Mike 84C

My J15 is so far fine, runs well but my Bandon tank from 00 works stripped the axle gear after about an hours running on our club test track. Roderick supplied a new one free of charge which I fitted. Problem solved! And very good service, should I have had to do rectification? my choice but?????

Welcome to the group Dan, I know all the answers to your questions are already on the group just have trawl! But I know others will point you in the right direction. I use 16.5mm track as do many on this group Provincial Wagons and Studio Scale Minatures will get you started and New Irish Lines is worth every penny of its subscription. Best Wishes Mick

Nuremburg is the ultimate toy show but it is a very long time since I have been.

Also a thanks from me for posting those pictures, The Derry Road. it certainly does not look very crowded! I really thought it would be heaving with people sp gave it a miss! And the group who offered me a ride were going at the crack of dawn for the 9.30.opening. Ah well!

Be selective with the offerings from Bachmann, Dapol Cambrian kits etc; and be prepared to do a lot of repainting after the surgery. Thats how I have done it, plus photos to work to and the help from so many people on IRM who have freely given information. Most of my Bachmann & Dapol donors come from T&T fairs and swop meets. Welcome to another world!

Sooo happy these are well out of my era! Or I might have had to find a under hand way to aquire some.

Horsetan , Robert Humm is quite local to me, I can assure you nothing has changed in the charging department!

Copy on Amazon 22/11/22 priced at £40 +p&p

Have you tried Robert Humm in Stamford or Abe Books?

Yey! lets hear it for the Baldwins!! Or maybe a certain Dublin & South Eastern 2-6-0, which would be easier to scan than a Bandon Baldwin! But, not another J15 ,please.

Does anyone know? Were the built up Inchicore loco chimneys made from a standard set of components e.g. cap and base with the varience being the length of tube. Photographs seem to show or not! similarities in cap sizes. This may be an optical illusion in relation to smokebox size/diameter and length of chimney. I ask because I would like to find a descent representation of the Inchicore chimney and it seems as if I need to adjust the look of Scottish types to get the look! I know questions like this are getting difficult at 60+ yrs from the steam age! but someone may know the answer.

I have successfully used Dettol, soak for a week then a good scrub with a tooth brush then wash off under a hot tap. Also works for dissolving the epoxy bond on glued kits. I do check the plastic to see if its unaffected by the Dettol.

Thanks for that info; Barl, very interesting. We used to haul Petcoke years ago. Its the final residue from oil refining and I knew of burning shredded rubber but I am surprised there is the thermal energy to produce cement in cardboard and plastics also meat and bone! Every days a school day!

Barl, you say Irish Cement are looking to burn residual recovered waste, what is that product? Not something I ever hauled to our local cement works!

Here in the UK the small bags were 50kg normally 30 on a pallet. The "Big bags" were 500kg and 1000kg with loops on the top for forklift handling. As an aside the plastic covers had another purpose besides protection, the palletising machines used a silicone lubricant on the bags to keep them moving smoothly, guess what happens when the pallets are on a bouncy HGV? so some inventive person devised a system that put a stripe of glue on every bag which sort of worked BUT step three involved hot shrink wrapping the the whole pallet. That was good but hot plastic sticks to hot plastic, you can imagine the mess that could be made on the farm!

Positive news, that's good to hear Ken. Keep plugging away with the treatment. Port Breige and its workers reminds me of some dock work I have done in the past driving HGV's. All B----y hard work! I love the pattern of bags in the coasters hold, very well observed.

I ran it at club this week, who had a camera? not even a phone!!!! but I will take some pictures. Our layout Bantry is doing a local event on Dec 3rd, pictures then.

Northwalldocker, I have built one of the Nonneminstre kits, just take your time and low melt solder to assemble it. There are no registration marks or lugs to help keep it square just bevelled corners! Mine is 16.5 gauge, runs on a tenshodo spud , kadee couplings are tricky to fit. Digitrains do a sound file that is appropriate the gear changing is rather good! enjoy!

You have built a loco while I'm still thinking about it!!! Brilliant modelling.

Thanks for posting those drawings David. Helps make a few construction details clear. One photograph in the Puffers book I mentioned does show an early puffer with just an open "wheelhouse" area with canvas "dodger" about chest high to protect the steersman! I had'nt realised most of the early ones were built to fit locks of the Forth and Clyde canal and built in boatyards at Kirkintilloch. The design is said to have originated from unpowered boats called "scows" which I presume is a local term.

I would think that the boiler was in front of the wheelhouse because it put the weight of the boiler further forward, helping stability and gave more room for the engine and prop shaft behind. I'm almost certain the boiler was a vertical type which would have a smallish footprint but a higher centre of gravity. The funnel position often seemed to change when puffers were converted to diesel power

If the power of thought could cure, you would be felling better already Ken. Wishing you well and your treatment is successful and yes your brilliant modelling is doing us all a power of good! Thinking of you, look after yourself.

I recently bought a little book called "Puffers" by Guthrie Hutton ISBN 9781840334142 published by Stenlake Publishing Limited. www.stenlake.co.uk. Bought it whilst on holiday in Scotland 'cos it looked interesting, it is, very interesting and I wanted some fresh reading materiel! 48 pages of historic b/w photographs. I have no connection with the author or publishers just a happy reader. Reading the potted history of each illustrated craft its staggering how many were lost at sea.

Brilliant! Thats what I call a narrow gauge loco.

And I did'nt go because I thought It would be very crowded! Looks like you had a good day Jim with plenty of very good layouts. Those little Heywood locos are brilliant . Sorry I missed you.