Mayner

There was a piece in 5'3" that its not expected to have No 4 out of service for long basically a boiler inspection and re-tube, she received a new firebox in the 1990s and had heavy mechanical work at her last overhaul. Interestingly 131 may be the next big restoration project rather than 171 as the RPSI have plate in stock for a new firebox. Hopefully a place can be found for at least a cosmetic restoration of 27 & 184 in the new museum.

I managed to assemble and paint a number of the wagons over the Easter and fitted a few with couplers. I assembled the chassis for these wagons in a Guest House in Carrick while working in the area about 15 years ago and prepared the master for the body in 2010 slow even by my standards. Typical C&L 3T running in with an empty special for the Arigna mines. Assembled wagon resin body Backwoods Miniatures chassis, Kadee N Scale couplers, Blackham snail. needs running numbers, tare and loading, weathering & coal load. Mixed leaving town, no tail lamp or board. The C&L was ahead of the Broad Gauge lines from an early stage with American style bogie coaching stock and vacuum braked wagons there was no need for a brake van at the rear of mixed trains. I need to do another batch of bodies to complete the rake, the main problem has been air bubbles in the castings and the thin walls in the master, temperature and humidity are an important factor basically a dehumidifer and a constant 20-25° is needed in the workshop. I have a pair of ex-Clogher Valley opens to build in plasticard and a pair of ex T&D ballast wagons to build to use up the current stock of underframes.

Jacobs International Drawing showing connection into the Container Terminal as an extension of the Tara Mines siding but will give you a general idea of the set up of that area of the port http://www.dublinport.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/MP_Travel_and_Transport_Links.pdf Besides containers and bulk cargo Cruise Ships also call at Alexandra Basin

It might be simpler to build a standard gauge ⅞ scale replica that could double as a Re-built Scott and run it in the UK Apart from the issue of getting the UFTM to part with the loco, raising the money to fund a restoration, overcoming the regulatory/engineering challenges, I think an Irish operator would struggle to cover running and maintenance costs for the restored loco. CIE struggled to find work for the 800s in the 1950s and the RPSI have struggled to find work suitable for the GNR Compound Merlin, while there may be some initial interest, it would be difficult to see an operator regulary filling 10-12 coach steam hauled excursion trains on the Cork and Belfast lines.

Some good photos of the revised layout on the Eiretrains Site http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20N/North%20Wall/slides/NorthWall_20100226_037_CC_JA.html The re-modelled yard was mainly used for marshalling trains, engineers traffic and wagon storage, I dont think containers was handled at East Wall after traffic was transferred to the Holyhead and Midland yards in the late 70s.

On some routes train crews are issued with gas masks and mines self rescue equipment. Watch what happens around 2.02 this tunnel is pressurised to make sure there is enough air for the locos. There was an incident in this tunnel a few years ago where a passenger train stalled and started slipping backwards although the crew and train manager thought they were moving forward:(. http://www.taic.org.nz/ReportsandSafetyRecs/RailReports/tabid/85/ctl/Detail/mid/483/InvNumber/2004-109/Page/9/language/en-NZ/Default.aspx?SkinSrc=[G]skins%2ftaicRail%2fskin_rail

I think there are several forces at work here, intense competition between Kadar(Bachmann) and Hornby for a valuable but saturated UK market and higher production and shipping costs from Asia and the Far East. Hornby & Bachmann appear to haave covered most Grouping and BR era models, with Heljan and other comissioners producing a large range of odd-bod models particulary early diesels. Hornby's production problems in China only seem to have arisen after Kadar took over Sanda Kan the company that manufactured the Hornby range. Kadar manufacture a wide range of products not just model trains, have a reputation of buying up distressed companies with a good name and market share like, Bachmann, Williams, Trix, Graham Farish. Hornby would be a good target for an acquisition by Kadar with a very strong brand name either for a re-branding exercise for Bachmann UK or to compliment the two ranges. In this part of the World model shops generally appear to be cutting back on the railway side of things, but most maintain a reasonable selection of the more basic Hornby models and sets for younger people entering the hobby, most of the more serious modellers tend to purchase form a small number of specialist suppliers or by mail order from the UK or States.

Dave The Ordnance Survey online map viewer is a useful tool, current tracklayouts can be viewed on Street Map & post 1900 layouts on the 25" Historic. Generally apart from some line and station closures track layouts & signalling remained relatively unchanged into the mid 70s, apart from the Cork and Belfast Line. Operating patterns were similar to the West Highland line in Scotland with a small number of loco hauled passenger trains and overnight goods or liner trains, apart from the main stations platform lengths tended to be short typically 4 coach length and train often over hung the platforms as train lengths increased from the 1970s onwards. I suppose the choice of a through station or terminus depends on whether you prefer operation or simply watching the trains go bye, while Cahirciveen is pretty compact with a fairly extensive layout hemmed into a tight space space, a suburban station like Dalkey or Malahide where trains terminated would offer a lot more in terms of operation than a rural terminus.

Just an add on to JHBs piece the UTA briefly divided its remaining lines into three more or less self contained regions, each with a main line and suburban colour scheme. The basic scheme is similar to the original NIR red and cream scheme, with red on the NCC, blue on the GNR and light green on the Bangor Line. Each region had a suburban variant with the coach or railcar painted in the main livery colour with a narrower cream band around window level.

The section of the top was based on an idea in RM Web to allow the air bubbles to collect at the top and break off, which did not quite work out in practice, probably becuse the neck was too thin. T he castings are surprisingly strong considering the wall thickness is less than .5mm in places. I will probably do a re-design on the next mould, which will be for a different variety of open, to allow the resin to be topped up and avoid the excess spilling down the side. The main modification will be to the master, I will aim for a minimum wall thickness of around 1mm with the master in plasticard with brass strapping.

Its a small world I was on that trip too, the line went out with a bang although the freights had alreaady finished there were three passenger workings into Ballinacourty on that day with a Quigley Magnesite staff excursion behind a pair of small GMs and aassociated Ecs workings. Railtours in Waterford seem to bring out the protestors an IRRS excursion to New Ross and Kilmacthomas was blocked at Fiddown for about an hour by people protesting over the state of the Fiddown Toll bridge. On that day we enjoyed the novelty of a non-stop run from Waterford Check to Abbey Junction

Alan I would not get too hung up on the hazardous aspect of the resins, the main thing is to have good ventilation and to avoid contact with skin and eyes. Everything is a poison to some extent and the average modellers exposure levels pretty insignificant though a friend managed to poison himself with cadmuim through soldering. Artists and Special Effect suppliers like Alec Tiranti http://www.tiranti.co.uk/ are probably the more useful for some one getting started than commercial fibreglass/composite industry suppliers. I use disposable syringes for measuring the resin and hardner and use small plastic measuring cups for mixing, metal or styrofoam is not recommended as mixing the resin starts a chemical reaction, part A is incompatible with water, brass and other metals. I use plastic takeaway containers acts as a spill trays for mixing and storing the syringes, its probably better to replace rather than clean the tools with acetone or other solvents. One I made earlier. Fuel tank from a 2 part mould showing sprues and locating spigots. The master was 3D printed and had a half thickness section for a Kadee Coupling pocket. Fuel tank from underside. The 3 D master was cleaned up to remove the stepping. This was tricky to cast as there is a tendency for air to be trapped around the flange at the top of the casting and in the spigot holes. Wagon body mould showing resin extruded through joint between two sections of mould, the resin is solid at this stage the actual caasting was done in aplastic takeaway container. Out of the mould. Air becoming trapped in the mould cavity seems to be the biggest problem with plug or squash moulds. I drilled a number of holes in the top of the mould to allow air to escape as the two sections are pushed together, I am also experimenting with painting the inside faces of the mould with resin, the slowly pushing the two sections together. Completed casting. A few air bubbles the mould is from a brass master with a minimum wall thickness of .4mm. A few castings! A days output trying different pouring techniques. At last a coal train the Master and its clones. The first batch of castings basically uses up my stock of C&L wagon underframes. Another rake or two would ring the changes. Close up. I first tried resin casting wagons with block moulds from plasticard patterns years ago, the main problem was with controlling casting thickness and the old resins that was always tacky to touch and warped and twisted all over the place. I am reasonably happy with my first attempts at 2 part moulds, though care is needed both with the planning of the pattern and design of the mould. Having tried a simple open I am tempted to have a go at something more complex maybe a long cattle van or KN for those shipping specials from the West to Dublin or Waterford Ports.

24 Hours later! Outer mould and pattern separated from base Pattern removed from mould. Rebuild mould box and place pattern inside mould. Axlebox pattern placed on base for 1 piece block mould. 60 Minutes later Voila 2 complete moulds! Pattern extracted from completed mould 1st shot from mould. The resins tend to be pretty hazardous I used Barnes Easy Flow Polyurethane resin part A contains an Isocyanate which gives the resin its strength is highly flamable and toxic, needs careful handling and good ventilation, others contain styrene which has similar properties. Less hazardous resins are gaining ground in the UK. Besides the side effects mix proportions are critical otherwise the resin sets too quickly or wont set at all, pot life and shrinkage is tied up with mixing, temperature and humidity, results are quite un-predictable. With this method you basically part fill the mould and push in the plug which displaces the resin. The volume can be worked out by calculation of trial and error basically pushing in the plug and adding some weight! At this stage the main problem seems to be trapped air in the base and sides, probably from pushing in the plug. I will try some plasticard shims on top of the mould to create an air gap when two parts are pushed together. The wall and floor thickness are probably a bit thin for resin the floor and headstocks are only .4mm. I need at least 10 of these wagons for a coal train so it looks like resin casting should save a lot of time over scratchbuilding individual wagons or assembling kits.

I have finally started work on the new layout, maybe it was because of Patricks Day :cheers:maybe it was the end of the drought, anyway apart from listening to U Tube clips of Sharon Shannon most of Sunday was spent framing and setting up baseboards, I had already set up the board for the backscene at after Christmas. [attachment=:name] Having got so far I threw down some ply on top of the framing to get a feel for the first stage of the layout. I looked initially at Kiltimagh compact and family connections, but Tubbercurry with the line curving away towards Sligo looks tempting. The trackbed will be supported on risers above the main basebord framing with the line curving away on a low embankment posssibly across bogland towards a bridge with low hills in the background. The Railcar is basically standing at the platform the goods on the main line with the goods yard in the middle distance behind the loco. I had a play with Templot next stage is to do a rough sketch of the layout and transfer it to Templot. Things are looking up I have been promised a 3 Point track gauge & I have ordered some chairs from C&L John

I decided to have a go at producing castings from my own masters. The rtv rubber and polyurethane resins are Barnes products from Australian but similar proucts should be available in Ireland and the UK. I used Pinkysil rubber which is basically non-hazardous and flexible enough to deal with undercuts but sufficiently rigid to avoid distortion. These products are usually two part that need to be mixed in accordance with the manufacturers instruction. I use small disposable measuring cups and hand mix with a wooden spatula or tongue depressor. After producing a couple of one piece moulds I have had a go at producing two part moulds. The first step is to make the mould for the exterior of the casting, in this case a narrow gauge open wagon. The inside of the master is filled with modelling clay and then placed on a bed of modeling clay, the indents are for aligning the two sections of the mould. Some people use Lego but I use plasticard offcuts to build the mould box, the black plasticard is intended to form a sacrificial strip for air bubbles to collect at the top of the casting. The RTV rubber is mixed by hand in two parts until you get an even colour/texture. The rubber is non toxic and was used for skin casting in the Hobbitt. Filled the first stage of the mould. Here is one I made earlier fuel tank mould Gravity filled 2 part mould venting is very important otherwise you loose half the model:SORRY: Casting separated from the sprues, in this case the master was 3D printed and sanded down to remove the stepping/ridging.

Like the restof us Seamus your no longer that slim trim little Gestapo agent. It was only years later that I realised that Vikki was really Sally O'Brien In those days Harp was fierce stuff could strip paint and the lining from your stomach.

I am kept on a short leash these days Kawkawka is a long way 4-5 hours drive North. The railway has a Peckett steam loco Gabriel named after on of the Schull & Skibereen locos and runs down the main street of the town http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsSGBdsp3Kk. The J72 is quite a usefull small loco several were kitbashed into the MGWR E class or J26, the new Bachmann 1F is pretty close in outline to the large Midland tanks used for shunting and banking duties at the North Wall some even had belpair fireboxes

I never checked just take a tracing off the GA and reduce it to OO:D Its seems to have varied between 9" & 11" depending on the type of vehicle, 9X4 timber and 9X3½ channel seems to have been common enough for wagons.

Much the same as the Media Industry internet file sharing controversy I suppose it only become a copyright issue when you start sharing the scans. I have visions of a Kim Dotcom style dawn raids by the Gardai and FBI on IRM members homes for illegally uploading scans of CIE drawings and Hornby, Bachmann and Murphy Models locos and stock http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/kim-dotcom-raid-video-megaupload_n_1758317.html

Personally I think the Bachmann J72 if its still available would be a better option and cheaper than the 1F. The 1F is a lot bigger but years ago someone modified a Triang Jinty into a J11 there are photos of the loco in a railway Modeller Article ffrom the early 70s on building a (West Cork style) corrugated iron goods shed.

Hi It depends on whether you are mainly interested in watching trains go by or operation 12X12 is a good space either for a double track main line around the walls with a terminus on a peninsula in the middle the so called E shaped design or the American idea of running the main line down the peninsula and looping back to maximise the length of the main line. Adding another train the Blue Pullmans a very attractive train were probably ahead of their time they had a short life running alongside British Railways and 1st generation diesels. If your interested in watching trains go then a rake of Bachmann MK1s hauled either by an A4, prototype Deltic or one of the Heljan Type 4s would be an interesting comparison. If you get interested in operation you could end up with anything that ran over the Midland Line between St Pancras Station London and Manchaster in the Mid 1960s. Basically there is plenty of high quality reasonably priced rtr locos and stock out there, its a good time to get some interesting trains together and running while you are deciding on your main interests.

The Stanier Moguls are not really suitable for an Irish Conversion as they are much nearer in general design to the Woolwich & GW43XX classes.

I was thinking in terms of a new railway from Tralee towards Castlegregory on its own right of way if someone else was foolish enough to fund it rather than a restoration of the old tramway. The current length appears to be too short to establish a viable operation, though to be fair the group appear to be under no illusions of the risks and pitfall involved in railway preservation. While my suggestion about extending the line westwards was tongue in cheek, the idea of establishing a Narrow Gauge Museum in Tralee even if its based around 5T is sound and while money is tight there may be scope for the Council as owner to fund/build a museum under some form of community employment scheme.

First of all while you have challenges you have the advantage of an established railway with a locomotive and some rolling stock, the main drawbacks are that the original operation never developed beyond taking passengers from the Tralee Ring Road to Blennerville and the absence of a suitable building for a museum at Blennerville. From experience you will find it difficult to cover the railways running costs without a gift shop and cafe, a museum or shed tour acts as a hook to keep visitors on site longer so they spend more in the shop and cafe. On a short railway you will quickly find that the vast majority of visitors/passengers are likely to be made up of holiday makers and local families looking for a reasonably priced way of spending a few hours than railway enthuiasts and few will recognise the difference between a steam loco and a diesel. If you are planning on volunteer operations, a supporters society, preferably with a UK element is essential to provide support and funding for restoration projects. Most Irish schemes that failed seem to have been dependent on FAS schemes and tax breaks for tourist enterprises. I am not sure if the RPSI or other preservation societies have been able to register as charities in the Republic, but provided you can prove there is an educational element (perhaps publishing the odd book like the ITG), UK subscriptions and donations could be made tax deductible, but there is a lot of work involved in registering a Charity and HM Inspector of Taxes may take a dim view of the British taxpayer subsidising a railway in another country. I am sceptical of the value of restoring 5T or another large loco for operation on the existing railway, it would probably be better to do a cosmetic restoration and use her as a museum centre piece, a partially or un restored T&D coach would make an interesting exhibit in its own right, the Corris did this with one of their original coaches and built a replica for regular operation. Given the right support it might be worth while putting a proposal together for building a new railway to Castlegregory in connection with one of the Governments work for the dole schemes. 5T would be expensive to operate and maintain for such a short line, a small diesel would be better option for regular operation, with a small steam loco for the holiday period and busy weekends. I was involved in the WHR in Portmadoc for several years and while we had locos like Russell and Gelert, most of the operating people and our accountant lusted after a Quarry Hunslet or small Barclay like Gretitude for regular operation. Overhauling Russell for main line operation is estimated to cost approx £200K without major boiler work raised by member subscriptions and appeals in the railway magazines. One of the most important things we learned was that a nicely presented non-working loco was a valuable attraction and a rusting hulk an eyesore. Rather than being dismantled for boiler examination Karen has remained inside under cover since her boiler ticket ran out in 1993 and has remained the centre piece of our shed tour and later principal museum exhibit.

Yes its a 22' wagon at this stage I am finalising the drawings for the etcher and working on patterns for the castings, if there is sufficient interest (30 or more) I will do the 20' steel floored wagon these were used for containers and ended up under the beet doubles and bagged cement, so there is scope for scratchbuilt or resin bodies. A wagon with a floor would be a lot simpler to build and have some space for weight compared with a skeletal. If people want rtr wagons I think its a case of approaching Paddy Murphy, Seamus or Herbie to commission a model from China, in which case a 42'9" bogie flat or a cement wagon would be the best option. Personally my biggest gripe is that there is little available suitable for conversion to 21mm gauge, IFM and Provincial wagons have been great in getting out an extensive range of wagons, there have been compromises with chassis, but thats mainly been about producing a realistically priced OO model.