Noel

Agree. MDF can be unstable over a long period (ie even Everrard junction's baseboards had to be ripped up and redone in plywood) I've used these locals in Dublin. They cut Birch ply to order. http://www.woodworkers.ie/prices/p_sheet_plywood.shtml

This might help. It was a very easy fit with no 18s. I’m a bit pedantic about all my stock having kadee’s at correct magnet height and so Different stock can inter operate and couple up together.

That's a fabulous run around sequence

Very very nice. I like the detail, and micro scenes

Thanks Fran. These should prove very popular especially with folks who missed out on the first production run. Good to see re-runs of these wagons. You mentioned above these are original tooling, so just double checking, are the NEM pockets still positioned a little high as per the original run? (ie not at kadee height). Like the look of the CIE variants.

Fab-U-Lous

I still have My Zero one in a box in the attic.

Yes grey 071 is 7078. The only modern yellow stuff I have is a pair of superb IRM ballast ploughs. I bit modern for my era, but they looked so good I just had to collect a pair last year. But sadly the weed spray support wagons and spoils were not on my menu. Anthony Smyth nearly turned me after seeing his incredible weathering of his spoil wagons. Transformative. I'm already at risk of rotting in the bogie of eternal stench for having some mk3 resprays. Don't worry never will a modern boring yo-yo toy 22k set wheels upon my rails. Was getting the train to cork last year, when I saw it was a 22k set on the platform instead of the proposed CAF Mk4s I walked away and waited an hour for the next cork train which was CAF Mk4s pulled by a proper engine with a smiley face, buffers and lights.

This clock work Thomas gave me and my then young son more fun that all the scale stuff back then. We used to bet how many laps it could do before the spring ran out, each loop there was a slight hump and it would nearly stop, but if it got over that it would whirl off for another lap of the oval. The Thomas behind it is electric.

@WRENNEIRE take 3

Yes a fascinating time when ancient 1950s A class loco's hauled modern air-con coaches and CWR was progressively growing out from Houston through kildare on the Cork line. Ironic that the A classes looked all modern and aerodynamic yet mechanically they were old tech, whereas the boxey looking GMs were much more up to date. A time when you could pass through Limerick junction and see a uniform rake of modern containers in an adjacent line or siding to a mixed rake of loose coupled 2 axles goods wagons and/or bulleid corrugated beet wagons, with 1950s coaching running through the station at the same time as the swish of mk2d's behind a pair of baby GMs. Pure magic for diversity and variety of operations, the goods shed siding in each small station had its days numbered as the sun started to set on manually handled pick up goods traffic. At least the non-supertrain passenger formations still had fabulous variety in their make up. As JHB often commented often were there were rarely more than two coaches of the same type in a rake. Glad I lived through those days and traveled by train a lot. Watching the tracks fly by underneath large gaps in gangway floors was exciting and the noise an assault on the senses as they rattled and clanked.

That's a fabulous photo to have. B&T livery locos hauled the original super train livery mk2d sets for some years before all the locos got repainted in super train livery to match the A class locos which match the roof profile of the mk2d's as well as the livery. I remember the 1972 CIE TV adverts vividly, looked like the height of modernity coming to an Ireland of Peat, Turf and Bogs, still getting used to the idea of colour traffic lights instead of black and white ones. When the Riordans were peak time TV viewing and if even the word 'toilet' was mentioned on the late late show, croziers were beating down with Bishops letters of condemnation the following Sunday at services. A time when the riordans had tractors and mini skirts

Both companies up for sale again apparently.

Did they not rationalise product lines with Roco who took over HO?

Velly enterusting. Benny Hill? I think I saw a kit of one of those in Marks Models once

Glud to know. Best vishes fo fast recover. Sorry kant chalk, just black from major dental slurgury. Brilliant dental sturgeon, but klant kalk. Like the look of those 20ft container flats.

Fabulous. Love it. Reeks of atmosphere and realism

1962 meets 1974. Time travel is possible on a model railway. The golden Black'n'Tan era meets 1961 B134 (2020 livery) and 1973 182 in Supertrain livery. B181 has the same new sound project as the 121s from WheelTappers so it will be able to consist and double head with Murphy Models B125 B&T livery with matched motor speeds when the Murphy Model Black'n'Tan 121s ships (a week or two over due perhaps but no news from the eastern front). Had an enjoyable running session earlier IMG_8179.mov

Understandable. Risky to plan any major event this side of Sept 2021. Hopefully there'll be a number of vaccines that get type approval this side of Christmas with a graduated rollout during 2021, starting with >80s and medically vulnerable followed by the wider population. Never in the course of pharma history have so many competing companies shared resources and shared IP to help produce a safe vaccine. I sense the cavalry is just over the hill, its coming, sit sight and minimise risks while waiting.

Stunning on every level. This is a master piece

Kieran made his own. A prolific builder https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/93496-kirleys-workbench/&do=findComment&comment=3950935

Yes some history. I remember well a PM advising me you had a friend who might be making some high quality A class locos. And then it all started with the humble ballast wagon, would it work, could an Irish startup company with no track record in IMP produce a model, how long would it take, would the quality be there, would Irish modellers help fund pre-orders for a model to be delivered perhaps in 18 months or two years time? Well the answers proved, yes, yes and yes. Please don't forget us now that you've conquered the UK before you take on the USA market. Looking forward to the next five years. In the beginning there was the ubiqutious ballast And the ballast was good so bubbles were needed to run over it upon a track to bring cement to make sleepers And Stephen said let there be ore for the fertiliser factories to be built And so it came to pass, And Fran said let there be nutrients to fertilise the static grass, and it was pleasing to see And Richie said let there be container flats to bring produce to every market in the land and fuel the economy And Patrick said it was good, let us put a container upon a ship to sail the south china seas and bring back A classes And so they sat on a mountain top for forty minutes and forty pints, and proclaimed to the valleys, fetch thee a shovel, and belt thee the the resin A class with thine holy shovel of antioch, and bring forth a new era with a new A class worthy of the new promised land. And so it came to pass during those days. And then the wise men looked across the valleys and the seas, and said look yonder, there is a fertile land across the seas yet unharvested, let us bring forth our produce, scale their mountains with detail and amaze all in every village and evert hamlet. Let us show what's possible with innovation, vision and determination. And we all rejoiced and made much rail noise, and sprung buffer clashing as stock rolled bountifully over the green and fertile land bringing fertiliser, ore, grain and cement north south east and west. And it was pleasing to see, and pleasing to haul. Thank you. Keep it up. Looking forward to hauling stock behind the holy A class and whatever comes next.

Fabulous. The curved back scenes and lighting are so professional. I just love this layout, has always been my favourite on here. Very tidy.

I've had so much fun driving these locos with DCC sound. I purchased MM ESU LokSound decoders and also ESU LokSound decoders from one of the specialist sound decoder suppliers. Both sound good, but the MM decoder seems a little basic, lacking ESU's new 'Full Throttle' driving functions and seems to have no independent DCC operation of the head lamps separately from the running lights. Quite good but just not as sophisticated nor comprehensive as the specialist sound projects. The WheelTappers project in the video below seems more advanced making full use of the new LokSound V5 'Full Throttle' driving features that facilitates prototypical driving, coasting, acceleration of light, medium and heavy train loads, in addition to coasting and prototypical braking distances, also with a 'throttle hold' feature that allows manual control of notching while loco speed is remains constant. Not flaming the MM chip, but generic manufacturer sound projects rarely have the comprehensive sound and driving features that specialist sound providers such as WheelTappers, MrSoundGuy or Leggomanbiffo are used to producing for connoisseur modellers. Out of the box the MM ESU decoder sounds good, just not as prototypical to drive as the specialist projects suppliers. Pricing seems similar. No connection with WheelTappers, just a happy customer. Irish Railways class 121 V5 sound.pdf

Spoiler alert - DCC sound symphony video. Had so much fun playing with these ESU LokSound V5 running on wonderful MM 121 locos. DCC sound really adds to the prototypical operation of these superb models. Can't wait for the Black'n'Tan livery due very soon. No connection with WheelTappers just a very happy customer for some years. Great service. Cost seems about the same an MMs own decoders, but just more comprehensive functions and some truly wonderful prototypical driving features due to the FULL TROTTLE feature of LokSound V5 decoders which includes: PowerDrive, Light, Medium and Heavy Train loads, coasting and prototypical braking distances. Good support for Consisting with light arrangements, as well as push pull operation. The video explains. I understand there is an option to get a pair of matched decoders, one with sound, one non-sound to save expense of two sound decoders in a 121 pair (ie LokSound+LokPilot). Enjoy. http://www.wheeltappersdccsounds.co.uk