Mol_PMB

I'm very pleased to say that both my packs have arrived safely this morning and I can show a Bulleid train on my photo plank. Thank you, IRM! I now have 4 packs of IRM Bulleid wagons awaiting regauging, modification and weathering - I can foresee a production line and might get started this weekend while I wait for the E class chassis etch. The fitted brake gear is exquisite but is going to be harder to regauge than the hand-braked version - a nice challenge. I might even do a green one with extended buffers? https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/17713-the-green-h-vans/

The latest upload from the IRRS is a nice colour image of A6 in traffic in black and tan in October 1961: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54340700855 Eight months later in June 1962, A28 was still running in tatty silver livery. Then it appeared in the all-over plain dark colour discussed in the posts above. Maybe they were using up old stocks of paint.

Over on RMWeb some people have reported (of the Heljan base models) that some brake shoes aren’t fully clear of the wheels, making the wagons a bit stiff. Might be worth checking if they don’t roll as freely as you would like.

I suppose we also need to factor in the recent ebay policy change that adds a buyer’s fee to the price.

Last bit of progress today, I've had the quote from 4DModelshop for the next batch of etches, and paid for it. Should be ready next week. Here's the new bonnet and the existing complete body: Once the H vans arrive I can mock up a Bulleid train with the E class.

Ouch! A bit of price gouging: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/156719853958 I'm hoping there are a few grain vans left over for me to pick up at a more sensible price.

4DModelshop sent me a free spare etch of the bonnet when I had the first body etch done. It looked like there had been some production issue that had damaged the rest of the sheet, but the top third of it was OK. So today I thought I'd build another bonnet using the later radiator grille options, and also to illustrate a couple of minor modifications that I applied retrospectively on the first build. This shows the later radiator grilles fitted. These are an option on the fret: I'm waiting for a quote from Iain on the chassis etches, and my intention is to order 2 chassis etches and 1 more body etch, which ought to allow me to complete 2 locos and have a small stash of spare bits. The first one I've built will be silver, representing E410 as it ran at Fenit. The second one will be black, but I haven't quite decided on my preferred prototype. The logical one is E410 because it lasted the longest and didn't lose its exhaust cowl, and therefore the model can represent the mid 1960s to 1979 time period. But then I'll end up with two models of the same loco! All the other locos still in traffic into the late 1970s had lost their exhaust cowls around 1975, so I'd be forced into a decision on pre- or post-1975 condition.

I think this is the final version of the chassis etch. I've added an extra geartrain option and a few spacer washers, also a mix of strips, angles and channels with no particular purpose in mind. As a scratchbuilder I know it's always more useful to have bits like this rather than blank bits of fret!

Superb placement of the figures to spur the imagination, while being entirely plausible that they're standing still.

IRRS are continuing the super sequence of shunter images with D303, freshly painted in green in March 1957: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54336333309 Note that this loco does not have the bulge on the back of the cab - looking at photos I think this was only on 1000 = D301. I think D303 was the only D class to carry this livery, mid green with a D number, and assuming the date is correct then most diesels were still being turned out in silver at this time. A handful of main-line diesels appeared in green in 1958, in readiness for an event at Inchicore. Ernie has a super colour image of D303, in the same pristine green livery, that must have been taken around the same time. Prior to this the class had been numbered in the 1000 series and were painted a much darker green with eau-de-nil stripe and snail. Most carried that original livery into the early 1960s and then went straight into black (D301/3/5) or black and tan (D302/4). However, there are several images of 1001 in a livery I haven't quite worked out yet. Original number but no snail or stripe.

I'm rather confused. I'm hoping it will all sort itself out in the next week or so, and I don't need an immediate answer to this! I paid for my two packs of H vans just before Christmas, at which time I was expecting them to be shipped from Ireland to me in GB. The invoices were for £63.00 sterling for each pack, but did not explicitly include any shipping, tax or discount. My understanding at the time was that the VAT would be collected from me by the courier when they were shipped from Ireland, and that the shipping charge was free. Now that they are being shipped from GB, I could see that there may be a need collect the VAT that I didn't pay before. I'm not averse to paying the tax due, but I hope it doesn't come with a handling fee as well (which seems quite common with couriers, and often the handling fee is more than the VAT due). I also have a feeling that the two packs will end up being sent separately and then I may have to pay any handling fee twice! The advertised price for a pack of H vans on the AS website now is £74.94 including VAT, which is 19% greater than £63.00. UK VAT is 20% so something doesn't add up there either, effectively the price currently advertised is less than it was a few months ago, once VAT is accounted for. At present my orders aren't even showing up on the AS website, so perhaps I'm a bit further down the queue. I don't mind if they take a few more weeks to turn up, but I'd rather not be stung with a load of extra fees.

Many thanks David, I'll take a look back through the thread. It's good to hear that several people have built them and achieved good results. I've used the Delrin chain on 7mm scale models, but with small-wheeled shunters in 4mm scale it's hard to get fine enough chain or small enough sprockets.

Very nice - thank you! It's a bit nerve-wracking waiting to see when/if my orders re-appear on the AS website and then hopefully on my doorstep! Hopefully the price I've already paid will remain the same although I'm half wondering if the VAT will be handled differently now these aren't being delivered from Ireland to GB.

Mine’s the same, and the points haven’t transferred yet either. I expect it’s all just taking some time to work through everyone. I hope so, because some of my pre-orders are already paid for too.

I can't help with the name of the font but I can link the question to Irish Railways, both broad and narrow, with this old photo of mine. Note the A and B button box - no dialling, you had to ask the exchange operator to manually connect you.

Will these be the last boxes in the green livery before the switch to Accurascale black and tan?

They must be destined for the new range of 21mm gauge track!

Many thanks for all the info! Looks like Worsley Works is the one for me. A local supplier too - Worsley is only a few miles away. cheers, Mol

When I look south over Cheshire and see steam rising, I'll know it's Rob's 3D printer trying to keep us all happy! What has he let himself in for? #PecoRob...

It feels like my E class is on the home straight (and I hope I'm not tempting fate) and as usual my brain is working more quickly than my hands, not always in a helpful way! I'm building my E as E410 on a Fenit theme, and I'm well aware that the G class also worked to Fenit - initially G601s and later G611s. So I was wondering about the options for a G class model. 30-odd years ago I scratchbuilt one in plasticard but it wasn't very satisfactory and is long gone now. I've seen references to several different G class kits, but I'd just like to tap your collective wisdom! In particular, which of the kits would be suitable for 21m gauge and might satisfy my OCD levels? The issue with 21mm gauge is that on the prototype the wheels are very closely spaced inside the frames, so that when using the correct gauge and slightly overscale width wheels, they definitely don't fit behind frames made overscale thickness. It appears that Silver Fox do a resin cast G601, which looks OK if a little basic, but with a one-piece resin chassis that looks like it isn't suitable for 21mm gauge: IR / IÉ 601 Class (G Class) 0-4-0 Deutz | Silver Fox Models Then there's the DC Kits G611, looks a bit tidier but again I'm unsure if this would be suitable for 21mm gauge? CIE/Irish Rail Class G Shunter The third option I've identified is the Worsley Works etched kit for a G611. This looks like it might be suitable for 21mm gauge though I'm not 100% sure: Irish Railways Deutz Diesel CIE Coras Iompair Eireann in 4mm Scale My gut feel is that the Worsley Works G611 is most suitable, but I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has built one of these to 21mm gauge. Also, are there any options for the G601 suitable for 21mm gauge? If this turns out to be too hard, I can always just build another E class! Many thanks, Mol

I'd like to try some of them, please!

Yes, to be fair, my memories of it are from the early 2000s when the Tralee train was usually a 141 with 4 Cravens and a van. There were a few occasions during the week when both the through platform roads were occupied at the time a Tralee train was due to depart, so it had to go round the outside. At least the baby GM got slightly more of a run at the hill. As StevieB notes, there would be another propelling move needed later in the journey at Killarney. Of course the Limerick Junction manoeuvres were legendary.

So, I mentioned a silver G and look what appeared! https://flic.kr/p/2qMapPe Lovely - thank you! The footplate on this appears to be silver, definitely not black.

You want a BIGGER box from Accurascale / IRM ?!? [I should add that I thoroughly approve of the big boxes as they have saved a couple of my deliveries from damage when thrown over the gate by the courier]

Ah, so the old days of some Cork-Tralee trains starting from a bay, propelling out towards Cobh and then bypassing the main station train shed via the goods line are gone now, with the development of Platform 6!