jhb171achill

In reality, for anyone modelling UTA steam, weathering is as good as obligatory! In the case of the last few years, extreme weathering!

Still there? Tried to PM....

I wonder have any of our number ever given serious thought to what should line the hedges and walls and fences of modelled railway lines? Driving back to Dublin today from Westport I took the long way round in order to take photos of the old Ballaghaderreen station and the museum at Kiltimagh station. I noticed, driving miles through today's pleasantly sunny country, the vibrant gorse and turf bog areas, the light brownish reeds contrasting with the surprisingly rich green grass, and the stone walls covered in multiple shades of mottled lichens and moss. Brambles abounded too; later, of course, the rich red of fuschia and purple heather will make an appearance. It struck me that accurate reproduction of these would very much enhance any layout. Any thoughts?

Very nice! Re decals, I think the white letters / tan broken wheel version* is available now? (* correct for locomotives, desert sand buses, and "H" and "Palvan" type goods stock when painted grey. (white on others!)). Excellent work....

That is most certainly a rarity! Thanks for sharing, Ernie!

PM sent

....or a K1? ;-) Excellent series of pics. I travel on it regularly and there's surprisingly much still to be seen. Pity it's not DSER steam locos, though, as it was when my father went to school in the line.....

More likely a member of staff in it. As stated above, a whole host of incompatibility issues (as well as H & S re. gangways) would have prevented such things. In the "olden days", no such restrictions applied, which is why it's becoming so popular with modellers. ANY wooden coach from any company, Cravens, laminates of all varieties, Bredins and Park Royals could all be in the same train. BR and Dutch vans interchangeable, along with the various types of "tin van".

Fascinating! A great way to show how the hobby develops. Wish I had photos of mine going back to age 12 but I have NONE of the first, its extension, the second, third and fourth. Hopefully soon No. 5 May feature. Plans in hand.

That's what Donald said about a wall. Think I'd rather have the ballast wagons!

Pm sent

Fri 5th - I'll keep that free.

I've seen a pic of an AEC set somewhere - from memory either Wisht Caark or the DSER - trailing two "H" vans.

That's the Saturday that some of us will be in Limerick on the RPSI tour - what about Friday 5th?

So - a "meetup"? Suitable dates - anyone?

Interesting, John, I didn't know that. The markings below the number look like (possibly) the weight markings of tons, hundredweights and quarters: "T C Q" (Was it "quarters"? The "Q" doesn't seem to download into the grey memory....)

Yes, Dive, it was the post-1955 green (as seen on A & C class locos, laminates, etc). The lettering below the number I am not sure about - but it may be something like "only to run between Mallow (or Cork?) and Tralee" or "7 tons" or something like that. The P&T logo or initials would probably be more likely to appear on an actual TPO.

Those look absolutely fantastic! Good to see the (absolutely) correct shade of brown rather than the oft-seen unrealistically reddish which seems to appear quite often these days. When I started modelling (about 1969!) in order to achieve anything Irish simply meant repainting a BR class 33 in orange and black, or a "Hymek" in NIR maroon; and repainting BR Mk. 1's in orange / black or maroon / blue. Wagons....forget it. Now, we see purpose built locomotives and carriages forst and foremost. But freight vehicles on so many otherwise excellent layouts are still in 1970s mode, with (what seems to be) most goods trains on most layouts consisting of repainted (or not even repainted) standard BR stuff from messrs Hornby, Dapol or Bachmann. This is partly due to a lesser level of knowledge among most enthusiasts about non passenger vehicles, but mostly to the almost total lack of anything prototypical until very recent years. Now we have Leslie's stiff as well as the above; we have Irish Freight Models and many others who are producing absolutely superb stuff, and it has to be said at financial risk to themselves in covering costs. We see the result: greater accuracy. In the past, a purist might have scoffed at a crudely repainted BR "33" hauling BR Mk 1's in hand-painted CIE livery - but there were no other options. Now we see Mayner's carriages, those of Worsley and others, as well as the mighty Murphy stuff, with scale UGs, 141s, 121s, 201s, etc etc etc, but in the adjacent siding British Rail banana vans with CIE logos, "sharks", "walruses" and whatever sit awaiting their 141. No other options until now, but here we go! Hats off to Glenderg & Co, but not forgetting those others who are pioneering the final stage in a process which will make reversion to non-Irish types unnecessary. You all deserve our fullest support.

No probs, John - it's the tin van (luggage van) I'm primarily interested in. Maybe you might PM me in due course.

If the forum wants to do a "meetup" type table at some event in the Dublin area, I would be delighted to attend and meet some of our expert modellers here...it would also serve to bring more people on here, in order to increase the "pool of expertise"; and who might learn from the existing top-class modellers already here.

I'd probably be interested in a Mayner one if anyone has a 2nd hand one.....

A beautiful job overall!

What sort of price, post included?

Well, if that's the work of a "complete novice"........ fair play to ye! Excellent stuff!