jhb171achill

That's what interested me. Thus, for (say) an ICR which could withstand being dropped on the floor, or stood on by the toddler, would cost almost as much as a high-end model? If so, that would almost certainly settle the case against it as a commercial proposition, because you'd hardly let a small person near anything which cost that sort of cash............. If some sort of, say, 3-car ICR was possible to produce, with an oval of track and a controller, for the sort of money a few computer games cost, that's the only way it could work. It's been suggested here before now that such a thing isn't financially viable for our sort of market.....

This will not just suit a potential "preservation" site; it is a must for any sort of layout on CIE in the 1950s and 60s; a few lasted into the 70s (and therefore brown livery) too. I await a few of them myself!

I will selflessly volunteer my services to consume the contents of any such boxes in order to advance their recycling into useful layout stuff..........

A steam loco in NIR livery! Now THAT'S imagination! Well done, Tony..... Had steam lasted a bit longer in the south, we'd have seen black locos with CIE "roundels" on the tender.....

While it's not my thing at all, I do feel that an ICR set would be potentially successful, especially if it was only produced to "2-ft rule" standard. Maybe out of curiosity, one of our IRM folks could answer this question; does the superbly high standard of detail on IRM or MM products contribute much to the finished per-item cost? Would a rough-an'-ready ICR, maybe a re-liveried British or mainland European tube on wheels of some sort, end up retailing for a similar price, when manufacturing, design and transport had obviously been covered by the producer, or would it be not much cheaper than a high-end model? As some here will know, I recently moved house. My former neighbour had an 8-year-old boy, who sees a train as a DART (and if he lived in the Land of Rural Culchies, it would be an ICR). He, for one, is a little guy who would be interested in a train set of something he knew. A British HST, Flying Scotsman, or Dutch EMU wouldn't cut it for him. This is the sort of young gentleman we need for the future. Right now, he'd need something he recognises to play with. When I was about 5, I was given a circle of old tinplate 0 gauge track with three trucks which were wooden blocks painted by Senior to look like a diesel shunter and wagons, on old "scrap" 0 gauge four wheeled chassis. For a child that age, nothing could break. It was a push-along thing - in terms of developing an interest in railways in general with me, it worked........... And outside - in the far distance - if the wind was blowing the right way, I could hear the steam-hauled up goods puffing along the GN main line late at night...........

Sure they're on the way!

Looks like FB is becoming a resource for oul fogeys like me! The nippers are all on insta-twitterogram.........

Me oul GNR "S" class, GSR J18, D14, D16, D17, D19, GSWR bogies and Midland six-wheelers must be in the post from IRM Towers! Yippeeeeee!

Health warning: On the RCTS list, I note that most of the captions they have are wrong, some very significantly so!

Very interesting set of pics there, 800 - I hadn't seen all of those! Non-passenger-carrying vehicles especially - well into the 1990s - seemed to get way less "TLC" than passenger-carrying ones! So that's the Hornby coach - it'll be interesting to see the Hattons one too.

If that red one was a few shades darker, you've a perfect late 1940s view with that one coach still in GSR livery behind a green engine! You've actually three "eras" there, a bit like the black'n'tan, followed by "supertrain", followed by "tippex" and finally the lighter "orange"; albeit a generation earlier! Loco & 3rd coach in 1945-55 green, red coach (if darker / GSR) in 1933-45 livery - though a few maroon were obviously kicking about a few years more, and the post-1955 lighter green.......... Looking forward to seeing Mullingar develop - looks superb. I'm assuming that's one of the Hattons' 6-wheelers? Looks good - very convincing GSWR, though as an Irish one the lower footboard would also be needed. As you say, an Irish-liveried one would be the business.

Seems to be a mixed bag, no matter what the official rules are, which suggests that some, at least, of the checks are done on a "spot-check" basis. I haven't bought much myself, but Daughter-the-Middle buys stuff from there in the course of her business maybe once every week or 10 days. Sometimes she gets stung, sometimes not!

Indeed! I think, though, they're a bit of a specialist market. Some people are happy enough to file away at their kits and as some on here have showed, extremely satisfactory results can come from them.

As always, it looks superb. To your comment, "....In addition, the Tyrconnel six wheelers are quite heavy and though my G2 2-4-0 will pull three of them...." - that is perfectly appropriate, as it happens. The most lightly-loaded passenger workings on the Midland - the Killeshandra, Ballina-Killala and (latterly) Clifden, Edenderry and Kingscourt trains were typically a six-wheel third, a six-wheel 1sts / 2nd compo and either a full brake or brake third. So for your proposed operational model, three are just right! Also, you're obviously (and correctly, of course) using MGWR style kits - exactly the sort of thing I'd love to see in 00. Necessary for a 530-class, of course, as the first time they'd have seen a GSWR design coach would have been when they were in plain grey! Nowhere near as photogenic........ The only kits produced in 00 scale seem to be GSWR types, and the forthcoming RTR six-wheelers are also close to one of the GSWR designs. Really superb stuff as always!

Indeed; we may hope! There are three possible liveries for West Cork, if you're looking at the late steam / diesel era (the "grey'n'green" period). 1 The above older lined green. 2 SOME older spare stock were painted that dark green with NO lining; a locally done but unofficial version which seems to have been born of convenience by whatever painted they had in CIE in Cork. There were carriages (all ancient six-wheelers, but not of a design remotely like the Hattons ones) with plain green with TWO flying snails (no lining) and at least one with neither lining OR snails. 3 Most commonly, of course, by then - the lighter mid-green with one pale green line along the waistline only. And, of course, either dirty silver or green "C" class locos, and dark grey steam engines. The necessary AEC railcars would initially have been the darker green above, later the lighter shade. Naturally, all wagons and brake vans grey.

Looks interesting (even if the "flying snail" is in the wrong place!). Gives an idea of what an Irish one would look like, though in reality, it's the 1955-63 lighter green that would be more appropriate for the early diesel period, more so than this earlier one.

Seems to be the same with six-wheel carriages. Hattons announce they're launching them - then hey presto! Hornby are offering one! I'd be ordering from Hattons quite simply because when I emailed them with enquiries they answered very promptly. As an aside, I am astonished by the number of small model industries or operators who just won't answer emails! In days like these, you'd think they'd WANT business! Seems to happen both here and on the Isle of Brexit!

Wow! One of THOSE going over Owencarrow viaduct! Only last night I was wondering what might have happened had the CDR survived, with the three "F" class diesels, four West Clare railcars, three new trailer coaches, and the rebuilt C & L coach No. 1L all kicking about. You'd probably have had steam until maybe 1965, and then the three "F"s (no, not Isaac Butt's ones) would manage all the goods, with steam as spare. Donegal railcars 15, 18, 19 and 20, and the four Clare ones would have kept the passenger side going potentially into the 1980s. And maybe 1965 would have seen the CDR take over the closed GNR line into Derry! So, Derry - Killybegs and Strabane to Letterkenny-hi by railcars in the 1960s and 70s....there's a layout idea which actually began to inspire a long defunct 009 layout when I was in my 20s....... Had it survived today, it would have Luas-type things on it, or slimmed down 2600s, and goods would be a memory. But at least there would be three preserved Class 5 tank engines, and hopefully half a dozen of the old coaches. The Kiwi loco above would need "Iarnród Donegal Hi!" on its sides, hi.

Good thinking! I think that much of the NCC's records were lost when York Road station was bombed in the wartime, as Harold Houston said that much didn't survive, but at the very least there might be something about design. Being a different gauge though, and thus a different width, most wagon design and building was done locally, not in Derby. The exception was a hunderd or so wagons brought over from Britain after the war. I cannot be certain, but it may be that it was just bodies put on local underframes; it would seem odd to go to the bother of re-gauging British wagons here.

Superbly detailed work! Well done....

BCDR wagons were a thing apart; the designs were very specific to that system, and quite unlike those on any other system. Des Coakham's book is the best source on these. The IRRS may be able to assist with unpublished illustrations.

Black, always. In LMS times I think it was both plain black and also steam-loco-style lining. All of the few diesel shunters the NCC had were lined or plain black, carried on in UTA times. The several which started life on the BCDR were initially the very dark green of their steam locos (somewhat darker, even, than UTA green), but once the UTA got them they were black.

Looking forward to this! Saw a pic of one among the IRRS website (I think) or possibly Jim O'Dea's stuff which shows one of the few that ended up with CIE painted in black and tan! Short-lived, I daresay, as CIE didn't hang onto much ex-GN stuff for very long........

Noel, they've served you well, and they look great weathered.

I noticed a while back that Shapeways offers several Irish models. Has anyone any experience of them, in particular coaches? Gut feeling suggests to me that they're pretty crude, but maybe someone here has first hand knowledge?