Horsetan

That reminds me of the huge sign that Dougal wrote for Ted: "Ted: get me loads of matador stuff"

There will be two speeds employed on this build: slow......and stop.

"el-Crappo" was the name given to the 7mm scale MTK kits. And they were. 'tis said that Colin Massingham never ever consulted a drawing or took any measurements - he allegedly just looked at a few photos and did everything by eye. Should have gone to Specsavers.

Long before Mercedes made it the plutocrat / African diplomatic conveyance of choice, the Great Northern Railway of Ireland laid claim to the "S" classification to place on Glover's classic 4-4-0 design. Decades later, a brass and nickel-silver kit was produced. Fairly hard to get hold of in those pre-Internet days, it was another couple of decades before a secondhand one, untouched as many kits are, was spotted on eBay and swiped for less than the cost of a Ryanair seat to Dublin. Here it all is, to be built in Irish P4/21mm gauge. As a first stab, you'd want to be doing it more elegantly than a skanger in Ballyfermot: It will be sixteen weeks before Irish axles arrive from Ultrascale and hopefully a lot less than that for P4-profiled wheels from AGW (Alan Gibson Workshop). There'll be working hornblocks to get from High Level, and we'll be trying to install the CSB suspension system. I absolutely hate worm gears, so one of the many Portescap RG4s in my drawer will probably find its way into the drivetrain. Des at SSM e-mailed the missing instruction sheets this week and we're sort of set to go. The instructions suggest that you can build the body structures separately from the chassis, which is great 'cos the wheels and axles aren't here yet! I'll be trying to portray no.171. I only model preserved stuff, on the basis that you can still go and see the thing. A 21mm gauge layout in future? Now chance would be a fine thing (though Templot makes it easier) - more likely I'll seek permission to run on someone else's 21mm gauge.

I wonder if it could be classified as a Class 2 relic......

I remember the days when it was 1.40 Euro to the pound.

I read last year in the Indo that an entire block in Dublin had to be evacuated because a proper fire risk assessment had never been carried out (yet the authorities signed it off), and it was belatedly discovered that there was no (or inadequate) fire-resistant material in the walls.

Not sure if it's true or not, but when 356's tender became dirty, the cleaners allegedly only cleaned some of the lettering on it, so it read: "C I E ...MENTAL TURF BURNING LOCOMOTIVE"

I've never quite understood the newer IR ground signal. They are like the UK position light signals, but with a second white light placed vertically in addition to the white light at 45 degrees.

Would that be like the "Magic Road" in Father Ted? Y'know, where thing appear to roll uphill.....

LHB* stock as featured in The Commitments ? *Linke-Hoffmann-Busch

Not sure how many sets Roco managed to shift (at about 700 quid-plus each), but it doesn't appear in their catalogue for this year, and the coaches don't seem to be available separately (which is a real shame). The video suggests the opening mechanisms appear to be linked to the tops of the doors rather than the bottoms. Proves it can be done, though.

Slightly OT but I think I read somewhere that during the GSR's 20-year existence it had sufficient funding to build fewer than 50 new engines. Much of its activity was necessarily engaged on belt-tightening.

When I went there in 2003, the lovely cup o' tea service had not been introduced and the Macormack family were keeping everyone out! Back then, nobody had quite realised the Celtic Tiger was walking on quicksand either. AGW is the only source of P4-profile wheels appropriate for the "S"; Ultrascale has no driving wheels that are close, but they do make an extra-long driving axle (actually intended for outside frame engines) which could be trimmed, as well as lengthened bogie and tender axles. Also, waiting time is now 16 weeks , not eight. I have a drawer filled with coreless RG4 motors, so will use one on the "S". I am a big fan of bevel-and-spur / contrate-and-pinion drives, so will never use worm gears if I can possibly avoid them.

Very useful! Irish stock drawings are hard to access at the best of times, so anything with dimensions on it will be a help. Anyone got drawings for the GNRI "S" or, better still, its inside cylinders and motion?

Grand, thanks!

Seen that, thanks.

Yes those would be my pension fund.....

The challenge would appear to be how to make it so that the reversing gear actually works, so you can have forward or reverse gear.

The download site keeps trying to con me into subscribing for a "gold" account.

Just stumbled across this thread for my first post. I already model to S4/18.83 standards, so 21mm gauge is merely an extension - let Templot be your friend if no ready-drawn templates exist. I sort of fell into 5' 3" (and 3') after spending some time in Ireland (Kildare, Clare, Mayo and Donegal), as well as being allowed to help operate Adavoyle Junction at the 2000 Chatham show. I'll also slip in a gratuitous Father Ted reference due to my adoption of Clare as a spiritual home : It has taken until now to get hold of my first-ever 5'3" engine, though; eBay provided an untouched SSM/TMD kit for the GNRI "S" 4-4-0, for just 26 quid, with extra thanks to Des Sullivan at SSM for providing updated instructions! Could it be the start of the slippery slope? Broad gauge axles might be a problem - not everyone makes 28mm pinpoints, and loco plain axles are another matter entirely......