Horsetan

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.

See also Claremorris.

...and yet something that anyone involved in Irish rail, throughout much of the second half of the 20th century, was familiar with.

Became a bit of a wasteland once rationalised

As long as he's putting it against his own head, what's not to like?

It's a bit like Russian Roulette, but with only one chamber empty.

There's also the more recent Zimbabwean and Argentinian approaches to printing more money....

Here's a method for building points using FB rail

That's useful to know..... How many in that pack?

Not just me, so. I've only ever used .jpg or .jpeg format files for uploading to the Forum, same as everyone else.

Still loads more 30ft track bases to be used up....

Thing that grabs me is that it's a lot of money to be paying for something that's (deliberately) designed to be wrong.... They're not even cheap enough to cut-and-shut with other things in the hope of getting closer to what's actually wanted.

...these are all photos uploaded to the Forum or Forum albums directly. I don't use third party hosts.

Makes me wonder if pictures uploaded are in fact some kind of online mirage....

Try my SSM GSR 800 thread - even the first post is peppered with "broken" image icons....

What I've noticed is that a lot of my past photos have disappeared from posts or threads I've written on. The more recent photos are visible, but even they disappear after a while, and all I get are the "broken image" icons.... it's a bit bizarre.

Here's a side view. Doesn't look bad at all. Saves many hours of going at it with gauges and multiple packs of PECO Pandrol clips individually glued down on ABS sleepers.... I'd go as far as to say that, if you want to portray that slight air of neglect that used to hang around Irish secondary/branch line permanent way, the 3D printed bases are already much of the way there - the sleepers even have visible cracks at the end and look somewhat past their best! What would really finish it would be FB rail in phosphor bronze which has always been useful for representing corroded or rarely used rail.

If I had to nit-pick, there are a random few clips which are very loose as you feed the rail through. Whether that helps gauge-widening on curves, I don't know.....yet. That said, this is an ideal contribution to getting something running. I've loads of track bases left over, so I reckon we're going to need a lot more FB rail....

Code 75 is probably more representative of the Irish network before the modern era of concrete sleepers and continuously welded rail, for which Code 82 would be perfect.