Mayner

Little bit of metal bashing. Drawing glued to metal sheet with PVA, punch out rivets with GW rivet press or a centre punch. Rivet pattern punched out on rear of sheet. Traditionally the design was transferred to the metal by marking out and scribing, but its more accurate to glue the working drawing to the sheet of metal or plasticard. Shape roughly cut out with a tin snips to within 5 mm of line. Final cuts close to the cut line with a fine tin snips and tidy up with round and rectangular needle file

Historically a high proportion of crossings outside of station limits appear to have been protected only by distant signals, with a home signal provided if sighting of the gates was poor. The signals at some crossings were controlled by ground frames Hodson's Bay Crossing outside Athlone had up & down home and distant signals controlled by a frame, Adare had a frame with 3 working levers controlling the gate lock and distant signals. Its likely that CIE/IE had started to improve signalling at level crossings on an ad-hoc basis in response to near-miss incidents and complaints raised by drivers, resulting in quite different signalling at similar crossings on a section of line.

The majority of attended CX crossings had working distant signals, often with the gate functioning as home or stop signal. http://www.raiu.ie/download/pdf/accident_kiltoom.pdf is a report into an incident with a level crossing protected by worked distant signals with insufficient stopping distance. The majority of distant signals on the Kingscourt branch were fixed at caution as the majority of crossings were operated by the train crew. Signals included some interesting 19th Century specimens that may have dated from N&K days. Distant signal near Castletown Kilmainhamwood crossing

Chester MRC Dingle layout. I also have a small C&L layout. I am not sure if the business is still in operation, the last time I was in contact with the owner Pete McParin he commented that the information on the web site was out of date and no longer prepared to supply the Irish kits. The kits were relatively straightforward to assemble, though it could be a bit tricky fitting a motor under the bonnet of a Donegal railcar

Although I know the area reasonably well I only travelled once on the train from Ballina to Claremorris. Earlier in the day I had taken the bus from Westport to Ballina. The train was made up of a Park Royal and a BR Van with 3-4 teenage passenger, one of whom commented that it was only "a fart of a train" Maybe it was because of the insignificance of the little train, but nothing prepared me for the sheer remoteness of the view over Lough Cullin towards the Nephin Mountains between Foxford and Pollock. The noise of the locomotive and lively ride of the Park Royal coaches on a springy trackbed contributed to the feeling of being on a very small boat on a very large ocean. Possibly the closest in Ireland in terms of scenery and isolation to the Clifden and Achill Branches. The rest of the journey home behind an 071 in MK3 comfort was totally un-remarkable by comparison with the Buffet Car attendant complaining that he was worked off his feet frying chips and burgers in a rail borne Mc Donalds.

Harry I should be able to sort out a riveted smokebox overlay for you. The locos ran with the original flush smokebox and tall cast iron chimney into the 1940s

Legally the Notice was not worth the piece of tin it was printed on : IE would have had a duty under Common Law and h&s legislation to ensure that people who were legally on the railway were not harmed by the actions or inactions of the company or its workers. In other words ensure that the railway was maintained and operated so that it was safe to use rather than trying to hide behind lawyers.

Great to see that you have got it running, even as a 2-4-0 just like my loco! It takes a long time and a lot o practice to build up skill in model making, the great thing about brass and whitemetal kits is that they are usually salvageable. The one thing I would suggest is a small jewellers vice and a pin-tongs (available from Eileen's or expotools) for filing, bending and assembling components like rods.http://chestofbooks.com/home-improvement/workshop/Turning-Mechanical/Hand-Vices-And-Pin-Tongs.html

GSWR Carriage Diagrams 1975 H Richards & B Pender lists 10 GSWR full brakes withdrawn post 1960 with 3 in service post 1964 the last withrawn in 1970 the oldest lasting longest in typical GSWR fashion. No 18 -1905 -1964, No71-1911-1966, No1070-1908-1961, No1073-1908-1961, No1078-1908-1963, No72-1898-1962, No69-1888-1968, No72-1898-1962 No79-1887-1970,No116---1887-1962, The MGW 6w coaches probably survived longer because they were not as old as the GSWR 6w stock and the 3rds had better leg room with 5 compartments on a 30' underframe compared to 6 on a GSWR 3rd

The G8 & G12 were virtually indistinguishable the main difference was the (much noiser) 8 cylinder engine and lighter fabricated underframe for use on lightly used lines, the A1A A1A version of Frateschi model is similar to the G12 & 8 supplied to NZR https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_DB_class_locomotive. The 121s were a high cabbed development of the lightweight GL8 type introduced in the early 60s for use on the 5'3" gauge Victoria Railways in Australia

JHB Was that the famous excursion where the loco release was blocked by wagons and the passengers had to get out and push? I visited Kingscourt in an A Class hauled IRRS special around 75-6, work had just started on clearing the trackbed of the Oldcastle line from Tara Junction to the mine. The most interesting item of stock at Kingscourt was an ex-GNR 6 w ballast wagon parked by the buffers on one of the sidings at the South end of the yard. I had drawn the loading bank serving the siding closest to the running line rather than both sidings shown of the historic OSI map. There does not appear to be evidence of a loading bank at the North end of the yard. There is a 1939 J Smith photo of a cut of cattle wagons stored on the siding between the head shunt and the loco shed but no sign of a loading bank. The whole area was obliterated with the construction of the gypsum loading ramp and turntable. Looking at the OSI map and Eiretrains photos the most likely place for loading cattle was the loading bank on the goods shed road. http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20K/Kingscourt/IrishRailwayStations.html#Kingscourt_20040801_002_CC_JA.jpg It’s possible that cattle traffic may not have been heavy enough to justify a dedicated cattle bank and siding at Kingscourt. A large proportion of cattle traffic on the Midland was tied up with the seasonal movement of cattle from fairs in the West to farms in Meath and Kildare for fattening , a situation that would not arise to the same extent on an area that specialised in dairy farming and pork & bacon production.

I can certainly recommend Digitrax for durability and after sales service. I have used the mid level Empire Builder based system for over 16 years in N, HO, On30 and G Scale. The original DB 150 command stations are still going strong but I upgraded the system to radio control about 7 years ago with a combination of dual knob and utility throttles. I mainly bought from Tony's Trains Exchange in both Ireland and here in New Zealand.

I travelled over the like in 1975 or 76 and drew a sketch of the track layout. There was the remains of a loading bank between the two sidings at the south end of the station, the bank appears on the OS 25" map of the area. There did not appear to be room on loading bank by the goods shed road for loading cattle as this was covered by an extension to the goods shed. At the time gypsum was carried in a mixture of hoppers and open wagons and the sidings were in use for wagon storage.

I built a model of 533 in plasticard powered by a Lima tender drive about 30 odd years ago looked nice but getting it to run was another matter . The cattle wagon cast in resin (gooey) in a rubber mould the coach in plasticard from an over scale drawing. Drawings of the D16 and MGWR coaches appeared in a series of articles by Tim Cramer in Model Railways I would look at doing a D16 at some stage after the introduction of the G2 which should be available late autumn. The main issue with designing a kit for many locos is the sheer number of variation that arose in GSR/CIE days.

Its an interesting discussion in a way the original posters fantasy of a European railway using locally built GM locos came true with the Swedish firm Nohab building a European twin cabbed version of the classic F7 widely used across much of Europe even showing up in Turkey and Egypt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSB_Class_MY An Irish MY is an interesting might have been as Nohab tendered to supply locos to the GNR and possibly CIE.

Stopped waiting parts just like many a CIE loco in the 40s & 50s. I managed to ring the end off one of the coupling rods during assembly I should have a replacement set during the next month or so.

Harry It would be worth while to keep the original brass chassis in reserve as a spare if you run into problems or decide at some stage to have a go at 21mm gauge I have a J26 still going strong on the original chassis after nearly 30 years service,which says a lot about the durability and accuracy of the original chassis. A compensated chassis is a better option for a small loco than a rigid one as you get more reliable power pick up with all wheels on the track. The axle and coupling rod centres line up accurately flex-chassis bearings simply slot into the openings in the frames. I used U shaped strips of scrap bass soldered to the inside of the frame to prevent the bearings revolving & made up a keeper plate from strip brass to prevent the wheels dropping out

STS had a fleet of similar wagons in the UK complete with green underframe running gear http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/icianhydrousammonia/h8bdddd2#h8bdddd2 The Train Ferry tie down hooks are an interesting feature of the 1995 batch of wagons. Fauvet Girel would have built the new wagons to meet current design standards and rather than tool up specially to produce a 1970s design.

The "modern" 4w wagons were fitted with 2' buffers and instanter couplings most likely to reduce slack between wagons and allow faster running 50mph compared with 35mph for loose coupled working.

I have a copy of "The Turf Burner" by J P Rowledge, it contains a GA and diagrams of the gas, steam and water circuits but no plan view. Both sides of the loco may have looked the same and the boiler may have been centred than offset. "The design was double ended, the girder frames centrally supporting the boiler, but differed from the Leader by having bunker and water tanks at each end. This layout was basically the Fairlie system" "The boiler was enclosed within the body and each driving cab had only one door on the left side facing the direction of travel" " The layout of CC1 was 'mirrored" along its centre line apart from the driving position, the air compressor and some of the brake fittings. The feature on the side of the loco and access panels on the ends appears to be connected with the feedwater heaters and gas system (heat exchangers?).

Northyard in New Zealand supply 28mm 2.03 dia axles Part No 471 @ $0.90nz & 12mm RE25/110 metal tyred plastic centre disc wheels Part 2197B @$0.95 nz ea http://www.northyard.co.nz/ The wheels are intended for S gauge very strong and of good quality with a nickel silver tyre on a nylon centre. Tyres are wide for 21mm but a good compromise for OO

Whatever about Hornby's financial position they have turned out some outstanding OO gauge steam locos http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/82970-hornbys-best-ever-models/page-29. I think one of the main issues with Hornby is whether to cater for the train set market and the younger modeller or the adult collector. The take over of the Lima/Rivarassi has probably worsened the problem as most of the Continental and American models are quite outdated and inferior to their competitors models. The local model shop dropped Bachmann and Atlas about 4-5 years ago and only stock Hornby primarily for parents and younger modellers expanding on the Christmas train set. Although there is a Britannia, a King Arthur, a T9 and other mouth watering steam locos in the display case these are likely to be long stock or sale and return items as the adult collector is more likely to buy on line or from a box shifter. A parent is unlikely to pay over $300NZ for an Arthur or an O4 they might be happy to pay out $150-200 for the Hornby R2669 Train Pack with the ancient Triang-Hornby diesel shunter and 3 wagons. Much more play value and less likely to be broken than a highly detailed model.

The bulk grain containers appear in a number of photos of the North Kerry yard during the same era. The ISO grain containers, Keg and the Back to Back fertiliser swap bodies were mentioned in an IRRS paper written in the late 60s early 70s possibly worth a visit to the IRRS library. The containers appear to have been used to transport barley for a large brewery. Its possible the wagons were loaded on the rails at Rock Street as the maltings/grain silos were served by a private siding.

Cold Brrr.......... we lived in a classical Dublin 1930s 3 bed semi, my grandmother loved the fresh air with all the windows wide open even on a winters day, kept warm by the kitchen fire, paraffin and later Super-Ser bottle gas heaters in the living room and hall, only installed central heating when we had two wages in the house when I started working in the late 70s. Although a grandfather had was a GSR driver the railways were seen as a thing of the past and CIE a dirty word in our family, with my parents never using rail after experiences of cold, dirty trains breaking down on journeys to family funerals and weddings in the West. Maybe my interest in model railways was a form of rebellion and something my parents hoped I would grow out of when after months of negotiations I selected my first proper train set a Triang-Hornby "South African Goods" at the age of 12 or 13. It took an other year of saving up to buy a second hand Trix E2 locomotive and a Triang CKD coach, a point and some extra track. As a kid what inspired me to model railways was the trains in the Triang-Hornby and Trix catalogues and later in model railway magazines as railways had little or no relevance in many parts of Dublin and were very much out of sight out of mind. I suppose the lesson is that a small percentage of children will go against the norm and develop an interest in model trains, or become a dweeb or geek, than take up athletics or team sport.

David Franks the IE Chief Executive signalled a change in thinking towards freight including a cheap and cheerful re-opening of Foynes and a interest in competing for the Biomass traffic. Significantly spoke about substantially increasing train lengths and better scheduling of freight trains to avoid crossing on single lines. A reduction in freight rates by operating longer less frequent 80TEU overnight train may be more attractive than a daily 36TEU train for shippers like IWT. However investment would be required to increase terminal capacity and critical passing loops, there is little to be gained in running an 80TEU train if you cannot fit it in a terminal or yard In most Western Countries the rail infrastructure owner and local authorities often co-fund investment in improving line capacity with Port Companies and shippers funding terminal facilities and private sidings. A good example is our local freight line where capacity improvements now allow 100TEU trains increased traffic as a result of increased competition between ports .http://www.kiwirail.co.nz/news/140/129/Further-investment-in-busy-rail-line-between-Hamilton-and-Tauranga.html Even local government and haulage companies building rail terminals https://www.nzta.govt.nz/about-us/news-and-media/keeping-connected/tokoroa-road-rail-terminal-opens-for-business/