Mol_PMB

A few of Ernie’s pics showing the type of GSWR van we saw in the field today. Two on the left: Right background: Partial view on the left: Mostly hidden by the loco smokebox: second wagon in the train: second wagon in a different train, this appears to have special use lettering and is numbered in the A series: on the left, this one has had thin metal sheeting added over the planks, like the one we saw in the field: on the right: And finally this is almost the main subject of the photo, and again one skinned over in metal sheeting:

Many thanks to @Westcorkrailway I had a fascinating private tour of parts of West Cork this afternoon and saw some interesting survivors. One of my models has been for a trip out to see its larger cousin. And I have been introduced to another that is crying out to be modelled It was only a few days ago that I was saying I need more trucks… I now feel ready for the proper Tailte tour tomorrow which will visit other parts of the network and see some more rolling stock survivors.

Visiting the site has given me a much better feel for the place, and may prompt a few minor changes to the position of the buildings on my model. I also dropped in to the library in Mallow and looked through the local studies section. They had a full set of Mallow Field Club journals including the article on Quartertown Mill which I had previously found online. But I didn’t find much else. A general tome on industrial archaeology in county Cork didn’t mention Quartertown. I should have asked about maps, but forgot. I don’t think the trackplan is going to change!

The buildings are still here, though a bit more of the old mill has fallen down!

Oh, I wish I’d been able to see that. Hopefully it will go up on the IRRS Youtube channel. Thanks for the tip.

Thanks! This morning I am going to see what, if anything, remains of Quartertown Mill.

I see that the Navy has been sent to Cork to defend it against Donald’s thinly-veiled ambitions! Or is it the French hiding their ships so they don’t have to go to the Straits of Hormuz?

They sound a bit miffed!

Looks like sort of thing that could have found a use at York Rd or CSD!

The team at AS / IRM are certainly going to be busy! There must be a huge amount of work to integrate the Heljan ranges and to decide how to take them forward. And there have already been some strong hints about how many new AS projects are in the pipeline. Hopefully some new Irish developments are occurring in the background too.

I'm in a similar pickle, I'll be on the plane to Cork. A pity to miss it.

Make sure you give Murphaph some breathing apparatus or decent air extraction, if you're going to lock him in a garage with a spray gun. Otherwise it could end badly. Bearing in mind that Heljan have also produced an O gauge Hymek and Class 33, is it time to reproduce those 1980s 'Irish' train sets in a larger scale? (no)

This does open the door to a lot of developments, and when Accurascale said they want to do 'everything' it's a good step in that direction. This may not have originally been in the AS long-term strategy, but it sounds like the best option to keep the Heljan tooling going which will ultimately be a significant benefit to modellers. It buys AS greater experience and market share in scales other than OO. It's interesting to see the Heljan OO brand being repositioned loosely equivalent to the Hornby 'Railroad' - i.e. lower cost entry-level models for those who don't demand the expensive full-DCC and extremely fine detail options. That does make a lot of sense in the short term and perhaps in the long term too as a parallel range once some Heljan prototypes have been 'promoted' to the main AS range. We may even see more 'budget' models developed - perhaps including some Irish ones? I do think Accurascale will have to be careful to distinguish between the two product lines and manage buyers' expectations to avoid damaging the excellent AS reputation for accuracy and detail. I shall wait to see what transpires, but first I might just pop over to the Heljan website and see if there are any O gauge bargains...

Nah, small fry. Hornby...

Wow! Now I see where the discussion on Irish O gauge was leading...

A bit of sun early this morning, after yesterday's hailstorms, so here are some photos of the tin van. This is from a JM Models kit with a few additions/modifications: Some areas of this came out well, others not so well, but overall I'm happy with it. It has the interior modelled, not that there's much of it. Perhaps it would benefit from some parcels and cases inside. I have a plan to fit battery-operated, magnetically switched lighting in the roof, but I haven't done that yet. My 6-wheelers don't have lighting but the Park Royals will so it seems sensible to add it to the tin van. I'll wait until the Park Royals are here, so that I can design the lighting to match the colour and brightness, and to work with the same magnetic wand. I have a similar kit for the heating van variant, which I have not yet started. I can't decide what colour to paint it, in fact I wish I'd bought two so that I have them in different liveries. As a compromise I'm considering early (1961) BnT livery.

Thanks. I think you're right about single ply tissue - perhaps the stuff the etches come wrapped in. I had looked at crepe paper but it was too coarse. I also thought about using graph paper to approximate the checked pattern, but even with 1mm squares it's too coarse and the paper is too stiff. I don't think the tissue paper will successfully go through the printer, so perhaps a very fine pencil or pen could be used to draw a pattern? Or probably that would just look overscale. I will postpone that decision for a while!

I think I've now completed the body etch artwork. This uses broadly the same construction principle as the SSM 6-wheelers which I found worked rather well. There is still more to do on the underframe and bogies, but that will have to wait until I'm back from Ireland next week. Then I'll get a trial set made. I have provided some etched partitions for the interior but haven't yet gone beyond that - at one stage I was wondering about etched seats or at least seat ends, but I've run out of space! The windows are quite big so maybe it's worth making some more effort on the interior, if there's room on the underframe etch? But these coaches were only ever gas lit so it will be gloomy inside. The original seats were more elaborate than the restored example at Downpatrick, and they had high backs: Also seen here in a photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53509061464/ Or do I just use a bog standard Comet style open coach interior? https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/int3.pdf What do you think? And how do I reproduce the distinctive material for the curtains? (extract from Ernie's photo https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/54398371926 )

It's all starting to make sense now! Superb modelling.

It will be interesting to see how the ICRs fare. Part of me thinks that once they're here and have been shown off, there will be a rush to buy. But I'm not a gambling man. Meanwhile, over on eBay, NIR 113, with sound but in far from perfect cosmetic condition, has just sold for a mere £435.20 plus postage. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/397732024596 (P.S. I weakened and bought the silver A30, it was my significant birthday this month and postie didn't bring my Park Royals. Maybe they'll come for Christmas?)

I hadn't spotted the Hunslet! It must be good that these are close to selling out rather than ending up being remaindered. I guess there may be a few more available later if some people who have ordered don't complete their purchases. Here's hoping that IRM will announce something new once the Hunslets and Park Royals are delivered.

The seller is a dealer - I guess they have acquired a collection and are putting all up for sale at once. There were a couple of 071s yesterday but they went very quickly. I agree the prices are a bit high (even for UK buyers like myself) but there are a few items in there that aren't seen for sale so often, and they do seem to be selling. For someone just getting into Irish modelling, the availability of second-hand stock is important. At any one time, the items available brand new and in stock usually don't complement each other to form a consistent train. (on which point, I note that 5 of the Park Royal types are now sold out!)

A bunch of A class now, from the same seller. Now, how much do I need a silver one...?

Quite a cramped site between the river and the canal, which always helps for a model railway layout. The main loco and goods facilities were elsewhere. Hopefully one or other of these links will work: https://arcg.is/0zXvzb0 Irish Townland and Historical Map Viewer Ernie Shepherd's book on the MGWR includes an elevation drawing of the main station building, though it is not dimensioned. Plenty of photos in the IRRS Flickr archive, and of course a fair amount of it is still there including the ornate pump house by the Shannon as well as the station building and a few of the sheds. An interesting place, and would make a great model!