spudfan

Regarding our recent wet and windy weekend. Sitting on the sofa watching TV I told the Mrs how well she was looking and that I had definitely made the correct decision all of those years ago. "I'm not going out for turf", was the response I got. Drat, foiled again.....

Brings back memories. I remember levelling across a bridge in Co. Cork when the staff began to look blurred through the level. Yep you guessed it, there was a train coming. Had to put the level and tripod over my shoulder and run like mad closely followed by the bloke with the staff. Looking back it was like something from a Bugs Bunny cartoon. At the time it was adrenaline pumping to say the least. Ah the late 70's, wonder how I ever survived into the 80's....

Then there was the shop up a side street between O Connell bridge and the Halfpenny bridge. It was a post office as well as a model railway shop. He used to stock HO continental stuff. Remember the shop in Capel street that used to do a lot of Fleischmann stuff? But Monck Place was my favourite.

In my letter to Santa......

Do you think the hierarchy at IRM towers have watched the video and hatched their next release? Imagine the cost of a working model as per the video!

Remember the auld days when a group of blokes would go out with picks and shovels to work on the tracks? Well have a look at this. Scroll down to the section headed "First Building phase: 142 kilometres of track" then to "Permanent way newly constructed". Now that is some serious gear, but there probably is a bloke with a shovel somewhere about......https://www.plassertheurer.com/en/media-library/documentaries/face-lift-for-high-speed-lines.html?utm_source=rg&utm_medium=mail&utm_campaign=NL1912en

€13.80 from the Book Depository including delivery. https://www.bookdepository.com/Irish-Traction-Iarnrod-Eireann-Colm-OCallaghan/9781445688442

Might be of some use http://adityaminiaturetrainmodels.com/ https://www.decibelscalemodels.com/

https://www.railwaygazette.com/traction-and-rolling-stock/iarnrod-eireann-orders-dmu-cars-to-increase-commuter-capacity/54951.article

Witch One to Witch Two. "I brought you this for the Hallowe'en cauldron". Witch Two to Witch One "What is it?" Witch One. "It's a six year old child" Witch Two "I don't want it". Witch One "Why not". Witch Two "Those things are full of sugar".

Sorry about that,checking back it was a quote in your post. Many apologies

JASONB wrote "Do we have a model shop in Ireland that could compare with long closed “The Model Railway Shop” (also known as Leinster Models) on Monk Place Phibsborough? " I used to cycle over from Drimnagh and spend my three hours overtime on a Lima loco. Sometimes I'd walk over with the dog. On arrival the dog would collapse and Kieran would give him a bowl of water to help him recover. I swear that I can still smell Kierans pipe smoke on the boxes of some of my Lima locos, some of which are 30 years plus and still doing great service. Any way when I'd had the craic and completed my business and the dog had recovered we trek back to Drimnagh. The walk or cycle usually cleared the smell of pipe smoke from my clothes by the time I arrived home. Happy memories

Many years ago I went into a chemist shop in Thomas Street Dublin. It would have been in the early 1980's. I asked for some meths and an eyedropper. The owner said that he had no meths in stock. So I asked if he had any benzene and he said no. Then I asked if he had any carbontetrachloride as that would do. None of that either he said. Anyway I said "Thank you" and headed for the door. As I was going out he asked what the stuff was for. I told him it was for cleaning model railway tracks. The eye dropper was for putting it into a cleaning wagon I had (Roco). He laughed and said he never heard that before AND he had meths in stock but he had to be careful who he sold it to. I got the meths and the eyedropper and headed home.

I placed an order online with an Irish based shop and it came to just under €700. A discount? I didn't even get a "thank you" note in the parcel.

Two copies available....from the USA. Expensive. https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&cm_sp=SearchF-_-home-_-Results&an=&tn=Irish+Metro-Vick+Diesels&kn=&isbn=

"Well what do you want the money for?" "It is for a rescue fund. IRM Headquarters has been taken over by terrorists and the lads inside are been held to ransome. So I am ordering some locos as a contribution to the ransome being demanded by the terrorists. Look it is on the news." "That looks like Bruce Willis in a dirty white vest". "No it doesn't. It is an undercover Garda in rescue mode..." Damn, wives are sharp......

Marks models have 210 River Ern for €154.99 including delivery http://www.marksmodels.com/?pid=11737

Slightly off topic but still 121 related. I remember many years ago, probably the middle 1980's, I was over in Leinster Models in Monck Place and Ciaran McGowan was on counter duty-with pipe in full swing. He was showing me paper plans (blueprints) for an "O" gauge 121 he was building for a customer. I wonder if it is still in existence? Also you could get 121 in "00" gauge built on an American chassis. Don't know if he used Bachmann or Athearn. Anyway it was outside my budget at the time. Little did I realise at the time that a 121 would be available as a standard item. I used to frequent the shop a lot and I have some great memories. I can still smell the pipe smoke from some of the Lima models I bought there!

It's not my pain...

If any of you lads up in the IRM Tower headquarters have been feeling poorly lately i.e. lots of stabbing pain in the arms, legs and torso well I am afraid it is my fault. The wife happened to see my proposed purchases in my shopping cart and went away and got some dolls from the attic. One now sports a cardboard name tag which says "That crowd up in IRM Towers". She has been dutifully sticking pins into the aforementioned doll.

My car has a Sat Nag, but it is "old" technology . There is no turn off button, it starts as soon as the car does. It has a glitch in the soft ware, namely it sometimes gets LEFT and Right confused. No big deal the car has a large fuel tank...… The warranty has long expired. That went with the "FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE" acceptance thing. Ah well I did get to see a lot of the country, in a bonus type of way.

Normally, to get this excited about photographs on the internet you have to click on the "Yes I am over 18" caption. The type of site that you hit EXIT when the Mrs enters the room...and hope that it doesn't freeze. But that is another story......

Methinks you and I will be moving in together!!!!

Update. As I was blessed with only two kidneys I headed to the local butcher shop. I managed to pick up a few more kidneys for Ebay…. As an aside I do carry an organ donor card (female members please exert some self control) so I do feel some pangs of guilt. Also the JCB has arrived and has been suitably camouflaged..... for the St Patricks Day parade. Anyone else any good ideas, or are you keeping them to fund your own requirements?

I have pre sold so many internal organs that I'll be on life support in bed watching my layout with the A class being controlled by the Mrs.....