Noel

Bog Road Level crossing is a superb layout. Looking great. Oh my eyes the bright yellow. Eamon it look class.

She looks pretty good. Rather than repaint the same livery onto an already nice model would you consider instead getting it gently weathered?

That’s what Peco call it ‘Peco Streamline Code 75 track‘ for the whole range https://peco-uk.com/collections/streamline/75?page=2&view=12&layout=

The selection of track seems identical. Code 75 is a smaller rail profile. Code 100 can inter operate with peco settrack.

Yea but IMHO gimmicks like rotating axles boxes and cab lights don't really add to models.

Agree. I've never used the cab light on my 071s or my 201. A gimmick, gee-whiz the first time you see it but after that its not really going to get used. FYI, wheeltappers 071 and 201 projects have a flickering cab light as it switches on to simulate an old fluorescent light starting up.

Thanks for posting that Dave. An interesting read, a very positive and fair review. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought the tablet catchers were a little anaemic looking. Overall an absolutely stunning model. The article finishes with a 'what next' comment! Has this gentleman not already achieved enough in his successful business career and done enough for the Irish hobby? He created an entire hobby here, and was the catalyst for everything else that followed (eg MIR, SSM, SF, IFM, IRM, PW, AS, JM).

Excellent addition. Noel do you mind me asking where you source your well dressed LLPs?. Like their transparent bases.

B135 has lost her fisher price pristine look and gained some age. These are just exquisite models, the best yet from Murphy Models IMHO, and they drive as well as they look.

Got B135 weathered in the past few days. Mostly powders and a tiny bit of airbrush. B135 imaginary 1968 B135 hauls a local mixed branch train passengers + goods

Stronger deeper colours also a better backdrop for advertising. Apparently One of the reasons they changed from the original flying snail green livery is people down the country missed buses because they couldn’t see them in the distance approaching rural locations. They blended into the land scape too easily. Hence red and cream. Some people in some hilly areas could spot an approaching bus from 2miles away on an elevated hilly road or below in a valley. Myth or true I know not.

That looks like the pub cafe on bere island in bantry bay

Looks like 1969 or 1970 Most of the shops had awnings and many shops on the Main Street had merchandise on display outside on the street, selling buckets and spades and fishing rods as bray then was still very much a summer holiday sea side resort town.

Who needs a light, Just take your arms off and climb up into the cab for a look. Ah now in fairness getting the open grill with a double flywheel motor, AWD+AWP, + speaker in there is some achievement already. But a pity the head lights don't work separately from the running lights on MM's sound decoder. They are actually wired so that they can be switched independently of the running lights.

Yes 1:67mm LLPs are not quite as fit as they used to be in the 1970s. That's a good idea in future. The preiser ho scale figures might have been an easier fit. Its a pity as the guy had an outstretched arm which could have been on the notch lever. From outside the cab it doesn't look like he's armless

Installing a driver in 121 cab proved tricky and painful for the driver who had to undergo major surgery to fit. The main body comes off the chassis easily using 4 screws but boy you have to handle it with kid gloves there are so many delicate detailing parts. Getting the Cab off the main body was a serious challenge (ie without damaging anything). Took the cab door grab rails off beforehand to protect them and in advance of weathering tomorrow. One of them had fallen off in the box anyway. Both arms had to be loped off as well as tighenting his waist but a little LLP plastic surgery later and repainting and he was good to go. It's a tight fit in there most driver figures will not fit in there, too wide with limbs and hips. The arm on the floor will be dedicated to model medical science. Anyway now there is no empty cab and there is a driver clearly visible Put everything carefully back together again in advance of weathering her tomorrow and gave her a test run to be sure all is working ok including the lights. These are exquisite models and a credit to Murphy Models design. Will put the door grab rails back on after weathering. The tablet catcher seems to lack the presence it had on the 141, 181s. Looking forward to weathering her tomorrow. Hope I gave the driver enough food rations cause he's not coming back out of there any time soon.

Was installing a driver today into the cab of one of my Murphy Model 121 locos, but the level of hidden detail I discovered inside the cab was outstanding. Sadly nobody would ever see this from outside the model without using a magnifying glass and a torch, but I was flabbergasted by the detail, all the loco controls and instrumentation, etc x PS: Eoin did a thread a few weeks ago on how to get a driver inside the cab.

W J Owens, 41 main street Bray. I nearly went into a sort of grief when Willie Owens retired about 15 years ago. Bought my first AirFix kits there as a child in the 1960s, moving on to model railways, even some photographic processing gear, and finally RC model aircraft, which I had drooled over since 1965 with the fabulous displays in his shop window. We used to do mail order to Willie Ones in the early 70s, buying balsa wood, glues, dopes, tissue, and kits. Great to be able to pop in and buy just a bag of screws or six inches of spruce engine barer mounts, or those magic days when you were buy an RC set or getting a Tri-Ang Hornby train set for Christmas and rushing down with bob-a-job money to buy accessories. Model soldiers we used to paint and play war games with using match sticks and a dice. One of us would the the allies the other axis powers. Hours of endless fun interacting with pals instead of having our snouts stuck into LCD screens. Marks Models is different but has taken up the baton. WJ Owens was magical because the floor area was small, but there seemed an Aladdin's network of treasure caves out the back with all manner of hidden stock. If you went in and asked Willie, he know if he had it or not, and could retrieve it in seconds. For a short number of years there was Yvonne's in Newbridge that did model railways, airfix, and model aircraft given there were thriving clubs flying in the curragh. W J Owens - A shrine and treasure trove

This talk of model shops sent me googling on the subject for the first time in years. This one in NI popped up. Portadown so on the railway line. No Idea if they are online only or have retail footage. My memory of modelshop's that sold toy trains were The Sportsman in Waterford, WJ Owens in Bray, The Hobby Horse in Rathfarnham shopping centre, and of course Marks Models, and the shop on D'Olier street in the 70s where I bought Ratio Signal kits that are still in use on my current layout. I think this shop may have later became Marks Models. Fair doos to Marks Models they are a proper model shop carrying a great range. Yes the e-commerce suite may need a refresh but inside the physical store is brilliant, superb stock. I rarely get to visit any physical retail shops, but do enjoy the odd visit to Greenogue outlet, easy traffic, easy parking. https://modeltune.co.uk/products/murphy-models-mm0121-loco-121-cie-grey?variant=31964356706346

There seems only one proper model shop left on the whole Island of Ireland and that is Marks Models. When I was a child nearly every large town seemed to have some sort of model or decent toy shop that carried model railways, airfix, etc. Now its just Toy market (eg Smyths). Most were gone by the late 80s, fixed costs are high, especially rent and rates. Online seems the way to go augmented by trade stalls and trade shows for opportunistic foot fall sales.

Poles with many phone wires, brackets and ceramic insulators were a feature of railway lines right up to the mid 1980s. Then new ISDN and the then modernisation of the P&T phone system did away with much of the over ground need for wires. Prior to that the railway lines were a highway for comms (old style), easy to get to, easy to erect beside the railway line, easy to maintain, hence so much telco cable was laid by the railways. Now there are fibre trucks running under the motorways. Presumably the poles were hydraulically lifted by a dedicated wagon, cut, and chipped on site, with the shred blown into the old fertiliser wagons. There would have been the additional complication of removing the odd stay wire, climbing studs, etc, before chipping. Once removed there was little risk of storm damage dropping poles on the line even if they were redundant and had no wires on them, also easier for automated tree and hedge trimming. In the steam era no hedge rows were allowed grow near lines due to fire risk.

No that should be fine, just remember to delete/clear the consist before removing the loco from the layout so CV19 is cleared properly in both locos. And the locos will respond to their own addresses on somebody else's layout (ie decoders don't still think they are in a consist). PS: On NCE - Suggest never use the daft momentum button on the cab. It's a disaster because it overwrites CV3 & 4 values in decoders which can upset some sound programmes which have been designed with specific default acceleration and deceleration profiles to match notching thresholds or steam chuffs.

Seeing these makes me feel very fortunate I came back into this hobby 7 years ago and not more recently. Here’s to the next 7 years. Hopefully MM may do reruns of cravens and mk2 coaches.

No problem. Hitch hikers guide to easy setting up a DCC consist. The procedure will vary with other DCC controllers (eg Lenz, Roco, eCos, Gaugemaster, Digitrax, etc) but the principle remains the same. NCE setup menu makes it very easy and takes care of automatically setting any CVs that may or may not be required.