DiveController

That’s very interesting, John. Certainly food for thought. It would be interesting to have different versions of the van in different liveries. Were there any variations in the TPO?

Order submitted to IRM. Good luck to the RPSI!

I'm sure given enough interest @Arran that c-rail would consider a run of these

The availability of good models alone will create a market, marketing in some form to bring it to the knowledge/interest of that potential larger market is what will really sell the product. Let's face it, you can't buy something that's not available and very few will look for kit etc just to 'get into' the Irish outline. Parents or grandparents not going to go around scratchbuilding for months before one's birthday. After all, many of us as children bought British outline because that was what was available for you or you parents to buy as gifts etc. Those childhood experiences combined with the greater variety/different rolling stock available to the maturing young modeller in British outline is probably what prompts that interest in some of the modelers on here including some of the IRM themselves. I have no real interest in British outline (anymore) but it doesn't mean I don't have the occasion APT or Canadian loco hanging about among my Baby GMs. I'm sure a few on here have an ICE or some Marklin/Roco stuff. I think you make a good point about the expectation from a European market when coaches with lighting, opening doors and real biscuits for the passengers is maybe not the standard but certainly available (maybe not the biscuits). You'd have to say that the IRM products are certainly good enough to compete, so who knows.

The misinformation is the worst part as you say. I though mine had been delivered to the wrong place as thats the info that the Royal Mail put up. Turns out my USPS post was correct and it hadn't entered their system at all. Keg are sold out now so I really hope to get this. I had some other stuff in there too , some Mk2d etc. Been so long I've almost forgotten

Yeah, that's frustrating. I hoping to hear when mine will be reshipped and then get stuck in this queue again. That what you get when you allow 4% of the world's population to have over quarter of the COVID19 cases I suppose

Wow! Sneaks up quickly

that would be great, Project 61.5 and fill a big void behind the most liveries of the A class not to mention the 121. However there are other other that might be considered more popular 'household names' if coaches are finally on the way. The other stumbling block is the issue outlined by IRM themselves that they may not be able to consider doing niche products which may not sell out before delivery or shortly afterwards "brake vans do not run in rakes" etc. Neither do EGVs, brake coaches, etc. Laminates do but it was the variety of laminate body shells that added interest to that period. We'll wait and see, fingers crossed, tees crossed and eyes crossed

Does anyone know when the first batch of 3 or 4 121s are due, I understand it is the grey & yellow livery due to some paint issues? MM website Update May 2020 Class 121 loco We are please to advise that the 121 locos will become available in stockists on a phased basis commencing June 2020

Still having problem getting a view further west gonna try again before sunrise tomorrow. Lovely shots though. Many thanks

Are they RPSI 134s due to arrive simultaneously with the 1st batch of MM 121s? It's probably worth mentioning that RPSIs cannot really be ordered simultaneously with other items on the website as it throws up the In Stock/Preorder warning if you order with other 121s

Great news, John. I'll take a few but not sure on what just yet. I was lookin at the tin van wallpaper above and there seem to be a huge number of variants the the three vehicles on there not just the tool van but in BnT alone.

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We discussed sound damping from the baseboard maybe 4-5 years ago and restoration of sound conduction to the baseboard by the PVA glue. Great to see you using the closed cell foam over the baseboard to start. That should make it very quiet indeed. Nice job wiring the electrofrog points to have the entire frog set to one polarity with the switch. Great groundwork!

A very fine layout indeed. Sorry to see it go but glad it has a permanent home. Well done, sir!

1st & 4th wagons are converted shales as you can see from the original horizontal ribbing

Lovely shot of the 181 in BnT with the distinctive 7 vents below the headlight

Jhb is probably right, I was referring to IE and not IR era and couldn't recall when they were added exactly.

Actually, some of the shales were converted to Taras, two as clarified by Fran below To become shales they'd have to lose the roof and you'd have to add some ribbing along the side (You may not have detailing in the inside) Both 32' long, similar bogies

I think the ends are black with the red warning square number etc

Shale wagons would have used the Ballybrophy to Limerick line much more and were stored in Limerick after 2009 when the mine traffic ceased

Well done John. Probably the closest shot https://www.geograph.ie/photo/2101427

The MM 141 & 181 classes were turned out over a decade ago with good detailing and excellent running (particularly slow running characteristics). By comparison with the some models in the last couple of years, there may be a few differences. They do come DCC ready but not sound ready insofar as they do not have an inbuilt speaker which functions as soon as a compatible sound chip is installed. A sugar cube speaker seems to function best and can be wired in although it is not PnP. They have directional marker/running lights and headlights which change automatically with the direction of travel but do not have cab lighting like the MM071 class (iirc). The rear lights of a lead loco or the front lights of a trailing loco can be turned off if two are running in consist but the switches are somewhat inaccessible as they inside the body shell versus the larger 071 class which followed where they were located underneath the loco and could be switched with a fingernail or small screwdriver blade. To access the interior the 141/181 body shell has to be removed from the chassis which means very carefully detaching the handrails along the loco sides from the cabs, and prizing the body off which can be slightly tricky. It comes apart as the main body with one cab as one piece and the other cab as a second piece. When replaced, some found that the cab did not fit back as tightly to the chassis as factory fitted and had a tiny (<1mm) gap which was a minor cosmetic issue. In short, it's not a matter of deciding to link two locos up for a quick spin and then detach the consist again. When new, they usually came with a 'bag of bits' which included horns, skirt (to be 'blown up', or just fitted where the coupler is at the 'non functional' end) and various hoses. These are fitted by the user as needed and enhance the look of the loco but may be missing when purchased secondhand. One of the members did a nice tutorial on how to fit the front skirt and then have the coupler come through it but the photos have disappeared from the site when Photobucket withdrew support from linking to other websites. More recent offerings are often sound compatible out of the box, with better access to switches e.g. through a roof panel so there is not need to remove the body shell, have cab lighting and maybe some additional cosmetic nuances. With all that being said most will agree that there are VERY fine locos. If you cannot acquire what you need from Dave then take solace in the upcoming MM 121 which seem to have all the perks

Conversion to 'Tippex' merely involved addition of the white lines as transfers to the ST livery and additional of the 'set of points' IR logo.