Noel

Sadly RMweb has become virtually unusable recently with even more popup adds every single click, some cannot be dismissed or closed and obscure 1/3rd of the content area. I'm not paying £5/month for the privilege of generating content for a private enterprise, just to get rid of the adds and make it as useable as it used to be. Wonder what the human page hits are now compared to two years ago before the advertising blitz. Here on IRM and FaceBook groups are so much easier to use and browse.

Is this another brexit dividend?

Admit I'm surprised. I got an email this morning at 07:20am about customs charges due on an parcel from UK (DCC Concepts). Paid fees online about 07:30am. Had been expecting a 7-10 days brexit delay due customs processing release of parcel, but lo and behold parcel arrived here at 9:30am this morning. It looks like An Post must have a facility to hold parcel's in local delivery office pending payment for customs fees due (ie Duty+Vat). I was expecting a 10 day delay. DCC Concepts deducted UK VAT from my purchases so at least I didn't get hit with a Double VAT Whammy. Happy Days, NCE Power Cab ready to hook up to Gort, releasing the main 5amp NCE Pro Cab to go back to the big layout. I like the cab ergonomics of the NCE in hand, really suits shunting operations and sound, and I'm familiar with it. Don't like touch screen HUI as it requires eyes rather than blind tactile feel use of throttle.

Some behind the scenes earlier todays play time. Rare sight two passenger trains passing on what then was essentially a goods traffic line. Busy yard and cattle dock Another view of Cattle dock View through the goods shed, one wagon in there. Loving this project.

Busy morning between Athenry and Ennis as two trains pass at Gort. Rare for two passenger trains to pass, this line was mainly goods traffic. Plenty of wagons in the yard this morning.

Wish they'd do the lined green livery of RPSI 184 or even the green livery of 186. They also need to be DCC ready and sound ready, lights etc for the price. Love mine but they lack that special extra something that IRM would no doubtably deliver.

Yes and an IRM J15 would be DCC ready, have lights, sound and more fine scale detail. And be better runners. I had to jump through hoops to get sound fitted in one of my 00 Works J15s. Would not be keen on 171 as 4-4-0 models are are usually horrible runners in 00 gauge, just can't get over a set of points without stalling below the speed of sound. J15 seems logical from a commercial point of view. Enjoy my three 00 Works locos but they are not exactly fine scale and very limited livery variations.

That's just mean. I'd never even in jest have slagged off my employer like that. Good Bos's are hard to come bye.

Had no problems with Hattons and speed of delivery to ROI seems unchanged (ie >€150). They seem to be the only model supplier in brexitistan that have DDP which is seamless for ROI modellers. No customs charges so far nor delivery delays. I've stopped ordering from other GB based suppliers, just too much hassle and too slow. Modelbahnshoplippe and other German suppliers have proven reliable with better pricing for many modelling products.

WMRC chaps seem to excel at neat precision prototypical track laying. Some great innovation going on down there in the sunny south east. They've pioneered new baseboard construction techniques, new fault free approach to DCC layout wiring, and signalling that make you think you are actually back in 1930 watching the trains go bye. Hats off stunning layout Barry. The tide seems more upscale in direction of O gauge rather than down to Hornby's new proprietary TT:120. Looks like a great show occurred up on Erne. Have only been up there by river boat, so next year will have to try the car if the dates don't clash with Christmas celebrations.

There used to be one in the waiting room of the Dept of Transport outside the ministers private office. There was also a 141 class similar scale (ie sort of gauge 1 scale).

No Philip, they cost about a third because they work for 3 times longer, never crash and don't slow with age. More productive. . . . and they don't squeak

CMD-R CMD-R CMD-R CMD-R

€3.50 it seems. These are specialist models so I don't mind the extra cost. Delighted to have flying snail era coaches and vans, rather than the inaccurate toy Bachmann ones with the 1ft high eau de nil stripe.

Yes, If I remember correctly it was IR£300 for business class tickets back then and €150 for economy (ie super-apex as it was known then), but you could not change flight or anything back then, and those prices were during a time when inflation was running at 16%. Dublin London route was almost exclusively used by business travellers irrespective of which end of the plane they sat, with nearly all tickets being paid by companies rather than folks on 'average salaries'. £150 was a a heck of a lot of money back then and a hell of a price to pay extra for a prawn sandwich. Thye duopoly knew companies could afford it especially DUB-LHR. Back then airports were filled with suits, whose companies funded commercial aviation. Folks complain about Ryanair, but it does what it says on the tin and offers flexibility we could not have imagined 30 years ago (eg change tickets, flight dates, pax). Don't think SF charge vat as they are probably under the turnover threshold. DCC concepts and others now subtract UK vat from orders shipped to ROI, so at least we don't have to pay vat twice. Not our own crowd, only applying EU laws as per the customs union and applying tax on imports from a third country. The tricks is to get these small foreign suppliers to deduct their nations VAT from the cost to us (ie avoid double vat).

In Fairness, Its not An Post's fault brexitistan has shot itself in the foot and caused some Irish modellers a little inconvenience now and then. I'd rather walk on hot coals than go near an airport cattle crush and walk about 6km just to board a flight. Jeepers in the old days you could park in the outdoor car park opposite what's now called T1, step over a 1ft hedge walk straight into the terminal passed the hand luggage sniffer at the entrance door, and arrive only 20mins before a flight to LHR was due to depart. You could walk to either BA or AerLingus gate with either ticket/boarding pass and get on board such was the interchangeability in those days of the old duopoly. Nowadays Mr O Leary's staff nearly prod us with a meter length of hydrodare hose like the ring in a cattle mart.

Yes, I think I ordered them last February. Then they spent 3 weeks in an Post after customs cleared them, arrived today at last. Delighted to have RTR from this era.

Silverfox CIE Tin van arrived and some CIE green laminate coaches. All will be gently weathered in due course. The tin van will get le grot treatment as they suffered fairly quickly from new. The laminate roofs will be repainted black. Was quite impressed with the CIE laminate coaches. Will modify the bogies to take Kadee's as they lack NEM pockets and will close couple using Keen accessories before weathering. Believe it or not I remember travelling on these as a child out of Westland Roe and Amiens street to Galway. Now I just need to couple up an IRM A1 to this formation. Beware BREXIT hassle with customs from small UK suppliers, it's a disaster zone, aside from the extra cost (23% VAT+Duty), it adds about 4 weeks to delivery times. Brexit pushes the cost up to an extent I doubt many of us can justify the costs going forward except for the bigger suppliers who have DDP (delivery duty paid) because they are vat registered in Ireland or deduct UK VAT from orders to Ireland before payment. But I do love these coaches and they will make such a difference and can be mixed with just about any black'n'tan coach formation of that glorious era. Worth it to me in this case.

Christmas came early today as Silverfox coaches arrived on Gort. A silver tin van and some laminate CIE coaches. Athenry to Limerick passes the Limerick to Westport train in the loop.

Is this the ultimate toy show?

Stunning precision and factory quality decoration

Stunning result

Nice project and fine looking CAD. It was the class 47s that fill my nostalgia memory travelling in the UK along with the iconic 37s. A nice addition for BR outline modellers.

Strange as they had been operating steam locos boiler first safely (ie cab at rear), for 100 years successfully. Wonder if there was other reasons?

A plan Dry test for fit Draw it Roll up sleeves - slowly Go make some scratch built buildings from 1969 and dry test fit structures. Relay track on two layers of closed cell foam underlay ready for ballast and sound insulation from ply base board. Weather buildings and test track alignment Ballast Initial Scenics Photo the prompted the idea of this layout, getting a little closer to the feel of the place. More to do, but what's the rush.