jhb171achill

Yes, I can see that now, Patrick! If I'm ever in the area, I'll refresh my PTS so I can operate!

No pressure, Glenderg and Garfield! :-)

Yes, indeed, Patrick, that's common in a number of locations. Was just wondering. Normally, if crossing something though, they used left hand operation especially if they had two passenger platforms. I'm presuming the road bridge also used as a footbridge? Either way, a superb layout indeed.

Out of curiosity, though, how come the trains seem to cross with right hand running instead of left?

I agree entirely with all of the posts above. This is one of the best layouts I've ever seen in a number of ways. First, the scenery; I am studying it closely as inspiration for what I'm in the process of now. The prototypical operation is exactly what makes it come to life, and have such an atmosphere. This layout is truly a work of art. A miniature world. Look at the goods stock. We have so, so, many top class, excellent layouts, with long goods trains of standard BR goods stock of types nothing like anything that ran here. This one has "proper" Irish stock. What a difference. Nobody would put a GWR pannier tank on a model of a suburban train to Cobh, so why BR goods stock on a layout set in rural Ballygobackwards? Finally, the lack of clutter. For realism, it's better a field full of brambles, than a town, refinery, bus station, port and dear knows what else crammed into a corner beside the track. Top class - does it go to exhibitions?

Wow!!!! Outstanding! Much as anyone would hate to lay a finger on a bubble as it is, the weathering looks A1 on those weathered ones.... I find myself becoming a great fan of weathering. Anything that ever came out of a paint shop would be shiny for its first or second journey only, so an entire shiny train never looks quite right! I like the light touches on the locos and passenger stock above also - looks extremely realistic.

Reminds me of a summer holiday in North Wales in 1969. Most trains were of several varieties of first-generation railcars, or "DMUs" as themmuns over there call them. Some were green, with or without front yellow patches. Others were all-blue. And then a class 23 (I think?) would charge last en route to Holyhead with a lengthy string of maroon or blue and grey coaches behind it. I missed steam there by no more than 2 years. But we still had it at home on the Larne line! Just for a while longer.....

If in any shape or form you end up with a continuous run round, it would be better to have it right round the walls of the shed instead of crossing from one side to the other in the middle, I would have thought. Again, entirely intended as completely constructive criticism. The project I've started has had me scratching my head in planning stages for a very long time before it got started, on account of my own issues of severe lack of space. It's always the design which is initially so important, as once it's made, it's often more trouble than its worth to correct design flaws.

Interesting pic of Barry's. The weather was possibly dull that day, because in reality they looked just very slightly brighter - basically the same orange-tan as carriages, or Donald's face.... The correct shade of brown is also evident on the van. Modern wagon brown is more reddish, but these vans were long gone before the newer brown was in use.

Looks like it, Colin.....!

The one at Bray looks best. The "mustard" and also the unnaturally dark shade apparently shown in the pic at Ardrahan are not at all accurate. They are the result of in one case under-, and the other case over-exposure of the camera film. All three carriages are exactly the same colour. No weathering or wear comes into it; it's the photo in each case.

I footplated 190 into Ballina about 1979 and she was in Supertrain. I'm 90% sure 188 was supertrained by 1977, when I saw her on the evening Rosslare-Limerick with two laminates and a van. I think that was 188. From memory 145 and 147 were B'n'T quite late on but I don't recall details. Again, from memory 150, 151 and 155 were all Supertrain by at least 1976. I footplated 151 or 155 to Cobh on a local of dingy (and heavily "weathered") Park Royals. Cork-based suburban stock was by far the externally tattiest on the whole system, and the internally dirtiest. With one exception: the dreadfully shabby ex-AEC pushpulls in Dublin. They were just ghastly! The others you mention were all repainted in "the mid 1970s"; but that could be anything from 1973-77. Personally, I'm unaware of any information source giving exact dates for each loco.

I'm not trying to "plug" the books, but if you look in "Rails Through the West" and "Rails Through North Kerry", you'll see what I mean. All Murphy's models are correct, as all locos carried both liveries. The only difference between any two locos was on which particular date each one was repainted.

The earliest changes into "Supertrain" were 1972. The first locos I personally ever saw were that year - a pair of 121s about to leave Heuston with a mixed train of laminates, Park Royals and a few Cravens for Cork. Both were pristine new - the first thing I noticed was the sparkling clean orange cab roofs. I am unaware of actual dates when each particular loco was repainted, but as mentioned above, all were repainted over the next few years. I recorded 145 on the northbound goods shunting in Tuam in 1976, still in B'n'T, and an unidentified PAIR of 141s still B'n'T on the up Westport at Claremorris in 1978; days later I saw another B'n'T in Drogheda as part of a pair, the other being Supertrain. Unless you're modelling an actual year or month, and you're aware of an actual painting date for a particular loco, a mix of BnT and Supertrain is completely appropriate for any year 1972-80; this applies not only to the 121, 141 and 181 class, but (pre-1978) the extremely few remaining 101s, then only seen much on weedsprays and ballast.

Yes, we all have our preferences, and if I decide to buy some bubbles and repaint them tartan, it's nobody's business but mine, of course! However, in terms of "toy-like", I can confirm that the livery they're supplied in is exactly correct. If anything, a darker shade might be taken as resembling black, which in Irish terms certainly is "toy-like", as these "black-chassis-with-anything" model wagons certainly ARE toy like - they're a Hornby invention! While black chassis were the norm in Britain, they weren't here - and even in Britain they weren't universal. Well, Glenderg, I think I'd prefer to stand behind him.....

That's actually the all-grey, the original livery. If that pic was colour, it wouldn't look much different! All that changed later was the actual "bubble" becoming orange - the chassis stayed grey. Cement dust weathered bubble and chassis "cement-grey" which looked a bit darker when wet - in any livery. Once the actual "bubble" became cream, chassis became black (until covered in cement dust!). Nothing ever ran with black chassis and orange bubble. The "factory finish" (good description!) was just the ordinary wagon grey of the day.

How do you mean, Stevie....... All started life B'n'T but ended up in "Supertrain", then "tippex".......

Quite a few are, with many many others actually in existence, but buried under rubbish!

As I mentioned, I prefer the idea of it but chicken out of the idea of making it all. If something was available from Peco or the like, then despite the task of re-gauging everything, I think that would persuade me to go 21mm - and I'm certain others would too.

Almost all Irish turntables were in pits, thus surface ones rarely if ever authentic. The pits would usually be cement-lined, or stone for older ones, with brick edging in many cases around the top rim. And, from the 1960s anyway, even operational ones would have had a generous crop of weeds inside the pits!

Interesting..... that's not as expensive as I thought.

I'm looking at those backscenes. They could equally be Irish countryside. Does anyone know where to get, or how to go about getting scenes of actual places? I'll be looking for something that looks vaguely like West Cork or parts of Mayo, with rolling hills and fields.

Tara Junction has ten times more of interest than the entire current Irish railway system! The NIR duo look superb.

Stunning - absolutely superb job.

It's in CIE 1945-55 livery, Tony. The carriages are not authentically Irish, as they are re-liveried LMS stock, though with the commonality of Derby design, they're not unlike some ex-NCC vehicles. The loco would have run under both CIE and GSR banners. The GSR painted them the usual all-grey, and it was CIE that painted most of the class lined green.