Mayner

I stuck with the DesignCAD mainly because I don't want to take another 10 year getting used to another programme. The main advantage for me is that movement of the cursor can be calibrated to move in steps by the key board arrows, as I prefer to move the cursor with the arrows rather than the mouse. The personal version of Sketchup may be an option for 3D I was surprised to find that one of the local sheetmetal workshops use Sketchup for prototypng before converting to the cutter software.

I think Foynes and Waterford ports are in competition for the Pallas Green zinc traffic whenever the mine gets to the production stage. Train lengths and the short length of crossing loops and sidings is a real issue. While IE claim that its freight services are profitable, operating and maintenance costs must be high given the low capacity and age of the rolling stock, both the 071s and 201s are getting on a bit and fuel hungry. On average the loco and wagon fleet is now older than what the GSR took on in the 1920s, the vacuum braking system pretty much obsolete. Provided you had the traffic longer trains would allow freight to be carried at a lower rate and justify a financial case for new locos and stock and longer loops and sidings.

Unless you are a professional user or can get a student copy an AutoCAD or Solidworks license would be pretty serious investment for an modeller. I have use DesignCAD a 3D an inexpensive modelling programme for all my drafting including masters for etching and 3d printed models through Shapeways. It probably took me 5-10 years to really master the programme and after 15 years I am still discovering features that would probably be second nature to professional designers like Richie & Dave. Most of the cheaper programmes have their idiocyrcries weird things happen when you try to convert a DesignCAD file into stl. for 3d printing or dxf. or drg. for photo engraving. The 2D version of Draftsight has had good reviews and is free http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight-cad-sof...'>http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight-cad-sof....'>http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight-cad-sof.... I looked at changing to TurboCAD or Draftsight but could not get used to a new user interface after 15 years with DesignCAD. http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight-cad-sof... DraftSight - Dassault Systèmes http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight-cad-sof... Going back to modelling the GSWR in 1910 the tapered boiler Coey 4-4-0 were really distinctive machines the GSR rebuilds with parallel boilers and canopy cabs really spoiled their appearance.

Sticks of rhubarb.......... worse than a Triffid the vine has started to climb the trees into the neighbours garden should be spreading its tendrils in Ireland in another couple of weeks. 1st of the pumpkins should be ready to eat in a few weeks

Nothing to report on the small scale side in recent weeks, mainly focused on the workshop installing a permanent power supply to the work bench and sourcing parts for the Unimat, buying a lathe/milling machine is only half the cost. I used the Unimat in anger for the first time when I turned a couple of silver steel replacement valve gear pins for a G Scale 2-6-0. The Dinge Railcar and a G Scale 2-8-0 are the main priorities at the moment. The railcar is urgently required to replace the Bachmann railtruck on the mails after the final drive gave up , parts for rear axle out of stock, the 2-8-0 has been out of service for over 5 years and is needed before the smaller engines wear out. Dingle Railcar sub assemblies Fresh from the paint shop. I am planning to build a separate chassis in nickel silver with a Northyard or North West Shortline gearbox as I am not 100% happy with the design of the kit chassis. Railcar posed on the main line outside the engine shed. The body is finished with aerosol car paint, in an attempt to get something close to the GSWR/GSR purple lake. The finish coat was applied over several layers of red oxide primer filler sanding down between coats. The ply required a lot of filling and sanding, I would have probably would have been better and faster to scratchbuild the body in plasticard. Close up of railcar Most of the weight is over the front axle with the whitemetal bonnet and castings. Roof to be painted dark grey/dirtyblack, grab handles, door knobs and glazing to be fitted. Some US narrow gauge lines ran similar railcars. Rebuild of Bachmann 2-8-0 into DRGW C25 The Bachmann large scale 2-8-0 was out of proportion to Bachmann Big Haulier and LGB American narrow gauge locos and stock. The rebuild is intended to improve the proportions with more typical North American details than the Mexican or South American look of the stock Bachmann engine. The cab took approx. one week to do laminated in 3 layers from 0.030", 0.060" & 0.030" Evergreen plastic sheet. The 3 ply construction is to resist warping and buckling, allow for detail relief and glazing rebates. When working in plasticard I usually stick the working drawing to the plasticard with glue stick or schoolglue then mark out/scribe with a Stanley knife or craft knife using a sharp blade and a straight edge. Apart from the cab the main visual changes to the loco were replacing the funnel, raising the headlamp, shortening the front platform by 1/2", narrowing the overall width of the loco and tender by a similar amount and removing the outside Baker valve gear on the loco, the DRGW engine had inside Stephensons gear. This loco will be fitted up either with on board battery radio control or wired for DCC with some form of "keep alive" decoder, even with pick up on all wheels reliable pick up on a garden railway can be a problem particularly in conditions of high humidity, i.e. most of the year! Unexpected problem in the Coke Ovens area Never get this with Woodland Scenics! Tomatoes plants and pumpkin grew up in one week after levelling out compost bin for landscaping. Better leave conifer planting until after the harvest

Very neat work Nelson the sand box shout out GNR. The GBL T9 might be an in expensive basis for a GNR Q or S Class or even a GSWR Coey 4-4-0, a few appear to have been kitbashed into Caley and Highland classes

Seemingly as a final fling the GNR operated a fast Belfast-Omagh-Enniskillen service with a single BUT railcar for a few weeks before the Irish-North closed in September 1957. The Enniskillen railcar operated as part of a fast Belfast-Derry service splitting at Omagh. The railcar used to haul a classical GNR Clerestory Brake Composite between Omagh & Enniskillen. The 701 Class railcars were Second Class only without a luggage compartment or van. No. 19 is a MGWR goods brake dating from the 1870s complete with wooden bake blocks, the vans were painted green rather than the usual MGWR dark grey or black. The photo of the C&L carriages was taken before the GSR removed the Balliamore carriage shed to save money on the rates and the carriages started to fall apart from the lack of shelter and a decent coat of paint

Alan The 14' outside framed convertible wagon seems to have been the standard up to around 1914-15 when the longer Irish Railway Clearing House open and covered wagons were introduced & the GSWR developed the steel framed H van. The convertibles were used to carry cattle or general goods traffic. Most companys did not have enough cattle wagons to handle the seasonal peak traffic from large fairs that could require 100+ wagons like Ballinasloe, Loughrea, Roscommon so convertibles were pressed into service. Resin casting from a plasticard master would probably be a quicker option than scratchbulding for building a rake of open wagons, most of my C&L coal wagons have a one piece resin body cast in a simple plug mould. Plasticard would be a better option for the master than brass to get a decent wall thickness, most of the earlier box style opens used min.3"planks or 1mm thick in 4mm.

Francis Shuttleworth's photo appears to be part of a series of photos taken on 29 May 1957, I have a dated black and white print of the same train probably taken a few moments earlier as the fireman boarded the loco and a photo of the train consist of 19th Century MGWR stock and brand new tin vans. 659 is probably on pilot duty making up the train for A Class haulage to Mullingar or possibly Westland Row. The 650s regularly worked mail and other passenger duties over the Sligo road in the 1950s until bumped from main-line duties by the A Class The weathering of the tender is interesting, the design is almost guaranteed to throw up road dirt on the sides. I tended to use Howes Railmatch "Weathered Black" for CIE steam locos and used a satin or matt varnish depending on whether I wanted an ex-works or worn finish. The "colour" is more a grey than a black.

The DSER engines seems to have been the exception, the J8 0-6-0s & K2 2-6-0s seem to have been highly rated when GSWR or Midland Section crews operating people could get their hands on them. It would be interesting to see how South Eastern crews rated the GSR built 850 2-6-2T & 670 Class 0-6-2Ts compared with ex-DSER suburban tank locos

Victoria Railways also had double ended 280hp Walker units similar to GNR railcars F&G http://www.auscisionmodels.com.au/280HP%20Walker%20Rail%20Car%20Page.htm The Walkers appear to have been nicknamed "A room & a bath" and "Two rooms & a bath" . Victoria Railways were originally built to the Irish 5'3" gauge and pretty much standardised on EMD power from the early 50s

The B121s were a General Motors export design with nothing similar running in the BR or in the USA. B121 is on Murphy Models wish list, the Model Irish Railways whitemetal or resin version may pop up from time to time on the second hand market The Irish locos were a customised version of the General Motors GL8 export design developed in the early 1960s mainly for use in Australia, Asia, Mexico & South America. GM developed the GL design to break Alco & General Electric (USA) domination of the South American, Asian and Australian export markets. The B121 were closest mechanically & electrically and did similar work to the Victoria Railways Class T which also ran on the Irish 5'3" gauge, but the Australian and Irish locos were quite different visually. http://www.ask.com/wiki/Victorian_Railways_T_class_(diesel)?o=2802&qsrc=999&ad=doubleDown&an=apn&ap=ask.com The T Class was a road switcher design with a short hood rather than an end cabbed design like the B121s. The Mexican and South American locos built for narrow 3' & 5'6" broad gauge, were visually similar to the CIE locos but tended to have lower cabs and different door arrangement. The Mexican locos were only intended for low speed work, had simpler electrics and ran on American freight car bogies or trucks. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1566079

I have London Area IRRS book on the Turf Burner somewhere, mainly technical with diagrams of the fuel, drafting and steam circuits. The Turf Burner appears to have been designed to burn either peat or oil. The design of the loco had a lot more in common with a Double Fairlie than the Leader. CC1 had a small double ended boiler and central firebox in the area around the cab rather than the Leader's large conventional (by Bullied standards) steam locomotive burner. The boiler was designed to burn pulverised or milled turf on a fluidised bed in a similar manner to in a power station, peat was fed to the firebox by screw conveyor from bunkers located fore and aft over the bogies. Oil firing equipment appears to have been designed but never installed. The boiler appears to be distinctly odd with short and what appear to be rectangular barrels off a large central firebox. Engines presumably enclosed units mounted on the bogies with enclosed chain drive to the wheels. While CC1 appears to have proved the concept for a modern mixed traffic steam locomotive design, the requirement for 50 turf burning locomotives for seasonal beet and cattle trains envisaged in the 'modernisation plan" had disappeared by 1963 along with the requirement for most of the C Class diesels A considerable level of investment in time and money would have been needed to develop CC1 into a reliable loco at a time the long term future of the railways were in serious doubt. While labour was probably cheaper South Africa, India & China concentrated on improving the firing of proven designs rather than trying to -invent the steam locomotive. Going back to the story of CC1s frames and the buried Macroom loco, New Zealand preservationists have a history of pulling locos out of rivers and restoring them to working order http://www.plainsrailway.co.nz/stock?page=locos. Mainly because of an independent pioneering spirit with no expectation of official or Government support things get done rather than talked about.

AHO Alco PA1 chassis might be an option Brian Fennel a member of the MRSI Loughrea group used an Athearn Alco PA1 chassis to power a scratch built model of CC1. Bogie sideframes and chain guards could be fabricated from plasitcard or3d printed. Shapeways "Frosted Detail" will give a finer finish than the nylon usually used but is a lot more expensive.

GSWR Carriage Diagrams (H Richards & B Pender) 1975 includes a diagram of similar 1924 built 50' tri-compsite 1096. 1097 is not listed possibly because it entered services post amalgamation. Its possible that the coaches were converted from 50' non-corridor Brake3rd built in 1910. 50' Brake 3rd 1090-1095 Built 1910 listed in service in 1924 is dawn with the earlier style of panelling, arc roof and gas lighting. 52' Tri-composites 1098-1099 Built 1911 Similar styling and roof profile with exposed roof cisterns. Non-gangwayed with separate toilets to make sure the 3 classes of passenger did not meet I always fancied a model of 861, I bought some sets of Comet LMS Period 1 coach sides about 20 years ago hoping to do a cut and shuffle but could not get the window spacings to work out. I guess I might have to add a couple of stray NCC coaches that took a wrong turning at Antrim or Cookstown and got completely lost and ended up on the Midland in Cavan or even Navan Junction.

Love GSWR pass with the W crossed out the General Manager W H Morton was former MGWR CME responsible for the introduction of the Woolwich, Midland Cattle engines (GSR J5), promoted to GM after a stint as CME at Inchacore. Some unusual journeys Newmarket to Mitchelsown, Courtmacsharry to Birdhill and back.

The C&L system with abs plastic chairs and sleepers is pretty robust and easy to use, pre-milled switches and pre-assembled crossing vees save time but work out very expensive. Most of the problems I have had are due to ply crossing timbers that have warped & twisted and the difference in rail section between Marcway (SMP) & C&L track systems. Although both the rail heights match the rails are slightly different in cross section.

I like the coaches David could be on an excursion to the seaside at Strandhill or a Gaelic Football match at Sligo or possibly Croke Park. Even in the late 1950s 6w coaches were pressed into service on quite long distance excursions often diesel hauled. CIE also seem to regularly hire ex-MGWR 6w coaches to the SLNCR there is a photo in Neil Spinks SLNCR photo pictorial of one of the large tanks Enniskillen hauling 3 6 wheelers two lavatory composites and a third, a pair of H Vans and an SLNCR goods brake. Two of the coaches appear to be in the late 1950s green with single eau-de-nil stripe at waist level, 1 & 2nd class numbers on the doors, the other coach in plain green no stripes or numbers. None of the coaches had snails.

Some pictures from IRRS Inchacore works visits late 1970s and early 1980s There does not appear to have been a major difference in shade between the newly re-painted 001 Class and 071 in original livery after approx. 12months service and road grime. The B101 in the background shows how the Golden Brown eventually fades to pink. The paintwork on the MK2D Supertrain sets would tended to have become more faded in comparison with the locos. The Supertrains were introduced over a relatively short period while the locos were re-painted on a more gradual basis as they went through the Works, some locos were still running around in the black and tan scheme in the late 70s. Recently re-painted MK2D, Laminate and Park Royal Coaches early 1980s. It looks like CIE have changed the shade of Golden Brown or possibly its the lighting or photographer. Personally I would not get too worked up about the difference in shade between the coaches and 071 locos, the 071s were originally painted a darker richer shade of Golden Brown than the coaches, were intensively used and always seemed to be covered in road grime.

I could never quite make out whether the garden railway is set in the US somewhere between Colorado and the Pacific North West, the wilds of Tasmania, the Coromandel or South Island, but it seems to struggle with a daily way freight serving the needs of Jackson County. Having crossed over the divide from the East Coast to Jackson County Train #1 lead by 600Hp GE export diesel No 12 waits for orders at Ti-Tree Flats. Westbound traffic is mainly empty ore and log cars and general freight. Like other narrow gauge lines that modernised its motive power in the 1950s, it stuck with 19th Century wooden freight and passenger equipment to the bitter end. Arriving at Jackson City #1 normally sets out a cut of cars on the siding ex DRGW #50 normally switches the yard and local industries. Today #50 refuse to start, batteries are flat someone left the lights on all night after yesterdays switching. #1 places the Caboose in the siding then sets out todays Jackson City cars on Track 2, then places empty log cars against the caboose to shorten the raft of cars before pulling out todays eastbound traffic from the freight house and stock yard on Track1. Having drawn out the Eastbound cars #1 places todays cars on Track 1 box cars for the Freight House, gondola for the loading bank and two tank cars for the oil depot. Recombining its train of empty ore and log cars from the Siding #1 attaches todays Eastbound cars behind its caboose and switches these cars to the siding for pick up by Eastbound #2. An hour late and nearly there! #1 waits for orders on the main before departing with empty cars for Pontificat8 and Kingswood. On the left work has started on a new siding to allow trains to pass on the main while trains switch the yard. Some day the Jackson County might even get some new-fangled steel hopper cars from the EBT to modernise the ore-drags.

Hi Alan I haven't got to the stage of powered running yet, the crossover from the main-line to loco shed and loop has given a lot of trouble and basically needs to be re-laid, the rail joints in the rest of the yard need adjustment before final gluing down to the foam underlay. I have had a lot of trouble in achieving a "level top" at the rail joints from what seems to be a combination of the template and kraft paper cockling, ply crossing timbers warping and twisting & difficulty in bonding the chairs to pre-stained ply sleepers with ABS solvent. The Iain Rice 'system" is based on ply and rivet construction with cosmetic than functional chairs, which probably overcomes the problems with the stability of the paper and the chairs In the long term the plan is to use stripwood rather than ply sleepers for 21mm gauge track, most likely on a template laid directly on foam or American style cork road bed and sand the top of the sleepers to get a level top before dropping in the rail.

And a pair of very large 4-8-4T locos the Swilly engines appear to have been a lot more useful than the 900s

Possibly a higher proportion of buyers are collectors who want one or two of each new release rather than modellers who want a complete rake of coaches.

Jeepers creepers you have managed to squeeze a quart into a pint pot and really captured the atmosphere of the station and neighbourhood. Reminds me of when I used to pass the station every day on my way to work from upstairs on the 54 bus.