Tractionman

It was good to see Enda's products in the flesh too and have a chat about these, really nice chap and great models, I got tempted there were plenty of other folk very interested too, a good sign I thought

a pic from today:

nice to meet you this morning @leslie10646 -- yours was one of the busiest stalls I saw in the place, so hope sales were good cheers, Keith

I have! British and Irish modelling are not mutually exclusive... and my point was exactly that IRM and Accurascale are one and the same (from a buyer's POV)

interesting how the focus in much of the dicussion (espeically on RMWeb) has been looking at things more from the Heljan future point of view, which is fair enough, but for us here I wondered about the implications--if any--for IRM (aka Accurascale) plans and for developing new Irish models... I see the brand expansion as a good sign, a portent perhaps that there will be benefits down the line for modellers and modelling this side of the Irish Sea too cheers, Keith

very much appreciated, thank you for this, those examples look great! all the best, Keith

yes it's the 25" scale OS that has the details on the track layouts, there's some debate (among map historians) on how reliably the 25" sheets show actual track configurations, whether there was some simplification of layouts in certain cases, but on the whole this map scale is the best for plotting out track-plans and taking dimensions for model railways , compared to the 6", which is too small in scale compared to the 25" plus the first edition OS 6" in Ireland is from the 1830s, so too early, whereas the 25" sheets come later, so railways have appeared! the National Library of Scotland has something similar online: https://maps.nls.uk/os/ and their available historic OS sheets are increasingly now covering Ireland: https://maps.nls.uk/os/#ireland the NLS maps available now for GB include later large-scale series, from the 1960s/1970s (https://maps.nls.uk/os/national-grid/), but OSi at the mo does not include these online. cheers, Keith

yes, just doing some back of the envelope calculations, the OSi tool for the 25"-scale map gives 340m for the length from the overbridge in the west to the river bridge in the east, so that's 1116 feet, which in 4mm gives dimensions of 176" (about 14 and a half feet), or 4.48m, so manageable in the space I have (as scenic breaks, I'd substitute over bridges at each end...). food for thought I might mock this up in the loft with some track when I get the chance. cheers, Keith

Well a pleasant bit of research through looking at the great photos in various books including those by Michael McMahon has led me to Athlone Midland station, I like the look of this: http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway Stations A/Athlone Midland/IrishRailwayStations.html

One of these? https://railsofsheffield.com/products/bachmann-38-785-14t-anchor-mounted-tank-wagon-irlam-margarine-works-black

Hmm, I have paid in full, with the email message as follows "Thank you for your Payment. We confirm this order is now paid, and attach your receipt for your records." An invoice was attached to this confirmation. Cheers, Keith

there's some inf here

Sorry to hear this, a frustrating time for you folks and absolutely the right course of action, we'll get them when we get them, I for one would rather wait and have tip top models than not Might have to treat myself to some more vans in the meantime Cheers, Keith

Same here, sometimes I'll pop by the shop when I'm in Dublin, it's on my regular route from Connolly to Dawson Street. It's nice to visit a proper model shop these days.

it certainly would, imagine heading out from Downpatrick running past the race course, Ballynoe stone circle and onto the coast to Ardglass, perfect! Through the lovely landscape of Lecale. Much better investment than putting in some gondola for the Mournes for bringing in tourists to the region and giving them a nice scenic ride...

I see a few past topics have also covered prototype track plans, eg and I'm still looking at @Antony 's list

That's terrific, thank you very much for this, I'm having a good look through the list cheers, Keith

Let's see if this works, this is the 25" for Portarlington

Very many thanks, that's good to know, I'd better join! The old OS maps are useful for earlier periods, especially the historic 25" scale maps, but the large scale maps for later periods are harder to find online, I'd need a trip to an archive or library probably, to get a look at paper copies. Cheers, Keith

I'm struggling to find many track plans for stations and yards, some useful ones in the excellent "Rails of..." series of books, and it's possible to work out approx running arrangements from some photos of stations, but are there somewhere published track plans for the 1970s-90s? I'm looking for some inspiration! Seeing the 1982 photo of Portarlington in the recent vol of IRR has got me thinking... Perhaps if folks have got track plans on file, photos etc, that they wouldn't mind posting and sharing, this thread could be a place for them Cheers, Keith

That's such a pity, and so long ago, it's amazing the lines have just been left, largely intact, only some crossings have been tarmacked over. It'd be a lovely wee jaunt for visitors, along the Foyle, on a summer evening. Hope one day trains might run there again

The end of the line, pictured today.

well I'll be at the Bangor exhib at the end of the month, if there's anything left!

ooh, looking forward to the next installment!

if anyone is looking for one of these... https://clarkrailworks.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/model-rail-oo-mr-005a-gsr-sentinel-4wvbt-no-282