Well I am sorry to say, that as of last night, the planet is doomed 

I have been known to play the "GREEN" card the odd time to get out of a sticky situation. Take for instance when the Mrs starts flashing those amorous glances and dropping unsubtle hints in the "nookie" line. How does the save the planet thing work here you ask?
Well I argue about all of those calories that would be used and have to be replenished. "Think of all of those methane emitting farting cattle to be turned into burgers to help me get my strength back. All of that processing and transportation. Hard as it is (no pun intended) but we should think of the planet."

Two articles from CLAYTON and their industrial shunters.

Tata Steel Port Talbot rail operations article here 262Talbot.indd (claytonequipment.co.uk)

Sellafield rail operations here RAIL999-Sellafield.pdf (claytonequipment.co.uk)

Both would make great working layouts for shunting. Both have servicing/repair facilities on site.

Do not forget to check your house insurance. Remember that many of these apartments had fire safety issues. Then there was the water ingress thing. I do not know if wiring up the buildings to possibly go up in smoke and plumbing in water to simulate water leaks would be worth it. 

On 29/1/2024 at 12:21 AM, jhb171achill said:

 and what happens if the next government doesn't include any Green Party in coalition?

Would make me think that God actually exists

Rails of Sheffield have Heljan class 33 locos from £104.95 and Dapol class 73 locos for £89.95. There is also a Hornby large logo class 56 for £129.95. A very nice Hornby Sentinel for £59.95. All new,

"Well dear, it is like this. I somehow got involved in a cult, and it goes under the moniker of IRM. It sounds innocuous enough, having as it's cover, a forum dedicated to discussions on model trains. Sadly I found out too late that this is a front for a more nefarious organisation. The upshot being, if I don't subscribe to a certain number of models per year, to raise funds to support the cause, I might suddenly disappear. You and the kids would never see me again. I am actually doing this to keep the family together."

57 minutes ago, Newtoncork said:

Oh God, I bought three packs while The Boss was out. Not sure what I'm going to tell her when she comes back. The usual stuff of 'it's an investment' or 'what else would I spend it on?' is wearing thin........

Try the "diminished responsability" angle or failing that there is always this to fall back on "Well you did sign up to the - For better or for worse- clause".

1 hour ago, BEANO3005 said:

More Ordered. Dunno where I'm gonna hide them all. Looking forward to getting mine. The postman sure is going to be busy. 

Don't hide them. Be brazen show the Mrs who is the boss, then let us know if it is feasible to build a layout in a tent. 

When you say to the wife "Well I can't take it with me" and she says "You could leave it to me.". You have reached your spending limit.

I always found them a very good company to deal with. In yesteryear I was a subscriber to their mailing list. Used to come in four or five closely typed pages!

That is a wonderfully evocative photograph. Sadly not all Januarys are like that.

Up until yesterday (31st January)there was still frozen patches of snow on the aptly named Sliabh Snaght. I was elsewhere on Monday and any pools had a light covering of ice. 

Not as young as I was to "earn" any more....

Well the wife caught me browsing this thread and she said.

"So Mr Murphy has some new models coming out and I suppose you will want to get one? Well you know what that means...." 

Thank God to who ever invented the light switch.

It appears since this announcement has been made, Iarnród Éireann are considering purchasing all future motive power from IRM.

Felt like it last week....

Had the help in to clean up after storm ISHA this week.

They are expensive and they are a luxury. If you want to run Irish trains, well you will need one at least. It is discretionary spend, if your household budget can afford it. Going on previous batches, they will look and run well. The trouble being that not everyone who wanted these to arrive may have the money to hand. I do not know what the batch number produced will amount to, but I would predict that given the size of the market for Irish Railway stock just enough were produced to make the issue financially viable. They will not be available for stockist to reorder so factoring all of this in to the equation I would say you will be lucky if there are any available to buy this time next year.

Finances dictating, get in while you can. Things are expensive for Irish railway modellers right now considering what has hit the market and what is to come. As has been stated a number of times, who would have thought modellers of the Irish Railway scene would have to budget for numerous releases. If you can afford it buy what you want. In times to come when you get your dream railway up and running, not much point then rueing the fact that you missed out on one of these.

Inishowen, County Donegal.

Two storms with lots of rain and there is still snow lying on the heights. Summer ain't here yet....

Had snow Tuesday until Saturday. Was as cold as it looks. Leg deep in places. Could not photograph the wind.

Comments welcome...

Still lighting up the outside home made Christmas tree!!

This is an interesting piece on the new "green" hydrogen power for locomtives. How "green"  is the production of the new "green "fuel?

Both are very good reads.

Traction Technology: Are hydrogen locomotives the next big thing?

Traction Technology: Are hydrogen locomotives the next big thing? | In depth | Railway Gazette International

Gas-fuelled freight locomotive under development

Gas-fuelled freight locomotive under development | News | Railway Gazette International

If the links do not work, I will copy/paste the texts.

Yep, I was younger then. Cycled from Drimnagh to site on Ballybrack every morning, then home in the evenings! Lots of tales from the site but things were different then.