitting there, looking like the elephant in the room.

Interestingly, having looked at all the photos so far, it does look to me like there's a slight variation in the depth of the wheel flanges amongst some of the models.

Has anyone dared to shorten the IRM "A" into an approximation of a "C"?

My cousin's mental alarm bells went off when he found out I was walking from the flat in Bow Bridge Place, through St. James and into the city centre. I only did that because it was more reliable than waiting for a bus. I could have walked out via Heuston and along the quays as an alternative. The other thing my cousin told me was never to park my Fiat Punto in Ballyfermot as it was unlikely I'd see it again if I did.

I was frequently in the same area between 1998 and 2003 (and may even have walked past you without knowing; who knows!?) and my cousin - at the time a junior doctor at St. James - kept telling me I was lucky not to end up as one of his daily patients since he often had to patch up those who had either been assaulted, stabbed, or otherwise injured due to general inebriation.

Ulcer sez no!

Phwoaarrr

There's a few items of Irish 3ft and even 1'10 over the other side. I'm not sure there was much, if any, wibbling when they went!

Update: the local post office has found the parcel and we have retrieved it! It does look like it has either been drop-kicked or partly crushed in transit....

That's what happens when society becomes ever more feral.

The question is whether the really bad ones will happen more often.

I bet you're not keen on sausages now

These figures never stand still and I think we have to realise that this only covers the place until the next flood, unless the powers that be are motivated to design and introduce flood prevention/diversion measures.

They might only have lasted up until the 1990s before being withdrawn, just as the As and Cs were at that time.

According to the GLS parcel tracking, the RPSI set I ordered has made it to Britain, but then the trail goes a bit cold. I have a Parcelforce track number which claims the parcel was subjected to an attempted delivery on Valentine's Day, and then left at the local post office. My friend and I went to that post office today, only to be told that the parcel was not there!! Hope it hasn't been stolen....