Horsetan

That reminds me of a massive meringue....

The greater good.

Good, isn't it?

I imagine there wouldn't be much change out of £150,000 for a model like that.

I've never seen fully working Caprotti valve gear in miniature before.... ....and virtually everything just...works!

CSET 0-4-0Ts

Only if there's a plurality involved.

It probably self-identifies as maroon.

Meanwhile, Lough Erne has spent a longer period "out of use" than "working".... - shame she couldn't go on loan to Downpatrick, as she'd have a better chance of doing some work there if restored to steam. Incidentally, the RPSI page for "Erne" says she was the only one of the two 0-6-4Ts to carry red nameplates and then only after 1959. The photo of "Melvin" above suggests otherwise....

Cabra sez No.

That's a write-off, then. Would be good source of spares, though.....

Out of sight, out of mind..... *shrugs*

I'm not sure of the wisdom of trying a new way of poisoning the planet, when we already have some effective ones. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, this is practically identical to my car, inside and out. Pity the steering wheel's on the wrong side....

Looks more like a fireless....

"The instructions are all in feckin' German!!"

I'm almost tempted, but A39r is probably a model I'll take with me to the grave. There won't be any more.

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.