Noel

Oh yummy, looking forward to giving B135 a run tomorrow when I get some time. Murphy Models seem to have excelled once again. Thank you, worth the wait. Now have to figure out how to get a driver inside without risking any damage to delicate precision parts. Ideal for hauling Leslie's PW CIE wagons and a mixed rake of green and B&T coach's with a grey tin van. Foaming at the mouth about the arrival of the Black'n'Tan livery version.

Wow. Was that a Richie special Dave? Looks very tasty. It's certainly not the SF one.

Excuse me kind sir, Hornby Dublo were refined runners and compared to Tri-ang rubbish and started off slowly, you could make the tender locos with the long linear ringfield motor creep at walking speeds. There was an art to lubing those HD chassis. It was Tri-Ang Hornby locos that lurched off at starting speeds of 30mph, with top speeds of near 200mph. Some Tri-ang locos seemed as fast as scalextrix. I remember a Tri-Ang princess falling over and off the track on a 2nd radius curve at full speed such was the centrifugal force and high CofG at the speed she was going at, crazy things with those hideous X04 motors. When I bought my first Murphy Model 181 class at the Malahide Castle Fry shop 13 years ago, my jaw dropped when I brought it home and first ran it such was the silky smooth precision running even on DC, and quiet. I'd never seen a model from any company run that prototypical, especially start and stoping speeds. It was pure magic and responsible for restarting my interest in the hobby. When I get time I'll run B135 in consist with another MM baby GM. Happy days, we've never had it so good with Irish Model trains.

Yes I used a hand help GPS on CAF Mk4 train hauled by 215 that indicated speeds just a little over 100mph on sections of the line (ie true SOG). Very smooth and quiet, whereas in the 1970s doing 70mphs on the old track felt like the bouncing train was about to leap the rails and break the sound barrier. I remember the last coach before the loco had a window in the closed off gangway end plate, so you could see the loco bucking and bouncing like a wild thing, thinking at the time the buffers and couplings were getting a good exercise.

Yes agree those pics show how CIE/IR prototypical branch trains can be short and can better suit layouts confined by space. The GSV is available RTR as is the Dutch GSV from SF, or one can kit bash a Lima or Bachmann GSV, or stick Bill Bedford brass sides on a donor. It would be amazing to have an IRM GSV to their standards, but the numbers may not stack up, especially as Cravens stocks have dried up to go with them. I suspect most folks who want a GSV probably already have an SF version or two. I've three and two kit bashed ones (Lima BSK Donor + Bachman BCK donor). Love those pics posted by @Irishswissernie

Nice Job Noel.

Yes, they were RPSI model cravens, not Murphy Models, and yes the wobble was pretty severe. It was a shame because they were gorgeous looking coaches. IMHO it is no use looking great if a model runs poorly. I understand there was a fix released via marks models, a brass shim spring. I made up a plastic card shim for my wobbly RPSI Cravens placed on the boogie pivot, it was partially successful but not entirely. It an easy fix but perhaps unacceptable at that price point for an RTR model to need to be remedied by customers who may not have the tools nor the experience to fix. ARTR (almost RTR) is not the same as RTR. I managed to pick up some inexpensive MM IE/IR tippex cravens on eBay some years ago with a view to respraying them in RPSI blue and cream to join the RPSI boxed set and make up a rake of 6 or 7 of them, but before that I need to learn how to use a lining pen as there is pretty fine black lining on that livery that is not easily paintable. My personal view is were are benefiting from an unparalleled time of 'Feast', thanks to MM, IRM, SF, PW, IFM, MIR, JM, SSM, Bachmann, OO, etc.

Truly wonderful wagon modelling

Thanks FL, I don't know. I've never had to do that before on resprays, just a clean, light rub and Halfords. I suppose its an option but an additional two steps in future.

Very strange behaviour. Totally befuddled at what's happening here. After priming this mk3 respray noticed this strange reaction with one of the paint stripes on the original BR swallow livery (see pic below). Since rubbed it down and re-primed, seems ok now. Anybody ever have primer react with RTR model paint like this before? The donors were Lima mk3 rather than the usual Hornby.

A brace of dutch kits nearly complete

Don't they have to go to Accurascale's fulfilment partners depot in UK first and they get posted back to Irish customers, or are these being handled by IRM in Dublin (ie like the ballast and bubbles)?

In fairness it is possible for most folk to have collected a complete train of the following until fairly recently for some models: RTR Tara wagons CURRENT RTR Fertiliser Wagons CURRENT RTR Bell 42ft containers CURRENT RTR Cement Wagons CURRENT RTR Ballast Wagons (future rerun not too far off perhaps) RTR MM Mk2d Super Train Livery CURRENT RTR MM Cravens (available at sane prices up to about 18months ago) RTR Silverfox Mk3 coaches CURRENT RTR Silverfox 1950s laminate look-a-likes (2ft rule passes the duck test) Green or B&T Livery CURRENT RTR Chris Dyer respray Mk3 coaches CURRENT RTR Chris Dyer respary Mk4 Coaches CURRENT RTR IFM Cement Pallet Wagons Kit MIR Cement Pallet Wagons CURRENT kir MIR Dopside Cement Pallet Wagons CURRENT Kit + RTR IFM Park Royals Green or B&T Livery CURRENT Kit + RTR IFM CIE Laminates Green or B&T Livery Kit JM Design brass overlays for Dapol RTR coaches (CIE 1950s coaches inc some ex-GSR) CURRENT RTR SIlverfox various GSVs, TPOs, HLVs CURRENT RTR IFM TPOs, HLVs, RTR D&M Models Deitrick Enterprise coaches (out of production) Various Dapol + Bachmann RTR 2 axle vans resprayed and with CIE transfers CURRENT Kit Provincal Wagons Beet wagons (Bulleif 2 axle open corrugated wagons) CURRENT kit Provincal Wagons Double beet wagons (2 axle) CURRENT Bachmann RPSI mk2a Green (ebay) Bachmann mk2a intercity orange (ebay) RPSI (MM) Cravens Blue'n'Cream livery Dart ECM trains CURRENT We've never had it so good thanks to Murphy Models who started the whole Irish scene off, IFM, Silverfox, MIR, JM designs, and now IRM for taking up the baton and driving forward to new heights and an ever rapidly growing portfolio of superb Irish Models, Bill Bedford, Worsley, Bachmann, etc. Give it time, more will come, some re-runs may happen in time, ebay can work if you are patient and wait for sensible deals and prices. Personally I feel very fortunate with my timing when getting back into the hobby only 6 years ago. I do understand some ebay prices are high right now, but that won't last forever. Fortunately I managed to build up a fleet of baby GMs about 4 years ago never paying more than €120, and over time collected various 1950s coaches from DIY resprays to IFM kits + RTR, plus silver fox, etc. It was easiest to build up rakes of 1955-1970 goods wagons by kit bashing inexpensive Bachmann, hornby and Dapol RTR 2 axles wagons, later added to by Provincial Wagons resin kits plus IFM, not to mention IRM Cement wagons. I also have modern era freight wagons from IRM (eg 42ft, Tara's, Fertiliser, etc). The trains I run most of the time are 1955-1974 (ie before the CIE modernisation program, before uniform rakes of passenger or goods stock took over the railways). My favourite era circa 1968 This rake is made up of different coaches and ones even have a modern Craven. It is possible to model 1950s to 1970s Ok a 'boob' here with a few tippex Cravens of the post 1987 IE/IR Era A 'feast' thanks to fortunate timing A 'knock' special scene. East meets west, modern mk2d stock in the passing loops surrounded by older stock Conclusion - We've never had it so good and IRM are only just getting started. You never know Bachmann looking over the fence at IRM's success may even inspire them to relaunch some models for the Irish Market in the future. "If" I was granted 3 wishes by a fairy railway modeller it would be: IRM CIE Park Royal mainline Coach B&T IRM IR/IE Mk3 intercity coach IRM 2 axle CIE H-Van The glass is not half empty, nor is the glass half full, it is overflowing, thanks to the original catalyst and stimulus MM created and later raised and expanded by IRM

The NEM pockets are neither at the correct internationally agreed height nor horizontal distance as per NEM specifications, but you are correct it only affects people who replace the couplings with Kadee couplings or perhaps hunt couplings. Kadee’s are populare with modellers for four five reasons: a) look visually less obtrusive than TLCs (tension lock couplings), b) they are much more reliable for automatic coupling and in particular automatic uncoupling (ie for shunting and marshalling stock), c) they are more reliable for pushing stock (ie reversing around bends, reversing over complicated point work), d) allow much closer couplings instead of the non-scale 4ft seen on many model trains using TLCs, especially with coaching stock that suffer slack and large gaps between coaches., and e) you can vertically pick up and remove any rolling stock item from a train formation with ease (ie instead of the tangled mess of TLCs). There’s a thread here about kadee conversions:

If there was ever a future re-run of the cravens it would be nice to have the NEM pockets on the bogies corrected. It's a disaster zone requiring bodging surgery which is not really acceptable on a €45 model, instead of just plugging in alternate couplings such as hunt or kadee's at the correct height and distance. Not having NEM pockets at the correct position can be very annoying for customers.

Yes impossible for any manufacturer to make money producing such diversity due lack of volume. Cravens were relative new modern coaches at the time way ahead of the Laminates, Bredins and Park Royals for modernity. Park Royals may just be popular enough for some volume as they were used pre-dart, on main line routes and later suburban sets (eg Maynooth, etc). Irish Market just too small. The glass is more than half full, we have RTR Cravens and RTR mk2d coaches, and many have collected IFM Park Royals and IFM Laminates as well as JM Design kits to modify Dapol coaches. The Cravens and mk2d were hauled by A class. The ultimate main line passenger train had no two coaches alike and were a wonderful mix of diverse coach bodies. I remember travelling on them well.

Was the castle originally Cardiff Castle?

Holy sacred cow and everything precious in kerry. Did you keep a few special locos? I was very disappointed in the Hornby Dublo stuff Hornby released this year. Just not quite the real thing. Wrenn kept that flag flying for a decade after Hornby Dublo failed. Stunning precision for its day in diecast metal, better motors than anything today, and fine scale wheels. Nominal flanges on their locos.

@WRENNEIRE Not in your league Dave with buried treasure, but I do need to sort out some shelving for the storage of redundant boxes. Echo @Ironroad's advice, chipboard has very limited structural integrity. 2x1" reinforcements might be a good idea especially for long term stability. Many many years ago chipboard let me down badly. Its useless to screw into, glue is almost the only safe way of fixing it using wooden dowel pins.

Darwin explained why some keep themselves safe from harm using their own evolved wit, and sadly others do not.

Believe it or not I’ve never been to Ikea.

Sadly a hybrid rather than a genuine Hornby Dublo repro. Plastic tender, no linear ring field motor, clear plastic inserts instead of the famous yellow card, box gloss finish instead of classic HD comic paper texture. A real disappointment from a nostalgia point of view despite being s super model, just not a Dublo. So B&T in the first wave?

Athenry - Limerick* Ballybrophy - Limerick Limerick - Waterford Westland row - Wexford

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