Noel

OK having watched the Hitler video on the other tread I now fully understand what happened and why the Mk3s were scrapped. Reason = Financial incompetence on the part of government, IE and consultants = Insane waste of public capital investment

OK - Thank you BK from a newbie. Superb site. Hat's off to you.

I tend to agree. Personally speaking I'd love to see new runs of 001(A) class and perhaps 121, or even reruns of 141/181. It looks like 121 is on the MM radar rather than 001 which is a pity as I think 001s would sell in far greater numbers. 001's should cost a little less to produce due to simpler body form (e.g: one piece body moulding and lack of walkway hand rails which must add to the labour cost significantly). I suspect some may limit their spend on 121s to a pair for running nose to nose, or one with a SF push/pull mk3 set, whereas others might collect fleets of the nostalgic 001s which most of us over 45 will have travelled behind on Irish rails. I am astounded by how many modellers seem to have 141/181 and 071s in double digit numbers. It must be an age thing due to nostalgia having travelled on trains pulled by them. I sound like a broken record and I'm only back in the hobby 12 weeks! I'd buy about four 001s but only two 121s.

That's very impressive growth. Especially in an era where many special interest group boards have had reductions in traffic due to Facebook and Twitter encroaching on folks 'internet' time. BTW, purely as a matter of interest who set up and owns this wonderful forum? Hats off.

Only discovered this nugget today when reading back through the thread. ROFLMAO - just brilliant

Thanks. Any idea why then the IE Mk3s were taken out of service little over halfway through their service life? It also seems a poor waste of capital investment to have virtually put the 201 fleet out to pasture or light freight duties after only 15-18 years in service except for the few Cork/Belfast sets. I'm trying to understand what the economic cost benefit of buying the shinny new 22ks was, especially given their high maintenance cycle requiring a visit to Portlaoise depot every 48-72 hrs or is that an urban myth? That must cost a lot in terms of repositioning trips presumably during the night too. The turnaround times at mainline termini stations of 22ks would be quicker due to the avoidance of loco runaround times at places like Killkenny and Killarney, but hardly a significant cost in time, maintenance of the few passing loops or coupling/uncoupling staff costs. The need for EGVs with loco hauled trains would add a cost compared to rail cars, but one would have thought that would might only come into play when old assets reach their end of the operating life and are replaced by more efficient stock at that time. I can understand the cost/benefit of 22ks v loco sets if starting with a blank sheet, but given the large mk3 fleet and 201 fleet that already existed, it's hard to understand the premature scrapping. UPDATE: Apologies, I see this topic was already discussed at length in the past. http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/2093-MK3-Scrapping

Thanks for posting that link. Some great footage. The EGV could do with some TLC and lick of paint, but the Cravens look superb. Love the wood in the restaurant car.

Hi Glenderg. Thanks, that's interesting. I had mistakenly understood the CIE Mk3s where structurally identical to BR Mk3s with identical loading gauge/dimensions, but 6.5" wider track gauge rather than wider bodies (excluding door differences and different electrics and internal cosmetics). I had understood that the wider gauge had given them a more comfortable ride and greater stability than their BR equivalents running on the narrower 4'8" gauge. You learn something new every day! The various private UK operators are still operating much of their original mk3 fleets at much higher speeds than IRs ever ran at. Was there structural differences between the original BREL built mk3s for CIE and the BR ones? Or perhaps it was the later CIE Mk3s built here under license? I was fascinated why our Mk3s had aged and been deemed end of life in contrast with the UK fleets. Many of our mk3s only saw 20-23 years of service which is nothing for modern coaching stock, and their operating cycles (i.e. usage) was low compared to BR stock. It still 'smells' of poor utilisation of past capital investments in stock. I wonder if poor maintenance or reduced major overhaul cycles had anything to do with the 'structural' integrity issues expressed by 'consultant' source rather than original build specs. Cheers. Noel.

Its bizarre that IR wasted money on all the new 22ks when the mk3s had at least 15 years service life left in them. BR mk3s are due to run for another decade at least despite their introduction in 1972 with HST125. IR might have been wiser to spend the 'Celtic tiger' giveaway money they received in the 00s on track and signalling infrastructure and better timetables. They bought a fleet of powerful 201s only 17 years ago that are hardly used with many lying up. Crazy waste and shameful to see the mk3s being scraped instead of overhauled before they wasted money on the 22ks.

Its difficult to tell until it's finished.

Thanks

Spotted this new Android app for controlling JMRI layout: http://www.modelrailforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29591 https://plus.google.com/communities/103043383838285932882

Still pondering what to do with my pair of CIE Lima class 33s which I have from the late 1970s or early 80s. They were supposed to look a bit like 001/A class MVs but compared to todays standards they don't really measure up. Not bad in BR livery as class 33s for their time. They've been in storage for 30 years! Three choices seem to be static display for nostalgia reasons, sell, or rejuvenate with better power units and all wheel pickups, and add the proper A class cab window arrangement and buffer beam. They are not bad runners for 70s/80s but compared to MM 141/181s they are not as smooth, nor as quiet. Decisions, decisions. I might try doctoring one of the bodies this winter and if thats a success then investigate as per DVs suggestions better motors and all wheel pickup.

Not laughing at all Mike. That is a salutary lesson for us all. Glad damage was not too bad. We could have lost our home about 10 years ago due to low winter sun striking a ladies magnifying mirror on the window cill of our bathroom. It burnt a 1/2" deep gouge right across the wooden window frame. It the gouge line was burnt to a crisp. Thankfully there weren't any more flammable items on the window cill at the time or it could have caught fire!!! What was scary is it was only low winter sun which we normally wouldn't expect to be hot, but magnify those rays into one tiny concentrated area at just the right focal distance and ouch! Thanks for posting. PS: Reminds me of my childhood when I setup a small Triang layout on a sun room table (birthday present). The hot sun ruined my two BR MkII coaches which partially melted and warped like bananas. I was not a happy bunny but learnt a lesson that day.

Does anybody know where I might source a mk2 EGV in IR or IE livery (dual white strip, black or orange roof), but not yellow, orange Galway livery? Probably silly timing for such a question given the show next weekend, but no harm asking. Noel

Eh, not quite sure what that means, as in 'dream on' or yes its part of the dance! At a show earlier in the year in Dublin I could hardly get a word in to ask a trader about some of his stock, pricing, etc, as he was engrossed in idle 'chit chat' with some tyre kickers who seemed to be pals of his. After waiting 10 mins to talk to the guy I left and instead bought a rake of coaches the next day over the phone from another vendor for €5 less per coach than the 'chatty' guys show prices!!! He should have watched John Cleese's famous sales training videos 'how not to lose a sale'.

Looking forward to this show. Hope to go Saturday. Do any of the trade stands offer discounts at these shows?

That's a pity. Are there any preserved broad guage railways based down south? All the good stuff seems to be happening up north. I'm totally out of touch with what has been happening in relation to preservation for the past 20 years or so, only catching up now via internet. RPSI seem to be doing really well. Hats off! When preservation 'specials' run on Irish Rail track, do they allow RPSI/ITG personal operate the locos or do they need to be operated by or with the supervision of IE staff?

Nice pics as ever. Thanks for posting. Are the mainline locos and coaches stored at WCR ever going to run again on a preserved line, or are they just going to be static exhibits?

Wow, fabulous photos. I missed the originals when posted two weeks ago. You have greatly improved the look of the NIR 208. Love the load loader idea. Just brilliant. Wow again - GM Central HQ - What an amazing and huge fleet of MM GMs

Hi Kirley, forgive my ignorance but what is 'St Paddy' for chassis, do you mean an MM 071 Co-Co chassis? Can you buy MM chassis on their own or are there similar all wheel dual bogie drive bachmann chassis that suit. I enquired about an RTR Silver fox A class but they don't sell with dual bogie drive option. Thanks. Noel

There are just two airworthy Lancs. One in UK and one in Canada. This past summer the Canadian one flew the Atlantic to fly alongside the sole remaining RAF Lancaster at a number of air shows and events in UK. It was the first time in many decades since two lancs flew together in formation.

Apologies, no offence was intended. My personal railway preferences are just that, my own only, and reflects my nostalgic enjoyment of GWR & LMS steam era model trains and Irish diesel loco hauled stock especially 60s & 70s which I travelled on so much. I just love the older prototypical track and train arrangements of yesteryear. Lots of wagon shunting in small goods sidings and GM locos running around trains. In relation to realistic train lengths it was not uncommon for a single coach to be hauled behind 0-6-0 on GWR branch lines push/pull. For mainline passenger services 5 coaches on a model layout seems a reasonable length if space permits. Loved watching some of Michael Portillo's TV series on great railway journeys. Watching the short railcars stopping on some of the most scenic West Country, Welch and Scottish highland stations, with their long platforms and wonderful Victorian buildings, one can't help feeling nostalgic for the past trains and traffic such places enjoyed in their heyday. At least they are open and in use. I wouldn't complain about modern rail cars if trains were still running to places like Kinsale, Youghal, Foynes or Killaloe. Does anybody know how many coaches were on the longest scheduled services between Dublin-Cork and Dublin-Belfast? (Ie when coaches were shorter).

Fabulous achievement. These look great.

Absolutely superb wagons. The 3F also looks so realistic. Impressive.