LNERW1

Fair. Also fair.

The point with the curves is a good one. I think the best move would probably be to have the Pecketts be a relic of the line’s early years; there were much tighter curves within Galway city as the line originally was a tramway, but in the 1890s several tunnels were dug and the line became usable by larger engines. However, conflicts with the MGWR meant few other locos worked the line and as the Pecketts were fairly new and there were still tight curves in many yards along the line, they remained until 1965 when their pickup goods and shunting duties were taken over by No. 9, which had worked on the line since 1934, and a new diesel shunter. I may get a G class for the latter, but I’m not sure yet.

You have exposed my woeful ignorance, JHB- thanks again. I do intend to run the C class on goods work, so similar enough to Loughrea. Re the tank engines, I’ll probably get a Hornby Peckett W4 and B2, 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 saddle tanks respectively, as they are both available in MSC green, which is close enough to CIÉ green until I get around to repainting them. The idea is that they were ordered by the Galway and South Connemara Railway before it was absorbed into the GSR, as the railway stayed independent from the MGWR and so didn’t pick up as much design influence, although I do plan on basing some architectural elements on stations in Galway and the northwest.

That’s a brilliant channel- Melbournesparks. They have a brilliant garden railway based on, I believe, Melbourne-area trams and suburban trains. Their trams actually work off a functioning overhead wire, it’s brilliant.

I have a Monogram Snap-Tite Big Boy. Think it’s complete as it was still wrapped in cellophane when I got it. The sprues were a bit damaged though. Haven’t got much progress in at all, its on display in a cabinet in the railway room atm. Might just be that kit, I think mine at least has movable wheels, could be the case for other kits as well?

Ok, two questions on the locomotive roster- 1- does anyone have a resource that lists allocations of locos including C classes, and, crucially, when they were repainted? I’m trying to find a suitable number for a C class from Silver Fox, so having one that would have worked in the west, specifically ex-MGWR lines or the North Kerry/West Cork would be nice, as well as, more importantly, running a loco that would have been painted green between 1963-69. 2- if anyone has links to models of Irish-looking 1880s-1900s tank engines, preferably 3D-printed body shells made to fit on RTR chassis, please send me a link. Thanks, LNERW1

Not to be nitpicky but isn’t that a 181? As opposed to a 141. Sorry to be a bit pedantic.

http://rbmodels.ie

I am aware RB models have closed their physical premises, but as the web shop is still in existence, has a .ie domain name and retails Irish stock I was wondering if there is worth on adding them to the shops list.

You grew up in Cyprus? News to me.

Is that the same Barry that got into a spat with a filing cabinet or am I mixing up details?

I grew up with 8100s and 071s still give me goosebumps- but that’s probably because they sound brilliant . Gotta love a proper American engine. I haven’t heard any English Electric engines thrash in person yet though so maybe I could be swayed.

Ah, fair. I was looking at purely the number of posts in the topic. Either way, this is a brilliant project everyone deserves to see.

I’ll be home late tonight- can’t wait to get back to modelling, watch this space.

How does this not have more people interacting? This is shaping up to be a brilliant layout.

I wish I could get cracking DJ… As I’ve said, I’ve been away for three weeks. I’ll be heading home on Sunday and rest assured I will be straight at it.

Sorry for the lack of any updates- I’ve been away for a few weeks and so unable to work on much. I’ve had plenty of time for planning indoor railways, so a couple of projects on that front will have some work done on them soon. The SLR will go through further evolution, but progress will begin again very soon, as I will be back home in just a few days.

Thought I would indulge in one of my favourite habits- rewriting the history I wrote. The line now runs direct from Galway to Ardree, situated near modern day Connemara Airport, stopping at Salthill, Knocknacarra, Bearna, Na Forbacha, An Spideal, Ardree Town (Ardree McKenna after 1965, after Billy McKenna (1803-1874), a local poet and advocate of Irish independence) and Ardree Quay. Ardree Quay is some distance out from the town and serves the harbour from where ferry services leave to the Aran Islands and Sheehaun, the fictional island my garden railway is located on. Primary goods traffic consists of livestock from areas served by the line and produce from Sheehaun. There is also a sand merchant located about a mile east of Ardree. Passenger traffic is the usual local traffic, run by DMUs in later years, and boat trains, hauled by my 121 and a C class I’m planning on buying. The C class and DMUs will probably come from Silver Fox. Ardree had a loco depot until the end of passenger traffic, but this was for the branch freight loco(s). After this they were stabled in Galway or Ardree Quay’s loco siding. The line opened in 1879, closed to passengers in 1967, closed to freight in 1974 and was torn up in the early 80s. I am modelling it between 1963-69. In terms of stock; Currently owned: CIÉ 121, No. 135, original grey livery, Murphy Models GWR 101, CIÉ livery, Hornby Planned purchases: CIÉ 2600, Silver Fox CIÉ C class, Silver Fox 2 steam locos- none in particular as of now, but will probably be repainted Hornby Railroad or older models ie Hornby, Triang etc. as 00 Works releases are a little out of my pocket. Possible Purchases: CIÉ B class, Silver Fox OO works locos? No layout updates as I’ve been away for a few weeks, but I’m itching to get back at it.

I’d say the body would be a bit smaller, but I was thinking along the lines of just using the chassis as I think the wheel spacing is close enough. Re the C class, I was thinking of it as a very “on the cheap” bodge with a bodyshell for a tenner and a chassis already lying around, etc. or as an A class as there’s no way I could afford the IRM release.

Might be more trouble than its worth, but Bachmann's James model could probably be a chassis donor for a DSER Mogul? The body's also close enough but the face would need replacing with a smoke smokebox door and the firebox and cab would need work. Also, a C or A class bodge (or maybe a scratchbuild) could use the cab ends of a BR Class 26 or 27 to get the curvature more or less right. Finally, not British, but I am planning on converting an LGB starter set 0-4-0 into a BnM Andrew Barclay, specifically No. 2 at Stradbally. I think @Hawkerhellfire has already done so.

Have you propped up the roof supports with cork? IIRC there was an issue where you’d raised the track but not the roof therefore it was just too low to allow some of your stock under.

I’m confused, has my topic been merged with another?

In Connemara atm on holiday. Killamuck has seen some progress, but I have mainly worked on a new module for Ardree Quay. I still need to work out a trackplan as I don’t think the previously stated one would work. I might go for a sector plate design instead. I have plenty of time to sit and plan for all four projects so expect some good progress on all of them when I get back home in August.

There seems to be much doom and gloom regarding lack of interest in railways, specifically in Ireland, and I thought I may as well start a discussion on what can be done about it. There are several points that need to be considered when trying to attract new members to our hobby but they can generally be grouped by age or time in life. Below are my suggestions on how to target each age group, in some ways building off my own experience in the hobby up to the age of 14. Anyone wanting to correct, critique, review or build on these is welcome, and in fact encouraged to. I appreciate some aspects may seem fantastical, you are also welcome to keep me in check regarding this, provided you suggest a more sensible solution. 0-4: The most important thing here is TV and toys. For example, RTÉjr broadcasts episodes of Thomas and Friends. An idea I think would work very well would be Irish Rail or a heritage railway working with RTÉ to create a programme about choo choo trains etc. Also important here are streaming services that are increasingly replacing linear television in terms of children’s entertainment. Re toys, I would say wooden railway products such as Brio would work best, as well as the swathes of merchandise associated with TV shows like Thomas and Chuggington. Also important here are events at railways, such as the RPSI’s Santa Specials and other seasonal events. Another thing that could very much be helpful is tie-in events, again associated with kids’ TV shows, and specifically Day Out With Thomas. A whole cast of Thomas characters may not be very achievable, but at least adding faces to stock and putting Thomas-themed decorations everywhere would certainly make an impression. 5-12: This age group would very much be better targeted through YouTube and model railways. Irish railway YouTube channels are not too common, although we can at least be thankful for a level of interaction between British and Irish enthusiasts. The model railway side can be pushed through Hornby train sets- I got my first age 6 so I would say that’s about the age to introduce kids to model railways. Another aspect of the model side of things would be to have a few small displays or shows around the place every once in a while. IIRC there’s nine shows every two years on the entire island, and geographically they don’t exactly evenly cover population centres: Dublin, Dublin, Dublin, Wexford, Wexford, Down, Down, Fermanagh, Fermanagh. There is none in Munster or Connacht (again, as far as I’m aware, but I’m pretty confident). Another possible aspect, that could be used to target other age groups or demographics, is displaying more technical information around public transport, like information boards on stations explaining history or some technical aspect of railway operations such as signalling, gauge, pantographs, bogies, couplings etc. Another way to catch the attention of this age group is through video games, but as to methods I can’t say I have much to say here, as promoting anything in a video game, that is not the point of the video game, is difficult except when it comes to energy drinks. 13-18: This is the point at which one is most likely to be bullied for liking trains, so involvement, especially on the model side of things, is difficult. My best suggestion is introducing aspects of railways through technology, history and geography classes within school, and I have seen brilliant ways of involving students in such things by creating model railway clubs and courses within schools, and even building miniature railways as part of technology classes or extra-curricular activities. This would encompass several areas of a school curriculum and could be quite convincingly promoted. Another aspect could be volunteering at railways as part of school activities, or specifically Transition Year. Finally, campaigns on social media like the UK’s #LoveYourRailway could make some more aware of the hobby. 19-25: At this point, one is least likely to care about picking up new hobbies other than those all their friends seem to have, so I would direct attention here towards those already interested and focus on strengthening their interest in the hobby. 25-parenthood: Usually, people around this age will be focused on jobs and relationships, and so may not have time for a new hobby. As this is around the time people really start getting some disposable income, however, model railways could be marketed towards this group. Parents of 0-4 could be targeted within, and I mean within and not with, the same methods mentioned above for their children. Parents of 5-12 will be a little less involved with their children than with 0-4, but could likely be targeted in a similar way. Parents of 13-18 should be targeted basically the same as those with no children at home, as the strong desire for independence that their children likely have as an adolescent would mean targeting this demographic through said children would be relatively fruitless. From one’s children moving out to retirement, the same methods could be used as from around age 25 until parenthood. Again, any time when one has more disposable income is probably a good entry point into the hobby. From retirement onwards, one is less and less susceptible to marketing, etc. and past 70 or so, one is unlikely to pick up any new hobbies. Im just putting this here to see if there is any constructive criticism anyone would like to offer re this, or any more practical solutions.

That is fine Robert, I misunderstood the language you used. I can be quite touchy specifically around words like “retard” or “spastic” that I’ve had used against me because I’m autistic. The same goes for apparent insults against people with disabilities those slurs describe. I was unaware of the language you were using and believed it was a much more severe insult that I find inappropriate and am uncomfortable with. I shouldn’t have assumed a man such as yourself would use such language. I apologise for the misunderstanding and hope you have a good afternoon.