Noel

Do Bachmann not have a larger market share in the BR outline market? I must try buying one of the newer Hornby steam locos to see if they improved, especially in the chassis stakes where they used to be poor.

Started working through converting my Bachmann oil wagons. These were easy to convert, just a straight plug'n'play swap out of the TLCs and plug in no 18 Kadee into the NEM pocket that was at the correct height. I have found Bachmann and Dapol wagons the most reliable as regards correct height NEM pockets which is essential if uncoupling is to work reliably. I didn't have to bend any trip pins. The Dapol wagon NEM pockets can droop a little and may need screw tightening to remove sloppy play. I have found coaches from all manufacturers the worst offenders as regards incorrectly positioned NEM pockets, or no NEM pockets at all. All MM coaches required tweaking or minor surgery of some kind to fit kadee couplings at the correct height for automatic uncoupling and interoperability with other kadee fitted stock. Easy to do and worth the hassle. Hopefully within another few months all of my layout stock will have been converted to kadee couplings which will allow me to mix and marshall any combination of wagons from any vendor.

@WaYSidE FYI, 121 locos changed the course of Irish railway history. In the 1950s CIE had originally ordered 94 metropolitan vickers (60 x 001/A + 34 x 201/C class) locos to replace the steam fleet which where in effect failures as they were underpowered and proved unreliable. The fifteen US manufactured GM 121 class locos effectively caused CIE to switch from UK manufactured diesels to the reliable US diesels. The little 121s were switchers (ie shunnters in vast US yards), hence only one cab, so when CIE went to order more locos (ie the 141 class) they requested a second cab be added (ie so turn tables would not be needed as crews did not like running bonnet first). The 141 was essentially the same loco as the 121. The later 181 being a more powerful variant with the EMD 645 engine. The A/C class Metrovics were later re-engined with GM EMD motors becoming more powerful and more reliable unlike the original A class crossley powered heaps. Thus the A classes ended up having useful service lifes in the end right up to the mid 90s. CIE continued with GM when the 071 came along and finally the 201 classes, but it all started with that first order for fifteen 121 class locos.

It is in the original grey and yellow livery, just looks silver because it is dirty and weathered.

The end result is fabulous. Great improvements. I love the atmospheric yet subtle weathering effects. Enjoy.

Brilliant that’s good news. It was an iconic livery which some 121s managed to hang on to for quite a few years in the glorious Black’n’tan era. I remember travelling to Galway behind a grey 121, departing Amiens street or Westland row via old route Mullingar, moate, Athlone, etc. Some excellent nostalgic YouTubes of that livery running on southern routes. In those days pax trains often had a mix of the silver coaches with some flying snail green coaches and early B&T single stripe coaches. Great for modelling variety

The tiny gangway just goes to show how short people may effect border rail traffic. Little people will find it easier to be smuggled (non political humour). On a serious note LPPs May become more expensive to import from UK located model shops, but they could perhaps be easily smuggled seated within model coach resprays. Tara junction may see an increase in model RPSI services in order to ensure Noel retains enough LPP actors for his Tara junction railway life studio productions.

I confess. I am a middle aged big child! And my inner child loves messing around with electric model toys.

Cheers. Its been staring back at me all week looking for attention. But It'll have to wait a few days yet till I'm strong enough to use a razor saw, files and a scalpel.

Oh yummy

The toys, v modellers dilemma saga was interesting. Thomas saved not just Hornby but the whole uk market 20 years ago. Good to see they got their man back. The IRM guys must have watched with interest looking into their future through a crystal ball. For childhood nostalgia reasons I have an emotional attachment and subliminal loyalty to Hornby through my childhood exposure to Hornby-Dublo, then Triang-Hornby and finally Hornby Railways, but their scale quality nose dived after Double and they got left behind in the 80s and 90s when Bachmann started raising the bar and producing much more desirable locos and rolling stock. Hornby still had that table top layout appeal, but the locos were very crude compared to Bachmann then. They seem to have caught up again. I'd hate to see them go under, especially Airfix. Half the countries engineers and industrial product designers got the bug from building airfix kits, working with meccano and horny trains. I call a spade a spade, my models are toys, and in our house everybody calls them Dad's toy train set. Trying to dress it up as something else or more high fluting by calling it 'railway modelling' seems a little odd! I play by making and driving my toy trains, and happy as a bunny when doing so, call it modelling, or play I care not. PS: I found the two month build of the airfix plane fascinating. Unpaid, his eyes must have been ruined by the end of it not to mention his stress levels. As James May often points out there were a lot of 'friendly men with beards' in both programmes.

I hope RPSI go for the IR points logo rather than the weird IE 3 pin plug logo on the restored 134 assuming it will retain an orange livery, or even CIE broke wheel on B134 if reliveried into B&T. BTW, I don't see any space inside that loco for a speaker cradle, be nice if it made some noise. But the buffer beam detailing bits seem just as good as on the MM models.

Perhaps they might be at some big event in the UK, a lot going on there for IRM/AS. Or busy test running a 22k prototype numbered 22666.

Looks like a modified airport tug

REMINDER SOON 1- mins BBC 4 @ 21.00 James May’s programme about Hornby’s problems.

Perfect for 1960s horray!

Certainly I can guarantee brexit will be used as an excuse by service providers and suppliers in an attempt to explain delays, price increases, product issues, the weather, the price of store heifers in Mullingar mart, over cooked food in restaurants. Wait for it

WheeltappersDCCsound already have a sound decoder for 121 (ie LokSound V4) and are working on an updated LokSound V5 chip. I have the wheeltappers one and very happy with it.

Very nice indeed. Presume they were painted white especially the roofs to reduce heating effect from sunlight. Must have been a warmer country back then.

Thanks but as they say in Panto “oh yes I will”, absolutely nothing compares to a finescale Murphy Model GM diesel loco, and it’s impossible to build or kitbash anything in any medium remotely as good. Perhaps I’ll need a few less alright, but I cannot wait to pair a B&T MM 121 with my own B121 or nose to nose with the others. The IE tippex livery is extermly difficult to do well with any precision so I’m releived an MM IE Tippex livery 121 will be joining the fleet this summer. A few weeks delay is no problem, grateful to have some concret news at last. I’m sure these will have been worth the wait, and the best yet from Wexford Street. @WRENNEIRE Dave any rough indication of pricing range, or information on livery / running number combinations that will be available.

Thsose look fabulous, every conceivable detail accounted for. Love the grab rail detail as per the early variants. This will the jewel in MMs crown. Mid summer, these will be worth the worth wait from the this venerable stable. Thanks for the information. like the way the coupling has been mounted in the valance and not on the bogie via a large hole A pair of B&Ts, delivery Grey’n’yellow/Gold, super train and one tippex at least, that’s five hopefully.

I see an abundant supply of MM Baby GMs are now available on FleeBay but at astonishingly exorbitant prices. Practically every model number is up there at the moment. Nearly all from the same seller.

Oh thats an impressive baseboard. Strong as an Ox for N and yet weights nothing. There's always more than one good way of peeling an orange! PS. Sealing the plywood with a good sealer/primer coat of paint IMHO can do more to aid moisture resistance and warp stability than anything else, especially the underside of the boards as well as the topside.

Thanks for update Fran, and just when might the liners be expected? Noel