Noel

Looking forward to all the new Irish model releases over the next 5 years

Would love some of the 1970s cream and navy buses, or even some of the flying snail green 1960s double deckers with the open rear step platform

NPHET are now deeply concerned about a potential outbreak of yellow fever.

Some 1960s CIE passenger and goods movements behind Murphy Models 121 class locos B135 and B134. ESU LokSound v5 by WheelTappers DCC sound EMD 645 on B134 + EMD 567 on B135. Prototypical driving with light, medium, heavy trains simulating acceleration, coasting and prototypical braking distances. Full range of light functions including train mode, shunting mode, and parking mode with Dual mode for double header consists with a pair of 121s (ie nose2nose running lights remain off at coupled end).

Excellent

Understand. Think of the loco as a VHS player, the chip is just whatever movie you want to play in it (ie choice of sound and driving characteristics). Personally I think current DCC is technically totally antiquated, there have been incremental improvements but is still not that much different from Hornby's Zero 1 in the late 1970s. DCC is 1970s electronics that has had all manner of clever gubbins taped onto it. But in this day and age things like the need for a programming track, loco addresses, CVs are a bit like asking a modern web developer to design a new web site for a business using assembly language. What I like about DCC is its just two wires to the entire layout, I don't believe in all these unnesseary and wasteful droppers, never used them, never had a problem, fish plates conduct the current reliably and have done for 25 years. I enjoy three main benefits of DCC: Only two wires to track (no block sections nor isolation sections, nor switches), prototypical driving (ie acceleration, braking and stopping), and sound.

Just pop the cover off the 121 bonnet and plug in the 21pin LokSound decoder and off you go, no tuning or adjustments needed. Some folk may wish to adjust the overall volume but that's easily done by writing a value to CV63 on the test track.

I still run a brake van behind some of my model fitted stock. A goods train without a guards van at the end seems like an unfinished sentence. Something is just missing. Some of the early fitted beet trains and container trains had brake vans tagged on the end of the formation. I know not for what purpose, but it just looks proper.

Inside I'm often still a 10yo boy in awe and wonder at the magical world of trains.

Cheers John. Yes I knew they didn't run in pairs until the late black'n'tab era. They only had one brake cylinder on each bogie side whereas the 141 and 181s had two brake cylinders each bogie side. But it was fun running them nose2nose in advance of the orange era. Did locos in the 1960s have 2 or 3 people in the cab (ie was there a 'fire man')?

There was a legendary story about a giant crane HGV going down the N81 years ago near Tallaght, striking an overpass bridge, initially it looked like the crane was liable so the matter went to insurance, but a young exec in the crane's insurance company checked into matters deeper and discovered the road had been resurfaced on multiple occasions without removing the previous strata, increasing the top of the road surface, therefore reducing the minimal regulatory clearance under the bridge, so instead of the crane's insurance paying out, Dublin Co-Co had to pay for the damage to the crane because their bridge was too low!!! Fact or fiction, I'm not sure but folks in the area swear by it.

Kevin, at EINN? When training, did my solo cross country there 40 years ago.

B121Consist.mp4 Very short clip of a pair of MM 121s consisting both with sound running. Unique lighting functions for consisting, and train load functions for prototypical driving simulating light, medium and heavy train loads with associated acceleration, coasting and braking distances. Might do a longer demo clip in the future. Just love driving these 121s. Well done Murphy Models.

They would look well behind OO works J15. Don't know if the coaches below were MGWR or GSWR, but in the movie they were running on MGWR rails

Had fun running this pair of 121s today in consist as a double header, both with sound operating. F24 prevents the lights being on at the ends where the two locos are coupled together. Will have a go at weathering B135 in the next week or so. Just love these new Murphy Model 121s. Sublime little beauties. Will have to put a driver in the cab of B135 when weathering it.

True. Both an Air Canada and an Air Transat wide body made successful landings after fuel starvation occurred at cruising alt but both glided safely to asphalt. Air Transat was mid Atlantic when their engines flamed out. Air Canada was over land. BA 009 was fortunate that the crew got 3 fans running again, and then their second miracle was landing successfully with opaque cockpit windows.

Love it. Tara central. Enough action to make a 10you boy faint with excitement.

Works for me. These are the best Irish models ever. The plastic rails are very easy to realign and easily push back into correct position if dislodged by handling or unpacking. They seem the perfect solution to me as they retain their shape when pushed back on. For weathering I took these off and then put them back on, and they were straight and square as a die when returned to position. Pristine colours on any model can look stark, but that's only because they have not spent 10-20 years out in the weather and sun. The lightest of gentle weathering can greatly help as evidenced by other models that had bright yet correct coloured plastics in the past. These handrails can be removed and put back on much easier that other locos. Just love these locos. I had a few minor issues with two or my grey 121s, but were easily resolved and Murphy Models with apologies and decency expeditiously replaced one loco which had a problem with the built in sound speaker. Superb after sales service. Happy Days and thank you Murphy Models. PS: I find the best way to handle these locos especially B134 with the walkway rails and B125 is similar is to hold and lift the loco by the fuel tank. I've had so much fun already driving these locos with early 1960s train formations both goods and passenger with sound, heavy loads, light loads, coasting, braking and really prototypical driving. So many prototypical lighting options too.

Hard to believe such a long runway got built in the middle of nowhere just because a plucky local priest blagged a visiting politician and hung him on his own promise. Yes George I did indeed get Shannon mixed up with Knock. Hard to believe after only 10 years of service life they may be cut up. Boeing got it right, hubs are dead, passengers want to fly direct point to point. Not good for climate change though unless one day they can build a fusion reactor the size of a large suitcase weighing not more than a ford focus. As a pal of mine used to say when ETOPS were first permitted, 4 engines doubles the amount of things that can go wrong compared to modern efficient twin turbofans, and so it proved, more efficient, safer, more reliable. IMHO, post covid, climate change measures are the next shock wave the aviation industry is likely to face. Long distance trains could make a comeback.

Try CV29=63 (ie to toggle the first CV29 bit, direction If your DCC system doesn't have a setup menu for a loco that automates setting the various binary bits in CV29, try setting it to 63 (ie turn the first bit on). Swapping between 62 and 63 should change the direction bit. 62 = 0111110 = Direction bit is off but the next 5 bits 1-5 are all ON (see translation below) Bit 0 Direction of operation is reversed Direction of operation is normal Bit 1 ON [1] = 28 Speed Step Mode Bit 2 ON [1] = Analog mode operation enabled Bit 3 is Railcom and is usually ignored by the DCC system firmware. Bit 4 ON [1] = Alternate Speed Curve Active Bit 5 ON [1] = Use long loco address

Bravo

Well 60mph on those wagons was probably more comfortable and certainly less stressful than a road cattle truck on bouncy back roads from farms then doing 70mph on a motorway. Cattle trains would had less severe braking and acceleration, and no cornering. Originally the once extensive Irish Railway network was more tasked to transport live animals and agricultural produce than humans. Oh if only I had a camera when a youngster in the 60s to record some of the mystical magical moments of the glory CIE days when railway traffic was diverse and interesting. Even the AECs with their moon sized giant round buffers evoked atmosphere, sitting behind the driver watching the road ahead to the west. JM's 20T Goods Brake would be right up my street. I've been building quite a collection of brake vans.

Have this pair a few years, no goods train is allowed budge on the layout without one of these tagged on at the end. Like a sentence needing a full stop to mark the end. Would like some fine scale ones with the correct chassis gubbins. The ones below are 3D bodies on top of dapol chassis, but they survive the 'duck test' admirably and my personal 2ft rule.

Had a memorable jump seat KIAD-EGLL in a brand new 400. Yea worst business section on the transatlantic route, whereas 20 years ago they were one of the best. Their opposing flat business seats were a disaster. ETOPs the 777, A350 and 787 changed the world, no need for super jumbos anymore, hence the A380 is also out of production and already being retired young by airlines. A retired A380 was dumped at EINN only a few months ago. Why use 4 engines when 2 will do it on less fuel. Air transport as we once knew it may never fully recover from CV-19, next up is climate change carbon taxes. We may be get getting more ferries and trains in 20 years time than flying now. Will Dublin airport have a high speed rail link to Connolly and Heuston by then? Will it need it? Pre-2020 the trajectory suggested yes, post CV-2020 not so sure. PS: For aviation enthusiasts suggest watching the documentary on BA 009's greatest escape in aviation history over 35 years ago now but a legend "I used to think the sweetest sound on earth was the sound of a robin chirping and singing on the window cil of cornish cottage of a spring morn along with the dawn song bird chorus, as the sun pieced the bronze early morning dew, but I tell you truly the sweetest sound on God's earth that day to my ear was the sound of a Rolls-Royce RB211 jet engine spooling up" (a passenger onboard Speedbird 9).