Noel

Yes the PCB LEDs are micro sized but with fibre optic routing should work ok for head lamp and running lights. The MM only used clear plastic to reroute the lights but fibre would be even better. That's the bit I have to do next

Well done Noel for taking the plunge with a 141 donor. It scared the heck out of me the first time I tried it. By dismembering a 141 some may say we have committed a mortal sin and could "rot in the bogie of eternal stench" (G Brennan 2018). You were cleverer than I was, because I disconnected the front lighting PCBs unnecessarily. Its an ideal chassis for the C class with a near perfect fit, 21pin socket, a speaker cradle and lighting on board. Noel (the other one)

Thanks Eoin. Well we certainly don't want to get anybody shot. Sounds like a lot of hassle having to go through 3rd parties even one as good as Mark. A bit like the olden days of money orders, SAEs and dealers before the internet happened. Anybody who doesn't sell stuff like this direct nowadays is trading in the past. I might have a go at making one myself . . . ah as I was typing this just found a few on eBay ranging from £50-85 with free delivery to Ireland. Not as nice as your one but good value.

Thank Eoin. Do you know sort of price for one that size (inc shipping from UK)?

Very nice. Is that one of Dave's offerings?

Cheers. Memory is a strange beast, I travelled a lot by rail in the 60s and 70s, but I have no nostalgia memory of bogie stock as a youngster, just loads corrugated open wagons and loads of h-vans. It was mid 70s before I noticed Bells on rail. Yes pity C-Rail don't do B&I line. There used to be plenty of Hapag-Lloyd in waterford port too.

Both of these are code 100, but the ballast goes a long way to improving the look. If I was starting out again though I would definitely use code 75 instead.

The FUD at €25 looks reasonable value with very fine finish. Despite my lack of interest in post 1975 stock and anything as modern as a bogie wagon, I think I may have to order some of these for my 20ft C-Rail Bell containers, two per wagon. Beats the heck out of sub standard resin or brass. 3D is getting better and better all the time.

Hi Tony This is a very old photo, but it shows one example of what can be made to fit with Peco flexitrack and points, especially when combined with curved points. Possible with code 75 or code 100. (sorry about blurred focus). On Dave's post above his code 75 sublimely ballasted when viewed side on or at a shallow angle looks the real deal. Noel

That's just his profession. In the real world he is de facto a model engineer supreme - that makes him an engineer too.

Stunning Dave. Your code 75 looks truly excellent. None of the grief of regauging rolling stock, nor derailments or poor running on custom built track after locos have been rebuilt, not to mention the humungous amount of time required to build custom 21mm points that actually work. There is no doubt, in the hands of a true expert with enough space 21mm can look stunning, but personally I could not endure the grief. It is also convenient for friends to be able to run their stock on our layout when they call over, and likewise run my stock on their layouts.

Tony, if you found Peco code 75 needs too much space, 21mm will need a whole lot more. Peco code 75 has been used very successfully to make the most out of confined spaces and can look fabulous when well ballasted and especially weathered in. Since the launch of Accurascale its been interesting to watch the equivalent old debate over on some RMweb threads. 00 gauge v P4/EM. Folks have their own passions yet a small number of the P4/EM guys seem to hold their noses at the 00 guys, but the 00 guys seem content to defend their choice on the grounds of practicality and achieving excellent results despite the compromise. Its your railway so do whatever pleases you, but bare in mind the practicalities. Over the years with patience I have been able to get even Peco code 100 track schemes to fit almost anywhere needed. I suffer a degree of obsession about neat track joins and avoiding kinked trackwork but Peco has not failed me so far. Good luck. Hi John. Lovely track work. What did you use in the end for sleeper chairs? Noel

Yes that's what I had assumed. I remember restaurant/dinning carriages then that were not cravens, presume they were laminates/bredins.

Whichever way you go will be the right way for you. It's like swimming in cold water, sometimes cold water is less painful if you make a decision to jump in quickly rather than climbing slowly down the ladder into the cold water inch by inch, some folks even backing out. Once your in the pool it doesn't feel as cold and you'll never look back be it 21mm or code 75. You clearly have talent, so whichever way you go should be a success once you eventually get started and stick with it.

That is a good reason which I can understand. Luckily the Irish scene has been transformed in the past 10 years or so with RTR versions of nearly every type of CIE passenger and goods rolling stock now available RTR (steam excepted), especially the high quality of both Murphy Models large stable and more recently IRMs entry to the Irish Market. One can only guess what additional high quality RTR stock will be available in the next 10 years. You have to pinch yourself to remember, it is not too many years ago when the market was only catered for only by kits from the likes if Q-kits and MIR, the limited RTR Lima class 33s and BR mk1 repaints, and the Hornby Hymek horror show which bore no resemblance to any Irish prototype but looked the part in a past time of CIE model famine.

And a market with sixty fold more demanding molecule counters never mind something as large as a rivet.

I was surprised when even one of the UKs top scratch build modellers Tony Wright, admitted that in most cases nowadays where an RTR model exists it is probably finished to a higher level of detail and a more reliable standard than anything that can be scratch built, such is the standard nowadays of many RTR models. He suggests kit building is now the preserve and joy of building rare eclectic prototypes that are either not available RTR, or in increasingly rare circumstances where the quality or accuracy is not good enough. Price is not the only consideration, time and availability of skill experience is probably a bigger factor for many.

Will watch this facinating development with keen interest. Super work as always from this engineer.

That's about it. Pre mk2 stock, one 6" stipe over the window in the CIE days before the modern image era, when 'tippex' dual 3" stripes came in. For a fair while after 87, coach formations could be seen with mixed liveries (single + double stripes). I don't think there were first class services anywhere after that except on Cork and Belfast routes, so not sure how long Craven 1st coaches operated.

That's coming together really well

Surely it will depend on whoever buys the paint! As it is a 'preservation' exercise, one might have thought they might consider painting it in its original 1970s Black'n'Tan livery rather than a livery that was never in traffic, however attractive it is. I've no doubt it will look stunning if done in Blue'n'Cream to match the cravens.

Thanks Jonathan. It clashes but I quite like the look of the maroon 3173 with the Cravens. I was tempted on the recent Lima job to paint it blue in anticipation of the 3185 overhaul, but decided against as I didn't know if it would end up all over blue or blue and cream like the Cravens. That'll be another model GSV conversion for another time.

I'll soon find out as I am just about to start a Bachmann BCK conversion to a maroon 3173. I got a pair of Bill Bedford (Mousa) brass sides for £12 which are nice, but I am not keen on their lack of relief detail, so I am going to cut'n'join and fill the Bachmann plastic sides because of the nice glazing and surface detail such as window frames, door handles, hinges, panel recesses, etc. Thanks I have a set. Was all set to go. Lima BSK on top of pic, Bachmann BCK below with possible brass sides from Mousa (Bill Bedford).

Unlikely due low numbers. Two possible options for a maroon GSV: Kit bash a BR Mk1 brake donor of some sort into a GSV either by cut'n'join plastic, or brass etched sides from Bill Bedford or Studio Scale models. Bachmann Brake 2nd BCK make good donors (i.e. one with the five large windows each side). Buy RTR GSV from Silverfox and respray it RPSI maroon and apply RPSI transfers, but strictly speaking it will not be correct because SF's GSV is BSK arrangement like 3185, whereas the RPSI's maroon 3173 is a BCK arrangement (i.e. windows and doors are in different positions). I've seen nice maroon BSK GSVs like @WRENNEIRE's running with the RPSI Cravens and they look good.

Ah now Fran, I don't think its fair on 'daffy' to compare his looks to the DD DVT Daffy was just a duck, he wasn't hit with an ugly stick unlike the DD.