Noel

Indeed.

B134 will go nicely with B135 which is the original delivery format loco without the walkway rails and the older lights, but with the original staff catcher. Well done RPSI, Murphy Models and IRM. Happy to support, ordered.

Yes that's a lovely deep shade of yellow carrying the sleepers. Not too hard on the eyes. Not really my era, but yet again they look another set of superb models.

Thank you very much

Now Leslie an AEC set is practically steam age, a thing of beauty, as were the But's, so some leniency from the devils with hot pokers that inhabit the bogie of eternal stench may be in order. But a CAF certainly risks eternal doom, yet the only express route to certain eternal damnation with jammed air brushes in the bogie of eternal stench is a Rotem 22k yo-yo tram. The ultimate fisher price toy, possibly even clock work, that no self respecting modeller would ever be seen with on their layout, as boring to operate as drying paint, yet economic because no points needed, no couplings needed, just an oval of track around a cot, to keep a sleepless baby mesmerised as it goes around and around endlessly at a scale speed of 200mph until the wound up rubber band runs out. A 58yo RPSI B135 is not really modern era, despite the lack of a boiler, a silver A class also a model of beauty and nostalgia gold. Fear not a DMU vaccine seems imminent, even for 26xx class rickety biscuit tins. A luas could be more toxic than sarin gas! Sin on the left, redemption on the right

Let the cutting, sawing and filing begin

Hi Paul. Horses for courses, different materials work for different folk. I used 9mm marine ply on Kingdbridge when I built the boards 27 years ago. Heavy and not suitable for a portable layout. Built upon 2"x1" formers with 1"x3" on the edges for rigidity. More recently I've used the WMRC box construction sections method with 6mm ply for the top. See below: Laser cut to size by a company in Dublin, very quick to build using a heat gun, smaller pieces easy to assemble, and reinforced joint by fibreglass webbing underneath using PVA instead of resin. Each board is 2ft x 5ft so fits in a car and lightweight so can be turned on their side for wiring, etc. I'm unable to crawl around under baseboards anymore. Very stable and will not warp or sag in time. Sealed with paint for stability from moisture. Takes track pins well. I used 3mm closed cell foam to cover the entire board with a second layer under the track for ballast. This offers good sound insulation as ballast PVA will never come into contact with the ply baseboard creating a sound bridge. Have fun. https://www.efoam.co.uk/closed-cell-polyethylene-foam.php#sheet1 I tried MDF 30 years ago but found it unstable long term and it was a complete PITA as it would not take track pins. Not as good with damp cold air as plywood from a stability point of view.

Thanks Kieran. Much appreciated. Is that second photo one of the other side? (ie they are a mirror of each other)

Fun figuring out how to dismantle a Lima mk3 donor

Does anybody please have photos or drawings of both sides of mk3 EGV? I've discovered plenty of photos of the starboard right side (ie generator aft), but none of the port side. Wondering about kit bashing one for fun. Preferably photos of prototype, but even a photo of a model (eg Silverfox) would be a help. Thanks in advance.

Fab, love the timber off cuts on the lane.

That’s impressive and really useful information

Yes climate action means an almost immediate end to all peat harvesting, already peat power stations are being decommissioned.

I’d buy a half dozen of those. Looks great so far.

Nice idea. As to a 21mm flexitrack product, a market size of 5-10 people may not attract a manufacturer. Any 21mm layout will be hand built track which seems half the attraction.

Leslie we are all flawed sinners in some shape or form, even I have supped with bogie stock and touched forbidden fruit of ultra modern mk3 stock, but if in a moment of weakness the evil one I lures me to touch a DMU, you or Jonathan may cast the first stone, the keepers of the sacred three link coupling, protectors of two axles and defenders against bogies of eternal stench, be they free running or not. Seriously Leslie your kits have been a great joy to work on, and I look forward to more. Totally my era, and a vaccine against imprisonment in the bogie of eternal stench. Thankfully I have not fallen victim to ‘yellow fever’ so no yellow ‘stuff’ allowed on my layout.

Charlie of Chadwick model railway youtube fame dilutes copydex 4:1 with water and uses it to ballast track instead of pva. He swears there’s no transmission to baseboard guitar, unlike PVA. On a recent layout I’ve used double layers of 3mm closed cell dense foam with self adhesive backing.

Decent food pub can do 5m/pa handy on food & BEV in the right location. 5m is not a large turnover if your employing close to 100 staff on rosters, chefs, managers, etc.

Go for a cycle on the Westport or Dungarvan, its incredible the footfall some of these new hospitality spots are getting. A captive audience and very very profitable to provision for. There is one in particular on the Westport and its like a mega pub in the middle of nowhere, a vast complex in old stone farm buildings. A huge employer too, and these businesses benefit from a long season including both shoulders and even mid winter business.

Cheers Skinner. I think in future I may still lean towards reverse masking. I cannot abide wavy lines nor wavy stripes. Enjoyed this kit, just grab rails, glazing and some decoration to do.

The Ballasts and Bubbles NEM pocket problem was easily solved as per IRMs own recommended fix, just superglue the kadee tongs to the underside of the NEM pocket for correct height as per Kadee height gauge.There was a valid argument for just plugging into the NEM pockets and correct only the two end wagons on a rake, but I like to be abe to mix'n'manch stock and prefer all stock to be able to couple up together. The Tara's, Fertilsers and 42ft flats had perfect NEM pocket positioning. No 18's seem to work well with IRMs entire wagon portfolio. As an aside, in advance of some scenic work, just recently started clearing the layout of rolling stock and put all my IRM models back in their boxes, almost drooling at the fabulous underside detail one normally doesn't see while running or on the tracks. I decided that whenever the beautiful ballasts come back out of their boxes they will get some gentle weathering treatment. Also discovered I still had 3 boxes of pristine bubbles which I kind of like that they avoided the weathering station. Just gorgeous wagons. Thank you again IRM.

Redemption for the rebuilt Dutch GSV kit from IFM, after the great peeling primer disaster of two weeks ago. Had a second go at this, first time using waterslide transfers instead of reverse masking and airbrush for white stripes. The first attempt two weeks ago didn't end well (below). Lesson learned clean resin bodies properly using unspent nuclear fuel if necessary to ensure no resin release agent residue, and never give up. There's always a recovery route. When this is finished have two IFM Park Royal kits to start. Not so long ago I was RTR man, now finding doodling with kits addictive and therapeutic.

Another mk3 donor bites the dust. Could not get the window glazing out this time so had to resort to tedious masking. Avoided the hideous maskol route, dreadful stuff. Primed with Hycote plastic grey primer ready for reverse masking It kind of gets addictive after a while

One of the successes of the Westport greenway was getting farmers to buy in and convince them the passing walkers and cyclists would not cause problems for their livestock, so it proved, and some of those farms are now running multimillion euro cottage cafes and restaurants along the route. It was dealing with fears and objections from land owners that made westport such a success. I'd highly recommend a visit and cycle along it. Clewbay bike hire are a superb outfit with courtesy buses, will drop you off at achill, so wind at your back, and will pick you up at any of the intermediate stops, so you can do only 10k, 20k, 30k or the full 42k. Stunning wild atlantic coast scenery and cycling through harry potter like scenery and forests over magical bridges and viaducts. A must do for every Irish citizen, and the beauty is its only a few hours from Dublin, no airport hell needed to get there, or better still take the train and pass through Athlone and Claremorris on route.

Minister Ryan should perhaps get rid of his NoX spewing filty diesel car and get an EV instead or getting rid of more rail potential or closing more lines.