Horsetan

I was able to give SSM's contact details out, as a couple of people showed interest in the "S" class and SSM kits in general.

I have opened up a new album here, and have started to upload some of the many photos that I was allowed to take during the course of the evening. IRRS London area meetings now take place on the first floor (known as The Cellar ) of The Exmouth Arms pub, at 1 Starcross Street NW1, virtually next door to the old British Rail Collectors Corner premises, and a brick's throw away from Euston Station. As one of three non-members present, we were made very welcome, and membership forms came as part of the experience!! The evening was a talk led by Leslie McAllister (with Richard McLachlan - the Inchicore drawings man - on PowerPoint) on how far Irish railway modelling has come - some of the slides showing what had previously been available to the average Tom, Dick and Declan were a bit like reading "Humanae Vitae"! Leslie's presentation covered everything from the days of C.B. Fry and Drew Donaldson, and the late 1940s "O" gauge show layouts commissioned by CIE and the former NCC/UTA respectively. The late Tony Miles and his peerless "Adavoyle Junction" got a mention - it seems that the lads at South Dublin MRC still haven't fully worked out what the layout can do! The involvement of Hornby, Lima and then Bachmann into Irish waters, plus all the many kits, leading to Paddy Murphy's ongoing investment in specifically Irish RTR models - an investment which must run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds since tooling up for a new model is never cheap. One amusing point about the talk was the very tight timing in the best traditions of the Belfast-Dublin Enterprise - at one point it was reckoned Leslie was a whole two minutes behind schedule, so he "notched up" and finished two minutes early! A selection of models had been brought along, Leslie appearing to struggle to get his DCC controls underway, and marvelling at the sounds emitted by his own NIR-liveried diesel. He says it was bought to keep his grandson amused, but I do wonder - and two of Richard Chown's "O" gauge engines were also present, as was the man himself. A fairly lively AGM then followed after the break. I thought the whole thing was convivial, especially under the influence of Guinness. You could even buy a selection of books, so I took home a copy of "Steaming In Three Centuries"....which happens to have been co-written by Leslie.

Quite a few photos....

Here I am, at the meeting. Highly entertaining. My "S" class is also in attendance! Although not a member of the IRRS, I have been allowed to hover in the background whilst the AGM is underway.

The great thing about "N" is the sheer volume and area that you can cram into a given space. How will you be recreating the signalling?

Not North, but I'd be inclined to think along MGWR or GSWR lines....

Isn't this all meant to be an impossibility?

Hope to drop in, with "S" class bits (if I remember).....

That option already exists: it's called DC!!

'Cos ye're worth it? Ryanair package deal.

I was trying to trace the route of the Clifden line from Galway Station up to the site of the Corrib Viaduct. It is impossible.

I think the number on the tank side reads "6 A", if indeed that is a number. The wheelbase resembles that of the old Stephenson "long boiler" class 1275(?) goods engine from the Stockton & Darlington. What really confuses me are the pannier-like tanks, and what appear to be chopper couplings. At the moment, I'm thinking it's from the Wrexham Mold and Connah's Quay Railway, which did run some very strange engines with wheelbases like that in the photo.....

The only thing that would get laid would be track.

*facepalm*

If allowed to "drop in", I might bring along the bits of the "S" class build

Why would you want your powered 121 to waste some of its haulage power in towing a dummy unit?