MAL

I placed the 1/80 JNR 12' with 2 keg cages on the IRM flat. Then I made a comparison image of 3 H0 related scale loads. The rear side is aligned to be flush. By the lack of an 00 container I took the keg cage which I assume to be as wide as a container. Conclusion: Direct contact of JNR 1/80 and 00 1/76 should be avoided. Mixing with distance might be a workaround but not really good. At least the mounting lugs do not meet the container corners, not even nearly. It will need at least 2 or 3 pint of Guinness to accept, I think.

This is my whole 4 wheel wagon fleet plus the toad (to become an Irish free lanced brake van). Which gray is more correct for CIE? The gray of the Marks wagons or of the toad? And which road numbers would be more prototypical than the 510, 315 and 413D for the gray ones and which ones for the brown 2001s? Also when were the 7 plank Murphy wagons on the prototypical track?

First of all: thank you for the freight and 121 livery information. This helps alot. Just got the notice: 121 and 135 arrived at the parcelshop for pickup. I'll place them on the rails tonight and make a picture of my current 4 wheel freight rolling stock (correction: the 3 Magnesite will not be part of it) and the green bogie coaches I have. With posting these pictures here they will carry the question for more correct numbering of the freight wagons. I have got 7 or 8 wagons of 3 different types (open, van, cattle) in gray and brown from Marks bought in 2001. At least all the gray vans have identical roadnumber 2001 as well as the other vans have identical numbers. Some decals from Studio Scale Models will help to improve the appearence - with your help. Hopefully I will not fall in disgrace or receive a warning point here because of the following non-prototypical step: I also bought a discounted 6 wheel "Toad" (Oxford Rail) to make a gray free lanced brake van. This is just because I loved the appearence of the Toad (and the discount). I will add duckets as it seems to me that all CIE brake vans had them. After I understood the ton assignment of CIE brake vans I will select a "could have been" lettering.

This is a fine hint! Thanks. I have to be careful not to extend my CIR/IR interest beyond the 1990 memories plus some nice extras. The old time freight shall be an exemption as well as the 3 green RPSI coaches I never saw in reality.

May I ask if the gray flying snail class 121 would ever have some brown wagons with broken wheel in tow?

Because I have toooooo much projects or kits for my JNR collection and still some plans (and already material) for US diesel kitbashing I have to keep my hand from any DIY items for CIE. I just want to have the 1990 memories in 1/76 plus some trains I saw on films an my investigation about CIE/IR (Fertilizer I saw in Cork, Guinness (I like to enjoy), old time freight with a gray 121 and a brake van). I'll only intent to do some new lettering by transfers of my 4 wheel wagons (flying snail livery but always the same roadnumber) and maybe some weathering. Therefore I'l probably wait until IRM will offer something or decide for a RTR Silverfox van and do some heavy weathering New question: What is the difference of BCK and BSK? Why is the third called dutch?

Thanks. Which 00 scale GSV could be recommended to fit to my 1990ies craven replacement train? Should appear not too deviating from the Murphies IE livery and detailling.

The brakes were different - Now I see another detail I had not in focus. THX!

Maybe I could use the JNR 12' if they were in 1/76 but Japan H0 is 1/80 running on 16.5mm to represent a compromise of the 1067mm prototypical gauge. In my JNR collection there are alot of them that are not needed as car loads because they got replaced by 12' Tanktainer. I need to check how it looks like. The difference 1/80 versus 1/87 is more than obvious and looks awful. But the 1/76 vs. 1/80 without a 00 container in direct contact might be feasible. I'll report the result. But not before I have got some 1/76 containers.

Thanks! Are there any affordable Uniload Cubes in 1/76 ?

Could it be that the late train with Craven Coaches replacing the scheduled train ran without a generator van? If the generator van is a must to run the Cravens by night I have to search for a generator van for my train in my collection.

I just received my first IRM wagons. A pair of Guinness Kegs, a pair of Fertilizer Wagons and three Magnesite Wagons. The Kegs sit on a 42' flat which I think is the same flat car as for container loading. Did they ever mixed container and kegs on a single car? I ask because my JNR container flats carrying 4 or 5 12' container look similar. These carry often 12' and 20' container mixed on one car. Has Irish Rail contaier shorter than 20'? --> I just saw the 10ft Uniload cubes. Did Irish Rail ever mix kegs cages and a 20' container or 10ft Uniload cubes? Also did a flat ever run with less than 5 kegs cages? Thanks to you for your patience with my questions. And hopefully this had not been a topic here - other wise I'll blame my self for a poor research.

Good to know. I think this part is not fixed to one end of the flatcar. Otherwise the container would have to be turned before placing on the flat. You're right. I did not see then freight trains - I heard them by night. First when we were B&B near Killarney (north of Killarney if I remember right). Never saw a train by day.

The container car has this part on one side. What is it for? In 1990 I did not see notice any container car - just the MK3s, Cravens, some Fertilizer trains and the trains at Heuston & the DART DMUs. Thanks in advance for any support. PS: I hope it is not illegal to use a modified screenshot of an IRM picture here.

By BSGSV's reply I understood now that the MK3 were on intercity service Cork-Dublin(Heuston) in 1990 @ around 10:xx leaving. This matches to my memories as I tend to be sure I rode on a MK3 (bright interior). The Cravens had been backup in common. Unfortunately BSGSV wrote the late train would have been with MK2 but not if b/c or d. Were the MK2c/d not assigned or released for this intercity service? Any further information is real fun to me. Anyway thanks to all the suppor I get here!

Regarding late train back to Cork I am now 99% sure that these were Craven Coaches. I realized the Craven Windows have 4 upper segments : The MK2b/c (versus MK2d) have 3 upper segments: My train had 4 upper windows. I remember the 2 inner sliding windows to open them. So I think for my collection this train is done! More realistic than I thought before:

That's why I signed in here This short conversation brought me forward - more than thinking by my self in the years before.

Hah! I alway clicked immediately to the "in the works" or "future plans" page and did never scroll MM frontpage down to the Mk3 info. F*cked up myself

Yes. MM is a "not so perfect" site. But I really prefer the energy is put ito the products instead of a perfect site. The one and only fear I have is to miss the important information and all I see then is "sold out". I'm not on facebook or another (a)social network to keep my brain clean - accepting to miss sometimes something. But with a good forum it is quite easy to "survife". Now I am fine with saving some bucks for now and not running behind the Mk2d but hoping that the IR livery will come faster than with the Mk2d coaches.

Even that I cannot remember the checkerd blue/orange fabric of the seats I am now pretty sure it had been Mk3. It had been a sunny day and I was astonished about the modern appearence of the interior. What I expected was delivered by the return trip. Hopefully I can spot the undercarriage difference of the coaches on my few slides. Have to dig them out tomorrow and check. But thinking of them I am sure all this detail was hidden by the platforms as I took the pictures quick'n'dirty in Cork in the few minutes left to departure. I checked Murphy but did not find the Mk3 mentioned. Just the Mk2d in my requested four track IR livery to come next.

Quick search (don't ask why I didn't do this earlier) brought up a 2006 Mk3 interior. The cream walls and bright appearence makes the Mk3 more likely. Which 00 models do we have of these Mk3 in tippex?

Now it became 20% Mk2 and 80% Mk3. Now I need to find an interior image of a Mk3 for comparison.

Padded armrests is a good point - I try to get the interior image I have in my memory. Which kind of armrest were in Mk3 coaches? Did the seats have any?

Hi Flying Snail Thanks for the welcome (I know I did not introduce myself and jumped right in). Usually I am very well prepared about the rails around my holiday locations. At least when visiting for the second time. But with the honeymoon I had no idea that Ireland had rails anyway. I had been there for the second time but the first visit was only to county Clare from Shannon with the left hand driving adventure beeing more prominent in regard to trafic and transportation than anything else. Regarding interior - puh - I'll talk to my wife later. Maybe she has any idea about the doors. In any case we had booked standard class. The seating had been comfortable. We had a desk. My memory is 60% bench and 40% seat. My memory of colors is 50% cream and 50% wood veneer. Which color had a bench seat of a Mk2d? Which kind of fabric had it been? Maybe these hints will help to step forward in my memories. I have to investigate my few slides of that day if I can see the "intercity" lettering on the side of the coaches. Maybe it helps to see "IR intercity" or just "intercity". For sure the doors had no logo on it. My memory of the return trip was that they had the train replaced or such. Something about a deviation from schedule is somewhere deep in my mind. I am not sure. The department might have been delayed - something like 9pm instead of 8:30. The MM Cravens always had been somehow familiar to me. I think with your information above I can decide to remember the train as with Cravens. Not only because I have 5 of them in my collection. This is a good decision. I now need only some Mk2 or 3 intercity - coaches to complete my IR coaches collection.

Hi to all at the forum. In June 1990 on my honeymoon vacation in Ireland we went from Cork to Dublin via IR intercity. It had not been on a weekend. If I remember right it had been Tue 19.06.1990 but also a day before of after. To Dublin the coaches had been either MK2d or Mk3? with the wide fixed windows and "intercity" lettering & tippex livery pulled by 075 IR tippex. The train departed around 9am or 10am. I only focused on taking pictures of the 075 (beeing a GM fan by the interest in US railroads). I only happened to picture an A in the background pulling fertilizers. The train back to Cork in the evening (around 8.30pm or 9 pm) had been pulled by a Baby GM doubleheader. The coaches were older style (5 panel windows as with the craven coaches, defect toilets, rough riding comfort). I cannot remember if these had "intercity" logo on their sides (more NO than YES). I also think these had only one or none white stripes separating black and orange (not really sure). I couldn't take a picture as the light had been too low at that time (Kodak 100 asa). Could anyone of you help to find out which coaches were in service at that time? Thanks in advance.