RedRich

It's nice to see that at least some of the MK111 fleet will still be on the rails even if it is only a couple of EGV's. It sickens me to see the MK111 coaches being left to rot in Waterford West every time I pass there, or every time I am on Gratton Quay in Waterford. They were always one of the most comfortable coaches to travel on and one of the best all round designs. What I wouldn't give to see a rake earning revenue on the rails behind a 201 or an 071. Rich,

Well spotted Snapper. There were 8 Composite MK111 coaches in the fleet 7165-72. The coaches were divided into two seating arrangements, one first class section and a standard section so you are correct in your description, now go to the top of the class and there's no homework for you tonight . Rich,

Anto it's a first class coach. Some of them received grey roofs. I haven't seen any with black roofs as Csalem has said, but that doesn't mean that there weren't any. A MK111 First Class with grey roof at Waterford Plunkett. The 1st Class emblem which is on the 1st Class end of the coach taken at Waterford Plunkett. The other end of the coach has the standard IE plug socket emblem on the doors. Rich,

Good man Snapper keep em coming . Rich,

209 looks stunning Noel. There is no doubting the fact that the repainting and weathering services provided by the traders and professionals on this site is of the highest quality that you could ask for. I've got to say that the original Enterprise livery and the original as delivered IE livery best suit the 201's. I can't wait for MM to release 230 in the original Enterprise livery, and if it isn't until next year then the wait will be worth it. By the way Noel the layout looks amazing . Rich,

That's very true Anto, a couple of days out working and they start to pick up road dirt. I think I might purchase another Inter City liveried 201 and re-number her to 234, and just give her a very light weathering. Rich,

I posted this one in the MK111 7 series collection a few days ago. It's a pity no one asked for pics as I would have been able to oblige. Hopefully someone else may find it useful. Des if you read this and you think it might be useful as a resource for the SSM website please feel free to use it. Rich,

Snapper thanks again for posting these pics they are superb. I have a few more myself and I will upload them asap. I also have pics of the bogie cements and will do likewise. I have to agree with Gareth's sentiments above about the flurry of recent activity in members uploading pics from their collections, it's great to have a collection of pics as a library for everyone. A lot of good pics have been thin on the ground since the demise of fotopic. I will continue to upload more pics as and when time permits. Rich,

Truly cracking pics Snapper thanks for posting them, please keep them coming. This part of the group is turning out to be a great resource for pics, and a library of information. Rich,

Tom great pics and thanks for sharing them . I was travelling by train that day and I remember saying to myself how great the Autoballasters looked as it was the first time I had seen them up close, now that I think of it may have mentioned it in one of the Autoballaster model threads. 234 must have only been out of the paint shop a few days as she looked very clean. Rich,

Richie I have it organised to pay a visit to Waterford West next week and I will take as many shots of that MK111 rake as I can. Rich,

Thanks for sharing those Gareth, and please let us know how the railway build goes. Rich,

Hi Tom 2002. It just doesn't seem like 10 years ago. IE always seemed to keep the MK111's clean enough. I remember that carriage washer that used to clean the sides of the coaches in Heuston. It's a shame that they didn't look after the locos in the same way. Rich,

I've read it alright, I am always looking you don't see me but I'm there. Anyway Anto the subject of guard rails is a minefield when it comes to how they are laid. On most examples of bullhead rail that you see on bridges or viaducts the guard rails are held in place by check chairs. Flat bottom rail guard rails like those on your bridge are another different story altogether and it varies from place to place as to how it is fixed. The main objective of the guard rail is to limit the chances of a derailment and they are also installed in areas like railway stations where the platform has a long and continuous curve, an example being this pic of Waterford Plunkett. The inner and center lines are fitted with guard rails because of the gauge widening on the curve. The guard rail is held in place by check chairs in this instance. I have only ever seen one example of flat bottom rail, guard rails before and they were held in place by a system of base plates, bolted to the sleeper, and bolts through the outer rail and the guard rail like in this pic of a check rail in a point at Waterford West. Guard rails are often seen on the outside of the running rails but I never seen that system in Ireland. To be honest if you wanted to model the fixing of the guard rails Anto you would probably have to remove the track, drill the rails, make your own base plates and maybe use some styrene rod to represent the bolts, and some square styrene for the blocks between both rails. I think the fact that you bothered to install guard rails on your model at all deserves a as most people wouldn't think of doing it, so more kudos to you for doing it. By the way it looks great. I will certainly do some more research and see if I can turn up anything else that might be of use. Rich,

Thanks for those great pics Eamonn I hope you had a good time. Rich,

Rich,

Congratulations to all concerned at WMRC and the best of luck to you in your new home. Have a nice evening Seamus at the club and I'd love to see some footage of the pre production 071 pulling those superb Autoballasters. Rich,

Alan the credit and all the plaudits you have received and will receive in the future for your work is fully deserved. I can't praise it enough myself. Yourself and John have produced the goods on every occasion and both of your tutorials are concise and easy to follow. There is no easy way to build track unless you purchases all the switch rails and common crossings machined and fully assembled, whether it is in a kit or from the trade. I made a few horrendous looking common crossing in the beginning and they are in a landfill site now. Please keep the tutorials coming and thank you for everything you have already contributed thus far. The same sentiments apply equally for John, well done guys . Rich,

Vincent given that a cement bubble model would be roughly 100mm over buffers, and depending on your choice of couplings I would say 8 wagons in the longer siding would be your limit. Rich,

Anto I can see him wearing a curly wig, long coat, and multi colored scarf a la Tom Baker. Rich,

Some MK111 EGV pics taken at Waterford Plunkett. Rich,

Hopefully some of these will be of use to the weathering guys. Rich,

That's great news Snapper I will wait for the next bunch in anticipation. There is already so much of the history of the railway lost to us, but we are preserving something of our own era that can be a resource for people in the future. If anyone has got any pics of mile posts viaducts and bridges get em up here please as it is important to have a record of these things to hand on to future generations of modellers and railway enthusuasts. Rich,

Richie it's just getting better with every photo that is being uploaded, keep em coming or I'll get withdrawal symptoms. Rich,

That's amazing Kirley that you have achieved so much in so short a space of time. It's always great to have a pal within the hobby to help you and Anto has the experience of building his own layout to give you so it's a win win situation all round. Please keep us all up to date with your progress. I will be watching this with interest and most of all anticipation for every installment . Rich,