Glenderg

Well, at least they've built something..... It's always hard to recruit operators to a layout that doesn't exist, I find. I was talking about the fun element of it not the minutiae of scribbling in notebooks and ignoring your audience. You know, having the craic, not taking it too seriously?

you just made my Christmas tony.

the man can't even speak.....

When I was designing Arthurs Quay http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=15166&d=1411154145 I specifically designed it to have inglenook properties so that a shunting operation could occur on front and back lines whilst having historical formations traversing the middle line. I may or may not exhibit it, but for my own sanity it needs purpose and I've designed a scenario where you arrive on the middle line with one wagon. The wagon has to end up on the upper right siding to collect a previous cargo , with the loco in the shed for refuelling. Once both operations are complete, the loco has to shunt the wagon into the yard itself with the loco ending up at the front. In 11 moves. I'm not precious about rulebooks in how it should operate, as no rail engineer in his right mind would allow a batshit crazy layout in the first place. Having something dynamic and operational is why we all got into the hobby in the first place. Having the levers on a cobbled street move slowly as points are thrown and generally always having something going on is the key? If I ever did a prototype of a station that required an exacting timetable of movements I could see the craic disappearing quicker than rat up a drain. Just my 2 cents. R.

Called in today. 2 packs of 8mm I beam with 2 lengths per pack. My "Scratchbuild the planet" ethos won't let me pay a tenner for a four feet of plastic that'll never be seen. Bit of redesign, be grand.

I'd agree rich. Many of the UK small manufacturers websites are almost hilarious in their ability to be navigated. Given that it's not long since it was all SAE, mail order, and postal orders, it's a tectonic shift for some companies! UK cottage industries never cease to amaze with the ability to supply the uber rivet counter, and the quality is usually outstanding. And Eoin, don't expect a response from Weshty, he's probably dreaming of D17's and all manner of kettle engineering after seeing the stunning inspiration above

So you've said ad nauseum, and I think you've missed the point of David's excellent OP.

Well Thump, it's kinda moot. Mark's never have enough styrene in stock, so I'd be left going foreign for it. Not ideal with the way sterling is.

Yip, nice and handy lads is the idea. There are always things like electrical conduit/plastering beads/curtain rails that can be repurposed for modelling ideas, I just thought someone might use something day to day that might do. All sorted now lads. Routing indeed JM!

A deliciously suitably diecast one ....

http://www.diy.com/departments/aluminium-u-profile-h8mm-w8mm-l1m/256289_BQ.prd It's just a display board for taking photos of completed models etc. with lit inspection pit for a bit of atmos Something to work on over Christmas, and no ballast in sight!

G'man Dave, I can re jig the design if the channel's a bit bigger than 8 x 8

Gents, I'm looking for suggestions for the green C Channel piece below - it has to be around 8 x 8mm and has to house christmas lights at set intervals. Has anybody any thoughts on something off the shelf that could be bought nice and handy, preferably cheap too in Dublin? I need 24 feet of it? Thanks in advance. R.

Joe, Have a look at this video by one of the lads here - small baseboard, simple layout, but buckets of charm. If you closed off the back loop toward the wall, you'd have less scenic work to do - no need to fill the board to the gills with track and stations. One to the front would be plenty IMHO.

Joe, Welcome - I threw your size in the machine and it spat this out. The outer curve is second radius, and the inner one is first radius track. Reaching the track to the rear, if walled in will be hard enough to reach to, just remember that. Each grid is a square foot, so it might be of some use. Keep uz posted

Yeah, maybe a couple of grand for rings etc. but given the sizes of some folks' collections, the insurable value would be in the high 5 or low 6 figure sum.

Pure Gold...

My solution give you both options

As J.P. Morgan once said, "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it"

MK3's are gone nuts too.... http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Hornby-R4415B-East-Midlands-Mk3-Tourist-Class-Coach-42164-Letter-D-/141846198453?hash=item2106b138b5:g:bAYAAOSwwbdWO9YI

This might help thump http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/4032-Chassis-for-the-Silverfox-A-Class

What you could model, which would get you out of a hole so to speak, is have a scene with workmen blocking up one door, with just a chink of light left, scaffolding, cement mixers, and so on. Leave the other one open, which would give you a glimpse into the past, and be current at the same time. Anyone familiar with the place will know that ultimately know that they were all closed in, so you'd present your historical timeline in one fell swoop and also have a cool little diorama.

Can I ask why you're looking for all this info from an era that's quite obsolete for the period you're modelling?