Mol_PMB

Well there's a reason 60's were nicknamed Tugs! On the other hand, here's a tug that sounds a lot like an EE loco: (Svitzer Sarah has a pair of Ruston engines very similar to those put into the 37/9s; that engine design has its roots in the earlier EE engines)

Maybe there's some kind of inverse logic going on in the model railway world? On the most numerous GB multiple-unit ever, 1000s built, that works all over the place (i.e. the Electrostar), AS still haven't got quite enough support to start production. Yet they announce models of a class of just 3 Irish locos that were confined to a small part of the network and worked for a relatively short time (i.e. the Hunslets), and they're overwhelmed with orders! So on the latter theme, another class of just 3 Irish locos that were confined to a small part of the network and worked for a relatively short time, could be an option. Dunno what JHB has to do with it all though, maybe he chose the shade of green?

Pretty much like the Wrenn catalogue from the 1970s! Just think of all those shades of CIE green to choose from...

But just think of how many liveries you could paint the TANK! No need to stick to boring prototypical black, I bet it would look good in NCC red, BCDR green or even GNR blue a bit like this: (Neil Harvey photo on Flickr) Why limit yourself to a 2-6-4 or an 0-6-4 when you could have 464 which was, err, only a 4-6-0... (Ernie photo)

"latest locomotive project" ... "Accurascale/IRM launch our most ambitious locomotive yet" So the ambitiousness (if that's a word) is in a locomotive rather than for example a complete train set or pack. What could be more ambitious than what's been done already? And is it ambitious for IRM, or more ambitious than the full Accurascale range? Well maybe hi-tech gizmos, but it has to be said that other recent attempts like Hornby's smoke effects and working poseable lamps have had a rather lukewarm reception. Another thing often referred to as ambitious in model announcements is a set of tooling that can cater for a lot of prototype variations. If true, then an 800 would be less likely and even a moderate coverage of the range of prototype J15s would be impressive. Having said that, there are plenty of variants among the AS 'Buckjumpers' and Austerity tanks for example. We may be reading too much into just one word! But I can't wait to see what it is...

Are you sure you want to use a tender? May be better to threaten with a tank! Kevin Lane photo, 1969 (before preservation)

Many thanks! Back on topic, almost, can anyone recommend the optimum Kadee coupler # to fit the H vans?

The best shaped room for a train set!

Now those would have potential for emptying my wallet! C class - the epitome of shabby chic? There have been hints that it's something steamy, so although I think a C class is inevitable eventually I suspect that's not going to be the main event for this announcement. So a loco that worked all over Ireland, too useful to be taken out of service so it was one of the last kettles south of the border and then ended up working for NIR briefly too! Has anyone bet on CC1 yet? Who couldn't love this beauty? (pics from Ernie and Roger Joanes on Flickr) But I still think it'll be a shiny express loco, most likely a preserved one. The GNR 4-4-0s outnumber the GSR and NCC alternatives and have the advantage that they can appeal to the present-day modellers as well as the historical ones. But we know IRM have been spending too much time at Cultra so maybe they'll surprise us with a big green one, or a surprise move into narrow gauge...

Even a GNR loco could turn out to be the 'Man in Black' or the 'Green Green Grass of Home', but 'Lately I Been Leanin' Toward The Blues'

Any song in particular? There's quite a choice... List of songs recorded by Johnny Cash - Wikipedia Hopefully more 'Blue Train' than 'Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow' ! We'll all be laughing if it's 'The Ballad Of Forty Dollars' ... 'After Taxes'

You make a very good point! I meant, of course, a gutless and unreliable oil slick generator where C stands for 'Crossley'. But a C class could also be a GNR articulated railcar, or a GNR 0-6-0, or an MGWR 4-4-0, and no doubt several others. I hope the event goes well and I look forward to seeing what is announced!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54251291181 In the 1960s, there was a random bloke with a flat cap sneaking round the sidings at Inchicore, carrying a tin of black paint and a brush, conducting a kind of guerrilla war against the one-colour 'dip job' livery proponents...

In that vein I've got an H van in bits ready to receive a black underframe, and another discussion to start about the four shades of green used on CIE carriages... My birthday is only 2 days later, but I'll try and leave some on the shelf for you the next day... (Actually, my bank account's probably fairly safe for this one, assuming it is indeed a kettle. It's a fleet of C class I'm waiting for!) With a launch at Malahide it's surely loco suitable for the GNR main line. They've already announced a blue 'Merlin' so perhaps this one will be a 'peak'?

If it was this one, it was once a Palvan:

I’m sure that the IRM team will Stoutly deny that this speculation about kettle models had anything to do with a heavy night out on the Guinness, and they’ll claim that this early CAD has nothing to do with them…

Well there might be 080 if we’re following the main thread title, or maybe 85 if we’re on the blue kettle deviation? You’ll just have to hope there’s also something to bring big SirMyles to @Patrick Davey’s face!

Certainly into the Irish Rail era… When I found and uploaded this photo a couple of years ago it was with some from Mullingar and I captioned it as Mullingar, but I’m having second thoughts now. I think it might be Gort. Anyway, a brown H van dumped in a siding in the early 1990s, note the IR and Irish Cement sign on the goods shed.

We're well off-topic now so I'll carry on along the tangent... One place I worked had a boss who loved a witch-hunt. If anything went slightly wrong, the highest priority was to find someone to blame, and give them a good b0110cking. No thought of why it might have gone wrong, or what could be improved in the process to reduce the chance of errors etc. We countered that with the concept of the 'Duty Scapegoat', and created a roster to share that duty amongst ourselves, a different person each day. We even managed to get an official company badge made in the name of 'S. Goat' which would be worn by the Duty Scapegoat. Whenever a witch-hunt began, the Duty Scapegoat would immediately confess to whatever misdeed had occurred. This was especially effective when it couldn't possibly have been them, or when a moment's thought would have shown it couldn't be an error by any of the staff anyway. It took a few weeks for the witch-hunt to stop, but they did. One of my former colleagues still has the badge, I think. The boss is long gone.

Are yours snails? I think the snails have plain roofs, and the roundels have the variable patterns.

Wonderful news!

Predictions of the past? Now if only you could place a bet on those! Will your proposed horse be available in a alternative liveries, it would be ideal traction for a fitted H van... (pic from Ernie) But more seriously, and still off-topic, when might we expect the next IRM/AS announcement, I wonder? They seem pretty busy at present so maybe it's a little way off yet.

The O'Dea collection at the nli has a good selection of railway staff at work, some of which also show uniform details. Here are just a few: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000304867 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000306073 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000306058 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000303702 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000306734 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000306905 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000306401 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000307857 https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000305044 If you search the O'Dea collection for keywords like driver, guard, master, foreman etc they will come up.

My package of etches arrived yesterday from 4DModelshop, a week after placing the order. Work is very busy at present but I hope to have a chance to build a chassis this weekend. Here's the chassis etch:

Which ones are you interested in? And if you say 'all' the answer is 'everywhere'!