Noel

Well Dave I've travelled a lot on CAF Mk4 sets so no surprises there, modern and all as they are at least they are trains that have carriages and an engine that pulls them and they were comfy to sit in and quiet unlike the plastic biscuit tin yoyos that replaced the mk3 stock. Now as to yellow s*** no way, I don't have any, your weed spray van was the closed I got to catching yellow fever. I do confess that I have a pair of yellow plough vans still in their box in the attic pending weathering into a CIE brown state. Also confess I have some weed spray wagons as donors for old CIE era weed train using 20ft container flats for the tankers and laminate brake parcels van for the spray coach. I'll need to buy a serious no of indulgences to avoid being sent to the bogie of eternal stench for my lapse. But I might just be able to buy my way out of model damnation by airbrushing a few laminate coaches in flying snail CIE green. I also confess that I have two 201 locos but I don't run them.

I think you are probably right, for wet pubs anyway. There seems more and more potholes for the vaccination programme every week, but at least its a good problem to have (ie 5 proven vaccines available, 17 variants of A classes coming down the tracks) with supply problems for only two of the five vaccines, compared to a year ago when there was zero vaccines in sight. There is clear light emerging at the end of the covid tunnel and it grows every brighter and gets ever closer, yet frustrating that the last furlong is taking a while longer than we'd all hoped. This time next year we might be pestering IRM/AS for C classes and CAF mk4 sets. Or if the vaccines go horribly wrong (ie worse than webbed feet) we could be staring down the barrel of 22k ICE train sets, however completely unlikely such as disaster is likely to occur. The future is brightening up, we just need a little more time. Keep safe all.

Excellent the achievement of a dream and a light bulb moment idea only 7 years ago. What a milestone to achieve. This is not the end of a journey, surely just the end of the beginning and just the beginning of greater success.

Calming down now. This pair of droppers are at an awkward point where the layouts main kadee under track uncoupling magnet is placed. The wires hopefully will disappear into the ballast. This single magnet between the goods yard and headhunt will suffice for the entire yard due delayed automatic uncoupling capability of kadee couplings. Its been fully tested prior to ballasting. Dropper confetti. The next bit will be easier when the short baseboards are rotated on their sides for working on. These pairs will all be connected to DCC dropper boards (WMRC DMcC design) which in turn will be daisy chained to form the main DCC bus.

I hate droppers with a vengeance and electrofrog points, just over complicates the wiring and adds to the workload unnecessarily IMHO. Modern AWP locos function just fine on insulfrog points which negate the need for frog switching and also eliminates the need for 80% of droppers. Zero One sold me on the digital promise of - look mom only 2 wires needed. Not so, DCC needs even more wiring than DC with its block sections. I will never be running 2 axle shunters or 4-4-0 steam locos with pickup only on 2 axles. Apologies for the moan, I'm sure I'll have forgotten the hassle when its all done and dusted.

That makes sense.

Not surprised to hear A23r is sold out, the CIE stepped Black'n'Tan livery was iconic IMHO best livery of the lot with the stepped band.

Yes it seems once they sub-contracted out the catering it went rapidly downhill. The Cork train lost the business community as a result. I hear only the enterprise does proper food now. I could be getting mixed up but I regularly travelled to Cork for work in the 80s and remember a host/hostess, sit down menus, linen service, delph, metal knives and forks, and taste wholesome if not gourmet food that was excellent for on board a train. I nearly fell off my seat with surprise when I was told there was a fax machine available and a power socket under the table as well as being offered a glass of champaign with my cooked breakfast. None of this nonsense sandwiches off a trolly with crisps and a can of 7 up like nowadays.

Fond memories of City Gold to Cork and back in the 80s when there was a decent on board service with hot meals, or enjoy a full Irish breakfast on the 07:40 Dublin to Cork on the comfy m3s. The days when you could actually eat a hot meal traveling by train. Now only snack food from trolleys on board trolleys. If they brought proper food back on the trains I'd leave the car at home more when travelling to Cork, Kerry and Galway.

Wow spectacular model. Loving this thread and watching her progress.

Yes it was interesting to note the CIE black'n'tan livery A classes were top of the list followed by IR livery. Surprised A1 not already sold out as a collectors item. I remember what looked like a gauge 1 static model in the dept of transport years ago in the delivery silver livery.

The drift to music

I've said it before Eoin doesn't look his best in this photo but his engineering work is simply out of this world. Excellence. Hat's off.

Really looking forward to these 20ton Brake vans. Will look perfect behind Gort goods trains. PS: Looks like plug in NEM pockets a possibility?

Wow I get vertigo just looking at that. Would you not consider risking orange or yellow stuff instead?

DCC dropper plan, plus the eastern head shunt can be toggle switched from ordinary track to DCC programming track using a switch. DCC dropper pairs in red.

Well wear. Love the IR livery versions with the IR logo.

Eamonn Redmond sent me this link. Nostalgia gold 1960s and 1970s by Tom Dowling and Ciaran Cooney

Used Cobalt point motor Tiebar Labels which are designed to make ballasting points a little easier and less risky to clog the tie bar . https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/cobalt-tiebar-labels-12-pack/ The idea is you just ballast to the edges of the label which is pre-ballast coloured and then dry ballast around the tie bar which should cause the ballast to stick to the sticky labels avoiding the risk of PVA mix gluing the point. These were easy to slide in under the points after track laying and are self adhesive with a hole for the point motor bar. Photo below shows three points and a Kadee uncoupling magnet ready for Javis fine granite ballast. The double layer of 3mm closed cell dense foam underlay at 6mm total was perfect height to recess the Kadee under track magnet without needing to cut into the baseboard.

A montage of progress on Gort this past two years. Shortly after no 3 was recovering from heart surgery when WMRC pal Dave visited me in hospital with a card signed by club members and a nice get well soon gift. Little did I know then how long this might take and its not done yet, but on the home stretch now. Thanks for the kind and encouraging comments especially from those who've been so generous with advice, guidance and tips as I learned along the way. Best wishes everybody for a special and blessed Easter. It's a long way to tipperary but loving every step along the way.

Its a relief to see what started out as a layout design in RailModellerPro evolved into something real Which was inspired by this photo from "Rails Through the West' Starting to look like this After it started a dry test fit like this a few years ago now using old bits of toy buildings Spent today finalising track fitting, eliminating any rail or sleeper gaps, loading gauge and clearance tests for platforms and loading docks using a variety of wide rolling stock (eg Laminate+Craven coaches, cattle wagons, etc). Also tested track work with stock and tested the uncoupling magnets. I'm hoping to use magnets to hold the buildings and platforms in place so that they remain removable for transport. Looking south in the direction of Ennis. B188 uncoupled from the afternoon Limerick-Athenry passenger working to shunt some wagons in the yard ready for the Limerick-Claremorris evening goods train to collect. Looking North in Athenry direction. Next step should be ballasting once the point motors have been tested. Track pins will be removed once ballasting has been completed. Really enjoying this project. I've learned so much along this journey and its far from finished yet, but patience is the one thing I've really had to take on board and avoid the urge of trying to run trains too soon.

Just wondering did these ever materialise Dave?

Wash your mouth out! I'd sooner admit to coming from Cork rather than run yellow stuff! I had to wear full PPE gear when doing your weed van last November for fear I'd catch yellow fever from it.

Yes I miss those 'enormous hydraulic buffers' and dislike the way nowadays the locos have to stop so far away from the terminus buffers. H&S. Some more CIE golden oldie scenes