Irishrailwayman

The annual Easter exhibition will be held at St Joseph's Community Centre, Bishopswater, Wexford on Sunday 16th and Bank Holiday Monday 17th April 2017. A wide range of model railways in all gauges are being invited along with other hobby exhibitors. Put it in your diary! More details closer to the event.

"Liquid lead" is a pourable granular product which can be set with PVA glue in any space/crevice in a model and adds decent weight. Might work here?

Slightly off-topic but I noticed a number of CDs on sale as ambient sounds for a lay-out: http://www.dccsupplies.com/cl-99/fantasonics-layout-sounds.htm

I put some finishing touches to Cynwyd over the Christmas. Operational testing is well underway with Peco uncoupling system yet to be tested.

For Cynwyd/Llangollen in N gauge and Shunters Yard in OO gauge, I have used simple push-pull arrangements which are operable from the from and/or back of the layout. The guide tubes are small diameter rawl plug lengths with brass wire to actuate the points. The screw linkages have an L-shaped wire which fits through the base board and through the point rocker bar.

Cynwyd has been given its complement of trees handcrafted using sea foam and a variety of scatter materials attached with PVA.

The critical issue is how many wagons will fit in each siding/head-shunt to allow a small engine to shuffle wagons between each line. Turn-outs end to end quickly add up to a long line restricting the number of wagons able to clear eachpoint. I fitted OO Shunters Yard into 1.2m by 0.23m using a three-way point to save much space. Similarly, a double-slip point would save space but allow more lines for shunting. (http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/5284-Shunters-Yard-Compact-Shelf-top-Exhibition-Layout-OO-gauge-GWR-outline-DCC-controlled/page3) Good idea to sketch out your plan on a piece of wallpaper backing paper using Peco templates or points.

Nice layout. The single line sections are typically Irish - resisting the temptation to double-up or add numerous additional tracks is not easy - so good to see just one line running through the scenery.

Ho Ho Ho! Just completed a 1000 piece jig-saw. Hope you all had a lovely day.

Welcome ModelrailwaymanOO from IrishrailwaymanOONO... Have you chosen a model railway scale/era/theme for your endeavours yet?

Is that the Garda checking up on the goings-on at the Auld House pub? Looks great including OO snow! Happy Christmas all.

Thanks guys. Cynwyd is my 4th exhibition layout following Ballybeg (OO Irish), Llangollen (N GWR/BR) and Shunters Yard (OO GWR) - all featured on IRM.com with kind comments from many enthusiasts. I am planning to build a locomotive display "Diesel Depot" (OO CIE/IR/IE/BR blue) and an O-gauge shunter demo layout "Buffers Lock" (GWR) over the next few years. Onwards and upwards.

Thanks JHB. This is a demo of an N-gauge shelf-top/layout-on-a-plank (4.5 feet and only 9 inches deep!) which could be adapted as an Irish outline. There are three-way fiddle yards at each end with the facility to auto-shuttle rolling stock units from either end with a slow-stop-wait at the station! The Goods Yard is fitted to allow for remote shunting of wagons. I have to add more trees and will later post pics with GWR/early-BR rolling stock. Cynwyd is scheduled to make it's exhibition debut at the Wexford Easter Show in 2017 D.V.

A fair amount of the scenery is completed with numerous details added to bring the layout to life. Additional sea foam trees are in development over the Christmas to complete the scene. Functional testing is underway with minor snags with track/rolling stock to be remedied.

Thanks for attending all those Easter and October Exhibitions in Wexford, Seamus. You will be missed as a retailer. Come and say hello at the Wexford Easter Show 2017 if you are around. All the best, Gerry

The ultimate tail-chaser! Also referred to as a pizza box layout. Good opportunity to vary the backscene at each quartile. Some examples I have seen utilise curved points to give two linked running lines/sidings.

I used matt varnish (acrylic water based) on the roof and satin varnish on the sides to provide a suitable finish.

More progress on Cynwyd with additional layers of scenic detail being added daily...

Ballbeg was developed using ideas from Kilmacthomas in mind...

Worth bearing in mind - very easy to get these details wrong starting with UK models.

Ballybeg Goods Yard: IE freight in evening sunshine. The steam-age facilities are removeable - planning on developing contemporary shed/fuel depot to substitute when running S/T, IR or IE stock.

The line can be experienced again now but by bicycle or on foot as it has been restored as the Waterford Greenway! The section to Kilmacthomas and beyond has been completed with the rest through Kilmeaden to Waterford due to open in Spring 2017. Well worth a visit particularly the tunnel/viaduct at Ballyvoile.

...but other than that they are ok?

Thanks Kirley. Lots of action alright. It sounds good also as these locos have RealDrive soundchips from Mr Soundguy. The Lattice distant signal was made from components from Model Signal Engineering but Westy now has a more convenient all-in-one etch available.

A couple of shots of the viaduct/pub end of Ballybeg caught as the sun sets low. 085 is bringing its MK3 carriages across the viaduct with 156 about to haul its load of cement onto the bridge. Bill Poster is hard at work on the Railway Bar while the party outside takes off. A couple of other locos/blues lurk in the shadows also...