RedRich

Gareth would having a crack at building some track appeal to you. I would be delighted to offer you some of the ingredients and post them to you. Or if you are ever down this neck of the woods you would be more than welcome to come to my home and have a chat and some grub and build some track. Rich,

I spent the other day staining some sleepers as I have some free time this weekend I thought I would build some track panels of different variety. I will use bullhead and flat bottom rail on wooden and concrete sleepers. This gives an idea of what is needed in the tool kit to get started. Here is a sample of stained sleepers (I stained 300 plain sleepers not all of them are in the picture) some concrete track panels, pandrol clips, 4 bolt chairs, fishplates, butanone a nice number 3 paint brush for applying the butanone, and some wheelsets. The great work that the lads are doing has me inspired to get cracking and dust off the cob webs. I will upload photos as I progress. Rich,

You obviously haven't seen the great work that Tony Miles has done on Adavoyle Anto. Loughrea is another masterpiece in track building also. Rich,

The IRRS Journal is invaluable as a source of historical accuracy Eamonn. Rich,

Anto excellent=)) . A splendid time is guaranteed for all. My setup is dual action I'll bet yours ain't, you get what you pay for. Rich,

Fran speaking of American prototypes was it you that asked me to take some pics of the Details West air dryer filters. My daughter took the camera today as it was her last day in primary school and the memory stick is full. I will take some pics after she gets her prints over the weekend. Rich,

I had a punt on the Italians before the tournament started Dave. With all the talk of match fixing and the state of the domestic game in Italy I thought it would be just like them to win it. Pirlo and Buffon have been the outstanding players in the tournament for me. Rich,

Another thing as well lads is if you have any elderly relatives or neighbors talk to them ask them what they remember of the railways in bygone years. I remember talking to my Gran uncle many years ago about traveling by rail. He described the coaches, the way they were furnished and laid out, the smell of steam heated coaches. I said to him why haven't you ever told me this before, he said you never asked me. Jack O'Neill is a railway historian living in Waterford and his brain holds more information than a computer. I remember attending an IRRS tour of Inchicore years ago and railway historian and modeller Donal Murray was doing the tour with his dad. His dad had worked there and the stories he told us were priceless. We were seeing the works in it's current state and getting a history lesson at the same time. I'll never forget it. It's criminal Richie that CIE are going to pull down that shed it's one of the highlights for me to see the building whenever I am travelling north out of Connolly. I will have to etch it into my memory the next time that I pass it. Rich, Rich,

Brian it might be an idea to spray more light coats and allow it to dry between coats. Any little blemishes or imperfections can be rubbed out with some very fine wet and dry. I know that when I sprayed my first models many years ago I was a little enthusiastic and tended to spray more heavy coats. Four or Five light passes of the airbrush or rattle can will give much better results than one or two heavy coats. I use a dual action airbrush myself Brian as it allows you to control the amount and flow of the paint. It's been one of the best investments I have ever made. You have done smashing work with the 201 and MK111 coach in your first pic and the Kadees look great on your Cravens. Keep up the good work and you will be a match for anybody on here soon, well done . Rich,

Very good Wiggy and very innovative, something new being brought to the table again well done . Rich,

That shot almost looks like a model railway. It also goes to show that you can get away with modelling rolling stock ex works. Rich,

When the time comes for me to install the Cobalts Stephen for the points and signals, expect an invitation to Casa RedRich. Food and drink will be provided free. Rich,

Wiggy you couldn't have a better man than Gerry to advise you on DCC and DCC sound. Himself and Eamonn (Enniscorthy Man) are the resident experts. I know if I ever dip my toes into the DCC sound side of the hobby I will be paying those boys a visit. Rich,

Des we can sometimes in a business sense be on opposite sides of the fence as consumers, and companies who produce the goods. I find that not to be the case in Irish Railway modelling terms as all you guys are modellers as well. Paddy Murphy is a dynamo and his enthusiasm for the hobby and satisfying his clientèle never ceases to amaze me. Rich,

Well done Des top modelling, and thanks for keeping us updated through the pre production phase it shows great faith in your ability to deliver the goods. I was admonished myself at one point for even suggesting that manufacturers should keep us updated on the progress of models as it would stir up resentment and dissent, but everyone is really enjoying the updates from Murphy Models, Dave and Marks De Dietrich's and your own products, well done to all of you. In the second pic it kind of bears a passing resemblance to a Baby or 071 around the cab front. Rich,

Thanks Dave for that quick reply. A nice mix of Galway and IE coaches will make for an interesting formation as the Galways didn't stay in a fixed rake for all of their service. Rich,

Des the reason you produce the excellent kit's that you produce is because you research everything. The SSM LC kit that Eamonn superbly built has some amazing detail on it, Eamonn commented himself on how uniquely Irish it looked compared to the BR Style gates in his pic, and why it looked unique to Ireland is because you photographed the prototype, measured it, and only went ahead with the artwork when you were satisfied that it was right. Eamonn's build of the 30 Ton Brake Van and ground signal look so good because he has improved and honed his skills, and the design Quality of the kit's is superb. George and Gareth (Hidden Agenda) have also built fantastic models of the Brake Van. I think it would be fair to say that if Modelling Irish Railways by Stephen Johnson and Alan O' Rourke was to be updated and reprinted it would have to be maybe 20or 30 pages longer than the first edition was to contain everything that SSM, Murphy Models, and the excellent models that Dave and Mark have brought to the market so far The 2600 is a masterpiece and the DE Dietrich DVT and Coaches are going to be amazing, can you imagine the amount of work that has gone into those models. The retailers have brought some cracking models to the market also. Marks Models commissioned 171 in IE livery a few years ago and the Autoballasters are amazing. Silver Fox and DC Kits have produced some nice prototype models as well for the Irish market. Des your own detail kit for the Silver Fox Metro Vick's really take's them to a whole different level. Lads do the research, ask questions, photograph everything and share the information because everybody benefits from it. Rich,

Stephen when I had my accident a lot of my researching of rolling stock, infrastructure, permanent way and other railway associated photographing was diminished. I knew some lads that I used to meet out and about on the network and they were good enough to take photos for me. They wouldn't mind me passing some photos on to other enthusiasts for similar purposes as my own, but some of the lads asked me not to post them on sites like ours or send them to magazines. I have such a large collection of photos on my pc that it's hard to remember which ones I took and which ones were given to me. I wouldn't want to put the group in jeopardy by posting pics that I can't be 100% sure I took. I always took pics that most people don't bother to take, examples being, Loco, coach roofs Underframe equipment on coaches, wagons, locos Electrical gear, fuel tanks, headstocks, draw hooks, drop head buckeye couplers, instanter - screw couplings, pipes and hoses A lot of people forget in the present that what we have now will be history some day so I would urge people to get out there and photograph everything no matter how mundane or uninteresting it might appear to be. As when they are gone they are gone. I went up to Clonmel on the train a month ago to photograph and take some measurements of the road bridge at the Tipp end of the station as it is being replaced and demolished. How many people take photos of the ornate metalwork at stations or the old footbridges. Arroll Brothers Foundry in Scotland built the footbridge in Clonmel Station in the 1800's and the builders plate is still on the bridge, how many people would model that or even be interested in it, and yet it is an important piece of railway infrastructure and it's also historical. Compiling photographs drawing scale elevations of buildings, photographing the track, seeing what kind of chairs are holding the rail, where the keys are in the chairs, how many bolts are in the chairs, what way they are facing is as, if not more important than building and constructing the models. How can you build a scale model if you don't know what it looks like. The model of Connolly shed that Richie built for you Stephen could not have been built if he hadn't photographed it or studied it, and the reason the model looks so amazing is because Richie did his research. I am willing to and have already emailed lot's of pics to those who pm'd me and if anyone wants them please as has already been stated pm me your email address and I will sort you out. When I get some time to sift through my collection Stephen I will post pics in the prototype rolling stock area and I hope that they will be of some use to the members of the group. Rich,

Dave is MM5232 going to be released in the Galway livery as that is the livery it carried during it's final years in service, and it would still have a black roof. Rich,

I was thinking Pat that with the maroon band and the gold stripes in the position that they are on the side of the loco it would look good in IE orange and black. Rich,

Pm me your email address Vincent and I will send them to you. Rich,

Thats looking good mate, Bill Bedford does a nice little etch for a supermarket trolley it would look good in the canal. Rich,

Vincent there was a coastal mist hanging over the town earlier today and it felt more like January than June. Rich,

That's a shame Anto. I thought maybe a ten or fifteen minute expose of the master at work would be a big hit with the other members. It's fantastic looking at pictures of finished models or the many video's you have uploaded here or on youtube of your layout and models but I would love to see your technique. I have a friend with some high end HD camera's and he has a hell of a good editing suite we could have a golden globe or an oscar in the making. By the way I am not forgetting the Airbrush Weathering techniques DVD's I promised you the last time we spoke on the phone. I am having some software glitches at the moment , but as soon as I get it sorted I will pop them in the post. I have to agree with you that Alan is posting some great stuff, don't worry about straying off topic, during a post myself and Alan have been discussing modelling phone books and padlocks and variety is the spice of life Rich,

Hi send me your email in a pm and I will send you some pics. The coaches that were repainted were. EGV 5601 Restaaurant Buffet Standard 5411 Standards 5209-5213-5216-5225-5232-5233-5235. Rich,