jhb171achill

It's the sort of thing that I don't think would have even occurred to 99% of modellers, even manufacturers. Can I ask, what was it that made you aware that you had to seek such permission? Is there some sort of definitive bank of information as to what (theoretically) requires permission and what doesn't? I can't help feeling that if one wanted to make a model of a public building in Scotland, with a Scottish flag flying on it, that no permission would be needed for the flag? Could any perceived requirement of this nature just be the whim of some litigation-obsessed fat cat businessmen or corporate image consultant, rather than "real" law? Just curious.

I've seen that on RMweb, Colm, and it is absolutely amazing. It is also very timely here, as recent posts on this forum in the last week have enquired (on another modeller's behalf) about the correct BCDR green for locos - you have it - and the types of carriages which ran on the line. I have a few questions - in the second colour picture, that brake third - is that one of those Ratio long wheelbase 4-wheel GWR types on a (prototypical) 6-wheel chassis? The carriages you have are fascinating. Dare one ask that when you've time you might post some info on how they were made, adapted from what, or scratchbuilt? The carriages are absolutely superb.

OK, for dummies; namely me - If, as NIR says, this is nothing to do with Brexit, then what measure have been put in place, and why, regarding: - The fact that the last time I bought anything on fleabay OR Hattons, which would have been maybe a year ago in the first instance, and 2 or 3 years ago with the latter, was I able to pay the amount plus what their website charged for postage, put on the kettle and await the doorbell ringing - and this can't be done now. - If not Brexit, why are customs charges now being charged in Britain? - Why are they being charged in Ireland? - Why are BOTH apparently being charged in some cases? - Why are VAT charges also appearing in the same way? - Is there an implication that without Brexit none of this would have happened, and IS it correct or not? If not, the implication is that had the UK remained in the EU, would have happened anyway; is this fully correct? If it is, does that mean a German buying something from Austria, or Ireland buying from Italy is also thus hit?

"Nuts" is right. My daughter is in the IT business and had some computery gubbins delivered lately from Britain. €120 to be paid to the post office before delivery...... she took it up with the sender, who was completely unaware of it - having understood that whatever THEY had paid at THEIR end was the lot............the deal was that it was to be delivered fully paid.

Ah, yes, I've heard that term before! Makes perfect sense.

In all reality, perhaps as involved as scratch building, and massively more expensive?

Excuse my ignorance..... what does JIT mean?

Should it be possible to get electric HGVs operating as efficiently as diesel ones, I'd say railfreight is banjaxed, though! At least I'll have electric models of coal-belching J15s..................

They need J15s and four-wheeled wooden vans. There was none of this oul carry-on when they had steam engines and loose-coupled trucks.

The worst pronunciations are the computer-generated voices on the satnav - almost all are wrong, often so much so that they are totally unrecognisable.........

I think that if ever such a rule was to exist, it would be ignored and unenforcable. Say you're not allowed to use an IE logo on a model, and i scratchbuild one in my attic? Such a thing would be such an outrageous overkill - especially if it was public sector, that few would even begin to take it seriously........

"To infinity and beyond"................... Reminds me of Senior's imitation of the station platform staff there back in the day... "CHANGE at Ballybrophy for Roscreaburrinena"!!!!

Yes, if even that. They were all-brown from the start of fitted bogie wagons, right through fertiliser bogie times, and onwards. I am not sure exactly when black bogies started appearing, but as you say comparatively recently.

Guy goes to confession. "Father, forgive me, for I have sinned". Priest says to him: "Yeahh..... I saw it on Facebook....."

You should be able to buy tins of LMS maroon from somewhere like Mark's Models or some such similar place. The new 6-wheeled coaches - maybe buy three or four to make one passenger set!

That is an absolutely superb model. First model I've seen in the 1890s version of GSWR lining - very intricate, brilliant job all round.

Yes, they only had a few bogies, and most of these rarely strayed off the Bangor line! To model the BCDR, six-wheelers are just not possible to do without, but there's good news here, as Hattons now have RTR 6-wheelers. Some of these are in maroon liveries. While these coaches are closest in design to GSWR designs, and in fact don't resemble other Irish companies at all, in the absence of anything else I'd get a dozen or so to make up a couple of BCDR passenger sets. Nothing buyable resembles BCDR bogies, but, again, a bit of artistic licence, and get a bogie with no end gangways to represent one of the several they got the NCC to build for them for the Bangor line. For the main part, you'll need 0.6.0 tender engines, or 2.4.2 / 4.4.2 tank engines. BCDR coach livery: Black chassis, light grey roofs (weathered!), maroon ends and sides - same shade as LMS maroon, conveniently, as were the GSR, Clogher Valley and NCC! Post-war, many were unlined. Prewar all were lined pale yellow. Wagons: Grey all over. The grey was significantly darker than the neighbouring GNR or NCC, almost like a charcoal grey. FITTED vehicles ONLY were often in a bauxite brown. Ironwork was body colour above platform level, black below, unlike GNR, GSR or other wagons which were body colour all over. It is worth pointing out too, albeit going off on a bit of a tangent, that there seems to be confusion on when wagons were brown instead of grey. Many British companies painted fitted wagons brown, others grey. The BCDR and UTA seem to have copied this, and in later days the GNR. The GSR and CIE never did - they painted everything grey, but about 1970 as a livery change, started painting all wagons brown. Nothing to do with being fitted otherwise. The BCDR was unusual for Ireland in having several operators of private owner wagons along the way, in particular the open wagons of the East Downshire Co., based at Dundrum, and used for carrying coal. Provincial Wagons do a kit of these. The livery was plain grey, of a much lighter shade than BCDR grey, and with lettering in pale yellow instead of white. Ironwork was grey too. There are no commercially available RTR wagons that approximate to BCDR goods vans of brake vans. Ordinary opens can be used, repainted in a very dark grey, to give a good impression.

Sorry, only seeing this now. A very dark green indeed; don't use No. 30 in Cultra as an example, as it is totally incorrect. I would go a good few shades darker than BR loco green. Tried to find a pic just now but couldn't. If I do, I'll post it here. Someone else posted pics of BCDR loco green recently. When dirty, like CIE grey, it could look almost black. Lining was red and white.

Prompted by the Wanderer's latest photos over on the photographic page, can someone enlighten me about why the Tara times in the WTT bear no relation at all to when it actually runs? I am within sight of the railway just outside Malahide. I can see those green railcars, DARTs, NIR railcars on the Enterprise, and Taras in the distance from where I'm sitting now. When I hear the unmistakable roar of an 071, I look outside. What I SHOULD see is this, according to the WTT: Times PASSING MALAHIDE Southbound: 10:56, 13:56, 20:28 Northbound: 14:36, 19:45, 00:18 What I HAVE seen in the last few week, at random, are these: Date Time No. Wagons North / South 13:11 11 S 40-odd mins early; close to official path 16:33 6 N 13:52 11 N 44 mins early 9 Feb 13:51 11/12 N 43 mins early 10.2 13:33 12 S 20 mins early 10.2 14:10 12 N 10.2 17:28 12 N 11.2 13:36 11 N 11.2 14:07 12 S 11 mins late 16.2 22:34 ? N 17.2 11:00 11 N 17.2 13:36 11 N 19.2 13:51 12 N 19.2 17:24 12 N 22.2 13:56 10 S SPOT ON! First time for everything....... 23.2 17:09 8 N Also, there appears to be a northbound empties regularly between 22:10 and 23:10 most nights, rather than 00:18........ Above, the few highlighted in bold are the only ones which appear to follow stated paths. Maybe this is something to do with a temporary covid-related timetable, or covid-related changes in work practices at the mines? As an aside, here's a bet; within hours of any future announcement of the mine closing, IE will have ripped up the track, demolished the viaduct at Navan, and Eamon Ryan will be on TV crowing about how the new Drogheda - Navan greenway will enrich everyone from Malin Head to Wisht Caark. meanwhile, all 18 of the 071s, plus all the Tara wagons, will be scrapped as hastily as possible, where they stand.

Yes, as long as they're in the correct livery.

I have a box of each for sale, €100 for the lot. Postage free.

Now that's something I haven't heard of in years. Senior did that with the vast "0" gauge tinplate layout he had in the 1920s. The clock was doctored by HIS father (of Inchicore), and it survived until his old house was cleared before he went into his final nursing home a few years ago. Unfortunately it had been in an old loft and was destroyed by rust and general battering about to an extent that would have rendered it well beyond restoration. I think the house clearers would have put it in a skip........... I tried to fix it when I was in my teens - no joy, although in my teenage years everything was black and white, the TV was clockwork, the Kenwood food mixer was steam-operated, and the motorway was cobbled.

I would agree. While for most, myself included, available space precludes an accurate portrayal of an actual location, when it is possible the exact working practices can be reproduced, with shunting, engine changes, and so on. Some years ago, for nothing more than curiosity, I examined the working timetable of the West Cork system immediately prior to anything non-steam ever having gone near the area, and 1960, its last summer. I "followed" the activities of each departure to establish how many locos were needed, how many crews, where locos swopped or were alternated with another for servicing, and so on. Such a thing makes a fascinating study, and really opens ones eyes to how the railway actually worked. Needless to say, it was inevitably very, very different to today. If that system were functioning today, it is likely that one 2-car railcar would do two return trips to Bantry, and another would do two connections to Skibbereen. And that would be it. Kilkenny likewise. Now, a few ICRs potter in and out and nothing else happens. In the period you are modelling, there will be a wealth of operations, with their own rosters and even possible operational peculiarities, as often happened as a "legacy" of the earliest days when more than one company might have used the station. As late as the 1990s there was still a surprising amount of freight and interesting workings at numerous places. All the more fodder for an interesting model. I should add that for the majority (?) of us with less room than would be needed for an accurate prototypical location, study of a real scenario such as that outlined above will inform a ralistic way to operate even a smaller, fictitious location. The fictitious nature of a location can be more than compensated for by high quality scenery, models of high quality with the correct locos and carriages / wagons matching for the era or company, and realistic operational practices BASED on those observed in a real place.

I've actually just emailed them to see what postage costs are now post-Brexit.

The "Dutch" van - what model was this?