Mol_PMB

Agreed, it has a conventional underframe so it is probably one of the immediate predecessors of the H van introduced in 1946.

I wonder if the van preserved at Cultra is a variant of the ‘Big Boy’? Although the bodywork is quite different in style, it seems to have the same proportions. The underframe looks the same, unusually long compared to its wheelbase. Photo on Flickr by Adrian Roche: Perhaps I need to go to Cultra with a tape measure?

This photo from Ernie shows another 'Big Boy' van standing high over the adjacent H vans: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/51686535379 I'm still hoping to find a drawing or diagram for one of these, as I think they would make an interesting contrast to the IRM H vans and the other types available in kit form. The IRRS archive doesn't seem to include GSWR wagon diagrams though.

Yes, that’s the right mix for the mid 1970s. At the start of the 1970s grey would predominate and some wagons would still have flying snails, while by the end of the 1970s the traditional unfitted goods trains had ceased, apart from seasonal beet traffic and occasional engineers’ trains. If you have a mix of fitted and unfitted wagons, you might think that the fitted ones should be next to the loco so their vacuum brakes could be used, but in Irish practice they could be anywhere in the train, with the vac brakes usually not connected. Most traditional freight trains were marshalled to make shunting easier, rather than to maximise brake power.

Many thanks for the info and stories! Interesting to hear that smallish consignments of newspapers went as parcels too. In about 2001 I was travelling from Limerick to Cork and accidentally left one of my bags on the shuttle train at the junction. I realised as soon as I was on the Cork train, and spoke to the guard who contacted Limerick. When the shuttle got back there, they found the bag, and sent it by Fastrack to Cork, for me to collect a few hours later. All at no cost to me - excellent service! For some reason I kept the Fastrack label and I found it a couple of days ago amongst some other things. That prompted the question. Cheers, Mol

Superb work as ever! I keep forgetting how small these all are in N gauge, yet the character and detail is captured perfectly.

Very nice indeed!

I’d be interested to find out when CIE stopped providing a parcels service. On rail, I think the Fastrack service lasted into the early 2000s? CIE buses also carried parcels but I have no idea how long that service lasted into the Bus Eireann era. I’d also be interested to know when similar services ceased in Northern Ireland. Can anyone help? Cheers, Mol

That's a massive improvement on the wagon compared to a shiny one out of the box - well done. It's similar to this photo on Flickr by Neil Smith: Your door bangers and brake gear stand out as a bit clean on the model - these are often some of the dirtier/rustier bits. With weathering, it's often best to copy what you see (in photos or on the real thing) rather than what you think it ought to look like, and the real thing can produce some surprising colours and effects. Of course, wagons exist in all sorts of weathering states from almost brand-new to well-used, and out-of use wagons can look different from those in service. With the three I've done so far, I was aiming to have one very dilapidated one, another reasonably clean but with signs of use, and the third somewhere in between. I've probably slightly overdone the weathering on these. I've got a few more to weather now and I'll probably try for a subtler job representing more recently overhauled wagons. One thing you often see is two vertical bands of brownish weathering on the ends, just inboard of the buffers. This is from dirty water thrown up from the wheelsets of the adjacent wagon, so they should be the same distance apart as the rails: You might consider a little more variation in the weathering colours - at the moment it's all shades of rusty brown which is good, but there are some areas that might be an oily/greasy black/gunmetal such as the axleboxes and lower part of the W-irons, as seen in this photo on Flickr by Jonathan Allen: They could be loaded with all sorts of things, and some loads might well colour the interior. Coal would tend to blacken it, but this example on Flickr from Ernie seems to have been loaded with lime and is white inside! That would be quite unusual but you can use your imagination about what the wagon last carried. Maybe it carried crates that had been packed in with straw and there's a bit of straw left over, or if it was loaded with beet there are probably a few roots and a bit of mud left behind. Finally, gravity plays its part and you often see rust stains going vertically down from parts unprotected by the galvanising (particularly the door catches), or from random spills and drips: I think your wagon weathering is extremely good, especially for a first attempt - you should be very pleased with it. You asked for feedback so I hope these suggestions will inspire you to do some more. I've also got a couple of orange locos to weather, but I haven't started yet so I don't feel qualified to comment on yours! I look forward to seeing more photos as inspiration for what I do with my 141s.

There are some nice photos of the fuelling point at Limerick in this thread:

My Sunday was great, all went as planned so thanks for the recommendations. I now have a new favourite Irish beer - ‘Hop-On’ from the Howth Junction based Hope brewery:

Looks great, a lovely representation of smooth finished stone. Superb work! If you were to want a slightly more textured finish for your stone blocks on another structure, a good effect can be achieved with artists 'Matte Medium' dabbed onto the surface of the DAS after scribing but before painting, which is the technique I used here on my slow-burning Swiss project:

A few posts in my thread here may be useful. Arran has confirmed the shade of dark blue for the later all-Blue B&I containers. However, some of the earlier B&I containers (where blue was only a small part of the livery) seem to have used a paler, more greenish shade. This thread may also be useful for B&I container, swapbody and road vehicle photos - there are some B&I pics in colour though it's predominantly black and white photos.

Ah, that’s great, many thanks. Howth seems like a great option on a sunny day so I’ll head there for a walk this morning and the museum this afternoon. I think I can get the 102 bus from Sutton to the airport but I’d better check its times on Sundays.

A thoroughly good trip today courtesy of the RPSI, and great to catch up with a few people. 071s still sound as good as ever, and Cravens remain my favourite carriage type, despite the lively ride at high speed. The railtour catering provision has come a long way since 1508, and there seemed to be a lot of empty kegs by the end of the day. I don’t think it was all me!

Setting expectations like that, who’s going to put their head above the Parapet now?

Only if you lot keep Pointing it out…

I did half wonder whether the sides might be GSWR as they did, I think, have some compartment/saloon composites. GSR and CiE copied the idea. Sorry to be vague, I’m away from my notes at present.

The Fry model collection includes several silver carriage models which must have been built about the same time as the real thing. Interestingly there are 3 different lettering styles/colours on them. They also include a silver Park Royal - did this ever exist in full size?

I’ve just been to see a slightly bigger E401 - and a very nice model too! Difficult to photograph well in the glass case.

On the floor, I think there’s a strip each side which folds up to attach the body sides. The separate full-length strips must be the solebars and they have tabs which go into the slots in the floor, from underneath.

These show the layers of the sides quite well too: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511884225 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54256972253 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54256972233 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54256744461 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54419692264

These photos show the side beading arrangement moderately clearly. https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53509033328 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53509293725 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53509294600 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53507834347 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53508810174 The lower bodyside part should overlap in front of the upper part, on that half-etched strip. That way the lower panelling is flush with the upper beading, and you get the three different layers visible on the prototype. As for the exact prototype, I'm afraid I can't help as I'm no expert on GNR carriages. But the window and door arrangement shows that it's a gangwayed coach with toilets, and I would suggest 4 compartments and the remainder a saloon. Whether the compartment/saloon arrangement was first/third, or whether the saloon was intended to provide dining accommodation for use with an adjacent kitchen car, I can't say.

I would suggest that the upper and lower halves of the sides are intended to overlap in the middle, to give a multi-layer effect that couldn't be achieved if etched in one piece. I'll see if I can find a prototype photo to demonstrate.

I've completed the construction and detailing of these two 6-plank open wagons, and I've distressed the woodwork a bit based on the prototype photos. They now need to be cleaned up and painted, but that will have to wait until after my weekend trip to Ireland. On the latter topic, does anyone have recommendations for things to do in Dublin on Sunday, on a railway/transport/industrial history theme? I've got almost all day, I just need to be at the airport by about 1900. Most of Tripadvisor's 'top 20 things to do in Dublin' seem to be trips away from Dublin to somewhere else! (I've already pencilled in the Casino museum at Malahide on Friday afternoon when I arrive). Failing that, any recommendations for nice pubs a bit off the tourist trail, maybe near the LUAS?