Flying Snail

9 hours ago, patrick said:

I'm having issues posting photos. They are not showing on the post, can anyone help?

I would guess that the issue is that the filetype is not supported by the software running this forum. The filetype that your camera saves images as by default is called HEIF/HEIC - that's the bit at the end of your file's name after the dot: '.heic'. Try exporting your photos into another common file format such as JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg) or PNG (.png) before you upload them.

It's a yes for me (one).

I have to confess that I too thought you were trying to flog a "newsed" model loco at first glance....

You'd definitely get more than £250 for that loco ... although there's a limited market for 1:1 scale on here though 

The WL&WR fire front (I"m presuming thats what it is) is a very nice piece!!

1 hour ago, west_clare_wanderer said:

.... Or is something bigger at play here? Perhaps because Ireland remained a largely rural society until the 1980s? 

I have another though..... do you think the lack of preservation schemes may also to some extent mirror the relatively lower wealth, disposable income, and economic base of Ireland until the Celtic tiger revolution? Perhaps in the days when fledgling projects were getting off the ground in Britain - in the 1960s and 1970s - there was (relatively) more money available. Critically, grants.

I think you're close to the mark here west_clare_wanderer: preservation costs money, something Ireland didn't have much of until after the mid 90s. Even today, when it comes to heritage there is little interest in incurring ongoing expenditure if there's not a clear (monetary) return on the investment.

I don't agree that there's a 'Railways = British = Bad' narrative. I just don't see any evidence for it - outside of this forum, I've never heard anyone suggest anything like that. If there is a prejudice against them, I'd be more inclined to think that it's not that railways are considered British, but instead that they're not considered uniquely Irish. As such, when you consider that a lot of our heritage investments are associated with tourism and generating tourist revenue - then having high running costs and not being uniquely Irish means that they get overlooked.

It definitely looks at home in that rake. The colours seem a good match. Well done!

The Magnorail system models cyclists' legs turning the peddles with transparent perspex/acrylic wheels. Perhaps something like that could work with the horse's feet while a motorised van pushes the whole contraption along???

I hope you're not gone too long - I really enjoy following along your workbench

Worsley Works also have a kit for the Pullman coaches - wouldn't one of them also have shown up behind an 800?

EDIT: The answer is yes ... I asked this very same question, in this very same thread back in March 

On 25/5/2025 at 2:14 PM, Mol_PMB said:

I am aware of two large tomes focusing on locomotives: 'Locomotives Of The Great Southern & Western Railway' by Jeremy Clements, Michael McMahon, Alan O'Rourke; and Locomotives Of The GSR' by Jeremy Clements, Michael McMahon. I don't have these, and my interest isn't really in the locomotives, though I might consider buying them to peer into the background of photos looking for more interesting things like wagons and carriages.

Does anyone on the forum have these? Would you recommend them?

I have both. They are very good references for GSWR & GSR locomotives, with good photos of locomotives. However, the focus of the photos are very much on the locomotives - there's occasional shots of carriages and wagons in the background but I wouldn't recommend them for that purpose. The Locomotives Of The GSR book also has other motive power such as the various railcars and inspection vehicles as well as the Drumm battery trains.

Nice repair -  blends right in!!!

Intersting topic @Mol_PMB!

In addition to the narrow gauges, Guinness Brewery would also have included the 5'3" tramway to Hueston, and Cómhlucht Siúicre Eireann also had its own 5'3" shunters to manage traffic at its plants.There's also a number of industrial sidings such as the Shannonvale Mill one in Cork that was operated by horse.

Some interesting pictures of both narrow and broad gauge industrial railways here: https://transportsofdelight.smugmug.com/RAILWAYS/IRISH-RAILWAYS/INDUSTRIAL-LOCOMOTIVES

59 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

Wasn't the first railway in Ulster a narrow-gauge industrial line? That's a snippet from memory, hope I'm not wildly wrong.

Guinness as well of course, and later the vast BnM networks which grew up around the time that the common carriers were closing. Lesser-known were the lines associated with major construction schemes and sometimes remaining in use later, such as Ardnacrusha PS and Marconi Clifden. I'm sure there were many more.

 

Agree that its nice to be reminded that Ireland had narrow gauges other than 3'. In fact, despite it being another 3' gauge, I think the BnM railways are an excellent example that there's also more to industrial systems than the sterotypical urban factory setting so many of us associate industrial railways with. At least one author has claimed that Guinness had the largest industrial railway in Ireland. In fact that title goes to the BnM network - its network even dwarfed the County Donegal which is often referred to as being the largest narrow gauge railway in these islands.

25 minutes ago, commerlad said:

It's not just that simple. Even ignoring someone deciding to change the numbers or rules again the international money markets can throw a spanner in the works.

Lets say that the order comes to $780 when shipping. A 0.025% change in the £ to $ exchange rates wile the item is in transit might push the amount over the $800 and thus incur the different rule.

Agreed -  'simple' solutions are often not simple to implement!

On the face of it, it seems very simple for Accurascale to just implement a shipping rule to 'send all US orders valued between $335 and $800 via the mail and all others via courier until Aug 12'. However, it's not that simple at all.

For instance, let's suppose Accurascale implement the above shipping rule - but then US tariffs change again before Aug 12 in a way that makes shipping orders between $335 and $800 cheaper by courier instead of mail. What happens if Accurascale fail to spot those tariff changes and don't change their shipping rule accordingly - resulting in their customers missing out on the lower cost option.  Would a US customer be entitled to be upset at Accurascale for imposing the higher cost option on them? 

It seems obvious to me that to avoid the above scenario, Accurascale would have to commit resources (i.e time and money) to:

1. track US tariff developments on an ongoing basis for changes; and,
2. for each new change - investigate various scenarios involving shipping options, order values etc. - and then implement new rules to pick the best shipping option.

The safer (and cheaper*) option for Accurascale is to let their American customers do their own research and choose their own preferred shipping option - that way American customers only have themselves to blame if they have to pay higher than expected tariffs.

*I expect Accurascale have crunched the numbers when making their decision and have taken into account size of the US market, and the likely negative impact on sales etc.

As mentioned above - had Harcourt St. and Broadstone remained in use in 1966, they would have received two of the names of the executed leaders that were allocated to other stations.

In addition to Dev and Collins, another prominent name associated is Countess Markievicz - she ended up on the anti-treaty side of the Civil War, so she probably presents the same civil war politics dilemma (btw, we have since had public buildings and spaces named after all three of these). But, if you want to continue the 1916 theme and pick a name that would be acceptable to both sides of the Civil War - then I suggest you also think about those who died in the fighting in 1916. The most senior of the rebels to die in the fighting was probably The O'Rahilly, who had tried to stop the Rising going ahead, but still turned out to take part. He died covering the retreat from the GPO - cut down by a machine gun, he was refused medical treatment and left on the street to bleed out despite the rebels' surrender. He lived in Herbert Park, so Harcourt St would be a good candidate for him.

Another prominent death was the pacifist Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, who was arrested while trying to prevent looting and summarily executed. 

Now all that being said, if a station was being named in more recent times I think it more likely that the search for names would be broadened out to include literary and civic figures as well, so if your scenario involves a modern day renaming of the two stations you might consider some of those too?

Enjoy the process, and share some pics of the build!

1 hour ago, GM073 said:

Would you be able to point me in the right direction to find info on how to convert BR Mk1 = CIE "BR" Genny?

 

I bought 3 Lima ones at a show recently.

 

Would be very grateful if you could help?

Thanks,

Alan

@Noel converted a Lima Mk 1 into a Generator Van - he talked through the process on his workbench thread

1 hour ago, Mol_PMB said:

The are currently 3 Irish wagons available in the Pre-Grouping Railways range and they can be bought in 4mm or 7mm scale. The proprietor intends to gradually widen the Irish range. His own Irish interests are primarily DNGR / GNR, but many of the GNR wagons were very similar to GSWR / MGWR / GSR vehicles so the kits can be used to represent southern wagons too. Of course the GNR wagons got everywhere too.

They look very well, you've done a very nice job with them! And its great to see of another supplier of Irish kits. Looking forward to seeing pre-assembly pictures of the next two as well

1 hour ago, josh_ said:

It came to me that with movements and extra weight of landscape and other extras that it would be prone to crack especially when there would be DCC wiring under the board for the tracks 

Yes, exactly - thats why bracing/framing is important

Nice pics - glad you enjoyed it! You've drank the Dart beer ... now you'll have to get the Dart tee-shirt 

3 hours ago, josh_ said:

Thanks so much, Would ply be the best for wiring and strength?

Yes, its traditionally used for baseboards so should be fine. You're right that it's a good idea to seal the baseboard before placing any track and landscape - varnish or an emulsion paint would do nicely.

I picked up some MDF recently for a different (non-railway) project, and I found it to be very heavy when compared to plywood. You should find both in Woodies, but I'd consider going with ply over MDF for that reason. If you use timber bracing to stop it bending, something in the 6mm to 12mm range should be okay

On 8/5/2025 at 8:38 PM, Mol_PMB said:

On the latter topic, does anyone have recommendations for things to do in Dublin on Sunday, on a railway/transport/industrial history theme? I've got almost all day, I just need to be at the airport by about 1900. Most of Tripadvisor's 'top 20 things to do in Dublin' seem to be trips away from Dublin to somewhere else! (I've already pencilled in the Casino museum at Malahide on Friday afternoon when I arrive).

Failing that, any recommendations for nice pubs a bit off the tourist trail, maybe near the LUAS?

 

You've picked a good weekend for it ... its nice and sunny today (Sunday)

Train related attractions are limited, but the National Transport Museum in Howth should be open from 2pm to 5pm today - don't let the name fool you, it's not on the scale of any of the major transport museums in Britain, or even the excellent Ulster Transport Museum in Cultra. Its very much a small scale volunteer operation. However, its an interesting spot with some nice gems - mainly buses and commercial vehicles, so no trains but they do have a tram or two. I recommend checking with them that they're open though.

My top train related recommendation* on a day like today, especially for a man who likes his Guinness, is to get the DART to Howth and take the cliff walk. Fabulous views and you can take a break in the summit inn for a well deserved pint/lunch, before heading back down into the village for more pints or maybe out to the Transport Museum. Theres some nice pubs and restaurants in Howth, especially if you're into seafood.

Be warned though - while its "near" to the airport, getting there from Howth by public transport requires heading back to the city centre. However, by taxi the airport is just 20 minutes or so from Howth (depending on traffic).

* I would also have recommended the DART to Greystones and taking the cliff walk from there back to Bray station, but a landslide in 2021 has resulted in the walking trail's closure

On 2/5/2025 at 8:24 AM, DJ Dangerous said:

Can’t go much smaller than Cement Bubbles…

Unless you mean N Gauge?

I forgot about the bubbles .. despite picking up a few packs. No, it was the 800s that I was thinking of.

Now as for N ..... yes, please!