Noel

22 years ago when I constructed the boards for 'old new layout' (ie kingsbridge), I used 9mm ply screwed and glued on to a lattice timber frames made up of of 3x1" edges and 2x1" cross members. Easy to cut, drill and especially friendly for track pins (see layouts forum). Now materials have moved on since then. I tried the sort MDF that was available 22 years ago, but it was a nitemare to get it to take track pins, far too hard. However I understand there are now softer grades of MDF available that are stable yet accept track pins. Had such been available then I might have tried it. But happy with the ply setup which seems to have stood the test of time so far. Our layout has three split levels so some base boards sections were not straight forward.

LOL "Beam me up Scotty" comes to mind

Thanks. Any idea what the finished livery will be? Anything like this assuming the blue on the EGV?

Well I was glad of the sale. I picked up some stock I was planning to collect anyway over the next 12 months or so, but the prices made it worth the spend earlier than I had planned. All done now with Irish locos and rolling stock. Nuff'ize'nuff'. No excuses now, scenic work pending and some spray work on rolling stock.

Yes indeed. Used that train regularly on work trips to Cork during the 90s. The first time I was on 'city gold' shortly after it was introduced in the late 80s, I was astonished at the quality service, comfort, ability to work on board, and overall travel experience (i.e. compared to the 70s and early 80s trains). It was the first time I'd been on an Irish train that matched up to the comfort of BR intercity service that I has used a lot for work. Pity its gone. Low cost airline business model now prevails, only difference is that in the air it got more people flying, but on intercity rail here that doesn't seem to have had the same level of effect.

The mk4 DVTs are just driving trailers with heat and power generators (i.e. EGV), and are either pulled or pushed by 201s. IE Mk4 DVTs have no tractive capability. In the early 90s there seemed to be a clear strategy to replace the aging loco fleet (071s, 141/181 double headers and A class) with the large fleet of GM 201s that started entering service in 1994. Relegating the 071s to former 141/181/A tasks. The 32 x 201s represented a huge capital investment and modernisation of loco stock. Then only a decade later in 2006 IE made another significant capital investment in loco hauled services with the mk4 coaching stock. FLIP U-TURN then the spending spree in the naughties caught up with the strategic switch to ICRs and move away from the then relative recent capital programme on loco hauled services. Hence the arrival of the 22k fleet and premature cutting up of the mk3s. What's done is done, no use crying now over spilt milk (i.e. apparent wasted of state capital funds lying idle in sidings or prematurley cut up). The 22k ICRs seem clean and efficient and hopefully will have a 40 year operational life. I presume the reason 071s have had service life continued is that they are more suitable for some freight and PWM traffic than the 201s rusting in sidings, or weight restrictions, etc. Personally the 22k seem fine for shorter commuter routes, but IMHO they do not provide a comfortable environment for long train journeys. Comfy seats even if compact is a fundamental for journeys over 90 minutes. Good luck to the new express service. PS: Apologies garlfieldsghost posts crossed cause I was on the phone and didn't hit send.

5m people v 130m people?

I could be wrong but I suspect aside from population size economics Ireland is too small geographically for a TGV style service to make sense. The distances are just too short. Tis but a small island after all, but a lovely little one. PS: The Dub-Cork City Gold service of the 1980s was always packed and a success - a top class service.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLUqAUu9y2Y

Looks great. Enjoy

I hear what you are saying alright. My point is they have clearly abandoned the smaller segment for business service. Credit where credit is due. Standing back, overall the replacement of the fleet seemed impressive, despite the mk3s being put out to grass perhaps a decade earlier than their shelf life had they been overhauled like UK stock had. It is obvious that turnaround time and costs with ICRs is a no brainer, less man power, less station track work needed, less points to maintain, less time, etc. However one wonders if the 'transport21' spending spree would have been better spent on the actual network infrastructure rather than the hasty migration from loco hauled mk3 rolling stock to ICRs. I appreciate some were in poor order but could that be down to the overhaul cycle, which the UK kept up with on their mk3 fleets? The online self service ticketing and allocated seating works really well. Perhaps its just my age, but the seats on the 22k seem back killers after more than 90 minutes. One problem remains with intercity transport - access to Heuston by road at rush hour which afflicts many living on the suburban ring. By the time some folk drive into Heuston at rush hour and park (because they can't get their by rail) they would already be half way to Cork, Limerick, Galway or Waterford by motorway. It seems daft that the door2door time by rail takes significantly longer than by road from the suburbs. Yes it saves fatigue, especially up and down in the same day, and yes one can get some work done on the train unlike the car. Much as rail killed off the canals, now the motorways seem to be stifling intercity rail. Anyway I hope this new express service is a success and regains some market share from the motorways.

A key to getting folk off the motorways onto rail for intercity work travel is comfort and service. That means moderately acceptable food&bev onboard, and an environment where one can get work done on a laptop or tablet, which means curtains and power outlets. The lack of curtains make it difficult to work on a laptop. To work one also needs "quiet" which is a major reason folk travel on business fares. To save "time" folks need to be able to eat proper food on an intercity work excursion. IE seem to have abandoned the business traveller who will either travel by motorway or fly. They've got all the new rolling stock, all they need is to tweak a few things to get more business traffic: Curtains or darkly tinted windows Larger more comfortable seats Decent hot food served at your seat (i.e. not reheated junk food served in cardboard bags/boxes) Link Heuston to Connolly/Dart network, or build new intercity hub station on M50 rim (i.e. avoids rush hour roads) All four are now sadly lacking on Dublin/Cork mk4 sets and especially on the 22k.

Hi Stephen Did you mean this one below with the IR logo (which was an Irish Rail livery with tippex white stripes), or the ST at the bottom? Noel I'm a B&T fan myself but like all of the liveries, especially the IR tippex livery with the IR points logo. MM0182 was my first ever MM loco which I discovered completely by accident because I had been out of the hobby for 15 years, but a chance visit to the Fry museum in Malahide introduced me to these models which restarted the hobby for me.

Hi Ben Is there really no business class on this train? If not IE seem to have lost the plot completely. Quicker and cheaper to fly. Intercity without a business service would be a joke. Noel

The prototype was not the prettiest looking main line steam loco.

I agree they are superb. They look every bit as good as the 141s. I have a few 071s. Its purely a personal taste reason that I 'slightly' prefer the shorter prototype 141/181 for nostalgia reasons and the era I travelled most on rails. The MM/Bachmann 141/181s do have drive systems that are quieter and a little smoother at crawl speeds. No Kevin, for me the 071s are right up there both as prototypes and excellent models. Now 201s, that's another matter down our way Again purely a personal experience, I just never took to the 1995 GM 201s possibly because the prototypes looked a rather simple bland shape compared to their distinctive ancestors with their north american walkways, and the awful livery at introduction. No reflection on the model, just not the era etched in my memory (1960s-1970s). Also find 201s look rather long for typical layout spaces. Luckily for those who love the 80s, 90s, and 00s era, MM have a great portfolio of model locos and liveries. Hence I have a single example of an MM 201 in Green&Silver livery.

Nice pics. The refurbished GSV 3173 looks great. Any idea why she has the maroon livery and not one visually compatible with the rest of the RPSI coaching stock?

Hi Kevin The answers I got here may be of help. 071 or 141 the same issues. http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/4655-How-to-renumber-a-black-MM-141 I haven't done it yet myself but am about to find out, but I guess doing a weathered loco or indeed weathering a loco after renumbering may indeed help hide a multitude of sins post renumbering. At least that's what I'm hoping for when I renumber some 141s and subsequently weather them. Noel

Enjoy. These baby GMs are in a class of their own. Nothing before nor since has come close to their quality and visual appeal, not to mention their extraordinarily superb running. They are the pinnacle of MMs wonderful line of locos.

Retro fitting sound to 0-6-0 tank locos can be quite tight for space. There are a few factory fitted sound on 0-6-0 models. One might think having electrofrog points or keep-a-live DCC module necessary to get smooth running. If a sound loco experiences short power loss, the sound can trip out until switched back on by function key. PS: I wasn't advocating use of a tender with the Jinty.

Just a thought. If investing in DCC 'steam' sound might it work more reliably in a longer wheel base loco with more axils and more power pickups? (i.e. pick ups on bogies and tender instead of just 0-6-0) Also a tender loco may be able to house a larger speaker. I wonder how reliable sound might be on an 0-6-0 loco with limited pickups when travelling over points at low speed, unless of course the decoder has a keep-a-live module and capacitor but that all needs more space (i.e. speaker + decoder + capacitor).

The sterling prices for 'buy now' Irish items are way above RRP anyway, add to that the GBP/Euro exchange rate and little will sell except to gullible fools.

Fools and rubbish comes to mind.

Hi Kevin Not for me. Will paint the white lines. Noel

One more question. The Veda WD-186R airbrush has an extra adjustment under the reservoir, does anybody know what it adjusts? I can't find any manual or instructions online. Thanks