Noel

WMRC very professional as ever. Love that layout. So many detailed micro scenes crammed into such a small area.

Congrats. Enjoy. B165 in that CIE Black'n'Tan livery IMHO is the iconic livery for those 1962 delivered GM locos. Some nice Cravens in there too.

Thanks for photos Dave. 3173 looks good. Do you have a Price?

Interesting. Will they have the proper Br Mk1 BCK window and door arrangement like RPSI 3173? Or just maroon versions of their current BSK variant of the Mk1 GSV (ie like 3185)?

Super story scenes as ever. Reeks of atmosphere. Can almost imagine damp dew on the locos outside the shed and on the ground.

Here's hoping one day they can get funding for electrification of some main lines, especially Cork-Dublin.

Its not great but a bit of light fun.

A bit naff with some daft animations such as land slides, volcanos, rocket launches, dinosaurs eating animals from passing trains, James Bond being flung from a train, etc. Episode one below, but the while series is on Youtube. Wonder if an Irish club will ever have a go in future series. Rivet counters will cringe.

Superb. Love the scenic details.

After seeing the pre-production sample of IRM/AS Deltic at the SDMRC show last weekend I had to order a BR green livery version. It will haul some of my maroon BR ex-LMS stock. The level of detail is simply beyond that ever seen on a British Outline model loco. https://accurascale.co.uk/collections/class-55-deltic/products/d9013-the-black-watch

Ah Dave, yellow stuff, hard working but unloved best run at night in the dark so the public never have see it.

Really interesting at the end of that video about 27m50s was 10mk2a's sandwiched between two modified dutch heating vans behind 074. My nostalgia memory was that trains seemed to be much longer 20-30 years ago and even more coaches in the 60s and 70s.

Yes recently retro livery repainted 071 and 073 frequently haul RPSI specials, and their diesel rail tours.

It can be a dilemma alright. There is a certain attraction to keeping a shiny new plastic model just as it arrived in its box, untouched and pristine. However the colours of some of the plastics while accurate when the stock was new, can look rather 'toyish' if not even a little fisher price until they get some weathering. Weathering can be very subjective, and its all a matter of personal taste, personally I like light weathering so the model doesn't look like a new Tri-ang toy from the 1980s, but rather just a little used in traffic and the original bright colours toned down just enough to create the visual impression of respectfully aged like a fine wine. An example is the fine Murphy Model mk2d super train coaches. The bright orange roof visually screams, but a light weathering transforms them, especially as models we spend more time looking down at the roofs, whereas in real life we view most rolling stock from side on and rarely see roofs. Each on to their own preferences. Consider it this way, soiling a pristine model by weathering it sort of makes it unique and perhaps even more collectable. The first few times it is scary as hell, but worth it in the end. Suggest folks buy a few cheap rolling stock items at swop meets like Stillorgan or Bray (eg €5 old BR tri-ang or lIma coach) and experiment on them before laying a finger on a €50 Murphy model coach.

Similarly was there a few times near the end as I was working nearby, but wasn't overly impressed. Bought some signal kits if I remember, after examining an A class kit that seemed to be a plastic bag of badly cast white metal bits that didn't fit well together. Yet some master builders produced some fine models from these bags of what looked like metal off cuts. Bless their patience, must have been filing and filling for many many hours to produce the half decent models they did in the end. But I could appreciate it was a sort of mystical Aladdins cave that many made long distance pilgrimages to, that sold all manner of modelling bits and pieces. A lost paradise for some. For me W J Owens in Bray was the model railway halt of choice after the Hobby Horse in Rathfarnham shopping centre closed, and the little shop on D'Olier street.

Getting back to slow progress on Gort. Some more work on the platforms before gluing the dense foam surface to the baseboards. These platforms will sit on top of the foam so they will be correct height above the track for rolling stock.

Watch out for those ladies convex mirrors in Bathrooms. A disaster just waiting to happen. We were very luck 10 years ago. Needless to say the mirror is now kept in a cupboard all year round

Really appreciate the razor thin roof sheeting as per the prototype. Its so perfectly thin its almost translucent.. Look at all those holes. Somebody in a factory has to manually insert detail into every single one of those holes (eg grab rails, walkway rails, etc). View of the access hatch to the PCB. Looks like putting decoders in these models is a lot easier than the watch maker skills needed to do so for the original 141/181s. Paddy mentioned the locos come with speakers installed, so all that's needed is to plug in a decoder. Like the brass detailing and the grab rails even on the forward side grills. Easy access to dip switches for lighting arrangements. Lots of pre-production parts to look at and examine

In fairness some folks just don't ask retailers for deal prices or discounts. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, just ask, the worst that can happen is they say no. I've always found Marks very responsive to deals on volume be it track or multiple rolling stock items. My last big order they matched a box shifters price for a rake of coaches. Yea, hooray the 121 is ever closer. Had a close up look at pre-production samples on Murphy Models stand today at the SDMRC show, and the 121 reeked of detail and quality. Love the look of it. And it has that iconic see through the body grill. Loco comes with a speaker installed, so all ready for a sound decoder to be popped in via the easy to access roof hatch. Rotating axle covers, and super detailing, etc. Well worth the wait. Looks like the 121 will be the best yet from MM. Hats off to PM.

Saw you on PW stand but didn't want to interrupt as you looked engrossed in conversation and you were not standing upside down on your hands!

Thanks for the photos and video clips @jhb171achill. Every single one of them was right way up too.

IRM had some of their new fabulous looking models on show. Bogie 42ft fertiliser wagon, 42ft container flat, and a fabulous looking 42ft Guinness keg wagon along with some juicy looking containers and their incredible looking A class and their BR Deltic. Fertiliser wagon looks stunning. Love the way the doors are modelled and the chassis detail. The Guinness loads looked precise and superb too. IRM A class locos some pre-production painted samples. The green A46 peaked my fancy. Murphy Models 121 class with its see through the body grills looks like another Murphy Models master piece. Best looking loco yet from that iconic stable. Some superb detailing on the pre-production prototype. Definitely worth the wait. Can't wait to get a few for the layout to consist with 141s and a pair nose2nose.

WMRC's Little Siddington O gauge layout was really impressive, track plan, train movements, sound, functioning signalling fully lit, scenics, buildings and 3D figures of LPP (Layout Little People) Stunning end of the station. Look at those o gauge hand made working signals by micro servos and custom made PCBs by WMRC's signalling guru Dave McCabe. Any train driver/operator found guilt of a SPAD is tried by a WMRC tribunal and likely to be sentenced to operating modern era 00 gauge stock. Look at the detail on the water spot, even the scale heater stove to stop it freezing in winter and the overflow collector The rakes of lit coaches fully populated with pax and close coupled with connected gangways was really impressive as were the steam sound locos hauling them interspersed with beefy western region diesels hauling freight. The signal like the others was scratch built using 3D printed parts, brass and micro servos to operate each arm. Love that bridge and the view down the station lines. Lots of exciting train movements. All controlled by Z21 DCC system

It's good to support your local sheriff, but at least give them the chance to offer you a discounted price. I've found local model shops will often match or come close to UK box shifter prices, but only if you ask them. If you don't ask you'll never know. In the past I've bought most my model railway kit from the likes of Hattons, because of keen prices and speed of low cost delivery to Ireland but I've asked local Irish retailers if they'd like to match the prices (excluding the postage) and they did, so the last few large purchases of track and rolling stock have been from Irish retailers in Euro. None of this nonsense selling stuff with GBP prices on the boxes at Irish events (It is illegal anyway in Ireland to advertise prices of merchandise in a foreign currency such as sterling). Anyway post brexit the honeymoon is over for Irish modellers buying from the UK, expect delivery delays, customs, duty and vat issues. Luckily I've got my last bit of stock from the likes of Peters Spares and Hattons before Oct 31st makes a mess of everything we were once used to. I've found dealing with amazon.de, Modelbahnship Lippe and Kieskemper in Germany excellent, and its all Euros. Postage can be an issue from Germany, but post brexit that may improve.

Does anybody know if there is a cafe or catering inside the exhibition (for visitors, not just the usual exhibitors private canteen). Somewhere to sit down and chat with folk.