RedRich

Lovely work Kieran, I didn't get a chance to get to Clonmel last month, but you have everything you need after your own trip. I couldn't fault your work on the shed and it already looks very familiar to me. I can't wait to see the main Station buildings. Rich,

Excellent stuff, I am currently reading the book on the Waterford, Tramore railway at the moment. How cool would the line be now if it had never been ripped up. Rich,

That is a huge improvement on what has gone before. All the plaudits are well deserved. I wish you the best of luck with this, and I can see how hard you have worked on the model from inception to where you are now, excellent. Rich,

Eamonn the hand painted models (121, EGV, and Des's kit) you have done look very good to me. If that technique could be mastered it can give flawless results. I saw some Rocar hand painted models years ago and they were amazing. Rich,

Having a lot of the buildings and railway related structures ready to be dropped into position is a great incentive to getting the permanent way down. I still love the cement loading facility. Great work so far, all plaudits are truly deserved. Rich,

I'm not surprised Fran. The caption at the end of photo one could worry a lot of people. Not pictured Pin vice, Soldering iron, Dremel. Rich,

That is a real backward step. I was hoping to see the bogie motor in units like the Bachmann Turbostars, Voyagers, 150's, the new 158's, and the EMU's in the future allowing full interior's. I remember seeing a guy DCC a Voyager and fit an Express Models lighting unit to it at a show in the UK and it reminds me of that. It needs a lot of work to bring it up to plug and play, and that's what they should be aiming for in today's market. Rich,

I can appreciate the amount of time, effort, and thought that has gone into the layout. It takes me back to my youth and looks just like I remember it. I can't say that I am taken by the way that MacDonagh Station looks today with the shopping Mall next to it. Is the track built to finescale standards. Did you use Templot or other templates. If it isn't finescale did you reuse the original loco wheels on longer axles. I look forward to seeing more and thanks for sharing, it's a wonderful piece of work. Rich,

I'm going to be in Clonmel late next week Kieran. I'll take a swing at the Fethard roundabout and take some pics and dimensions.I have some lying around somewhere, but it won't do any harm to get more. It will be my first trip to the station since they built the new road bridge. I'm going to build the signal cabin in it's condition before they added the portaloo. Signals from Des are already in the bits box. Rich,

I took loads of shots of the building and measurements over the last few years for my own project. The desktop suffered a boot disc failure but I hope to save the photos onto an external hard drive in the next few weeks. I would be glad to send them on to you when it's done. A lot has changed since that photo. The corrugated roof next to the Station building is long gone. That photo is from the late eighties or early nineties. The shed is a fine building, as is the shed that the ITG have in Carrick. Rich,

That looks the part Stephen, it will look even better with the curved board following the curve of the viaduct. Emily even looks like she is posing for the camera. The young fella just said if she is a Bachmann Emily it's eyes should move. The boy knows his stuff. Rich,

I agree Stephen, an 071 in Black and Tan (even though they never carried that Livery) and the coaches in the same livery as the original Cravens, mouth watering. Rich,

It certainly is Fran, very sad. Rich,

That's a pretty conclusive image. The main focus should be the trains crossing the Viaduct. It is true that photographing the Viaduct from different vantage points will produce different visual panorama. I am thinking of the D&M Enterprise models hauled by a 201 of Stephens choice along with loads of Freight, or for that matter anything of his choice. I hope these pics give an idea of the difference and some food for thought. Rich,

Scalefour News 183 dropped through the letterbox an hour ago. A lovely obituary to Tony Miles and a piece on the original Adavoyle. Some picks of rolling stock and a loco stripped down showing the shear scale of the engineering in building it. Rich,

Richie you already know what I think, but I will say it again magnificent, take a bow. Rich,

I stand to be corrected lad's, but I think the builder was a member on the previous group. He has built some other fine models also. Rich,

Spot on Des, I was multi tasking. Telling her that one would be a change from shaker beach, those tiles would match, while I was thinking of 084 and 087. Rich,

Tom I was out looking at fitted kitchens and tiles with the good lady the other day and all I was thinking of was how many more 071's I could get with the cash. Rich,

From my own experience with the baby GM's and I say this because they are manufactured at the same factory as the 071's, a cocktail stick and some T-Cut, white spirit on a cotton bud (q tip), a curved scalpel blade and gently scrape towards the printed number, be careful though as you won't want to eat into the paint finish and cause scratches. I have tried them all, and had good results. The curved blade takes time and a steady hand as I have said. The white spirit will leave a glossy effect after the numbers have been removed and this ideal for when you apply your new decals.. The T-Cut and cocktail stick takes time and patience but you get there in the end. One bit of advice I will say is to use Microsol on the area where the decal is to be applied, and brush on some Microset after the decal has dried, it will help remove the carrier film from the decal. Make sure that you use some kitchen towel to remove any water from beneath the decal or you could get air being trapped beneath it. You can then give the finished model a touch of varnish to seal the decal in. If you have an old model have a go and see what suits you, just be careful and you will be fine. With the arrival of DCC and DCC sound it seems as though the renumbering of models has taken a back seat in how we change our models from out of the box items, but it does give the model it's own uniqueness. Have a go and let us know how you get on. Best of luck, Rich,

Tom I have seen a few pics of 086 in Inchicore around 06 and she looks to have been recently painted. To be honest the Babies and the 121's have always been my favourite locos. I can vaguely remember the 3 classes in the Black and Tan livery. I am acquiring a renewed love of the 071's due to the models. It must have something to do with the novelty of having all these fantastic models. The more I look at 077 the more I love it. Rich,

Cheers Tom, my own searching is proving that you are correct. I am planing on getting another 2 071's in the IE livery. I think I will invest in an extra 077 and renumber them to 084-087. I will drop 085 from the list. Rich,

Great find Richie. This is very interesting as it shows the Bell containers with blue and white roofs. I love the buildings also. Rich,

I am currently sorting through my photo collection. I am hoping someone would know roughly when 085 was overhauled and received the Freight Livery. Photos in my collection show her in the IE Orange Livery in 2005. I can't find any of her in that livery any later. A lot of my collection is on the desk top and it suffered a disk boot failure a while back. I am hoping some can be saved and uploaded to an external hard drive. TIA Rich,

That would do the job nicely Stephen. If the weather is poor outside it will be cosy on the inside. Rich,