Noel

Thanks. That’s perfect.

Hi Fran Thanks for reply. So will the lights on the ploughs work out of the box without a decoder (ie on all the time)? Cheers Noel ps. I didn’t discuss the merits of DCC v Analogue.

Hi Fran Thanks for asking. For interior 'lighting' or tail lamp a function only decoder should not be needed. Power pickups from the axle through a bridge rectifier, a resister and capacitor (for flicker free) is what other manufacturers use for coach lighting, etc. There is no need to control it with an accessory decoder. It's just on all the time and cheap as chips to implement. Two decoders @ €25 a pop = €50 just to light a pair of ploughs seems unnecessarily expensive when switching is not needed. Should work with DC and DCC. Please forgive if I am missing something obvious here. Noel PS: For interior light please select a 'warm' white LED rather than modern white which has a blue tint. These old beauties would have had a warm yellow glow.

IRM Tara pre-production samples looked stunning - the bar raised yet another notch. The 3D sample of the IRM plough brake van looked Fab-U-lous

Spotted these two Irish items of interest on Chris Dyer's stand at Stillorgan on Sunday. 22k class approximations. Seemed to be based on a UK class of commuter dmu. Nice looking paint job but pity the doors are in the wrong place for an ICR, and the cab is different. Interesting to see Bachmann and CD getting together. . . . and IR Mk4 in CAF intercity livery (Hornby repaints).

Great find Dave. I remember it well. My little brother got the Slainte express set and I got the freight set above for Christmas. I’d guess it was 1977 or 78 at the latest as we moved house shortly after when Dad died. I still have one of the locos, the wagons and two of his mk2a coaches. The self adhesive CIE roundal was always falling off. Had to glue it on in the end. You could cut pizzas with the wagon wheel flanges

That layout was a fabulous representation of Greystones. Really captures the essence of the place very accurately. Impressive Irish rolling stock for 1990s, very resourceful.

Excellent scenics and track ballasting. Very subtle blending and colouring.

Nice pics. Especially nice aerial pic of EIDW RWY 16

Oh no has Dermot Bannon been set loose?

A class act.

Very commendable behaviour and business ethics by IRM/AS in the UK market (link below to RMweb). IRM/AS have justifiably received a very positive response from customers for their discount offer on the CEMFLO time table. I'd guess this could be an industry first and very refreshing to see an innovative Irish company do something like this. Smart move and great PR. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/134770-cemflo-by-accurascale/page-8

Prototype 131 is a fine looking loco. However 4-4-0 wheel arrangement in OO gauge are not renowned for smooth reliable running especially over point work.

I see one of the horses has managed to unseat their rider

Agree, the Belfast Enterprise coach sets and the Cork mk4 coach sets are the most comfortable trains running on the Island. I regularly use the Cork service but will cease the minute they replace the mk4 sets with the lousy uncomfortable and noisy 22k 'luasy' DMU sets. He was a bit silly to compare the numbers and traffic level on busy UK rail routes with Dublin-Belfast route, no comparison. Says more about the man himself that he didn't check the times beforehand - poor preparation like many in his profession.

Large halls or function rooms similar to the school facility above seem to make better venues for model railway exhibitions than a maze of small class rooms off congested corridors. Having visited both types of venue over the years, circulation seems at lot easier and more inviting. One can see more and walk around most layouts easier than smaller individual rooms where layouts are often placed against a wall due to space constraints. This limits viewing angles and causes congestion especially at the doorways of classrooms. I presume from a traders point of view they get a better and fairer slice of customer circulation if nearly everything is under the one roof.

As Richard Dreyfus said in the movie Jaws - were gonna need a bigger camera! It is quite a large layout. In all seriousness there are some photos of it under construction phases on WMRC's Facebook page last winter. I'm sure somebody must have some recent pictures from the Cork show (for another thread). Video clip I was advised that each baseboard has its own custom designed control module PCB bus for DCC power distribution, short protection, signalling, point control and lighting. Each PCB has an array of status LEDs so any problem is limited to a short section of track on a single baseboard and instantly recognisable. Clever dudes down there and fanatics for perfect fault free running. I'm reliably informed that 'hands' appearing out of the virtual sky to nudge stuck locos due to electrical continuity or baseboard join issues has been banned. Links below to some FB pics https://scontent.fdub5-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/37326217_1940142536044496_8864216563641745408_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=0172adc7f62c5805246caab46e7952d4&oe=5C032829 https://scontent.fdub5-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/29425960_1796072837118134_2322146516090748928_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=5ecaf4fd96a62ff562186ea1bdb169ab&oe=5BFD43A7

Impressively WMRC exhibited at two separate venues last weekend. Gerry with 'Llanuwchllyn' in Belfast, and the O gauge layout in Cork. Does it have a name yet Gerry?

That's CIE era alright Sounds like a successful trip

Heard from a little birdie that an exceedingly large Irish built O gauge layout will be making its debut trip as guest to the show. DCC touch screen wireless throttles and full mechanical lever frame signal box systems for operating points and signals. Laser cut modular baseboard system with each board having its own custom designed electronic PCB modules. I’m told by the same little birdie that the DCC sound combined the the real sound of a long heavy O gauge train passing through the station makes a serious impression on the senses.

Looks like a hybrid. The ex-GSWR wooden upper body has been completely replaced or perhaps modified and skinned.

Great series of photos and record of Claremorris line. It is a mere shadow of it’s former days as a major railway intersection between five operating railway lines.

Thanks Gerry. I might try that as an experiment with some wagons, but have some concern about the friction that might cause with a 12-15 wagon rake. Hi Graham. Thanks, some good info. I've found light wagons can bounce even in sidings when attempting coupling action nowhere near the magnets. I've tried to put only one magnet at the throat of each yard section so that delayed uncoupling would allow me to drop off wagons in any of the sidings. It works more consistently when the wagons are heavy enough. I agree with you the magnets that slot between the rails give less problems. Noel

Scanning through various forums in US and RMweb in UK, and youtube it seems converting rolling stock to kadees often also requires the addition of weight to wagons as per NMRA guidelines if shunting, uncoupling and re-coupling is to be a constant success. A classic symptom is when two light wagons are slowly shunted together one wagons coupler pushes the other wagon backwards without the couplings reengaging because the wagons are too light, or worse there is a bounce effect. Scale mass!