Noel

Hi Fran. CIE all the way from this quarter. What would the likely delivery date be for the CIE version? Thanks. Noel

Fabulous sequence of really interesting photos. Thanks for posting.

Saint Eoin? I think you meant Eoin Isambard Kingdom Brunel-Murray the patron saint of model engineers.

In fairness Fran that is most likely because folk did not know about the Orange bubbles in advance, and most had already ordered what they may have assumed to be the only livery available in the short term. For example, had I personally known about the Orange bubbles at the same time as the Ivory, I would have ordered less ivory and more orange. Not complaining btw, just pointing out a possible rational explanation for why the oranges didn't shift as fast as the ivories. PS: Noted with keen interest "AS" exciting move into O gauge. I harbour an interest in a possible future O gauge 141 class - one day far far in the future.

Cobh railway station from another angle Luckily no 'orrible cruise ship tower blocks there that day to obscure the view. I love the red brick architecture of this station. Nice cafe inside the disused part of the station too beside the museum. No quite the 'Titanic' experience in Belfast but still a nice place to visit. These guys were opposite across the other side of the channel. Bofor's galore Wouldn't argue with those if on the wrong side of fishery rules.

Roll on the Rugby World Cup 2019 - At least Ireland will have a competitive team being currently no 2 in the world rankings.

Hi Fran No hurry at all, but just wondering when the Tara wagons are due to hit the rails? Noel

Nice try

They look great Dave. Rigid and stable. Similarities to the WMRC system they are now using for their new exhibition layouts.

Ah now I wouldn't begrudge our neighbours and ethnic cousins a little bit of excitement and joy. Amongst other sports they invented rugby, tennis, cricket and soccer yet have suffered decades of defeats in all by superior former colonial teams, so good luck to them. Fed up hearing about 1966 too Remind me who is ranked no 2 in the world for Rugby and who won the grand slam this year at the 'home of rugby'

Hi Eoin Cheers. Yes its a lovely spot for sailing. Glenans Ireland is well regarded sail training establishment. Noel Baltimore Harbour anchorage

Captured this photo in Baltimore last week early one morning at 5:19am when this RNLI Tamar class AWB roared out to sea on a rescue under a setting moon moments before sunrise. A sort of cosmic changing of the guard. Can you imagine if the train lines in West Cork were still in operation today - they'd be busy from May to September with holiday traffic. The station in Baltimore closed in 1961. A magical moment as the moon sets over the old Friary on Sherkin Island

Superb model engineering master class.

I was passing through the junction on Monday and an IR chap showed me where the new platform was going. He told me the reason was so that both the north and south going Cork main line trains could arrive and stop in the station at the same time allowing more flexible time tabling as well as less wait times for connections to Limerick, Ennis, Galway, etc. But they will have quite a bit a walk and climb instead of just across the current platform. I don't understand because Mallow has two platforms but they nearly always use the same one for both north and south bound trains so folks just have to walk across the platform to connect with the Killarney/Tralee trains. Limerick junction is a shadow of its former self. Way of the world it seems there are just so few foot passengers on ferrys and intercity rail compared to decades ago. I was watching a programme on TV where an academic explained that before 1940 in Ireland urban planning and design focused on people movements by foot, cycling, and public transport (i.e. nobody had cars), but since the era of the car the focus shifted to roads hence the massive fall off in national rail transport except for urban commuters. Agri transport which used to be the country's biggest industry is now all by road, but 60/70 years ago it was nearly all by rail. At least with models we can go back in time to a golden era of railways.

Thanks Fran. That's spot on and will allow folks to plan appropriately.

Hi Fran. Sure understand the economics. OK, I'll hold off buying the rest of the 42ft weed spray set for now until I can accompany it with a spray coach that is comparable in quality to the rest of the set. Again, modern 'Yellow' is not really my bag but IRM gear is so good I'd collect a set anyway if and when the coach becomes available. Noel

Looking good guys. Have you decided to include the actual weed spray wagon itself with this ensemble (i.e. the BR mk1 coach)?

Snapped 7078 and spray train in Mallow this afternoon

Sorry to hear you've been having IT issues JB on Hattons web site. Amongst others I primarily use Hattons and Peters Spares web sites, but I found Peters Spares site rather poor as they cannot save a shopping basket beyond a http session (i.e. instead they save it as an unfulfilled order - daft). I have found Hattons web site one of the best in the UK. Their service and prompt delivery is excellent. I couldn't recommend them highly enough, especially their low postage charges to ROI. Their range is more main stream and may not be as broad as Peters Spares who tend to have those less popular more specialist items. Perhaps they had a server glitch today, but also worth checking your web browser settings are normal and moderately up to date (i.e. within 5 years).

Here you go Dave ( @WRENNEIRE ). Both sides of the train set cassette tape posted to Youtube as audio only. Sound quality was poor on my cassette. Cassette Tape Side One Cassette Tape Side Two 1989 is more than 25 years ago so no copyright issue.

RailModeller Pro on a mac Version 6 of Gort track plan as it continues to evolve through iterative process.

Ah there is probably an iPhone app that automatically opens the smokebox door

Version 5 below fits on two 4' x 18" boards. Further compression and adjustments were made last night and a little poetic license with the length of the south end of west platform. Need to be able to get two coaches and a loco alongside without compromising the goods yard shunting, as this station was predominantly used for freight.

Snap! Great find. I have one of those too. If I remember correctly side 1 had BBC 'Noel Edmunds' giving instructions for assembling a train set, but wait for it . . . side 2 has an 'Authentic Railway Sounds' track for playing background noises on a layout (e.g. trains, loco whistles and horns, station noises, track clink, passing trains, and station bustle noises, etc). When I found it a few years ago it gave me the idea to digitise it and build an iPhone app for playing various layout sounds using other recordings I have (e.g. distant trains, passing trains, station noises, background ambient noises, traffic, etc).