Shinkansen

They would have been well before my time. I think Quigley Magnesite closed in 82 (I think???)... I would have been 2 years old! I do remember seeing the remains of the plant, sitting out on the harbour in Ballinacourty. Mostly whilst mitching off PE during secondry school! Couldnt see a plant like that being located in a scenic spot like that today. Im sure the rail stayed intact well into the 90s. It crossed the N25 in two places between Kilmacthomas and Kilmeaden. Everytime I pass by the old crossings I still expect to feel the tires of the car 'bump' over the rails. Long since gone since the road was upgraded.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12324[/ATTACH] Exquisite work George. They're freakin tiny! Very well done. Could imagine these on an N-gauge Irish layout alright, 201 or 071 hauled. Now there's a thought! Tom.

Nice one David. Gap in the market spotted and taken care of:cool: Best of luck with these. The Prototype model looks spot on, top stuff. Tom.

I wouldnt worry too much about the gauge of the rail Patrick. That Bell Liner looks the business, I'd love to have one myself Tom

Great find Patrick. First time ever seing this. Guessing its from the early 90s? Quigly magnistite factory site derelict, Gold Coast golf club not built yet. Not to mention the relatively good condition of the line. It's fairy overgrown now! Yep, tis a sad fact that Waterford went from having (in my ah-hem non biased Waterford mans opinion!) the best looking stretch of rail in the country to having none at all. Hopefully the Dungarvan-Waterford line will be re-born in the near future as a greenway and people will get to experience it again. It really is stunning countryside Tom

Easy to do one, hard to turn them all the same and look consistent... well done to your mate. Nice bit of wood turning. Would love to have a crack at doing Cement bubbles someday. All the components are readily available i.e.: Westy's detail kits, Railtech and Westy's transfers, Dapol prestwin for the Chassis. All that's missing is a Bubble! Nice way around that problem.

Totally agree. I buy the occasional issue of 'Model Railroader'. They have an interesting approach across the water in how they do things. Plenty for us all to learn from. Particularly like the way they do scenery, especially for port/industrial sidings on Layout. Their current project 'Rice Harbour' comes to mind. Some of those 'basment empires' are pretty epic alright. Some serious $$$$$$$'s thrown at them!!!

Interesting stuff John. Would the Lyttelton - Christchurch line be one of the first to be laid down in the south island? 5' 3" is good on straight runs, probably not such a good idea up in the mountains, winding it's way thru river valleys and around rocky bluffs. Looking forward to finally having something to run those DX's on Thanks for all the positive comments lads. This project took a while but was well worth it. I have a real softspot for rail infrastructure, probably because I spent time as one of the "Thedolite Boys" when I was overseas. I find the things facinating. Hope to have more developments soon with the other viaduct (modern concrete arch). The Kibri stuff really is nice to work with. The Arched girder bridge had parts missing when I first bought it. A quick email to Germany and the problem got sorted... free of charge. Cheers, Tom.

While I'm at it... here's the latest goings on in Lyttelton. Major rail infrastructral works are afoot with the arrival of the (long overdue!) Girder Bridge. The Civil Engineers are doing a few final checks making sure everythings where it's supposed to be. Trains don't take bumps in the road very well!

Crikey! It's been a while since I posted any progress on the old workbench. Anyhow, here's some update on the Girder Bridge. I added in some simple Noch girder bridge kits to the original Kibri arched girder bridge kit. Increased the overall length from 460mm to 990mm end to end. However, when viewed side by side the Noch kits looked kinda pants in comparison to the Kibri. They are fairly simple kits in fairness (3 pieces) and date from another time (made in West Germany stamped on the moulding). The Kibri is far more complex, dozens of parts and a nightmare to paint. But more on that later. I set about improving them with some scratch built handrails. Tedious work but ended up quiet happy with the results. Chopped out the original moulded in rails with a flush cutter. Fabricated new rails from 1mm square Evergreen plasticard using a template to line everything up. Glued everything together with Humbrol Polycement. The results are more robust than expected. Another addition to the bridge were extensions to the Bridge Piers, along with fabricating pedestals, corbels etc... to represent the supporting steelwork for the spans. This allowed the Rail deck on all the spans to match up, The Kibri and Noch spans would originally be on different levels. Decided to paint the whole lot red oxide, Revell Matt no. 37. Now I know why it used to take 25 years to do the Forth Bridge !!! So many nooks and bloody crannys:(( 2 coats all done with a brush! The Pilings/Piers are painted Humbrol Matt 121 Pale stone, and will be weathered at a later date to give them a more aged concrete look. The timber planking for the walkways was done using Tamiya brown acrylic, dry brused with some grey acrylic to give that silvered/weathered timber look. Finally complete and off the workbench So major Civil Engineering works going on in Lyttelton as we speak. The next Viaduct will be way quicker. Cheers, Tom.

Quality work Scahalane. I can see all the components coming together very nicely, the bridge, the rock face, terraced houses etc... excellent stuff. I bet it's a pleasure to watch trains flow through it. The 'Das' clay looks very effective, were did ya get it, Easons? Tom.

Would relish the thought of a ready to run or even kit build 22K. I really like these railcars. I know there not everyones cup of tea, but they are a quality piece of kit. I remember the rubbish that used to be on the line between Waterford and Dublin (ancient Mk2s well past their sell by date....ughh!). And it wasnt a million years ago. These were a godsend! Compared to what you'd find on many regional and commuter lines in the UK, the really are a superior piece of kit. If I have a criticism of these it would probably be the unimaginative livery choices (paint it silver/grey to make it look modern). In my world they'd be Orange/black n white strip/purple flash (ala old Enterprise) at the carridge doors/full yellow ends. Interesting comments in the electrification of mainlines. Yeah, i couldnt see it happening to be honest. Extension of electrification to the suburban commuter areas yes probably. Outside of that, probably not. It would be much more benificial to improve the permanent way, increasing the average linespeeds, weeding out congestions etc.... Thus making rail an attractive alternative to motorway travel / road freight etc... The stock 201s, 22Ks surely have the legs for higher speed? OK rant over. Regards Tom.

Here, here... I second that. Balancing time constraints, Hobby, funds, career etc... is difficult. I dip in and out of the forum myself... occasionally contributing when I have something to show for myself! And that's fine, that's what suits right now. I for one will miss your contributions Riversuir. Always inspiring, hats off to anyone who tackles a scratchbuild. I do hope all is well and if you ever do decide to come back, you'll be more than welcome. Best Regards dude. Tom.

Very well exectuted and finished off Popeye. I like the subtle weathering and interior + passengers. Nice work

Have a look at http://www.stationroadbaseboards.co.uk/. They can supply 'bullet' type and 'pattern makers' type baseboard dowels. They deliver to Ireland and I have bought from them previously. Picked up some of the former for my own layout. Was intending to use these to join the boards end to end but have decided against it. Will use them instead for locating the hinged access section on the layout. If you're planning on dis-assemblying and re-assembling your layout on a regular basis, or if it's of 'modular' construction, than dowels are a good idea. But if it is going to be largly static, I wouldnt bother. Better off clamping your underframes together, ensuring the top surfaces are level. Then drill and fasten the base frames together with M10 bolts with flat washers and Nyloc nuts. They won't go anywhere and can be taken apart in future if needs be. Tom

Thanks Richie The ARC wagon makes a very good likeness for the Tara with those mods carried out. Nice work, simple and effective. I reckon I might have over complicated my kit bashing effort. Typical Engineer.... goes off and makes things un-neccessarily complex:rolleyes: Tom.

Layout is really coming together Patrick, very well done. As a Waterford man I approve of your choice of location Lovely scenic work and very true to life and to the area being modelled. Tom

Luggage van looks sweet George, well done. Look forward to having a crack at one of those 25ton brake vans sometime. They're a nice bit of kit alright Tom

Very nice work on the PWD wagon and the Oil tanker. Excellent detailing on both wagons I must say. Those little details really do make it. These are two projects I have in the pipeline for later in the year. Hope to do as good a job if i can. Top stuff Tom

Well that's just a stroke of genius... I wish I thought of that! That track cleaner really looks the part, way better than the Dapol original

Nice looking walk-ways in your 'Train care Depot', Are they scratch builds? Class stuff as always. Tom

Hi 'burnthebox', it's close... but a little different. Might work if they were side by side maybe. Might be a little odd if they were joined end to end like I'm planning tough. Planning to have a Girder bridge and the modern concrete bridge running parallel to one another on the layout. To create a focal point without it being over the top! The 'busy-ness' of the girder bridge balanced with the 'plane-ness' of the concrete bridge, if ya know what I mean. Nice one Dave, I'll check them out.... It's pretty strange alright, having to go to Canada to get a European railway model! I might be in luck... Will let ya know how it works out. Cheers Tom

Hoping somebody on here might be able to help. Looking to source a Kibri 'Modern Arched Viaduct' kit no. 39740. Unfortunately its not available from any of the retailers, it is either 'sold out' or 'on order from our supplier'. It will be produced again sometime in the future but there is no date from the manufacture as to when that will be. In the meantime I've got a river valley that needs brideging. I have one of these already (sse pic), but require a second to bridge the span. So if somebody has one one of these kits and is willing to part with it, let me know. Preferably unbuilt but I'm open to offers. Cheers Tom

Coming together nicely there George. Tis no longer a box of bits anymore! Fairly extensive looking kit, hats off to all of Mr Mayners work. Well done Out of interest... what's a good base for painting brass? Would you use Etching primer same as if you were painting bare steel? Cheers.

Hi Bosko, To answer your question. The phone is a HTC Desire C, running Android, video files are .mp4 format. Crap CCD sensor in the phone equals poor video quality. But the files are small and are youtube compatible. The Laptop is a 5 year old Sony VAIO running windows Vista, came preloaded with Adobe Photoshop Elements if that's any use (for video???). Would love to sort something regarding the .MOV movie files. Have a few videos taken in .MOV format that would be cool to post up i.e. Japanese Bullet Trains and NZ tranzAlpine. If you have any thoughts as to what might work that would be great. Cheers Tom