Noel

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.

Yes but look at the scale she is working in. It might be very tough going and extremely fiddled in 4mm scale. The clay might need to be softer than on the video to avoid tearing (ex-potter hat on).

Well yes indeed. I was thinking the entry of AS into the UK market might, a) put sufficient fright into the likes of Hornby and Bachmann to think about the need to raise their game, especially Hornby (refinanced today btw), and b) trigger a rise in product standards from other small manufacturers. In time if AS become established as the premier UK brand for hyper detailed models, they could possibly even produce popular prototypes already covered by Bachmann and Hornby but to such a high standard enough folks would buy the AS product instead of the other two 'normal' spec offerings. Irish enterprises are now world class leaders in so many areas of technology, bioscience, agri-food, pharma, etc, it is great to see an Irish startup excel in a traditional market that is highly competitive and historically demanding. German and continental manufacturers have deservedly enjoyed a reputation for the best precision and finest detail models, but AS/IRM seem to be aiming higher than that, but at competitive UK pricing levels. A new playing field is being established before our eyes. The business model of selling direct seems to facilitate higher quality and affordable pricing. Its the 21st century, the 4th generation era of eCommerce, who needs middle men between consumers and creators.

Yes, you can understand a certain amount of reserved caution from some consumers about a new player in the UK market when the HUOs were first launched, especially after years of small vendors entering the market with specialist products accompanied by 'announcements about announcements', unfortunately sometimes with poor or late delivery, so once the staggeringly good HUOs were seen in the flesh I assume confidence was instantly established. I'd guess some UK consumers due to initial caution pre-ordered small quantities will now be re-ordering more wagons now that they know AS/IRM will deliver the goods on time and to an exceptional standard beyond their expectations. I know it is just commercial business, but as a retired business person one cannot but feel proud of this Irish team of four who had a dream, followed it all the way through to delivering the goods, and establishing a successful new business venture with ground breaking products, entering the highly demanding and sceptical UK market, but scoring a home run on their first outing in the UK market.

Best of luck. I'm confident you will "blow their socks off" once again when these wagons arrive with customers.

Thanks for posting Railer. A very positive review if a bit lengthy. Wagons look superb. IRM/AS may have us all using glass baseboards so we can see the incredible detail underneath passing trains.

Well done Tony securing a U class. Lovely loco. If I had one I would have needed to add power pickups to the pony truck to get over my points, or alternatively fit 'keep-alive' capacitors to something like a Lenz Gold decoder. 4-4-0 will look great on Omagh junction.

I was asked on a kadee coupling Q&A thread over on RMweb what glue I was using to fix the couplings to the underside of wagons and coaches rather than screws, in situations where NEM pockets were not available or unsuitable. So far "Deluxe Materials Rocket" super glue has worked well with a great variety of plastics from the soft shiny stuff Hornby used in the 1970s, ancient Lima plastics, to recent production Bachmann wagons, and indeed IRM ballast and cement wagons. I usually rub down the surfaces and the side of the kadee shanks or topside of draft gearboxes before gluing with a micro file or fine sand paper. So far I have found it more efficient and faster than drilling and screwing. Nothing has fallen off so far after converting about 60% of my stock and extensive running. I'd nothing to lose by trying glue, having screws as a fall back alternative had the glue not been effective. Below, Bachmann Y25 bogies converted to Kadee couplings.

Impressive base board construction. Looking forward to following this layouts development.

Looking superb as is now expected. A rake of eight should fit nicely on Kingsbridge. It is bizarre that this extremely high standard of model is becoming considered the norm or almost routine - it is not normal, it is exceptional.

Yes Hornby stuff back then really was rubbish until Bachmann forced them to raise their game. Bachmann were light years ahead of them.

Work continues on the 3D FUD 42ft wagons by Neil. Fitted kadee couplings tonight and test run on layout. A little plastic fettling needed to glue kadee no 20s to the Bachmann bogies. Quick check on height gauge. I was impressed with 3D using FUD (frosted ultra detail) so had to try one. Looking forward the IRM wagons later this year. Bell 42ft container arrived on the layout today from C-Rail. The 42ft flat wagons loading gauge seems lower than 20ft container flats, don't know if thats a model error or was the case with the prototypes. Test runs on the layout went ok with and without a container load. Now for decals, few paint details and light weathering.

Captured the atmosphere of this city railway scape sublimely. Modelling to a high professional standard.

Well its a reflection of economic progress, thankfully we are no longer a poor country and most of our citizens can afford to travel by their own means on roads and motorways. Back in the distant past many folk especially in rural areas could only afford public transport and either a bicycle or a horse/donkey. A greenway seems the best way of preserving an amenity and the railway heritage, and at least it puts the line space back into use as a significant tourism amenity boosting local economies. The Westport to Achill greenway on its own has transformed the economy of that entire region, and the Waterford to Dungarvan similarly in time. Having Dungarvan connected as a greenway on former railway lines all the way to Rosslare seems the best alternative to just closing the lines and letting them disappear into decay. We would all prefer to see trains operating but progress and economic reality dictates otherwise. For anybody who has not yet had a chance to cycle the Westport/Achill or Dungarvan/Waterford Greenways I would highly recommend both. Stunning scenery, fabulous hospitality and one of the best 'chill outs' you'll ever enjoy. These greenways are family oriented and walker friendly too. Sad to see any line close but at least the end game seems positive.

Sorry to hear. A true gentleman.

Did the loco run ok with the decoder before you added the lights? Are you using a DCC ramp meter to measure the track voltage? An ordinary Ammeter/Multimeter won't read track voltage properly even if you set it to AC because of the DCC wave form. Most DCC systems will output 15-18volts to the track. US systems tend to be closer to 15v whereas European gear such as Lenz, ESU, etc are closer to 18v. DCC decoders will convert this to max 12v going to a loco motor. I suspect the wiring for the lights may have been your problem rather than the Prodigy. Some systems such as NCE have an adjustable pot inside the controller for fine tuning track voltage, but this is only for small changes and not enough to blow a decoder. Hope this helps.

Hi Patrick Enjoy the transition. That's a good DCC system. For whenever sound becomes of interest, links below to two excellent producers of Irish diesel DCC sound chip projects. I've used both types on my MM B&T 141/181 locos. Fitting speakers and soldering to the loco PCB is straight forward and both supply speakers with the chips. Wheeltappers use LokSound chips with PowerDrive feature and MrSoundguy uses Zimo chips with RealDrive. I just love the sound especially flange squeal shunting a rake of wagons into a siding or over station pointwork. The LokSound has a kadee uncoupling function for use over uncoupling magnets which synchronises engine and coupling sounds with the brief backwards/forwards motion needed to release the buckeye over an uncoupling magnet. Noel http://www.wheeltappersdccsounds.co.uk/page78/index.html http://mrsoundguy.co.uk/msgdclass141.html

AS getting very positive reviews over on RMweb as the first HUO's arrive with customers. Well done guys. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/130571-accurascale-announce-4mm-scale-huo-and-buffer-detailing-kits/page-14

Fabulous job Eoin.

Yes at £295 they are rather expensive but I felt worth it if the quality was as good as their previous RTR projects, and it is a unique and classic Irish steam era loco. OO Works have a good track record. Commissioning a top job on a brass kit would have cost more, and there is no way I could build a brass kit to a standard that would look as good as this and equally important run as freely and smoothly as this hopefully will. I doubt we will ever see RTR versions done in finely detailed injection molded plastic due to economics.

Really looking forward to this GS&WR 101 class loco later this year. I ordered the grey livery last year. http://www.ooworks.co.uk