Noel

I've managed to compress the size a little more after looking at the drawings posted by snapper.

Thank you very much for posting that @snapper. It is invaluable and your links have already solved a number of queries I had. Really appreciated. Noel

For next winter I've been pondering the idea of doing a smaller portable layout loosely based on Gort station around 1970. Rough track diagram below which has already been highly compressed but still requires nearly 8ft on two 18" x 4' base boards joined end to end. EDIT: ended up as two 5ft x 2ft base boards Snippet from OSI map There is a fabulous photo of the station on page 29 of "Rails Through The West" from around 1970 showing a hive of goods traffic activity for what was a busy market town. Link below to photo on Ciaran Cooney's album eiretrains.com http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway Stations G/Gort/IrishRailwayStations.html#Gort_20101216_004_CC_JA.jpg I've been studying as many online photos as possible get a handle on the changes over the years. One of the bizarre things is it seems (unless my eyes are deceiving me) is that the water tower was dismantled and rebuilt stone by stone further back from its original position when the railway line reopened to make way for the new longer platforms. If anybody can point me to more online photos of the track layout circa 1960s and 1970s I would very much appreciate it. If I do go ahead with this I plan to use Peco code 75 flat bottom rail and electrofrog points.

Yes that's not a resprayed 158, it does indeed look like a D&M which is well worth a good price.

Agree if feasible that would be a nice option, but not a deal breaker. I have big old round buffers on this 3D print and they look beefy.

I take my hat off to you John. Absolutely superb work. A true 'Brass Master'. Reading back through the post I can see the extensive and diverse range of excellent brass skills you have built up over the decades not to mention the extensive range of specialist tools for the medium.

Perfection.

Hector's done a heck of a job on power lines

Like the door detail and especially the loads.

Agree the first second I saw this I knew it could not even cope with a 5kt cross wind never mind a 20kt one. 100% ridiculous.

Put a kadee 321 magnet on the layout for DCC uncoupling trials using WheelTappers DCC sound project for 141 using function 12 'uncoupling'. F12 automates the loco movements with uncoupling sounds as the kadees release and the loco backs off. It will also automate coupling movements with appropriate sounds (i.e. brake hiss, air, engine, etc).

Thanks Stephen.

Unfortunately the map location on their Facebook page doesn't correlate with the address

They don't seem to have an address or location map on their web site http://sdmrc.ie Nothing on Maps or Google Maps

Agree. It seems "Murphy Models" is a misused phrase on many listings that refer to any Irish models.

That's one of the finest MIR kit builds I have seen. We may see quite a few kit built 121's being off loaded on eBay and elsewhere in the months before MM release their RTR model.

Video demonstrating uncoupling wagons using compact rare earth magnets. The magnets are a fraction of the size of kadee's own magnets and are easy to install. They are cylindrical 5mm diameter and 6mm long. A pair are required offset each side of the track centre line. The magnets need to be almost need to be flush with the sleepers because they are so powerful they would pull the wagons upwards if they were flush with the top of the rail. Much easier to install and hide then kadee's own magnets. Cost €3 + €4 postage for twenty magnets = 10 uncoupling points at a cost of 70 cent each. I will install on the layout as I reballast sections of track. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Neodymium-Super-Strong-Magnet-Small-Round-Disc-Rare-Earth-N50-Grade-5mm-x-6mm/272064785631?hash=item3f58532cdf:m:mHD0AMFopaXcU6hNXdPOqZQ Before I got them I thought I might have to double them up (i.e. 2x6mm = 12mm deep), but they are so powerful one 5mm x 6mm magnet each side was enough and I had to recess them more than I'd expected to avoid the kadee trip pin being pulled downwards towards the magnet causing the other end of the wagon to lift off its axle. One of the things to bear in mind is if the magnets are not carefully placed could cause wagons to jerk (i.e. if the metal wagon axles and trip pins are too close to the magnet surface). NMRA standards advise that typical 2 axle wagons should have a minimum weight of 40-70grams which reduces unwanted movements. https://www.nmra.org/beginner/weight

Catching up on this old but rather interesting thread. I quite like the look of the old CIE weed spray trains with their two coaches and five 2 axle chemical wagons. @Glenderg Richie just wondering did you have a go at one of the weed spray coaches in the end? I quite like the idea of the five tankers on two axle container flats. I'm wondering if I could use the tanker loads from the future IRM release with a kit bashed old style spray coach (i.e. converted brake parcel van). There is a great picture of the old weed spray train on page 105 of "From CIE to IR the changing face of Ireland's Railways" (ISBN 978 0 7110 3476 1). Train consists of spray coach (ex Brake parcel van), five yellow 2 axle tanker wagons, one 2 axle short yellow engineering coach, three 20ft CIE containers on 2 axle flat wagons. (see video clip below) Youtube clip of old CIE weed spray train formation Must have been awkward repositioning these trains between traffic once CWR became common due to the speed limits imposed on 2 axle wagons running on CWR. Higher speed limits permitted on jointed rail lines. Some good views of the old weed spray train on this clip below.

Very nice conversion and weathering from originals such as these I presume. They look great in CIE grey

Deliciously subtle weathering job. Top class.

Very tidy job Eamonn. Looking good. Hope there is some Blu-Tack under to stop them falling off the hand rail.

Agree. Could the collapse of foot passengers using ferry services have been contributory factor? In days long gone bye I remember you could walk off a train at Dun Laoghaire Carlisle pier directly across the platform and board a ferry. Same in Rosslare port before they relocated the station away from the Ferry terminals, and also after a ferry docked in Hollyhead you could walk straight off the boat onto the adjacent platform to board a class 37 hauled train to London. Those were the days when there seemed to be a little more joined up thinking in public transport and market sensitive time tabling. But are they many folk on foot anymore? I've only used those respective ferry's with a car since the 1980s. I've heard it said that CIE may not have helped themselves by failing to synchronise train time tables to match Rosslare ferry sailings either. But in fairness I don't know what passenger data figures they may have been presented with when making strategic decisions about routes and long terms infrastructure investment. I'm grateful to the folks who put together youtube videos depicting lines before they close.

Found two more youtube clips, the first was posted 2010 of a view from onboard the train crossing the incredible barrow bridge, the second is last years weed spray train hauled by 077. 2010 2017 crossing the barrow bridge

Yes sad to see any line close especially when it seems to be in relatively good condition with concrete sleepers and CWR, but alas just no traffic demand. At least the greenway will preserve the line in CIE ownership in the unlikely event when our population hits 10m it may be re-opened in the future. Greenway should also cause the buildings and heritage structures to be preserved and maintained. Ultimately if you think of it this way the line had 10-15 passengers a day when it ceased PAX operations, when it is opened as a greenway linking Rosslare to Waterford and Dungarvan it will have many hundreds of users per day and 000s per day during high season. This has been the case in the highly successfully Great Western greenway and looks like the same is happening for the more recent Deise greenway linking Waterford and Dungarvan. Both of these greenways have spectacular scenery and have very significantly boosted the tourism in their respective regions. I'm not so sure how some of the less scenic greenways in the midland bog regions will do. You need cutesy villages and hospitality amenities to attract greenway users. It is sad though to see a line in good condition close - an asset that could not be put to revenue earning use. One wonders how other lines such as Limerick-Ballybrophy may last given the already very poor track condition unlike the south wexford line. Ireland is no longer the poor country it was in the 1950s, most folks nowadays can afford some form of motor transport unlike 50-60 years ago, so in an ironic way the reduction in demand for passenger services is a reflection of social economic transformation.

Spotted this video on youtube posted by Irish Rail Trains. Last ever train ran earlier this week.