Noel

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.

Think it was released last year shortly after the RPSI realised their (MM assisted) royal blue craven set. Think it is the same coach but may have inherited the same wobble as the RPSI sets. Different plastic composition on the bogie pivot mounts, but MM released some sort of fix for this, a sort of washer, or sprung washer. Marks Models had them.

I suspect it’s the IE/IR tippex livery EGV that’s rare as hens teeth

Hi Guys, will A classes be available at the show this weekend, or will painted production samples be on display?

Playing trains earlier this evening. B141 and 182 in consist circa 1974, B121 about to depart with typical loose coupled goods train. Weathered 182 has had a LokSound V5 chip installed from wheeltappersdccsound (http://www.wheeltappersdccsounds.co.uk) who now have an extensive number of Irish diesel and Irish steam sound decoder projects. The LokSound V5 has some nice driving features including coasting, and prototypical braking. Functions for rail clank, and cascading wagon coupling snatch as a loose coupled train starts to depart as the slack in each 3 link wagon coupling is taken up and the train length comes into tension. Also a reciprocal sound function for cascading buffer clash as a loose coupled wagon train comes to a halt with each wagon closing the gap moving down the length of the train. B121 about to depart with loose coupled pick up goods train. B141 and 182 in consist. B121 + B141 in consist. 182 coupled up to the goods train. B188 station pilot lurks in the background at Woodvale Junction

Ah the mainland, Germany? That's a bit far to get to Stillorgan or Bray by road alright. Agreed. The CIE era had fabulous non-uniform coach formations and the 6 inch single white stripe reeks of the 1960s and 1970s before the modern era uniform m2 and later mk3's stole the show. I suppose its all down to the era one has nostalgia memory for.

PS: Just fitted the latest Wheeltappers 121 sound decoder and it sounds fabulous, loaded with driving functionality, rail clank, flange sequel, Irish horns, and a fabulous cascading coupling snatch sound sequence simulating the start off of a loose coupled wagon train as the slack in each coupling is taken up moving progressively towards the back of the train, the reciprocal sound is available as a cascading buffer clash sequence as a loose coupled wagon train comes to a halt as each wagon buffers up moving down the length of the train. The sound is on the latest LokSound V5 decoders which include coasting and realistic braking for prototypical driving. Love driving with these sound projects.

Try Marks. There was plenty of new stock released into the retail sector a few years ago. Otherwise swap meets like Stillorgan or Bray Wheelers a good place to buy them at fair prices, they tend to be price inflated on eBay. They are not as rare as orange roofed mk2d IE/IE tippex coaches .

Cheers Seamus. Here's a link to a video of Wheeltappers B101 class sound project. http://www.wheeltappersdccsounds.co.uk/page59/index.html

Contact Wiggy formerly of this parish (Neil) @ www.wheeltappersdccsounds.co.uk He probably may be able to make up a custom project for you using a BR class 24 primer mover combined with Irish horns. Top guy who's made plenty of custom Irish sound projects for me. Recently received a 121 chip from him using the latest LokSound V5 chip. It sounds and drives great.

Agree. Results may be swayed by advertising spend with the mag rather than exclusively merit.

Looks incredible guys. One would almost like to buy such an unpainted pre-production model as a collectors item. It looks fabulous. You guys might set up a sort of IRM history museum display case in HQ with all the various pre-production samples on display.

Fabuously constructed video sequence blending models and full size. Excellent piece of modelling, filming and editing.

Hi Fran, apologies I'm a little confused, just to clarify so any existing pre-orders may not include a speaker, is that correct, or have I misunderstood the above? Thanks. Noel

Sounds great. 1xGrey + 1xB&T + a pair nose2nose in IR would do very nicely. Really looking forward to these locos. No doubt the A will also be exceptional but the distinctive shape of these iconic GMs really wets the appetite.

Thank you for the heads up. Sounds great. It'll be well worth the wait. Dave do you know what the livery release plan is? (eg grey + IE/IR first, then B&T and ST a few months later, etc?) Well yes double heading is what these locos were born to do. Happy days 2019 is going to be an expensive if not an explosion of new Irish locos. You think CIE locos and all the GMs fill the memories. Is it true the windscreen wipers work?

Mixed feelings. On the one hand a railway line closed for 34 years could attract significant summer tourist traffic using a rail car, on the other hand as a greenway it could bring many 000s of tourists into the area and many millions as has proven the case in Westport and Dungarvan. But how many of these greenways do we need? Some are scenic and attract numbers, others are through boring midland bogland devoid of attractive scenery. One suspects a Cork to Youghal line might be successful extending the Cork commuter belt from Middleton to Youghal and also generate summer tourism traffic to young especially with the longer shoulder end of the seasons. I’ve cycled both of the two principal greenways and a few boring ones in the middle of nowhere connected to nowhere of interest. On balance having a rail connection to Cork for all year round commuters as well as seasonal tourist traffic would be my leaning if the numbers stack up.

That looks so good, you’d almost want to have one in that pre-production finish and colour with the brass buffers as a collectors item.

Wow. An idea, a dream was born only 6 years ago and now look what you guys have managed to produce. Looks truly stunning and better looks a stunningly precise runner. Love the low speed clips. Well done guys, what a journey.

Sublime as ever Gerry. Love looking at the photos as this developed. Your attention to detail and micro scenes works really well.

Interesting. They will need to acquire some quality precision built and nicely finished GM locos to run on it. It just wouldn't have the same impact if it had the usual blue or green BR locos on it.