Mol_PMB

Boyne Road branch might be another one to consider?

Sadly not an option here. Once I’ve got all my green samples finished I will try to coerce a female friend to give their judgement.

Well Ireland was well-supplied with Beyer Peacock products, so why not?

Going off at a small tangent on the GNR bulk grain vans, because there's one in the train above, #7 in the train. We can see the side with the ladder just to the left of the doors, and a stirrup beneath. It looks freshly painted in CIE light grey with a roundel. These grain vans appear to have been converted from standard GNR goods vans, 10t to the IRCH pattern. However, there is no mention of them in the GNR wagon diagram book held by the IRRS, and they may have been converted in GNRB days. Here's a view posted on the forum a few years back by GNRi1959. Note the ladder to the left of the door (this was only on one side of the van) as well as the grab rail on the roof. These vans discharged via small chutes on the side, just visible on the left margin of this photo; there was one each side of the double doors. Here's a view by Des Coakham posted on the forum some years ago by John Mayne, showing them being discharged: This version is higher-quality but cropped, and appears on the RPSI website: This IRRS view shows the roof hatches clearly, also an advert hoarding on the side opposite the ladder. The grab rail on the other side of the roof is just visible, above the top of the ladder we can't see. https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511443526 Another view of the same van: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511610703/ Another GNR van is shown on the edge of this image, posted on this forum some years ago by KIrley. Again, this is the side without the ladder, and it has an advert hoarding (for a different firm compared to the one we saw in the IRRS photo). Edit: I forgot one. Here's a photo posted by Irish Freight Models over a decade ago, which is of course a Ranks GSR type grain hopper. But just visible on the left is a GNR grain van, with the side planks reskinned. It's definitely GNR with an N suffix, and it's a grain van because the hatch on the roof is visible. Leslie sent me a photo of a very nice model of one of these; I hope to make something similar myself based on one of his GNR 10t kits. If anyone is aware of more photos of these GNR 4-wheel grain vans I would be very interested to see them. There were also of course the bogie Guinness grain vans as well, and this RPSI link is well worth a read: https://www.steamtrainsireland.com/rpsi-collection/52/504-guinness-grain-van

Here's a scan of part of that super image showing the grain vans as described above:

Excellent!

Very nice! Definitely sounds more like a Mason-Fairlie than a Forney.

Indeed. Even I don't try to represent the difference in leaf spring deflection or inertia when being shunted. Yet... Tank wagons (oil, tar, cement, ammonia etc), covered hoppers (magnesite), Taras and pallet cement 'blues' look much the same laden or empty too. Most types of container don't show their load state either.

A nice pic showing CIE pre-ISO containers on CDR road vehicles at Letterkenny. The containers are the later type with side doors and have probably been interchanged from rail to road at Derry/Londonderry. Also interesting to see some of the CDR road fleet. John Powell photo on Flickr, Andy Lance collection.

Lots of maintenance chores for the new year then! But I suppose it's good that some are an opportunity for a change or an improvement.

Ah, thanks - they look good. I've already ordered a pack of the Ratio extruded seating but what you've got may be better. Or perhaps it would be good to use different shapes of seat for each class?

I have started some experiments this afternoon, using five paints in stock. I have also ordered the Revell shade recommended by Mick and will add that to the comparison when it arrives. In each case I started with white mount board, sprayed it with a very light grey primer, and then added one fairly heavy green topcoat. These are shown with layout lighting only, but I've shown them against a white and a black background to see if it makes much difference. Photos with my iPhone. Here's that RAL colour again: The paints are as follows, all colours I had in stock in one form or another: 1 Tamiya spray TS-35 Park Green 2 Railmatch spray 1632 SR Malachite Green 3 Humbrol acrylic spray 80 Grass Green (this was rather an old can) 4 Railmatch jar 620 LNER Doncaster green (This was a very old jar, and I didn't really thin it enough for the airbrush) 5 Precision tinlet P50 LNER Loco Green - Doncaster (also a bit old, but I did a better job of thinning and mixing it) To my eyes (which are an imperfect judge): #1 is too bright and garish, also a bit blue. #2 is what I used on the H van, it's a bit bluish and a bit dark, but perhaps OK for a faded/weathered vehicle after a few years in traffic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/51233007716 #3 is comparatively yellowish, but may be OK for a freshly painted vehicle on a sunny day: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53570664788 #4 is a bit too brown and too dark #5 looks pretty good to me, if a little dark when compared on the white background. Quite a good representation of this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/52632577324 It's interesting how the black background makes all of them look much lighter than they did on the white background. I look forward to adding the Revell paints to the comparison. I've actually ordered two variants - 364 Satin Leaf Green and 360 Satin Green.

At the start of my 2-week holiday I had great ambitions for modelling progress, hoping to regauge 2 locos, build 2 wagons and 2 coach kits, and a long list of items on the layout. Well, it hasn't quite turned out like that, partly because everything has taken longer than expected, and partly because I've spent more time with friends over the holiday period, rather than home alone. That is definitely a positive, even if it means a bit less progress on the trainset. Progress will now slow further as I return to work tomorrow. Anyway, I'm now in a position of having got 1 loco, 1 wagon and 1 carriage each about 80% done, and a few of the layout jobs done. 156, the bitumen tank and the 6-wheel coach are all within sight of completion. This morning I worked on the tank wagon's ladders (from the kit) and then in an excess of enthusiasm I decided to replace the Bachmann catwalk with a more accurate one made from offcuts of wire and sprue. That's now done, but there are still a few more details to complete on the tank and its underframe before it can visit the paint shop. This afternoon it has been warm enough to paint, so the coach body is now primed and the roof is black. I've also done the first few panels of my 'colour chart of greens' to help me choose the right paint for my 6-wheel coach. More on this next week.

Good spots, DJD! Here are a few more that may be of interest: H vans, 2 out of a 3-pack, price is currently reasonable for that: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/267528643924 Gypsum hoppers 3-pack, these don't come up often: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/227153146643 Light green A42: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/227153161604 Not forgetting from @Georgeconna of this parish, a weedspray train: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/236556205426

Nice to see someone else building a 6-wheeler this week! Looks like an interesting prototype and excellent progress.