Mayner

Gareth I think a lot of people who work in 3D modelling like Jack saw the potential of 3D printing for producing models without realising the limitations I think he did a very good job in designing the models but was ahead of the technology and material that was available at the time. The other downside is there is a set up cost for each individual item and the material is charged by the Cube so the proceess is very expensive for OO but reasonably competetive even with the Detail materials for an N gauge model. So a Valve Design A Class or BoBo in Frosted Ultra Detail would be a reasonable proposition in N gauge or possiby TT. Personally I think the main benefit with 3D printing will be in producing masters for resin casting. We originally looked at uproducing a resin body shell from a 3D printed master with brass overlays as a simple way to produce coach kits, but resin shrinks warps and twists while brass or nickle silver is relatively stable and the cost of producing the model would have been prohibitive. I have used this for forming the fuel tanks and axleeboxes for the Tin Van and the castings have been to a reasonable quality. Most of the other 3D printed parts have been replaced either with brass or whitemetal, the main area that still has to be resolved is forming the roof

I am looking at the possibility of doing the Midland K Class later GSR/CIE 650 Class 2-4-0 once I have sorted out the production of the tin vans. This should be a lot quicker to produce as most of the castings are available through SSM These little engines lasted in service until the end of steam, even working on suburban trains to Bray and Greystones Superheated K Class with rounded cab. While intended for 21mm I am looking at a simple fold up chassis for OO and may be able to offer the option of a running chassis. The main issue with these engines is the sheer number of variations, originally built in typical Attock style with "fly-away" cab, many were re-built in the 1920s like the loco in the drawing with superheating and rounded GNR style cabs. The rounded cabs were too low and soon replaced with very plain Inchacore style cabs, later many engines received superheated belpair boilers which gave the engines an over stuffed look. The drawing is based on an MGWR diagram from the 1920s and surprising similar in general outline to rebuilt locos in GSR days. When I get time I will draw up some of the variations to give some idea of the general outline.

fran, shapeways did a laser printed an A class body in N gauge - wonder what the quality was like? got a few of the E class shunters and they were pure s***e! The main draw back with a 3D printed model is that you would need to do quite a bit of sanding to achieve a smooth finish even with finer materials such as Shapeways Frosted Detail.

There is a similar Balloon Loop arrangement at Woodvile Junction that allows freight trains arriving at the Eastern end of the station to reverse direction http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-40.345733,175.86846&z=16&t=h&hl=en

The Flexiscale funding model appears to be remarkably similar to the FR funding model for the WHR and a lot of its capital programmes. Pledge £1000 and receive a free fully working certified model of Princess. The FR raised about £5m in private sponsorship with gold and silver passes rather than the traditional buy a sleeper appeal. The Festiniog and Welsh slate lines have a huge following both with enthuiasts and modellers so it might fly. Going by my own experience with rapid prototyping I would agree with Richie and Rich either a simple brass kit or a resin body on a Bachmann 3F chassis would probably be the best bet for a rtr model of 461. It would probably be best to model the loco in its current condition at some stage she received a GSR boiler while 462 worked with her original and larger DSER boiler to the end.

That would have been a great day out! It seems to have been common enough way of visiting goods only branches like Tullow and Banagher usually behind steam in the 50s.

You might be able to get a copy of an IE working timetable or Weekly Notices for the era either through the IRRS or some of the preservation societies. The WTT includes all the regular working, as required paths and rostered power, the Weekly Notices probably harder to find cover ballast and special workings. There were usually 3 Bagged Fertiliser paths to Shelton morning, mid afternoon and late evening. Specials did run the Hotels on Bray seafront were great for nocturnal gricing and anything other than sleep;) The Wexford Line was the first to go over to Liner Train operation after Sligo with 10 & 20' containers for Sundries Traffic, loadings were poor so the wagons about 6 usually attached to a fertliser train between North Wall and Shelton. I dont think the re-lay and mini-CTC happened until quite late, bullhead track and lattice post signals is one of the things that made the South Eastern so distinctive.

The Bowser C630 was originally produced about 10 years ago by Stewart Hobbies. I went through a Western Maryland phase in HO mainly using their locos and stock in HO which I found above average for the time in general standard of detail and quality. Apart from the big Alcos the produced a range of Kato powered F Units, some interesting Baldwin road switchers and switchers and very nice coal hoppers.

That a great photo shows the scale of container traffic once carried by the railway. The 62'9" wagons seem to have been mainly used on Dublin-Cork, Limerick and Galway Liner trains. The Galway Liner was a Liner Mail with the wagons marshalled behind the passenger rated stock, usually a BR Heating Van, TPO and parcel vans which were piped to run with air braked stock. These wagons become surplus to requirements as container wagons in the early-mid 90s after a round of "rationalisation" that resulted in the ending of Mails and Sundries Traffic and the concentration of container traffic on a small number of depots. So probably Supertrain or early IE points logo 071 or pairs of Bo Bos than 201 and electrical plug era haulage.

I think discontinued might bee a better term, all the same its good to see lads picking up some good bargains.

Some how or other this type of dip job looks better on locos with narrow hoods like the 071s than full width car bodies like the 201s or A Class. Overall it looks a bit like a cross between the NIR 071s and SP "Bloody Nose" scheme all thats needed is a bold and simple logo or simply a set of GSWR style whitemetal number plates:o. I think Coillte, DFDS, IWT or Tara Mines are more interested in their trains running to schedule than the colour of the locos.

3 cylinder locos like the 800s, Scotts and Compounds would have been easier on the track and smoother riding, than large 2 cylinder with outside cylinders like the Woolwich and rebuilt 400 Class 4-6-0. I read somewhere about a GWR Saint hitting 90 or 100 in the early 1900s, an order went out to enginemen to keep the speed down as someone realised that because of hammer-blow (vertical motion) the wheels would lift clear of the tracks at some stage of every revolution of the driving wheels.

Funnily enough a cycleway at the Tralee end out to Fenit and Listowel would probably have greater money making potential with greater tourist numbers and than West Limerick. Mind you Listowel built a bye pass on the trackbed, while the route was safeguarded through Rathkeale.

An interesting couple of weeks converting the office to a guest room served as a spur to get things sorted out on the Narrow Gauge layout and move most of the work shop items out to the work shop strange that . Some interesting things turned up long lost drill sets and other tools together with odd pieces of rolling stock. The Narrow Gauge layout originally ran across the top of a computer desk and scanner printer. Eye level is great in theory but it was difficult to work on and you could not see the trains when they passed into the cutting beside the engine shed. I dropped the layout down cutting a recess in the baseboard for the printer, replaced and painted the fascia. We might even have a C&L engine back in service soon No 8 can manage the curves on the Tramway after modifying the bogie to a swing link arrangement, she is a tad faster than the Dingle locos having the same drive but larger driving wheels. One of the next jobs is to motorise or at least get the turntable working, it started life 9 years ago as a Peco N Scale table was converted to 3' gauge then got a replacement Peco HOm deck. The signal is built from Model Signal Company then Sprat & Winkle parts bought at the Brighton exhibition after my first week working in London in 1986. [attachment=:name] Cattle special leaving town the buildings are built from Wills material packs, the shed roof is from a Ratio coal shed kit, the signal cut down SSM. I have used Micro trains N Scale couplers but I am looking at Kadee HOn3 as the operation is not reliable enough. John

Did Kerry County Council convert part of the trackbed between Listowel and the Limerick border into a cyclepath or footpath? Routes like the North Kerry are a drain on CIE no operating revenue or PSO grant and the liabilities and adverse posession claims. I have a friend that worked in BR now Network Rail whoes job is trying to pawn off libility issues on bridges and structures unspecting Councils The arrangement in the UK was much better Councils got first refusal on closed lines relieved the railway of its liabilities and either converted the lines to footpaths or leased them to Preservation Societies.

Looking good Patrick, I like the reverse curve through the station, the Dapol Booking Office is similar in general style to Rosslare Strand, Durrow and Kilmacthomas so fits in nicely with the general theme.

Diesel Dawn is a great read mainly about railcar development full of photos and line drawings to the AEC and most UTA railcars

In 1937 402 a rebuilt 400 Class 4-6-0 ran non-stop from Cork to Kingsbridge in 147 minutes and avergage speed of 67mph with the 1st American Ambassador to the Free State I think a maximum of 87mph was recorded on the section north of Limerick Junction, it would have taken a lot of skill on the part of the driver and fireman to avoid stopping for water in a run over such a distance.

Great idea Des to shorten the Dapol chassis and upgrade the detailing, I did the opposite several years ago extending the barrels of the Dapol tankers to turn them into ESSO tank wagons.

Kiltimagh December 1916 a head on collision between a goods and ballast train 6 railway employees were killed 10 injured a number seriously http://www.westontrack.com/history06.htm. This one seems to be relatively unknown possibly because only railway employees were involved and against the background of the Great War and growing political unrest in Ireland. The trains were originally were to cross at Swinford but the Limerick-Tubbercurry ballast with a 101 Class 21 laden low sided ballast wagons and 2 vans was delayed having stalled due to poor rail conditions on the climb out of Claremorris and required banking assistance. The goods a Sligo-Tuam special picking up empty caattle wagons for washing was allowed into the Swinford-Kiltimagh section. The ballast ran through the Up home and starting signals at Kiltimagh and collided head on with the goods outside the station. Those that died and most of the injured were in a brakke van at the front of the train, at the time most railwways had brake vans with passenger compartments for drovers and railway workers. An inquest was held which found that none of the staff at Kiltimagh had done anything wrong but there may have been some unspecified negiglence on the part of some GSWR Official or the Company. The Burma Road was heavily graded and Kiltimagh which was sited on a grade was considered to be a hazardous place for passing trains as there was a risk of North bound loose coupled trains over running the Up starting signal and enter the Kiltimagh-Swinford section. The Limerick based crew of the ballast do not appear to have been familiar with the line and may have missed the home signal in foggy conditions, which would have made it difficult to stop a heavy train before over-running the starter signal for the next section. In CIE days gravity shunting seemed to be the norm for North bound trains placing wagons in the yard in Kiltimagh. One of the Markle? videos on rails in the West first shows a loco arriving in the station, the points are set for one of the sidings and a cut of wagons for the station arrives by gravity a few minutes later, the road is re-set for the main line and the remainder of the train arrives and couples up to the loco.

The Wanderly Wagon looking thing is a fairly typical 1950s style Matista tamper http://www.festipedia.org.uk/wiki/Stefcomatic Although probably posed its quite a scary shot as the men working around the tamper would have have had little warning of an approaching train, tampers are damn noisey things.

Those pre WW1 excursions from the UK mainland seem to have been big business for the railways, there to have a serious effort to re-gain the buisiness in the 1920s there is a photo of the GSR tourist train with a highly polished 400 Class 4-6-0 with a uniform rake of GSWR/GSR wooden bodied corridor stock. The return leg of one of the Killarney excursions was de-railed at Lombardstown one person died and injured taken by train to Cork. The accident had shades of Buttervant in that the train entered a goods loop at speed and the track disintegrated.

One of my favourites RGS stock train with mid train helper and banker! [video=youtube_share;5EkwO8bg4TQ]

I was thinking much the same myself, all you would need are small cast numberplates on the cab or large white or yellow numbers 670 Class style on the car body;)

I am not sure about fuel more likely water, power and sewrage connections. One of the interesting things about the Heuston rebuild is that the services for watering, fueling and cleaning the trains run underground through a system of tunnels under the 6'.