jhb171achill

When can we discuss the new-build BCDR 4.6.4T or is that a secret?

This has got to be the best video relating to a model railway subject that I have ever seen! Love the specially composed music too - all in all, utter genius, both the layout, the video production and the music!

Thought so - encouraging!

Fascinating stuff!

At least the ITG have managed to secure one. Probably a static exhibit, I'd say - but with the moracles the ITG have been unveiling lately, including last Saturday, who knows! I wonder are any of the Sulzer engines in England of any use in terms of compatibility? I think B103's engine is largely gone?

And worse, it’s not even Hornby asbestos, it’s Hornby Dublo!

It’s an old kit I found, but it’s 12 inches to the foot scale. No DCC, though, and the couplings are completely incompatible with both standard Hornby ones and Kadees. It won’t run on code 70 OR 100 track, nor HO scale anything. It won’t go round curves, even a 2.4 metre radius one. So I’m not sure what I’ll do with it…. if someone will give me a tenner for it, it’s yours, but I’m told the postage could be high enough….

I bet someone said “ooops!”

Perfect venue for your E401 model!! "Ballymoll Mill Sidings"

Well, the guy I'm having issues with (seperate person) has one week before I start legal action! I've been told pack after pack of lies for several years now. It'll cost him a lot more long term if he has to employ a solicitor.

Most interesting, yes, that was a new one to me. And yes, B112 IS in the darker green, not to be seen on many diesels at all. A46 had it, and so did Downpatrick's C231 at one stage anyway. Of the extrremely few A, B101 & C's with dark green, all images I've ever seen of them have a waistline.

This is pure GOLD DUST!!! The Irish narrow gauge is awash with amazing potential for models. This just proves it!

The waistline, both on these and the A / C classes, appears to have been completely arbitrary (like the dayglo orange-red on locos in the 1990s) with no relation to any other livery details. I have seen pics of silver locos with red buffer beams too, but never a green one without at least some red on the buffer beam area. The one thing I have never seen is a B101 model with numerals of exactly the right style and size…. especially on a loco that is otherwise plain silver, plain green or (mostly) plain black, inaccuracy in numerals or lettering sticks out like a sore thumb, unfortunately. The initial pic, I should add, is possibly one of Cyril Fry’s. If not, it’s one of my dad’s.

The abbey looks really well!

Making a triangular junction at Knockmore, Lisburn, was considered then, for one thing.

Just came across this, thought I’d share it out of interest. Don’t take the shade of green seriously - the original colour slide is in awful condition! At Waterford obviously, about 1962. Like the A & C classes, some had a pale green “waistline”; some didn’t. None had “flying snails”. Black on top of roof.

Painting. I've seen clearer images.

Interesting to see the way the black on the roof is carried round the top of the coach end....

My layout is very strictly set in the 1955-75 period, but I think I'll probably end up with an ICR set anyway, as they look so very good! I wound echo, though, the usefulness of a "C" class, and also, as a seperate issue, an NIR 80 class set and NCC "Jeep", for the clearly (and justifiably) growing interest levels in UTA & NIR. With my livery interest, I can think of at least twelve liveries for a "C"...........

See you tomorrow, Mol!!

Top class. Very many thanks!

This seems endemic in the model railway world. I am currently having issues with an indivudual who has a load of my (kit) models for many years now and won't give them back. He told me me he'd make them up in a matter of months and has spent years making increasinlgy nonsensical excuses and claims as to why he hasn't delivered them; along with frequent promises that he'll have them all ready "at the latest next Thursday" etc etc. He initially claimed he had them all finished, though I never believed that for a second. A trusted friend knows him and says he's a con man..... we'll see. Many years ago I was similarly let down by a man in the 3.5 inch scale steam world who scammed me of £1500. Same thing - endless excuses. But I've a long memory and I don't take well to being scammed.

Almost without doubt, yes. Several silver vehicles (and locos!) skipped the green, and several GNR coaches and quite possibly railcars likewise - GNR livery straight to black'n'tan. In routine service, one coach on the C & L had disgracefully faded GSR livery as late as 1956. Numerous main line coaches were still maroon into the early 50s.

They were indeed painting the full 1940s version well into the early 50s - I was told this by a long-gone painting supervisor. I've seen a photo of a newish CIE coach like this - if I can find it I'll post it, but probably buried somewhere in the IRRS. But certainly at the very, very latest, maybe 1954-ish. The exact dates were never recorded, plus, repaints were infrequent, so earlier and later versions of the overall green "family" of liveries, plus the southern localised versions, co-existed for quite a while. There were still a small few vehicles kicking about as late as 1960 in the old fully lined version. One quite tidy six-wheeler like that was on the West Cork system.

1124 was one of thirteen 64-seat side-corridor thirds. They were all built in 1914, bar the last which entered traffic in 1915. Their numbers ran from 1119-1131. All survived into the 1960s, with the first one scrapped in 1961, and the rest lasting until 1967-70, thus all gaining black'n'tan livery bar the one scrapped in 1961. They eked out their last days on Cork and Dublin spare stock for busy summer days. The very last two, 1119 and 1125, lasted until 1970, just two years before the "Supertrain" era. The one shown was withdrawn in 1967.