Noel

DMU. Have not yet found a good video on how to drive EMD diesel locos.

€185 ok if it’s motorised with lights and remote control (ie you can actually drive it on a layout). Sorry but €185 for an ornament not my personal cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.

Announcements about announcements!!! Little substance? Looking forward to the 22k and 37 from AS

Warned him not to hold the tablet catcher out the window! It's a Tesla 121, he doesn't need hands or arms because there's no controls.

Personally to date Hattons having DDP (Delivery Duties Paid) have been the most painless supplier in UK to deal with. They are registered for VAT here so no delays in post, no extra fees payable here. Hattons pay the vat. No fuss, no delays. Some of the others if you ask who are not set up for DDP will deduct UK VAT so you only pay vat here but still have the delay in that process.

One tray fits 15 two axle goods wagons (ie 30 in total in a box with two trays). My collection of BR private owner coal wagons. Cheers. I used AddressPal to get around supplier not shipping outside brexitistan, and yes modest customs fees applied as it was an import from a 3rd country, but all payable online and delivery went smoothly. These boxes will be invaluable to me as I move my running stock into storage during layout updates, and for transport.

Picked up some of these useful stock boxes. Two layers. Moveable partitions to fit coaches, locos or 2 axle wagons https://modellers-mecca.co.uk/products/the-warley-stock-box Very handy for both storage and transport

Yes, apologies, I only noticed the B&T van on their website yesterday. Was aware of the GSWR six wheelers.

Interesting spotted this little Irish gem on Hattons web site yesterday. Due middle of next winter apparently. Pre-Orders for now. Has a lighting option. https://www.hattons.co.uk/1056113/hattons_originals_h4_6fb_1703_6_wheel_full_brake_79_in_cie_black_tan/stockdetail

Another viewing angle of the ticket office. This is the Ennis end of the platform. This is now a private house. The ticket office, goods shed, water tower and signal box were scratch built in plastic card with balsa structure using old black and white photographs as no drawings were available.

IRM published a fix for these wagons on their web site when the 42ft's were first released before covid. I cannot find the link, perhaps one of the IRM lads might post it here.

Cheers the little baby GM was even more impressive given it had 4 axle pickups instead of six and has no stay alive. Electrofrog points require a small amount of extra wiring but it really is worth it and if you use a point motor with a build in frog switch then there's only a few extra inches of wiring locally at the point (ie not all the way back to centralised switches).

Here you go. IRM A class crawling over electro frog points with precision and ease IMG_1268.MOV

Cheers. Will video an A on the same section in time. It should be just as good as it has 6 axles and stay alive which the baby GMs don't.

What MM managed to fit inside the 121 body was miraculous given the size, especially the see through grills. However in engineering sometimes compromises are required to achieve the primary functional objectives. In the case of the 121 it was the small inaccessible sugar cube speaker that was less than perfect. Easy to fix for customers used to dissecting and reassembling models, but for typical customers perhaps not viable.

Agree, still my favourite Irish loco. Staggering slow speed precision performance on the Bachmann chassis. I was delighted how well the MM baby GMs run over Peco code 75 electro frog points at crawl speeds (see below) without a hint of a stall or judder. IMG_1241.MOV Combine with a bass reflex speaker and a decent sound project and these locos excel despite being a 15yo build. The 071 and 201s also excellent but not quite as silky smooth runners. The A's are excellent too.

Enjoyed an operating session yesterday with my good friend Junction Mad (Dave). As I'm about to start making the signals and cosmetic point rodding Dave gave me some great advice on the correct signals needed and how to electrify them using micro servos less that 1/2 inch in size. More work to be done (eg fascia boards for the signal box). Test ran B165 over electro frog points at speed step 1 & 2. Had to snip and extra 1mm off some of the point motor actuator shafts to stop them fouling under the baby GM bogie bodies. Pleased with how smooth the MM runs over the point work at crawl speeds without stalling. IMG_1241.MOV

Yes unfortunately many didn't realise it was possible to leave the hand rails on the model while removing the body section to fit decoders and speaker. One nice to have refresh item would be see through the body grills on the side like the 121, but that robs a lot of weight and storage space for speaker (which could perhaps be suspended above the gap if small enough).

That's a huge plus. Many modellers found removing the body to fit a decoder and speaker extremely inconvenient and with a degree difficulty, not to mention lacking the skills to solder two wires to the PCB.

It depends perhaps on wither the re-run release are the same models just with different running numbers, or if there is any kind of refresh with new features added such as speakers, stay-a-live, proper lighting configs, etc. If the former the older models are likely to retain a higher value due rarity, if the latter, second hand prices could go down significantly. Fortunately I never paid more than €118 for a baby GM when I started collecting them seven years ago. The sort of ebay prices in recent few years seemed to defy rational logic. Panic buying at outrageous prices.

My main source of spares, bogies, buffers, glazing, wheels, couplings, etc, has been from Peter Spares in GB: https://www.petersspares.com Unfortunately being located in brexitistan there will be additional customs fees (ie vat+Duty) payable to An Post prior to delivery to EU.

Personally I prefer the moulded plastic handrails, they retain their shape and less prone to distortion or bending. Never had a problem getting loco out of the packaging. Should MM or A-another ever release a refresh of the 071 model the suggested improvements might be: Magnetic hatch for easy access to decoder Stay alive capacitor Warm candescent coloured cab lights instead of the LED blue hue Independent operation of front and rear running lights (ie so red tail light should be off when coupled to a formation of stock). Otherwise the 071 seems close to perfection as she stands. MM could probably sell a stack of rereleased freight grey livery and NIR blue livery models.

It was not uncommon on Irish Branch lines to see mixed passenger and goods formations, often unfitted loose couple 2 axles wagons tagged onto the end of one or two passenger coaches with a brake van for safety. New Silverfox tin van with its Kadee couplings, as of yet unweathered. 15:42 about to depart for Athenry. 09:45 arrived from Ennis standing at platform 2 waiting to be passed by the 09:48 due inbound from Athenry.