Noel

Gort is finally beginning to look like a model railway.

Subtle, beautiful, authentic, atmospheric. Hats off

That's stunning Rob. Looks totally brilliant, love the details, it really captures the essence of Heuston right down to platforms, track well, fencing, signage, service gear, sheds, people microscenes, and the lighting makes it feel like the inside of Heuston. Love it. Enjoy.

I still have one in Hornby's gastly dayglo orange. It has no value as a model other than sentimental value from childhood. I also have a BR blue one. The orange was so awful I repainted it by hand and weathered the chassis about 1972. Still has the stick on CIE roundal.

Now time to get started on the Limerick/Ennis board end. The temporary Tri-Ang shelter will have to go and be replaced with a scratch built version from photos Copyright acknowledged to unknown source below. This is what the real shelter looked like. Note the gas lamps on the platform. Will have to mimic the single rail fence between the two stone wall sections. Lots of foliage and trees needed at the Ennis end of this board and some more work on the yard and boundary to the neighbouring merchants yard. My thanks to Jonathan Beaumont and Barry carse for the inspiration for this layout from the photos in their book.

Hi Paul. Thanks but no chimney, its just a line side storage and tool shed used by plate layers, not really for human use, so no stove nor brazier in there and no windows needed.

First short clip since scenics started

Decorated and weathered line side hut now in situ. 14:50 inbound working from Athenry

Weathered with a little moss growing up the sides

Ready for weathering and a door handle

In the 3rd photo it is actually the MM coach that is an incorrect colour, far too much yellow, as have all the MM mk2d coaches been.

Ok, good to have a feedback sample, thanks. I'll stick to my well proven Vallejo Yellow+Red mix at 35:1

Well spotted George, replaced by the sheer embarrassment of being exposed I originally built that airfix kit back around 1972. Always useful to repurpose models, but Gort deserved its own as all the other buildings were scratch built. This little guy was made from bits of plastic card in my plasticard scape box (ie off cuts from past projects).

Tractor in a field. This old tractor arrived from IRM's online store this morning. Put it straight in one of the fields.

Discovered this 72.708 "Orange Fire" colour from Vallejo's game air range which is pre-thinned for airbrush use. Will try it soon on a coach but the test card looks promising. This might be the first paint manufacturers product that works straight out of the bottle. Just passing it on.

I needed a line side hut on Gort. Temporarily I used an old airfix shed that was part of their loco shed kit, but its time to make a plate layers line side hut for Gort. 1) make a kit 2. Assemble it 3. Prime it 4. Test it in situ before decoration The corrugates roof will have to be somewhat rusted These endless little tasks needed to add some character to Gort Model railway

Don't think so, have left a decent pair of wellington boots inside the shed instead . . . and ski poles

Plate layers hut installed

The fertiliser seems to be working, there be growth Gap beside line ready for plate layers hut.

Yea back then we all thought this was like an Irish TGV, little did we know 75mph was more typical, but on the old jointed rails it felt like the sound barrier had been breeched. Still the cushy air con coaches dulled the noise from outside. Fortunately have A46 on order as well. August will be A great month.

Ordered No 18. Looking forward to August! ST was an iconic livery for the A's heralding the super train launch in 1972 with matching livery mk2 coaches rounded coach ends matching the roof profile of the loco. It all looked so modern back then in an Ireland that still played the national anthem when RTE went off air every night, usually around 11pm, and when traffic lights were still black and white. The super train was like a space ship to an Ireland still getting used to morris minor's and ford anglia's

Looking forward to the landscaping phase

Jeapers were getting very fussy. IRM/AS may be victims of their own success so far have they raised the bar and our expectations. I’ll be crushed if the windscreen wipers don’t operate automatically when it rains on my choo-choo layout. Glad I ordered A46, looks the biz, I’m just barely old enough to have travelled behind that livery.

Made a dogs dinner of fitting the self adhesive back scene from ID. The adhesive just would not stick to the sky blue I had painted onto the 1/4" back scene board. Will have to waste this one and put another non-selfadhesive one on using wallpaper paste. Colours a bit stark due flash. Hopefully it'll blend in when I add some foliage, hedgerows and some trees. But I'm glad it has a hint of Connemara about it. Looking forward to the next stage of landscaping.

Unfortunate but totally understandable. But brighter days are ahead and shows will resume when its safe.