Noel

Think I might know someone who might have one lying around... Wow - you guys are amazing and my memory is awful. Your post above got me digging and yes I have one - totally forgot. I just found it and took this pic. When one has been collecting this stuff for over 45 years and a near 20 year break from the hobby one might be forgiven for forgetting the contents of a few cardboard boxes of stock wrapped in grease proof paper and padded with old news papers. Lima CIE Brake Van meets MM 083 with Lima CIE coaches in background (circa late 1970s I think, repainted BR mk1s). If I remember correctly this brake van came with an o'rrible white roof so I painted it grey - about 37 years ago! I will have to dig out some of the retired old Dublo locos.

It was nice to meet you Eoin. Loved the developing layout, but I was astonished at the stunning Dart models. DMUs, railcars, Darts and Luas have never been 'my cup of tea', but your stunning Dart models could prove very tempting for this dinosaur locked in the GM loco and steam hauled train era. Noel

Hi Dave. Do you mind me asking which one? Was it just the air brush or one of their complete kits. Thanks Noel

Thanks, well hopefully it will get a lot busier this winter as I have almost completed 'tooling up' for the start of the scenic work now that the DCC wiring conversion is nearing it's end. It's thanks to the modellers on this forum and Murphy Models that my dormant interest in the hobby was awoken again this autumn. I've got enough locos DCC converted for the moment to operate it a 'little' while engaging in the scenic work over the winter. I'd never thought of a name for our layout until coming on this forum, so have decided to call it 'Kingsbridge' as that what was what I remember Heuston being called in the 60s before renaming in 1966, and for a decade after many Dubliners still referred to it as 'Kingsbridge'. The main terminus on the middle level of the layout is loosely based on an 'artistic' impression of 'Kingsbridge' or at least will be when I start on the buildings. The track layout was designed for 'steam' era operations with the old release road between platforms 4 and 5. My main interest is 60s and 70s operations as well as British outline steam, so this layout will have a bit of split or dual personality. The 60s/70s CIE/IR GM era mixed with 30s/40s UK steam era and hopefully a few 1950s ex-GSWR and ex-MGWR Irish steam trains. My first arrived on the layout last night thanks to MRSI show (i.e. 2-6-0 mogul). Post 071 class my interest rapidly falls off, probably for excellently observed reasons in the 'Dinosaur' thread - reversion to 'childhood' view of an ideal world. Upper level through station which has been invaded by Irish stock thanks for Murphy models, yet one GWR/BR Pannier tank pilot loco is on the inner road waiting to be over taken by a MM train of cravens behind a recent weathered 073 addition. Newly rediscovered Lima CIE vans behind weathered MM 183 (before detailing added but at least with apron). The weathering on the 183 was a little light compared to the 073 especially on the roof.

Only recently re-discovered that I had six late 1970s Lima CIE vans. I vaguely remember buying these in packs of three in WJ Owens of Bray which was 'the' best RC model aircraft shop in Ireland until the owner retired about 10 years ago, and during the 60s and 70s had also been quite a decent model railway shop as well as a specialist camera shop and an air-fix mecca. For me personally Bray lost its retail attraction when WJ Owens closed its doors for the last time. Aero modellers used to drive the length and breath of Ireland to get 'specialist' items from his 'Aladdin's' cave of goodies. Thankfully though Ireland now have some fabulous model railway shops. I presume I could re-wheel these wagons, change the couplings, and add a touch of weathering to make them semi-CIE passable. Any suggestions welcome. Lima CIE vans

Thanks. I'm not familiar with US models, any brand suggestions. If one was lucky I guess the ideal find would be a 'centre-drive' co-co chassis that is exactly the right length for a SF 001 body - might be a tall order for my limited skills to avoid having to shorten an RTR 'centre-drive' chassis

Hi DV. Thanks for that. This has been exercising my mind over the weekend. Nearly bought a pair of SF 001s at the show but felt the chassis that had been used in the stock on offer were too basic, sort of 'toy' railroad running spec. The more I think about it I feel these 001 class bodies deserve 'center drive' systems with all wheel drive on both bogies and all wheel pickups as per MM 071 model spec. Centre-drive really seems the way to go for quality diesel model locos nowadays. Most of the newer decent hornby's and bachmann's have gone this way.

I'd never seen a decent Dart model until seeing these at the show this weekend. Absolutely stunning models and an achievement beyond words. You are a very talented engineer and modeller. Fabulous attention to detail and quality. They looked better than factory produced products. Loved the little detail of the occasional flickering pantograph spark. Congratulations.

What a superb 121 - spotted at the show today - exceptional

At last an Irish steam train has joined our layout. 385 via Chris Dyer stand at the MRSI show weathered in CIE snail livery. Newly acquired 385 N-Class on platform 5 with goods van and two CIE snail coaches circa 1950 Surrounded by coaching stock of the big four - at last an Irish Steam train in our version of Heuston (before the roof is built) Have been building up a stock of MM GM's and mix of CIE/IE/IR coaching stock for the diesel upper layout level, now the lower level steam layout has some Irish steam at last. Now to repaint some of my older hornby LMS Stanier coaches to olive green.

Popped in for a quick second visit after lunch. Really enjoyed it and picked up a few really useful modelling bits'n'pieces. Saw some fab customised mk3s being hand delivered.

FYI, be aware of the Dublin city marathon route today if crossing city to get to the exhibition. Out of towners may prefer M50 route around city. Or east link bridge if off the merrion road before Vincent's hospital.

Thanks Mayner. Do none of the newer generation of Bachman or Hornby diesel locos have all wheel drive without those awful traction tyres? Cheers Noel

Thanks Kirley. That seemed a good solution for extra power and traction, but if I read the thread correctly those Hornby 55 bogies don't have all wheel pickup due to traction tyres. I looking for a suitable chassis with ALL wheel pickup. If I understand correctly your A class now has pickups on one side only of each power bogie. I have peco insulfrog points, but MM locos with their all wheel pickups run perfectly even at crawl speed over the points, as do some of my Bachman steam locos that have all wheel pickups. I'd prefer to avoid having to use keep-alive decoders in an attempt to get an A class to run well at crawl speed over points. Due to the popularity of SF A class I'm hoping somebody has discovered a solution. Any idea what bachmann chassis are similar to MM for drive and pickup quality (eg MM071)?

Has anybody got a Silver Fox CIE/IE 001 (A) class running on a chassis with ALL wheel pickups? If yes please advise which chassis and weither RTR or kil built 001. I had a look at some of the SF 001 models at the show, lovely bodies, but they had traction tyres on the power bogie and therefore only had wheel pickups on one side of each bogie so won't run as smoothly over point work as more modern chassis. Thanks Noel

From our brief chat with him, much the same as already posted here recently by others. New batch of mk2d coaches in CIE 'Supertrain' livery (ie orange and black, no white lining) due approx December or January with complete set of coaches to make up typical eight coach set including EGV, restaurant car, first class car, etc. 121 is on the 'radar' but it is very early stages yet. It was a pleasure to chat with the gentleman.

Well went to my first model railway exhibition in 20 years today. Enjoyed it very much. Many great exhibits. The venue was perhaps a bit tight for space, you couldn't swing a mouse let alone a cat by about 12pm. Some fabulous layouts. Met a few forumites too - Hello! Picked up a few bits and pieces, some books, DVDs and a nice IE EGV which is the main reason I went, but no other rolling stock as most show prices were above internet pricing. Highlight was having a brief chat with Mr Paddy Murphy, and getting the chance to thank him in person for the quality of his products and their impact on our hobby. Nearly bought a pair of Silver Fox A class, but decided against in the end as the samples at the show didn't have all wheel pickups and had traction tyres common on older Hornby chassis (i.e. pickups on opposite sides of opposing bogies in the old style). I will investigate what higher quality chassis these can be married to or bought with as RTR models. For that kind of money one expects really good runners that can crawl over peco points much like the stunning MM GMs, a classy looking scale replica also needs to be a superb scale runner. Liked the look of the green and grey Irish Rail intercity 201 locos, IMHO the best looking 201s in real life and in model form. Tempted to buy one at the show, but got a much better deal from an Irish retailer who was not at the show. Might pop in again on Monday. Anyway really enjoyed it, well done to organisers, and I am amazed how the hobby has advanced here in the past 20 years. Happy days.

A bit daft alright. A less popular GM loco in the most hideous loco livery CIE/IEs marketing dept ever dreamt up, and on a lima chassis. Just about to eat my porridge now.

Just Classic.

That looks great, love the atmosphere.

OK, I had never seen that. In ze old days, I had often travelled to Galway on board trains hauled by a single 121. I presume they were turned in those days for the return leg or there might have been some sort of driving coach at the other end. I can't remember.

I must be a fuddy duddy when it comes to my rose tinted railway memories. Forgive the long boring Friday afternoon rambling of one nostalgic for how railways were, or at least what memory thinks they were like. I first became aware of real trains and model trains in the early 60s, and more so in the 70s. There were two types of trains, the CIE ones I travelled on, and the trains I saw in movies and TV. The former were A & C, 141/181, 121 and later 071 loco hauled passenger trains with a wide variety of coaching stock in rakes including old laminates, the fabulous Park Royals, and the modern Cravens. The latter were all UK steam trains, GWR, LMS, LNER and SR, and my earliest exposure to model railways was my fathers Hornby Dublo 2 rail made up of GWR and BR express steam locos. The real goods trains I saw here in the 60s and early 70s, and the goods trains one always saw on TV back then and in old movies were short wheelbase two axel un-breaked wagons of all sorts, and here is the punch line - all goods trains had a break/guards van at the end, as did mainline passenger trains always have a break van at the end of the rake. I grew up with old coaching stock and old freight trains in the brain. I remember well when CIE introduced the 'super train' to much fanfare and very intense advertising campaign (i.e. mk2s), but even back then I thought it was a most ugly livery and not easy on the eye. Who in their right mind would paint a coach roof exposed to severe weathering a daft colour like day glow orange! Then bogie freight started to arrive late 70s and hells bells awful plain boxy looking container wagon - that didn't need a break van at the end, looked incomplete like a fish that had its tail bitten off by a shark. Suddenly all the freight wagons were getting longer and longer and didn't look as well on small layouts with tight radius curves. At least they were largely hauled by the amazing sounding GMs - a sound etched in my childhood memory, a sweet sound no UK loco ever emitted, rather they sounded like quiet tractors. Most of the trains I travelled on were on the former GSWR and MGWR rails, never until the 90s had I been on the east coast lines south to Wexford or north to Belfast. I was on an enterprise that broke down in Portadown station on the Friday of the annual 'drumcree' problem in 1997 at a bygone time when passions were high and I had to spend a very nervous 2 hours in the station waiting for a replacement train. I spoke vit ze german (deutscher) akzent ven I sprech mit ze NIR stazion staf, asking zem wen ze korrect train vud kom tu ze station. It was a most uncomfortable experience but passed uneventfully. Been on a quite a few enterprises since and had very pleasant experiences travelling for work in 1st class - a cut well above IE fare. The food on the Cork early bird now is a joke compared to 15 years ago or earlier, when you could order from a menu, had a linen table cloth and ones food was cooked on the train and served on ceramic plates instead of a cellophane wrapped microwaved bacon buttie. How times of changed. These new railcar trains seem such characterless plastic tubberware bus boxes on rails, that sound like buses not like real trains and have the most uncomfortable seats and ride compared to the coaching stock of yesteryear. When the 201s were introduced in the early 90s with the initial livery that seemed dreamt up by a colour blind graphic designer, visually they didn't 'blow my skirt up', no walkway, just a long box with a slanty bit at each end as a token homage to aerodynamics. Spoke to a driver before boarding one day in 1996 and asked him if the new locos were a big improvement on the 071s - "Huh!" he grunted, "No these heaps of 5x1t are as reliable as a straw bra strap, always breaking down, and have new fangled fly-by-wire software that is always stopping the trains. These junk heaps are not a patch on the reliable 071s". Twas early days for the 201s and the early problems did get snagged out, but they cause some reliability grief in the early years, but at least they sounded like locos - not bendy bus 22ks. My memory of Irish good trains were black liveried A(101),C, 141 and 181s hauling mixed traffic corrugated open wagons, closed vans, short wheel based open flats with boxes and crates strapped down, cattle wagons, cable wagons, fertiliser wagons, beat, and the odd two axel short coach/vans, all terminated with a beefy break van. One christmas my little brother got a train set with heaven forbid, twin axil bogied container flats and four 40ft containers - ugly modern or what I thought - glad santa didn't inflict that one me I thought (ungrateful little brat I was). No buffers, no guards van, and they were so long they overhung the short radius set track so much that the curved platforms couldn't be used!!! Even though 60s and early 70s CIE Irish passenger trains were hauled by GM diesels, there was a nostalgic echo back to the steam days when one saw swirls of steam leaking up from the coach sides and ends at the platforms due to the steam heating on those old trains. All that was missing was 'chuff chuff', but the GMs notching up and down were stirring sounds, like a space ship preparing for warp speed (i.e. 70mph if you were lucky on a CIE mainline express to Cork). So I'm a self confessed model railway dinosaur who considers everything after 071s, Park Royals, Cravens and short wheel base freight wagons, mere modern tubberware buses that have no soul, and from a modelling point of view need very large radius curves that just don't fit into most modern homes in OO gauge. I'm a hybrid that grew up with toy trains modelled on UK steam era as seen on the movies and TV, but grew up travelling on Irish trains hauled by ubiquitous GMs and 001 class locos. Thanks to Murphy Models I have now been able to run proper model Irish trains on my layout instead of repainted BR coaches and orange class 25s and 33s that look nothing like CIE 001 class. I'm sure one day somebody may well be rambling on about the 39000 class 200mph Cork express DMUs and hoping they will soon be released as models with preloaded DCC mk4 chips (i.e. lights, sound, smell modules). Ah well, IR train toilets have holding tanks unlike swiss railways which still use the tracks (i.e. the best run railways in the world). Now the TGV and soon to run EGV, thats a real train one again despite pretending to be a very long rail car. If I could wave a magic wand at the MRSI exhibition I'd buy a new train set with a MM 001 class loco pulling a rake of Park Royals compete with linen table cloths of course! [EOF - end of meandering ramblings]

Weird looking cab/hybrid coach arrangement. Where was the coal stored?

Well they say the swiss have the most efficient railways in the world. But their W/Cs today still exit straight onto the track, in fact you can see the tracks through the bowl. EU land seems to have a paranoia for exceptionally high standards we can't really afford, and some strands of H&S have entered 'la-la land' at the cost of economic development. ROI and revenue is more important than nostalgia, but in IE's case it seems somebody gave them a big piggy bank so long term financial prudence went out the window and they rushed off to the toy shop and emptied the contents of their piggy bank - funded by the public. Ironically had the 'celtic tiger' not over heated and IE not spent the transport 21 money on rolling stock, we might have ended up with a better and more efficient rail network today. When money is scarce it tends to be more wisely spent.

Did she run on gas?