Flying Snail

I would pay good money to see the reaction to a techno club on an Irish railtour

Two very nice models indeed @GSWR 90 - unfortunately your photo of them posing with 90's Westrail plaque has only served to remind me that this weekend I missed out on the chance to take a peek at the (in)famous image on the back of it that you hinted at earlier in this thread I did get the chance to pick up a 90 badge and a few other bits from the Downpatrick stand though, so its all good

Looks good, but I hope you've little or no sense of taste too if you're planning on using that toothbrush yourself before bed

I got mine from the man himself yesterday - one of each. The look very well indeed, very pleased!

Looking forward to these and I think they won't be limited to OO scale either. I think we'll be seeing the Bulleid - Open Wagons in as IRM's first O scale wagon too before long. After all, with the Accurascale O Scale Rustons announced, it's logical to think an IRM O Scale Ruston can't be far behind either ... and it'll need something to shunt won't it?

Hard to beet that announcement! Accurascale have the 'Powering Britain' series of wagons ... will IRM continue the 'Feeding Ireland' range? What with the beets (and the kegs and Lyons tea containers) now done - Butter vans next?

Ah yeah - you wait around for ages for a bus announcement to show up and then two show up together

can't speak for Rails, but Hattons have made post-Brexit purchasing from the UK relatively hassle-free - I use them all the time (I have given up on Royal Mail for deliveries though)

My condolences to Fred's family and friends, including those on this forum. RIP

Fran said 'it earmarks a whole new range for us that will bring joy to many!' and he called it a 'railway item' ... so it's different and it could be anything, including non-rolling stock - the much anticipated foot bridge or some other scenic item perhaps?

You're just toying with us now Fran ... it's not a set of mark 3's anyway judging by how dark the photo is, but beyond that I'm stumped

Wow - two big projects on the go at the same time, and progress on both looking so good. I'm intrigued to see how the wall in the foreground works out - its an interesting idea!!

NIce job - very impressive!!!

Yes, looks like it: https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/news/irishrail-engineering-works

Normally, if driving I'd avoid the Port Tunnel - it can be very expensive if you arrive at peak time. That being said, off-peak and on public holidays its a more reasonable €3. However, you'll have to pay a second toll to cross the East Link bridge (€1.90) when driving to Blackrock. Another option is to take the M50 south to Junction 14 (Leopardstown) and head across to Blackrock via the N31. You'll still have to pay a toll on the M50 (but its less than the other two combined and you can pay this online). The M50 can be busy during rush hour, but at weekends/holidays its generally fine. If you want to park on the north side and go by DART (check its schedule first to ensure there's no engineering works), then the DART station in Portmarknock has park and ride. There's some parking in Malahide too, but I don't know how many spaces there are there. Other stations have parking too so someone else may have other suggestions.

The was some speculation over on the Accurascale forum on RM Web as to whether we'll see an Irish version of the Ruston 88DS and one of the members over there said he was speaking to Accurascale at GETS over the weekend and the body of the Irish version is wider, not just the chassis. Is this the case does any one know?

tick, tock ....

Thats some set up! Have to say, I love the Jigger!

Ah, there'll have to be an Irish one along soon enough, won't there?

I'd say there'll be an IRM announcement for their first O gauge loco soon enough too

Welcome to the site @mfowler55 I think you've hit the nail on the head about adapting OO rolling stock and locomotives. As you've said, adapting a OO steam locomotive for 21mm is non-trivial, but it is much simpler for diesels and rolling stock. As I understand it, IRM's A-class and many of their rolling stock items have been designed to be readily adapted to 21mm by modellers.

Nice weathering on the Tara Mines wagons

I'm not saying they're wrong btw - just something I haven't seen before so that piqued my curiosity

Thats a lovely scene with a real early 20th century rural vibe to it. The only 'odd' thing that caught by eye are the shafts on the cart (because I've only ever seen straight ones before). How did they come about - is that a particular style from somewhere?

Nice - I can almost smell the mixture of sea air and decay looking at it