StevieB

The railfreight centre of Irerland. Stephen

The 071's are obviously too old to have been fitted with anti slip control - impressive nonetheless. Stephen

Looking again at the photos on the IFM website, the model is numbered 27150, maybe a subsequent batch which was longer. Stephen

That information makes it look as if the IFM Palvan has been stretched a touch to fit on the Dapol 12' wheelbase chassis - strange. Stephen

The final development of the 4w van was the Palvan, which looked very similar to the BR van of the same name. Now my question for the experts out there is did they mounted on a 10' wheelbase, as the H van, or were they mounted on the 12' wheelbase being introduced at the time? The recently introduced IFM model uses the latter but, compared with photos of the prototype, they look stretched! Many thanks. Stephen

I love the backdrop - big skies are always the best option. Stephen

Politicians in Ireland are just like those in the UK, giving with one hand and taking away with the other. Irish Railway News carried a piece the other day about the Dublin re-signalling and diverting some Kildare lines suburban trains to Connolly via Phoenix Park tunnel and Glasnevin Junction. Seems like they are both in the foreseeable future. Now, if that route was included in the electrification programme, we could see the following services: SW to SE via DART Overground, SW to Midland and Northern via DART Underground, Midland to SE via DART Overground, and Northern to SE via Dart Overground. Now that's five routes rather than the two proposed with DART Underground. Surely alternate through trains are better than having to change at Pearse between lines. Stephen

I was at the Gloucester 0 Gauge Guild annual open day yesterday when I spied upon a NER wagon with the same braking system as in Ireland - long brake lever working on one wheel only. So there must a manufacturer out there who makes these, which would allow for detailing rtr goods stock. Stephen

I can only agree with all the other comments - wonderful bits of work. Stephen

You'll be finished soon and ready to move on. Any chance of a model of Sir Henry or Lough Melvin? Stephen

It's the first of the twice yearly shows in Cheltenham this week-end. Have to get the organiser, Mike Walker, interested in booking you. His only problem is a lack of computer to view Arigna Town. Stephen

Looking very good. Stephen

That's precisely why we need a review section, so you and others can tell us what was wrong with the models. You haven't told us anything apart from the fact that they were only fit for the bin. Were they the wrong length, wrong wheelbase, wrong body…..? If you've got the time, skill and money, you can produce very lifelike models but not everyone has. A glance at Model Railway Journal shows what can be achieved. We compromise on the likes of track gauge, 16.5/21mm, so why not with other aspects. Imagination is a wonderful thing. To go back to an earlier question of mine, what has happened to James Mackey and his Model Irish Scale Rail? His models showed great promise but then he disappeared, apparently off the face of the earth, towards the end of last year. Stephen

I don't believe anyone has mentioned Irish Freight Models 20' and 22' flats - is that because they are not held in very high esteem by some of the members of this forum? Maybe we should have a review section where there would only be two criteria - what was good and what could be better - always look positive with no words like what was bad - encouragement for the small band of manufacturers of Irish models. Stephen

I can recommend a rake of magnesite wagons. However, as the prototype was actually oil and magnesite, you might need to consider running separate trains - the consist might look a little silly being so short - lack of space affects us all. Stephen

You can't include Docklands in your list because it's on the line of Dart Underground. I think we'll find that Docklands only has a limited life from a planning point of view - it's meant to disappear when DU gets built. However, with the project being deferred, IE might have to do some paperwork... Stephen

You guys are nothing if not perpetual optimists when it comes to your railways. It would, indeed, be lovely to see new freight flows on new routes, but it all takes time and I mean time. We are talking here of public money, and it doesn't matter if it's British, Irish or any other country's money, you have to show value for money. You have to tick every box, jump over hurdle and than do it again and again. After all, it's our money that the state is spending and we all pay more than enough in the way of taxes, etc. It was very sad when the beet traffic from Wellington Bridge stopped but it was probably going to stop anyway. Eventually someone in authority would have realised that it was only for three months of the year, with the wagons standing idle for the remaining nine. So much better to have them used for the whole year! Stephen Stephen

One of the photos of Abbeyfeale shows a second crossover from the through line to the shunting neck. Some interesting shunting to be had. Stephen

I can remember seeing Malahide and Dromin Junction in the flesh, maybe the old MRC exhibition at the Central Hall, Westminster. The portrayal of Irish trains was very good, even in those far off days. Stephen

John Thanks for that. The first photo actually seems to show both long and short brake handles, so were the brakes on one axle only, quite different to the UK? Stephen

In Great Britain there were two standard forms of wagon brake: RCH where the brake lever operated the brakes on that side of the wagon, but usually with brakes on each side of the wagon, and Morton where the brake lever on either side would operate the brakes which were one sided only. Can anyone explain the equivalent Irish system, please? Stephen

Surely there is a very simple reason why Ballina is the freight capital of Ireland, namely the road network. On the western side of the country, the limit of the motorway network is a line from Dublin to Galway. That's why Sligo should also be on the freight network. All the infrastructure is there, the line is cleared for 201 operation, we just need an operator bold enough to take the step…. Stephen

Lovely piece of work.

There is another video featuring both the Waterford & Dungarvan and Waterford & Tramore lines, which is narrated by the former driver who appears towards the end of this video. Both are excellent viewing. Stephen

Every year about this time Model Railroader publishes its annual Model Railroad Planning magazine. Not that I am into railways across the pond, but there is always some good stuff in it, once you get used to the differences between them and us e.g. railways, language, etc. Once there was a piece about the design of pointwork to get rid of buffer locking, etc, not that American rolling stock has any, and I have applied its principles in the design of my layout which is slowly beginning to emerge. Unfortunately, we are only at the baseboard stage! Stephen