Mayner

One of the main drawbacks in attempting to model IEs freight operations during the 90s-00s was that individual wagon load traffic had ceased and the majority of private sidings had closed by the late 70s and CIE essentially operated a 'no-shunt' railway that operated fixed formation trains. While the majority of private sidings were set up to handle train load traffic, a number of private sidings continued to operate connected to Dublin Port's Alexandra Road Tramway that handled short(ish) cuts of wagons into the 00s. Wagons were mainly (apart from Tara, Asahi & Cawoods's coal) moved along the tramway by Dublin Port tractors, though locos coupled and brake test carried out to ESSO Oil trains while on the Tramway before crossing East Wall Road. One alternative would be to assume that CIE/IE had taken a more pragmatic approach and continued to operate individual wagon load traffic and private sidings using its fleet of 'modern" fitted wagons introduced from the mid-60s onwards not unlike BRs "Speedlink' wagon load service that operated between 1977 and 1991. Dunkettle may be just about doable for a mini-micro layout with a single siding serving a Texaco fuel rack, with two short sidings crossing the road to serve (a) Burmah Oil (b) Roofchrome Factory/later Tivoli Port. Tivoli siding was served by a trailing connection only to the Cork-Cobh Line so trains departing Cork for Dunkettle ran wrong road. Marino Point, Mallow, Barrack St and Adelaide were basically laid out to handle train load traffic possibly without short sidings, Barrack St closed disconnected by mid-1990s following the opening of the new terminal on the stub of the Irish North Line. The up yard at Rathpeacon was quite extensive likely to have been disconnected when CTC was extended south from Mallow during the 90s. One of the long roads in the up yard was used as a lay bye siding to allow North bound passenger trains to overtake freight/Liner trains during the late 70s, once travelled on the evening Cork-Dublin train that overtook the B&I Liner that had departed Cork st about half an hour earlier. The yard was later used to store a rake of GSRPS coaches after the connection to the GSRPS base at Mallow was disconnected from the railnetwork around 78-9 in connection with the extension of Cork line CTC to Mallow.

J R Campbells merchants was one of the signature features of Drumshanbo with its short siding, corrugated store and timber/farm gates stacked against the railway wall encroaching onto the platform! The station building and corrugated store on my Keadue layout (wife calls its a diorama) some day I must replace the wooden fence with a stone wall as a rest for some Campbells stock of farm gates and timber.

Back to the Wreckbench. Decided to dispose of a pair of my older Large Scale locos that haven't turned a wheel since I converted the garden railway from DCC track power to battery RC seven or eight years ago. Mainly to clear up space to start work on a 4mm layout. One of the locos an LGB Forney 0-4-4T turned out to be a bit of a challenge. Originally bought as an "1881 Wild West" loco from a US dealer, she was fitted with a NCE 4amp decoder and went through a partial repaint before entering service on the Jackson County about 16 years ago. Interestingly while the Forney type were rigid main frame locos with a trailing bogie, the LGB Forney is closer technically to a Single Fairlie with a centrally pivoted power bogie and powerful-sure footed despite their relatively small size. The Forney became one of the every day workhorses of the Jackson Country until replaced by (larger!) battery RC powered locos as I shifted from G (mainly 1:22.5) Scale to F (1.20.5) scale following a 2016 visit to the Colorado narrow gauge. The Forney type was mainly used on the Maine 2' narrow gauge and standard gauge elevated suburban lines, theoretically LGB narrow gauge models are meter gauge, though may have taken a pragmatic approach and simply "re-scaled" its Forney to match the proportions of its other American outline stock (mainly Colorado 3' gauge). "The fun and games" began when I attempted to enable analogue(DC) operation on the NCE decoder. The Forney did not respond to DC after I fitted the decoder and I had mislaid the LGB Analogue Jumper which would allow the loco to run without a decoder. I eventually managed to trackdown the decoder manual and a (2008) "My Large Scale" article on converting the Forney to DCC which I had originally used as a reference when I installed the decoder and included a diagram of the 'jumper' wiring. The NCE manual indicated that the decoder was supplied with analogue mode disabled and managed to enable analogue mode by re-programming CV29 using a Digitrax command station and throttle, referring the the NCE programming CV29 Information Sheet. Problem was the loco would only run reliably in a forward direction on DC, intermittently starting in reverse when selected, but changing to a forward direction when I closed and re-opened the throttle. In the end I re-programmed CV29 using a different command station and throttle with identical results! As a final check I attempted to check/re-programme CV29 interfacing the JMRI Decoder-Pro app with my DCC system, unfortunately the RR-Cirkits "LocoBuffer-USB" interface which I once successfully used for route setting on an American N gauge layout about 20 years ago is now obsolete. Fortunately I was able to cross check that I had used the correct CV29 value from Decoder Pro and the NCE tables. I sent in a query to the NCE help desk on the problem so will be interesting if I get a response. The next step was to set up an 'analogue jumper" with the aid of the wiring in the 'My Large Scale" article, but it did not actually work in practice as there was no link on one side between track, motor and functions. T In the end I simply installed jumper connections between the rails and motor bushes in order to allow the loco to run on DC, the lighting (head tail and interior) operates on FO, F2 may be used to operate a smoke units, F1 spare. At this stage all bulb holders require replacement, with a long lead time for replacement, so working lighting or DCc functions largely irrelevant. "DC" jumper! using parts from the local electronic store! My idea of DCC ready! 10 Pin header connected to the decoder tucked up under the leads to the motor bogie and smoke unit! 10 Pin DC header plugged into the board loco operating on DC without lights or other functions! Cab, bunker and pilot have been re-coated in a semi matt black aerosol sealed with a flat aerosol clear. Cylinder block has since had the same treatment. I originally had planned to finish the boiler and brasswork in black but decided to leave as is, at one stage green metallic "Russia Iron" boiler jackets and polished meytal work was a feature of many American locos. The Forney is a Chinese assembled LGB loco with plastic motion and handrail brackets rather metal on German manufactured locos. I replaced the plastic handrail knobs/brackets on this loco were easily damaged and were replaced with locally produced brass castings using one of the originals as a master. I need to replace the lamp numbers to match the smoke box number No 4 inspired by a Bridgetown and Harrison or Sandy River loco. The other loco in for attention is a Bachmann "Spectrum" Mogul again bought from a dealer in the States, fitted with a Lenz Decoder with stay alive a very reliable loco until she split a plastic gear on the driving axle (a common defect Bachmann Large Scale locos), gear and axle since replaced and a spare in stock and runs relaibly on DC! The whole DC/DCC thing could be a moot point track power is becoming the exception among large scale modellers in NZ as they convert to battery RC Hopefully with the large scale Farlie and Mogul largely out of the way I might get a chance to catch up on my 4mm Irish modelling projects.

The GSWR and to a lssser extent MGW adapted pre-cast concrete from the early 1900s for buildings and structures. The goods shed at Attanagh on the Portlaoise-Kilkenny line is/was? as pre-cast structure similar/identical to that at Mountmelick both likely to have been built following the GSWR takeover of the Waterford and Central of Ireland, Clonmel loco shed was another early 1900 pre-cast structure. Edenderry engine shed on the Midland is unusual rebuilt with a flat-roof which incorporates pre-cast components. Pre-cast was also popular for smaller structures like plate layers huts, signal mileposts, and signal post. The home signal at Loughrea survived for many years after closure with a MGW pre-cast post. The Refreshment Room/Station at Parkmore on the Ballymena narrow narrow gauge is/was a 1920s replacement of an earlier building destroyed by fire, the NCC upgraded/replaced the buildings a Ballycastle with pre-cast after its 1924? takeover of the Ballycastle line.

While my initial thoughts were that most of the smaller yards and private sidings had closed as CIE shifted from individual wagon load to fixed formation Liner Train operation for general freight/container traffic and Block trains for single commodities like Cement (bagged & Bulk), Fertiliser, Ores to fulfil the Railplan 80 objective of establishing a 'no shunt railway" Irish Rail began to adapt a more pragmatic approach with the hope of increasing traffic/profitability with a number of new freight flows using (underutilised/redundant stock) that emerged during the late 80s/90s mainly in connection with traffic in Animal Feed (mollasses and grain to the Midlands. Mollassess was loaded at a small bulk terminal an extension of a redundant zinc ore spur at Foynes and conveyed in block trains of previously redundant oil tank wagons (Mid 60-early 70s era) to Limerick then distriubuted by scheduled Liner Train to their final destinations Mullingar & Longford typically cuts of 6 wagons. Initially grain was carried in 20' purpose built containers on 22'wb flats at Foynes and later Waterford and railed to the Portlaoise Avonmore plant at the end of the stub of the Portlaosie-Kilkenny line. At Waterford grain was loaded on a private siding that served an IAWS elevator, in its final years grain was loaded at Dublin Port with road transfer to the North Wall yard and railed on bogie flats to the Avonmore Plant. Although unloaded on a spur outside the Avonmore plant, work had commenced on installing a run-round loop beffore the traffic ceased in the early 2000s. Its just about possible similar traffic flows might have extended to the North East if the Irish Government had been supportive for railfreight during the early 2000s. Earlier Bulk Grain and Tar Traffic (individual wagon load) increased during the mid-late 50s, but largely gone by Mid-1970s. Bulk grain tended to be handled in concrete/corrugated iron/asbestos additions to existing stone mills, tar simple siding with steam heating plant (in shed) to transfer to road tanker. Modern private sidings tended to be set up to handle 1-15 wagon trains of bogie wagons co-op siding Farranfore. Personally I think it would be easier simpler to build a mico layout set in an earlier period, industrues, railway rolling stock all operating on a smaller scale and buildings and structures architecturally more attractive and rail traffic conveyed in individual wagon load rather than the gtrain load.

Worth enquiring with the National Railway Museum York Sharp Stewart loco drawings (most likely GAs) are included in their North British Locomotive drawing collection https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co27933/north-british-locomotive-co-ltd-drawings. The 7mm Narrow Gauge Society published a book of 'Irish Narrow Gauge Scale Drawings" which includes CVBT No4 and CVR Railcar 1 https://7mmnga.org.uk/sales/publications/publication_details.php?ref=NLE06. The drawings are in simplified diagram form rather than general arrangement, as far as I recall the drawing of No4 includes CVR modifications.

The 6 Compt 3rds appear to have gone/been converted to Turf Wagons during the Emergency I think the running numbers and other details were taken from the GSWR diagram book. The coaches with the curved in ends are likely to be ex-WLWR. I completed a pair of SSM 6wheelers in GSR livery several years ago a Lav Composite & a Brake 3rd and have another 4 GSWR 6wheelers to assemble incl a 6 Compt 3rd for a 21mm gauge Burma Rd layout if I ever get round to assembling the coaches or layout. I am planning to complete the 3rd in 1920s GSWR/GSR purple lake livery.

It might be worth checking with Roger/Alphagraphix whether he produced a 7mm model of Sprite. I have a sneaking suspicion that he first released an etched kit for a GSWR paycar and MGW 2-2-2T Bee/Elf before going on to produce more mainstream loco such as his range of "West Cork" tanks.

Yeah we have four cats (all male) and our teenager wants a horse! I had a largish stash of Leslie's wagons which hopefully I will get to build some day. We had a nice Christmas Day herself cooking turkey dinner for ma-in law and myself, while teenager spent day in their cave gaming and ordering in from kitchen. I charged the batteries on large scale locos so managed to run some trains out in the morning and home after tea. Day was warm and sunny though we are promised a downpour today, and for most of next week.

Back to the wreckbench to restore #464s headlight and get RGS Motor #6 head and marker lights when running in a forward direction. #464 headlight ceased to function after one of the jumper cables between the loco and tender failed several months ago. The wiring on the Bachmann K27 2-8-2 is quite complex with a circuit board in the tender and smoke box linked by a cable loom with two multiple connectors between loco and tender. The connections from the loom to the multi socket on the RHS of the loco wasn't in a great state when I picked up the loco well used second hand about 8 years ago, luckily most of the wiring was redundant since I converted the loco to on-board battery control ending up with one functional wire the -feed to the headlight which failed several months ago. The smokeboard circuit board control lighting functions, headlamp, marker, cab/possibly firebox lighting and redundant DC/DCC changeover and smoke unit switches. Original plan was to link the headlamp LED with the marker-light circuit but ended up blowing the marker light circuit instead!. In the end used a Kiwi style no 8 baler wire repair crude but effective. 1st did some testing with a multi meter and discovered that some of the loom and LED wiring did not follow the usual conventions for + - the negative lead to the headlamp was red and positive feed to the lighting circuit board white. To complicate things further I used orange and brown for + & - jumpers from the circuit board to the headlight. Actually managed to run some trains on Christmas Day. Thankfully #464s headlight fed through a resister now works, though I have not connected the marker (classification) lights. Apparrently marker lights were not usually illumiated in daylight. Motor #6 is fitted with very small filiment bulbs rather than LEDs, capture the atmosphere of 1930s 6v automobile headlights. Looks like the prototype may have kerosene marker lights, possibly from a caboose. The RGS was very much a boot strap operation that would make Forbes County Donegal extravagent in comparisson. Interestingly the entire RGS Goose (Motor) fleet has survived some in operating order on heritage lines and museums in Colorado & California, someone actually built a replica of the origonal goose Motor 1 which was used as a source of parts to build Motor 6 during the mid-1930s Getting #6 lights functioning going forward was basically a case of soldering a jumper between the F & R lighting pads on the radio receiver/decoder

I experienced similar issues accessing both this newsgroup and in accceesing the Accurascale website during the past week, otherwise no problems with internet access here in New Zealand or internationally.

Probabably worth checking out firms in the jewellery sector in Birmingham that carry out brass/lost wax casting. I have used a local business that carries out lost wax casting to produce brass castings from metal, resin, plastic masters and 3D models to produce brass castings including buffers.

Bulkgrain loading/discharge arrangements at Ranks Clara The grating is likely to have been used for grain truck discharge after rail operations ceased, probably on top of an original rail discharge pit. A similar grating may have been used for rail discharge, possibly for one wagon linked by conveyor to the elevator system There was a concrete slab complete with two inset sidings when I visited the site 30 odd years ago, one of the sidings served a large grain elevator and a small dry corrugated good store, the second siding served a second larger dry goods store.

Webbs Mill/Quarterstown may have focused on processing animal feed following the Cork Milling Co takeover. Mallow is an important dairying centre, its likely that the mill processed corn (maize) imported from the States as supplementary cattle feed during the winter/spring. Interestingly the Dairygold Mallow powder milk plant is similar in scale to plants in the Waikato and likely to have exported milk powder by rail through the Mallow. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dairygold. It looks like CIE experienced a signifiicant increase in bulk grain traffic during the mid-late 50s with the construction/modification of H Vans to Bulk Grain wagons, previously CIE had a total of 18 Bulk Grain Wagons built by the GSR during the mid-1930s, 10 railway owned wagons, 8 owned by Ranks Ireland for its own traffic. There is a photo in the NLI O'Dea collection of bulk grain being transferred from an ex-GS grain wagon to a truck at Fermoy station during the early-mid 60s. The grain was transferred from rail to road using a small portable (probabably petrol powered) screw conveyor) that allowed the graiin to be unloaded at track level without the aid of a pit.

I used an LGB 22 Volt 2 amp combined controller and power unit while running analogue power before converting to DCC using a mid level Digitrax (Empire Builder) command station on the 5amp setting. I have used battery RC control for the past 10 years locos powered by pairs of 7.2v 3000ma NiMH batteries (14.2V). Unlike DCC radio control systems are produced by cottage industry suppliers such as RCTrains https://www.rctrains.co.uk/, probabably best to contact the Gauge 1 Society or Garden Railway groups if your looking at usingb battery RC.

In good company, apparrently the GSR manged to spell Drumshanbo incorrectly in both Irish and English on the bilingual station nameboard Possibly someone in authority knowing better or failing to check the spelling/pronounciation with the locals

A product of the Irish education system with good grade in Irish when I completed my Leaving Cert 50 years ago I still haven't got my head around the pronounciation and use of the 'fada' and as they say the séimhiú "was in my fathers time" and he spoke about being put off Irish when a new teacher introduced the Munster (Kerry) dialect in a Galway school! Had fun and games with my Irish (Dub with a country accent) pronouncation of UK and some US placenames but eventually learned to pronounce some Welsh and Kiwi place names correctly mainly by listening to the locals. Back to Pauls dilemma, I don't think a GSR/CIE style bi-lingual signs board would be appropriate for a private siding, I seem to have mislaid my copy of a 1960 CIE WTT and unable to check the 'official railway" name of the siding. Its possible the Webb family may have sold the mill at some stage following the establishment of the Free State, Quarterstown House had been converted to a convent by the 1940s. Milling was supposed to have ceased by 1957. Cold Chon may not have bothered to advertise their presence signed into a long term contract to supply tar to the nearby Cork County council road depot and the 'mill owners" much incentive to maintain the place. The Land Commission began to acquire large country estates and divide the land into small holding from the early 1900s onwards, many of the large Country Houses were sold to religious orders or prominent Irish people during the 20s and 30s as members of the 'gentry' returned to the UK or consolidated their Irish holdings. A sign in the style of a Webb Milling sign or seal or a Quarterstown roadsign may be more appropriate. For many years the name of small towns/villages such as quarterstown were displayed on simple square road signs (black border and lettering on white background) in similar style to pre-1960 UK roadsigns https://www.hattons.co.uk/52086/ancorton_models_n_605_pre_1960_s_road_signs_set_5/stockdetail?srsltid=AfmBOorag12QA99NdUrAy8Z3h9lTVW5mF9PelAQm2nv1AqPb7N4_xe34 (without red triangle!) From memory names were sometimes in English or bi lingual cannot find a photo!

Applying waterslide transfers over rivets/raised detail is bascially a case practice and suitable preparation and selection of suitable transfers, wetting agents & varnish/sealant. N Scale Lehigh Valley Diesel. One my pride and joy, very much a hard worked 'layout loco' I finished the loco in LV livery about 25 years ago using Microscale waterslide decal set, incl black/white nose/pilot stripes s, Micro-Set (wetting setting agent) Micro-Sol (solvent/softner) around details/irregular surfaces. Loco painted in a gloss aerosol red then, then finished with a semi matt aerosol. Paint did not adhere too well to handrails which were molded in a black flexible plastic. 4mm Ranks Ireland wagon (Enlargement shows up the blemishes!) Decals comissioned from Railtec Transfers, Humbrol Decalfix (recommended by Railtec, Micro-Set Micro-Sol incompitaible). Main challenge was applying large RANKS (Ireland) Ltd element of decal due to its sheer size, applied RANKS (Ireland) Ltd as 3 separate decals! (Ireland) after applying the two larger decals! Again model first spray painted grey with a gloss finish and then sealed with a matt/semi-matt finish once decals had dried out I originally intended to have the decal pad printed comercially, but printer declined to print further wagons after pad printing the initial batch of 20T Brake Vans

I agree with Andy that it would be best to start out with re-scaling one kit to 4mm both in terms of identifying any pitfalls in rescaling a model from 7-4mm scale and overwhelming the (very small) market for 4mm Irish outline kits. I usually managed to sell a minimum of 10 JM Design kits on the initial production run, though demand/sales for the MGWR Vans and the 4w Bulleid PO Van were significantly lower than other kits. A 4mm Alphagraphix J26 would largely duplicate the SSM MGW E Class/J26, the Alphagraphix kit appears to be based on a loco in late GSR/CIE condition with riveted smokebox, while the SSM kit in includes parts to assemble a loco in MGW/GSR condition with flush smokebox and parts to assemble the Tramore version of the loco with extended cab and recessed cab steps, so something of a Catch 22 situation, though I prepared an etched overlay for a riveted J26 smokebox. A J18/19 has been on my to do list for 40 years, so I'll put my hand up for two. John

Nickle silver basically a superior material to work, basically stronger, easier to solder and easier to paint compared to brass. Best contact Des on availability, Studio Scale models traditionally held kits in stock though may have shifted to supplying kits to order. Des supplied tender etchs and castings at relatively short notice for a GSWR 52 Class 4-4-0 I produced several years ago.

Studio Scale Models already produce a 4mm model of a Bandon Tank both roundtopped and Belpair firebox versions. https://www.studio-scale-models.com/B4.shtml

An important point to check with Roger is whether a 4mm loco chassis produced from 7mm artwork/photo tooling will be suitable for a OO gauge loco. The width over chassis on a 4mm loco produced from re-sized 7mm/Gauge 0 artwork may be too wide for OO. Alternatives would be: (a) to re-design the existing chassis so that its suitable for OO gauge (width over frames 12mm) or (b) the buyer purchasing proprietary etched or turned frame spacers and assembling the chassis as a conventional chassis. Although my 4mm MGW vans were designed to be assembled to OO or 21mm gauge, it was necessary to re-design the chassis when I re-scaled the artwork to 2mm scale for a customer.

I once thought of modelling the Irish Broad gauge to 8.57mm scale on Gauge 1 track to run on my Large Scale(1:20.5) scale garden railway (45mm gauge). Like Sam Carse moellers of the NZ 3'6" gauge tended to chose a proprietary track gauge and vary the scale to acheive the correct scale/gauge ratio. With few kits and an absence of any broad gauge Irish RTR Gauge 1 is essentially a scratchbuilders scale for the G1 modeller. One of the main differences between modelling in larger scales like Gauge 1 and the smaller scales is that large scale modellers tend to bring locos/stock to run at club/group meetings and each others railways https://www.g1mra.com/joining-g1mra/local-groups/. In the end I did not pursue the idea of modelling the Irish Broad gauge in 8.57mm as I already had more than enough 4mm modelling projects than I could manage and instead decided to focus on American 3' gauge using proprietary 1:20.3 scale in the garden. At the time I would probabably scratchbuilt or used etched brass/laser cut ply to produce locos and stocks, these days I'd probably use 3D printing for chassis, bodies and mechanisms similar to some 9mm Scale NZR modellers

I5 or so years ago i painted one side of my Worsley Works Laminate & Park Royal CIE late 50s green opposite side in Black & Tan and picked out the windows on a SSM Bredin in silver, I finished my Bredin set (1 Full Brake, 2 Comp) in late 50s green, though none of these (21mm gauge) coaches have ever operated on a layout, perhaaps some day?

Richard Chown's original Castlerackrent Irish outline 7mm broad gauge layout was apparrently based on a WLWR branch line running westwards from Tuam into Joyce Country, potentially Maam Bridge or even Leenaun on Killary Harbour While the Alphagraphix J26 can be modified relatively easily to GSR or even MGW condition by modifying the smokebox and boiler fittings, the Alphagraphix G2 and J18 are based on the locos in late GSR/CIE condition with superheated belpair boilers and modified cabs, requiring major modification to model either class in MGW or early GSR condition.