DiveController

Don't feel bad, George. In the western time zones, I feel like I'm always last to know even if I check in at 5am when I get up!

That's pretty impressive if he did. The sand filler pipes wouldn't be a deal breaker either ways since so few people may ever have even noticed that judging by the thread here. Look ing forward to the second batch a little more but I'm probably going to get some IE also. Lots of silver green and black As on the way too though.... EDIT: Actually looked at the CADs again and since the sand fillers are on the Cad but not on the pictures of the IE locos I think we can assume they're there there for at least the Grey & yellow livery.

ok, I put the Royal Mail tracking number from IRM Shopify into USPS and no update other than 'Acceptance" in UK 10 days ago. I'll sit it out and hope. I have another package (nor IRM) stuck in 'IndiaNoPlace', IN

It'll be hard to return from where I am so fingers crossed. Of course they gotta turn up first ....

"Oh, yes it ....." sorry, got carried away there with all that panto business

How do you even know that? I have the Post Office GB tracking number on my Shopify app which gets me as fast as Peterborough. Usually there is another tracking number for the international section but I have no idea where to find it? I think USPS have dispensed with tracking altogether, a package that was delivered days ago is still "in Illinois"

Unfortunately, when you divide by 76.2 (cubed) you'll find you're still waiting for your pint About 0.9 of a pint, you'll be needing to talk to the barman on that one!

Watch the birdie!

The link that Fran refers to above gives you a good idea of what was in what and when it changed. I expect that when they get round to it, they may have a guide on each model as to when to use each chip e.g. received 547 engine circa 197x etc.

Well my keg liner is somewhere but with Royal Mail tracking it seems to have disappeared into the bowels of the earth, (or freighter or something). Undoubtedly it will resurface somewhere in the US at which point it will hopefully NOT be transferred to the US Postal service whose tracking system is equally woeful as the Royal Mail's. Shopify isn't any more helpful as it probably relies on these. 17Track is usually pretty good for most carriers but again dependent on the primary carriers tracking. I have three packages total (not from IRM) 'In Transit' somewhere around the globe. One was due today ...... Crickets.....chirp, chirp........ Bloody irritating but, anyway, hopefully they'll all turn up at some point.

Correct. Only the As didn't have an upper range limit, anything above 1200ho was an A I think John quoted the cutoffs above which a loco fell into that class unless it reached a higher one as in the case of the C201 class which were uprated to about 1100hp and hence became B201s

The sand boxes seem to have been superfluous to Irish operations and were removed pretty quickly (albeit I don't know why they would NEED to remove them quickly per se) B122 had lost the sand box fillers August 1962 & B121 by 1963 and some others including B134 for certain while still in grey & yellow livery, It was replaced by a small square blanking plate A little more delving into the BnT livery show that B130 and B127 retained them into the early seventies although harder to see on that livery then when in the grey! B131 & 135 may also have retained them to 1969-1975 but the photos as less clear

I know the IE models are coming first but I have to say that my favorite will be the grey and yellow livery which I think might be in the second batch if I recall Maybe posted on the site before ( I don't recall) but to get back on track and whet the appetite, look at this lovely baby in 1961 at Athlone (one of Ernie's)

Sorry, John, sad news and surprising that there was not enough support for the open wagon even if the grain was maybe a less mainstream. Not sure what we're going to run with all the early A class and grey 121s pretty imminent now. Thanks for all the work you put into it. K

if the back scene doesn't repeat is there a non-descript area (level with little changing detail) that you could photocopy and splice into the scene?

Aaah! yes, you're about 2 inches shorter there. Reminds me of the old ads on the telly promoting the move from imperial measures to metric "Could you show me a meter?" You got about 8-9% extra with a meter but three meters not quite enough to make 10ft Anyway, more related to trains that metric equivalents... https://ifiplayer.ie/cie-rail-presenter/

My 'local' model shop, Dave, only 3 hours drive at 90mph+ on the I-10. It's not a brick and mortar as such ... Agree. He's the official US MM distributor if I recall. You can generally get what you want from there but at a premium. Cheaper to import even if you have to pay international shipping and customs, unless you can't find it of course

and located in your neck on the woods too...

I'm not sure who'd built one on commission at the moment or if its possible to put a chip in it

This is a little cracker. It's VERY much on my list with the A1. Roll on September. SOooo glad you guys went all out and did all the liveries!!

Little beauty!

Interesting observation, I had not noticed that, although the original (single) red marker was on the outside of the white, and the reds seem to be mostly on the outside (when fitted in the usual position instead of auxiliaries) during the square incandescent PP era. There are photos of 124 with red square incandescents on the outside and vice versa in different photos at that time. I suppose it didn't as long as the wiring on the prototype was correct!

You'll have to hang out with Mr Bracken. I'll be running mine regardless. Beauty! I agree but the MM models are little beauties in their own right and although new level of sophistication is present the A class, I'd much prefer to see a new model than a redo of the GMs Probably won't burn this one! I wish I had but still happy she's nearly here. Love the silver personally, roll on greens and blacks

Steady on @jhb171achill, you might be a bit out of practice Wouldn't go for a whole beer, maybe just a 'half one'?

Very valuable thread, learned a lot about grain, ....before I was mostly interested in grain products