Noel

TPO running trials prior to finishing. CIE night mail train. Thought it wiser to test run before fitting the small fiddly bits in case any manhandling was needed with bogies, but all went well and CIE bogie TPO 2974 is running well at all speeds in all directions over a variety of track work and points.

Very nice David. Where did you source the magnets?

Wonderful work looking fabulous. Filled with nostalgia looking at the subjects and the brass workmanship.

Expensive for a paper weight. Thought they generally go nowadays for between €50-70

Yes wishing IRM/AS well with their first UK product delivery and hope it gets a great reception. When are the HUOs due to arrive with customers? The UK market is in for a pleasant surprise.

I remember the shop in Rathfarnham well and especially the Diorama layouts in various gauges. Think he also carried Wrenn stock at one stage. It was the first time I saw Irish model coaches with a CIE livery and I was in awe at them. They looked custom made, were quite short bogie coaches sitting on a top shelf test track around one side of the shop. Wonder if these were part of the 'scratch built and modified rtr rolling stock' you mentioned that he made for CIE. Another time, another era in model retailing.

Apologies, yes you are quite right, that's an omission. I never bought one of those. It was just a photo of some of my own 'milestone' models.

Sure, that's fair comment, it was I just had those four to hand when tidying up boxes last evening, and they seemed to represent the most significant milestones in RTR change. You could argue the 071 and 201 were incremental evolutions of the 141. Personally the MM/Bachmann 141/181 is the finest model loco I have ever owned and run. The smoothness of the Bachmann chassis seems unparalleled. The BGMs were the first authentic true scale representations and were the first to introduced centre drive chassis with AWD and AWP. One wonders what this pic above might look like in another 20 years time.

Did the trains run from Ballina to Kildare and then down to Waterford?

I was tidying up yesterday when I got a chance I put these locos together for a family photograph - a sort of Darwinian map of the evolution of Irish RTR model locomotives showing the four key steps in the RTR evolution (Hornby, Lima, Silverfox and Bachmann/Murphy Models). The C class is the odd one out as it was a kit, but interesting to see where were have come from. No doubt in time the fifth age will be brought to us from the IRM stable. Be it 2019 or 2020 the Fifth age should be well worth waiting for.

CIE bogie TPO kit progress. Decals applied on top of coat of gloss varnish, finished later with a coat of matt varnish to seal and help the weathering effect. Just glazing and hand rails left to apply plus a few tiny little extra bits I want to add from photos. Oh yes and the under frames! Got kadee's fitted which worked really well on track trials due to the sprung Keen gangway. I added a little extra lead weight over each bogie and she is proving a very smooth and reliable runner. I've really enjoyed working on this kit. When finished will post up some pics of her running with CIE GSV 3185.

Class job. Super looking wagons. Precise neat work.

Great photo Fran. Curiously the first craven coach is ever so slightly 'bowed' in the middle and the fifth leading coach is riding slightly high on the bogie at the loco end. Bowed coaches of that era are not unusual. What speed can that train run at? Presume there is a minimum speed required on certain sections so as not to delay traffic behind.

Thanks @Broithe for posting all those nice exhibition photos. Enjoyed looking through them. Nicely framed too.

Progress continues on the CIE bogie TPO kit. Got some weathering done this evening. Mix of weathering powder in solution (50% decalfix+50% water) and then airbrush for roof dirt, under frame, bogies, coach ends, etc. Next up gloss varnish in prep for transfers, then fit grab rails, letterbox cover, toilet pipework at one end, matt varnish to seal decals, glazing, pop on the chassis and finally couplings. Really enjoying this kit.

Fabulous photos as ever. The shot of No 4 starting her 'run around' under Killarney station roof was absolutely epic. Could have been 75 years ago in another world.

Fab photo Herflick as was the previous photo by Wanderer of both steam locos, Merlin and No 4 respectively. It's an added bonus there were no 22k in either photos. Eight coach rake looks fabulous.

Love it. I presume RC and battery powered?

Great job. You've certainly captured the atmospheric essence of that wagon really well.

Ahem 0.1 cent for the masking tape and mk1 eyeball option

Thanks - Yea I think 2cm of masking tape is probably still the lowest cost.

Indeed a shame. To attract footfall it will really need a fairly impressive operating layout of some kind, with lots of action especially targeted at tourists, children and families rather than just modellers. Yes the O gauge layout in the castle was more a very big colourful 'train set' lacking authenticity, but it had enough visual stimulus to make 10yo boys faint with excitement. Static displays alone will not generate footfall. I do hope they can build and more importantly operate a visually stimulating layout with lots of movement, noises and lights, ships and planes also.

Discovered this by accident last evening. Line up unpainted coach with another finished coach, put a small square piece of masking tape at each end of the coach to be painted matching the height of the orange band on the adjacent coach, then run masking tape between the two. This takes into account ride height which you may want to make allowances for depending on the model. Good idea to do ride height check anyway incase coach is riding too high or two low (i.e. adjust bogie mounts, or smaller diameter wheels). In this case I actually reduced the ride height ever so slightly so that the white stripes would be closer, which moved the orange band a little higher than the pic above. . . . and then your trying to get buffer height to match as well as gangways!!!

Interesting. Does anybody know if it will be limited to a static display of the Fry collection or if there will also be an operational layout running the layout stock that was at Malahide castle?