Mayner

Variety in train formation was pretty much the norm up to the widespread introduction of MK3 stock and withdrawl of the Laminates and wooden framed stock in the Mid-80. The Operating Department tended to use conventional stock (higher seating capacity) in preference to "Supertrains" on the heaviest mainline trains such as the morning departures from Heuston to the South and West, while Supertrains tended to be used on the more lightly loaded morning departures from the provinces and evening return workings. Dubln-Sligo, Westport and Rosslare were almost exclusively "Train Line" wired conventional stock usually a mix of Craven, Park Royal, Laminate, timber famed 1953 Buffet and early 1960 Inchacore built wooden framed 1sts and Standards, these trains usually ran with a BR or Dutch generator steam van. Suburban, branch line and cross country services tended to use non-TL stock with battery & dynamo lighting a mix of early 1950 timber framed stock, laminates and Park Royals with steam heating provided by Tin Vans or van conversions of early 50s & Laminate suburban stock. The difference in profile between different batches of vehicles is probably the most striking feature of modern Inchacore built coaching stock, the “Bredins”, early CIE, Park Royal, Laminates, TPO & Cravens all had different profiles, probably due to a move from traditional carriage building through component assembly with the Park Royals and Laminates towards modern stressed skin construction with the Cravens and ultimately MK2 & 3 stock.

Excellent work getting better with each new project, the outside W Irons and brake cross shaft in combination with the subtle weathering really transforms the model .

Possibly the manufacturers used HO wheel sets to keep the tooling costs down. Would make sense if the manufacturer also produces passenger cars for the US market and explain the problems reported with the coupler dropper bars being too low.

The jigger is basically a re-build from the axles up, the steering wheel was fabricated in situ from short pieces of pine and then finished to a curved profile rather than curved in a steam press. The unfortunate thing is that the operation is so marginal that the owners/volunteers do not have the energy or resources to restore most of the locos and stock they rescued as young enthuiasts 40-50 years ago. Recently overhauled Pukemiro Colliery Co Peckett This loco was originally used on a private colliery line from one of the local coal mines to the exchange sidings at Pukemiro Junction. Part of the final bevel drive on a Climax or Price geared loco The UTA thought of it F216 a steam diesel conversion Wooden rails Dispatch Foundry Fordson Rail Tractor Sad end to a loading shovel? Climax boiler under repair front tube plate cut out for replacement

Regardless of wage rises in China part of the issue is Kader's (Bachmanns) dominant position controlling most of the model railway manufacturing capacity. Hornby and other commissioners supply issues are mainly as a result of Kader buying out and shutting down the competition.

I love the backdrop eLooks s cold it could pass for Minnesota or North Dakota in February

Before you look at replacing the wheels use a continuity tester or simply turn the loco upside down & apply power to each wheel in turn to check that all pick-up wipers are working and power getting through to the motor from all wheels. Bachmann locos have nickel plated or blackened brass wheels the plating tends to break down due to a combination of wear and spark erosion particulary on DC or analogue control, there tends to be less spark erosion with the AC waveform used with DCC. I had a lot of trouble with poorly adjusted pick ups on new Bachmann N Gauge locos more or less direct from the factory. I have not found the wear/plating break down to be a serious issue and the Bachmann wheels are less prone to pitting & picking up dirt than other more expensive brands. I found the most important things were to keep the track clean and only run stock with metal wheels. I use a very fine (non-scratching) metal polishing block from Eileens Emphorium for cleaning the track & use IPA for wheel cleaning in both G & the smaller scales.

I think a couple of the Cavan & Leitrim 4-4-0s ran in C&L lined green until the were sent to Inchacore or overhaul or scrapping in the 1930s, the W&T 2-2-2WT tank appears t have kept her polished brass dome and splasher beading until she was de-railed in the 1930s. The Muskery & West Clare both received new locos before the amalgamation. The new Muskery Hunslet 4-4-0T only lasted to 1927/8 so she was unlikely to have been re-painted, the pair of 1922 built West Clare Hunslet 4-6-0T were unlikely to have need to visit Limerick or Inchacore for boiler work or a mechanical overhaul before the Mid-1930s. Interestingly photos of ex CBP 2-4-2T 10L and T&D 2-6-0T 6T look suspiciously like both locos were painted black following overhaul in the 1950s 6T ran with her number scrawled in white o the buffer beam rather than the usual shaded transfer.

One of my favourite places Pukemiro Junction on a branch line built into the coal field north of Hamilton. The upper part of the branch became home to the Bush Tramway Club with a distinctly American logging line atmosphere. The group has a unique collection of rod and geared engines including locally built Heisler and Climax clones. Recently overhauled ex-Pukemiro Colliery Peckett storms up the 1:50 to the Junction White Bush Jigger once used to transport loggers and equipment on a Central North Island bush tramway Steering wheel operates the bogie brakes! Pukemiro Yard Price Bush Lokie cross between a Climax & a Heisler

Interesting that it on the Galway Line, there is a legend that crews used to turn B121s to run long hood forward while working Galway-Tuam local trains. Presumably the B121s worked the locals on lay over from the mail trains

Lots of detail for the wagon gricer 1938 photo when of Broombridge was a pleasant rural spot. http://catalogue.nli.ie/Search/Results?lookfor=liffey+junction&type=AllFields&submit=FIND&sort=year

I used to enjoy the NMRA meets visiting Scaleforum & EXPO EM while living in the UK. The NMRA meets used to be more of a bun fight for the latest kits & rtr while the finescale expos were more about modelling. From an operators perspective the layout tours was a lot less hassle than running an exhibition layout, with a steady of visitors arriving every half hour and more of an emphasis on answering questions keeping something running. The large scale stuff performed faultlessly despite changing between battery RC live steam and RC DCC, the Irish 4mm narrow gauge locos and stock was equally reliable though the Tillig points in the fiddle yard need replacing. The second photo is 12" to 1' Scale the top end of Pukemiro Junction one of my favourite places though some 9 & 3/16 Scale NZR modellers come close in modelling native bush and typical NZ street scenes and archiceture

Possibly leading to this sort of thing. http://www.3news.co.nz/Megauploads-Kim-Schmitz-arrested-in-Auckland-site-shut-down/tabid/412/articleID/240007/Default.aspx On one hand Kim Schmitz is seen as a champion of freedom of expression and personal privacy, on the other a pirate and a racketeer.

I had an interesting get together with a group of 3D Modellers and kit designers on the weekend. The majority are either professional designers who produce 3D models or CAD work for a living, others have considerable design and drafting experience with access to professional design software such as Solidworks at around $17k a copy. While there is some satisfaction with seeing your models on other peoples layouts, I don't think any of us would be happy with a manufacturer producing a pirate copy of one of our designs. A lot of he interesting stuff is happening around using Shapeway models as patterns or lost-wax castings rather than traditional pattern making. The work involved little different from cleaning up or machining an iron casting.

The main visual difference is that the CIE wagons had sliding doors and the brake gear is simpler than BR. The sliding door and runners are easiest to sort out with some plasticard and micro-strip. Its worth while checking out Brian Flannigan's Fliker site there seems to have been a lot of variety in door and end detail between individual vans. The Pressed Steel Company may have been clearing out its stock of end pressings after BR finished building the last of its traditional vans. http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/entry.php/57-Simple-21mm-stock-conversions

The tendency for modellers to organise conventions rather than exhibitions is probably the greatest difference in the way the hobby is organised between the UK and Ireland on one hand and North America, Australasia. The local model railway clubs hosted this years National Convention over 180 delegates attended with American guest speaker Lance Mindheim http://www.shelflayouts.com/, together with workshops and clinics on various aspects of railway modelling including layout planning, operation, scenery, 3D design, and the old stalwarts of scratch and kit building in styrene and metal. Along with demonstration layouts, numerous trade stands the highlights of the convention included a modelling competition with a special section for the local fauna and bird life. . Curiously Irish railway modelling got a look in I volunteered my American-ish garden railway to represent large scale modelling, and with Keadue my Cavan & Leitrim layout moved out to the garage in case the weather broke. The forecast for the weekend was bad with a storm hitting on Wednesday evening finally clearing around dusk on Thursday followed by a frantic track clearing session removing a dustbin load of palm fronds and fallen branches. Friday turned out good with guest operators running steam and on board battery power while I acted as tour guide. Sunday was challenging running a combination of battery and DCC outside between the squalls and running a tour of the workshop and demonstrating Keadue. In all we had something like 150 people view the garden and workshop. Somehow or other I felt going back to work on Tuesday very relaxing

Nice work I particulary like the photo of 086SA dates the loco to the 80s Is the leading coach a standard MK1 or have you modified it to a van?

Don't forget that time is money even with CIE, the role of the Heritage Officer is mainly to allow IE to operate a modern railway without running foul of Councils and an Taisce for demolishing/modifying listed buildings historically significant infrastructure. I found writing to the Chief Mechanical Engineers Office and requesting specific drawings is the most effective. I couple of years ago I was surprised to receive an e-mail from Phil Vestry to say he had instructed the Drawing Office to do a search, they came up with some excellent drawings and photos of the Park Royals and Laminates. The Working Timetables in the 80s anyway had a list of wagon series and types, IRRS and the preservation groups may have copies of WTT for sale

The one advantage public roads have over rail is that they are classed as a common good useable by anyone who has a driving license and paid se form of vehicle license on the European mainland, while a railway is classed as a private good operated for the profit of the owner or operator. The Government uses its powers to set fees and duties to allow the road system to operate profitably and cover its social costs, its always been more expensive to run a car or truck in Ireland because of higher taxes, excise costs, duty ad insurance costs than Northern Ireland, the UK and most other countries. Its not shown as a profit as it goes into general taxation. To a degree a similar system applies to rail in the UK with Intercity services centrally funded and suburban and rural services funded through the local rates. I wonder how the Dublin region, Cork or Limerick ratepayers would react to having to fund their local rail services?

I found the CMEs Office at Inchacore pretty good in terms of drawings but not much help in terms of general information. The 3rd edition Doyle & Hirch Locomotives and Rolling Stock of CIE & NIR probably has the most accurate details as no new wagons were built after the introduction of the Shale Wagons in the early 80s

I hadn't noticed the concreted hard standing before nicely modelled with the expansion joints and dummies. There must be a large creamery Co-Op locally to justify the investment inbound fertiliser, possibly the Ratio gantry to handle outbound butter & cheese for the UK market in insulated FM or those new fangeled ISO containers. The station might even stay open under Railplan 80 Maybe it the signal box but to me the station has a look of the GN about it, but still plausible if the Cork & Waterford had been built by an independent company in the 1850-60.

Nice looking job of a difficult prototype, Smallbrook Studios do some interesting stuff http://www.smallbrookstudio.co.uk/. I remember reading a piece in Irish Railfans News that a number of spoil wagons were trialled as ballast wagons on CIE. I understand that the spoil wagons belonged to the NI Department of Transport rather than NIR. After the contract the Department was anxious for a buyer as NIR did not have a need or have the means to pay for the wagons.

The Ratio OO 9'wb wagon chassis & LNWR open and p.w. wagon kits include the option of RCH and the old style single shoe brake gear similar to that used in Ireland http://www.peco-uk.com/product.asp?strParents=3340,3344&CAT_ID=3350&P_ID=17872 The LNWR wagons are good value a bit short but look reasonably close to ex GSWR wagons that lasted into the 1960s & 70s. 51L Models produce a number of Scottish wagons with single lever brake gear http://www.51l.co.uk/crwcom.htm#brake levers and lever guides

As we have looked at most of the main line stations on the North Kerry, I thought we might as well look at the North Kerry Yard in Tralee and the Fenit branch, both were important in terms of beet traffic and the North Kerry yard continued to handle keg and container traffic after the main line closed. The GSWR and the North Kerry originally had separate stations on either side of Edward Street the connecting line and level crossing was a late addition, the North Kerry station closed several years after the GSWR absorbed the WLWR. Apart from the ESSO sidings and the private siding into the mill there seems to have been little change since WLWR days. The WLWR engine shed and turntable appears to have been on the north side of the line on the western side of Edward Street. There appears to have been a large goods shed on the loading bank that was later used for loading sugar beet traffic a 16t gantry was installed for container traffic in the 1960s. I griced the year with my brand new Instamatic camera in 77or 78. Rock Street cabin was still manned although traffic to Fenit and Listowel had ceased. A couple of flat wagons with keg containers and a CIE Insulated container were positioned on the gantry road, a large number of H wagons were placed on the sidings on either side of the running road and loop. Interestingly a couple of wagons were on the mill siding. I checked out Fenit, Ardfert and Abbeydorney the following day, when got back the yard was largely clear of wagons. Heuston-Tralee was the last freight service to go over to Liner Train operation in 79 or 80. A coupling broke on the last loose coupled goods out of Heuston with most of the train running away down the Gullet into the passenger station. [attachment=:name] The Fenit branch was sponsored and built by Tralee interests as an alternative to the Ship Canal, before the opening of the Leibherr crane factory the port was never very successful depending on coal and timber traffic for local merchants. The port struggled to raise capital to maintain or renew infrastructure, the port closed to commercial traffic due to structural problems with the pier causeway and was famous in the 60s for using steam cranes to load Leibherr Tower Cranes for export. The line was originally worked by the W&L using a contractors tank loco that was re-gauged from standard gauge, the Harbour Commissioners later bought a standard Hunslet industrial 0-6-0ST which became GSWR 299 which was later used on the Cork Harbour sidings and the Timoleague & Courtmacsharry in West Cork. CIE looked at using 299 or No90 or 100 but used an ex MGWR 0-6-0T 560 surplus from the Waterford & Tramore. 560 was used up to 1963 after which a G611 or E401 was used from Tralee. The G appears to have been used to move cuts of wagons between the pier and station for collection by a C Class or other loco sent from Tralee. Rail traffic from the pier seems to have got sparse the last train is said to have been for a ship load of starch diverted from another port in the early 70s. The line seems to have been busiest for beet with most of the traffic from Spa the wagons would have had to be brought to Fenit to run round. The buildings at Fenit appear to have been similar to Ardfert and other smaller North Kerry Stations, the station building appears to have been demolished following the end of regular passenger services, the goods shed later demolished to extend the beet loading bank. The loco shed and turntable had gone by the 1970s, but the footbridge with very attractive stonework and the base of the water tank survives. Fenit was famous for its self propelled steam cranes which were used into the mid 1960s, I am not sure if they were capable of moving wagons, but one of the photos in A J O'Rourkes North Kerry book shows a crane parked at the end of the platform road by the buffer stops with a number positioned on the pier. The pier would make an interesting tabeau especially with a small tank loco or a G and a couple of self propelled cranes scuttling about. Perhaps the Jordan Steam Shovel (rigged as a crane) on a Black Beetle motor bogie.

Introduced in 1966 as a general purpose flat wagon these were the 1st of the CIE family of 20T flats. The wagons were intended mainly for palletised and container traffic and fitted with swing down stanchions and tie downs for securing a load and were retro-fitted with cuplocks when ISO container standards were finalised in 1969. The wagons were used for palletised keg, fertiliser and container traffic until the widespread introduction of bogie flats and purpose built fertiliser wagons and keg flats in the mid-late 70s. 256436 series flats formed the basis of the bagged cement and beet doubles, others ended up in departmental use on the cable train, sleeper wagons, one was fitted with a Hiab for use with the S&E department on the DART electrification and signalling. The original intention was a detailing fret for the Prestwin with floor, bufferbeams, brake gear and solebar detail, in the end a complete kit turned out to be simpler and more effective. Test Build 25436 Series Flat The test assembly went together very well all of the critical components are self locating with slots and tabs. I need to look at the decking chequer plate ended up as polka dots and re-jig the buffer beams. I am looking at detail castings for this and the 22'6" flat I have the masters for the spring and dampers somewhere, MJT do reasonably close roller bearing axlebox and buffers. At this stage I am not sure on cost possible release date Autumn (Northern) 2014