jhb171achill

Great to see some in GSR livery. Will look great with a couple of SSM or 00 Works J15s. Any idea where you can get an approximation to the large shaded door numerals (for “1” or “3”), or a GSR crest? I’m nearly sure I’ve seen transfers somewhere for the crest. If it’s ever of any use to anyone, I have an actual mounted GSR crest which I could photo and send to anybody interested.

The thing I'm dealing with at the moment (or rather, Baseboard Dave is!) approximates to something between Westport Quay and perhaps Valencia Harbour. The idea was to have something simple, as space is somewhat limited at the moment, but which didn't look too crushed up. Still, it has to be interesting to operate prototypically. Initially I had toyed with 21mm, but settled on code 75 00 gauge. However, I still aim eventually to make an even simpler 21mm set-up, and your North Wall diagram above, and your comments, recalled this to mind. A layout based on shunting, while not everybody's cup of tea (but what is?) can provide an interesting proposition to operate. Therefore, I had thought of some sort of North City Mills type of goods yard; such a set-up could be as simple or complicated as one likes. Polloxfens Sidings as Ballysodare provide another similar interesting location, with characteristic buildings and VERY compact trackwork, including three-way points, a great rarity in Ireland.

A truly amazing layout and one of my favourites. Noel - can I ask - what's the background to the ferts you have? Can we see a closer look?

I take it that these things are on a scale of 12" to 1ft......?

If you’re in CIE times, they started painting them plain green. The only time I ever saw one though, the livery could best be described as 97% brake dust weathering, 3% badly faded green! The GSR had them maroon usually, but again they tended to get quite tatty looking.

KMCE, I take my hat off to you. Scratchbuilt GSR locos, the van, and now GSWR carriages. It's things like this which open up new areas (eras!) of the whole hobby. Not to mention the outstanding quality of workmanship and output! Superb stuff, and keep 'em coming.

Looks great so far!

What's the little GSWR-looking six wheel brake third in some of the pics? SSM kit?

Absolutely excellent stuff! I posted here at some stage that Precision Paints do the accurate dark grey. However, I realised tonight by reading an entirely unrelated email I had sent that I should have said Phoenix Paints...... possibly Roderick of 00 Works may have some too.

I couldn’t say for certain about battery boxes, Eoin, to be honest. The advice above, however, would appear to me to make perfect sense.

Anything Murphyish I have is real quality - I'm sure we won't have to worry on that score. With an A imminent, a C would be next and also without doubt we need RTR AEC cars and 80 class. These were the two "must-have" railcars for any layout wanting accuracy.

Excellent photos, josef. The upholstery at that stage was a very dark charcoal grey, rather than the somewhat garish bright blue seen in some coach models.

Wow! Superb job, and yes, had it been green, no gennies. Only in BnT.

Fair enough - good explanation, thanks! I had forgotten about the Fishguard company. I suppose the IE freight manager has little else to do these days - there’s very little else he can run down and close!

A beauty, David - well done. I would leave the roof as in real life it would be much more filthy on a beast like that. I think it looks very realistic. I got a water-damaged edition a few years ago when it came out, for next to nothing. False economy; the cover keeps falling off due to the water damage! Very irritating! Yes, a superb piece of work - though how a reference work of this stature was published with no index is beyond me!

Greetings all Never mind the problems with things being impounded after Brexit - the impounding mechanisms of the Dept.of Domestic Financial Matters, at jhb171 Towers, can impound like no other. But the day has come, and the Authorities have handed over two very nice little grey beasties from 00 Works, and a green "C", so now I can at last ogle them. Here we see the lot. When I got a model of 800 "Maedb" a few years ago, I was busy with narrow gauge 009, so I never intended to have an operational Irish 00 layout. Thus, 800's exploits would be confined to a test track, a layout owned by a friend in Clondalkin, and a glass case. I thought that a good contrast might be to display it in a little diorama or something, with as a contrast beside it, an absolutely filthy, tired looking old reliable J15 workhorse. No. 134, shown here, is the result. Both it and Maedb were SSM kits, and the level of detail and accuracy in both is a great credit to Des of Studio Scale Models. It was put together for me by Dave, who finished it as I wanted it - so grubby looking you'd feel you needed to wash your hands after touching it; indeed, the actual level of muck on it was copied from a photo of the real thing in its last days working. It's perhaps a shade too black, though really dirty CIE locos could look almost black if left neglected. As a contrast, I have the two very nice 00 Works models. Lined up together, all three really look the business. The sight of the dirty one with the clean ones recalls a story that Senior told me of seeing some sort of works shunter in the 1930s hauling a newly painted loco out of the paint shop at Inchicore - the contrast was exactly as above. On the 00 ones, which I was happy to open today, I am very satisfied with them to look at - in terms of performance, they'll get a run in a day or two on my friend's line. I will report on their running then, but anecdotal evidence suggests it will be good. The little matter of the tender springs is easy to fix, and the wheels need a good coat of grey and then grime. I don't intend to weather them as much as 134 (sighs of relief from Roderick!) but they will need to look quite grubby, as the layout will be set in the 1955-65 period. The "C" was another nice little item I picked up a while back - it will match the black one I have within the same period. Both, of course, are Silverfox. This pair of "C"s have acquitted themselves very well operationally, being good at slow speed and of a solid heavy weight. Hopefully the attached photos will give an idea of the external appearance of both the SSM and 00 ones. Naturally, the plant pot behind them is in entirely the wrong livery....... So, all round, a good Christmas!

I'm correcting myself here - I meant the N.E.T. bogie tankers, not the red and silver Asahis - they didn't have bogies, obviously! Duhhh....

It’s one thing telling tourists that we don’t have rain here, but “liquid sunshine”. But that snow can’t be explained away as easily!

Many thanks gents. What I had in mind (though it'll have to take back seat to "Dugort Harbour" is a "small steps first" thing - probably consisting of a G class or a C, plus a few trucks, shunting inside something like Polloxfens Mills at Ballysodare, or something like the T & C roadside tramway. Maybe a fictitious halt along it with one siding. The festive season, meantime, will be spent on the chocolate and Guinness diet.

What does anyone think is the best type of sleeper, and where can they be had?

Yes, indeed - lets hope that the authorities crack down really hard on them. Others should not be encouraged!

I think they’ve arrested two local people.

What was the purpose that these drone flyers, however deludedly, hoped to achieve?

Agreed! Happy Christmas to all here!

Don't IE still own Rosslare port? You'd think that ports like Rosslare, Waterford AND Cork would now be looking towards France with "land bridge" traffic in sight, which currently goes through Britain. And, naive that I am, I would have thought that it would have made sense for the government to be right in there trying to bolster these ports - AND rail freight.