jhb171achill

Exactly. They're like a mini digger in car park trying to excavate the Grand Canyon. In one afternoon.

"Chieftain" railways; a new train-station-operating-company for customer trains to Derrylondonderry?

Containers over this route would only have been in the last few years. This, of course, was primarily what warranted the inclusion of such pics in the book!

GSR crimson days: interiors - varnished dark oak (1st & 2nd & some 3rds), mid brown painted to waist level, dark cream above for internal 3rds of older vintage, e.g. 6 wheelers. Curtains in firsts!

Only seeing this now. It's exactly as Mayner says. While it wasn't absolutely every train which was like that, probably the vast majority were for the reasons stated above.

I think that yoke was with the original (1970) Hunslet-hauled "Enterprise". Like all on his layout, that model is an absolute beauty.

Eh? How come? How new are they?

Haha, Noel, fair enough!! No prizes for guessing my reply to your poll! Actually, such polls must be helpful to our dedicated band of commercial model and kit makers..

Interesting to see (rare!) recent repaints still with the NIR logo, some 20 years after it was superceded by the Translink device!

For GSR, I wonder if there's a preference for the initial extremely dark "crimson lake" (a dark purpley brown), chocolate & cream, or LMS-shade maroon?

Interesting old carriages. The middle one is an ancient CBSCR one, and the other two equally elderly GSWR stock. Essential for a West Cork layout! Worsley Works GSWR six wheel kits would suit perfectly.

The loco, posters and shed are really top notch! Well done!

Thank you very much, Noel. I'll pass that on to Barry too.

Ironic......nowadays, definitely footbridge only. In the days when those things were made, across the track was fine if (a) you were late, or if (b) you wanted a gricing photo!

Very true.

Might be worth advising the restoration committee there (maybe they know) that occasionally such things crop up at auctions. I know someone who has one (though he's not for selling it!)

Ah! I see that now, Minister. Pity there are no GSWR six wheelers to go there too! Yes, the FB is a standard MGWR type. They had another curved design as well.

Perfect! Roll on the Murphy one, though I wouldn't want anything on a layout that was "safety elved" in appearance!

I know this is a small thing, but just in case anyone's interested, the station sign background would be black, not green, and the lettering much thicker. Other than that, CIE green with cream was the order of the day for stations, going back to the GSR era.

Mallow would be GSWR design - there were differences.

Was it partially vandalised? Hope interior fittings all still ok....

There can't have been too many like that, Minister. I'm afraid I don't know what the "R" meant, but I would think you are right. Sounds like a one-off.

Many thanks, Eoin. "Rails Through Connemara" is now finished and with the publisher (after many moons of putting it off!). He has a big queue of stuff ahead of it, though, and it will probably be on the shelves towards the end of the year or a late as Easer next. As the name suggests, it deals with the Clifden branch and Shantalla Quarry Siding in Galway.

That little layout is superb. Others have discussed on this forum recently what "how-to" hints, videos or demonstrations they'd like to see. Perhaps one on how you get ground surface scenery so convincingly realistic? Anyone agree?

Dull would be right - these plates were made of cast iron, steel or white metal, never brass (except on the 800 class). Not only that, but the rims were painted cream, which would not have shone, or in some cases just rubbed down to bare metal (rim and numerals) with standard grey background. Thus, the duller it looks, the more accurate. Given the brassy finish of these plates, in fact some dumbing down of the shininess is appropriate.