GSR 800

Nearly 700 euro! Absolutely bonkers money

Looking fantastic Killian, truly A class job!

There are some truly wonderful railway/railroad focused youtubers, thinking primarily of the likes of Anthony Dawson, Jago Hazzard, Train of Thought, Railway Mania, High Iron, The Imagination Station, Distant Signal, Amtrakguy365, Boston and Maine Historical Society, Flying Scott, and Chadwick Model Railway to name just a few. There's also many channels that I can only watch on occasion (or actively avoid altogether) due to silly tropey nonsense and overexaggeration ad nauseum. The point made regarding echo chambers is certainly true, and when thats not the case theres often a salt mine of drama and shitslinging as a result, all unfolding on the platform! A useful aspect of video reviews is of course, being able to see (and hear) the model running, as well as seeing it on a layout. I nonetheless consume vast quantites of traditional print media for railways, locos, rolling stock, etc, whether real or in model form. Especially when researching its useful, and I like the tangibility of it, especially in an age where everything is becoming a subscription to extract as much value from the user as possible rather than allowing single purchase. To 'gauge' the issue regarding scale, I find myself consistently impressed with American outline manufacturers. It puzzles me that it seems to be more advanced there, whereas here in Europe housing is generally smaller and people have less space, surely N would be in higher demand! Do have to agree regarding kitbuilding/scratchbuilding though, 00/HO and indeed 0 scale seem to be the ideals for such, hats off to those 2mm finescale modellers!

It's called 'ragebait', bad reviews, angry rants, etc get the views. They're rewarded by the algorithm and so they continue to do it. I don't mind Sam's Trains for the most part, some of his antics are a bit childish but most of his reviews are fair enough. I think its important to have reviewers to help highlight some of the absolute nonsense some manufacturers try to get away with, and also bring light to some hidden gems, but often it turns into a trope of good and bad manufacturers. It's not limited to youtubers either, seems like many N gauge modellers are smarting over Kohlers comments regarding the scale compared to TT. I think N gauge is very much slept on recently, some of the newer models (Green Arrow) look as good as any TT scale model. American N scale (specifically steam) is coming in leaps and bounds with the likes of Broadway Limited Imports and Kato. I have a PRR T1 duplex in N scale and its probably one of my favourite models, excellent performer and comes with all the bells and whistles! A great deal more in a much smaller space.

The coolant leaking from the roof is giving me nightmares thinking about it, the smell must've been atrocious. The 29s have a problem with coolant leaking into the underfloor due to burst seals and overfilling, one of the reasons their floating floors have needed replacement, getting rotted from the bottom up. The smell is absolutely shocking. Significantly worse around the WCs, I'll leave that to the imagination...

Lovely work Mol!

Quite possible many could go over to oil firing too! Drivers tend to prefer railcars over locos these days, considered a great deal more reliable. We'll all be laughing when the FLIRTs come along, but until then its whatever will do!

the 29 will get you home at least

From Roger: Sorry to have been out of touch for a while, but I've been working on the 4mm scale artwork for the J18 and MGWR coaches and I think these are now ready to go to the etchers. It isn't just a case of reducing everything by 4/7ths - all the hole sizes and bending allowances have to be adjusted and the support tags increased in width. But it's all just about done now so I'll let you know when we get the delivery from the etchers.

Will send Roger on an email to see what the craic is!

If Irish TT120 was available I'd buy the lot. It's a great scale, especially considering space, while not being as finicky as N scale. I wonder what Accurascale's stance on TT is. Hornby do have quite a good 0-4-0 branch line good train set in TT, but it definitely does need some kind of 'boost' to get it up and running.

Are they not doing exactly what's so problematic with the market in the first place

That is pretty much the experience building kits! Turning into an ever increasing nightmare sourcing wheels, motors, gearboxes, detail parts etc post Brexit and with the part suppliers going bust or retiring with nobody to carry things on.

Hardly surprising given we're an Irish railway modelling forum, from which Accurascale spouted from. How many have actually bought Heljan models? I've never bought a thing from them, their poor quality control made sure I wasn't putting money toward them, even for the odd model I'd have a vague interest in.

Couldn't agree more John, I find RMWeb to be very good in terms of members noting inaccuracies and whatnot in CADs and samples so the manufacturers can get models right. At the end of the day, its all our money going into the hobby, our opinions are the ones that matter. A quick browse through the latest few pages of the inde retailers shows a decent discussion with good points brought up on all sides of things. It was mentioned here before but our ecosystem, or economy in terms of Irish railway modelling is a very different beast to the other side of the Irish Sea. We've 1-2 RTR manufacturers and a diverse range of brass kit suppliers, 3d print suppliers, etc. In both cases almost entirely an online presence. In the latter case, we've the rather serious issue of the traditional part suppliers in England going bust meaning wheels, motors, various other parts become increasingly difficult if not impossible to source. 3d printing can bridge some of the gap but not all. GB is a different kettle of fish altogether, with several largescale RTR suppliers that have been around for half a century or more, traditionally having sold via retailers. Many of those manufacturers and retailers are facing increasing losses showing that the current model there, as it stands, is not working. I wonder also about the sheer amount of models being sold now v the past. There's such enormous ranges and diversity, one has to wonder. There's also a conversation to be had about spare parts and the distribution of them. Spares are (obviously) a critical component of keeping models running longterm, but also (as can especially be seen in the likes of bachmann and rapidos 009 spares) used for kitbashing, scratchbuilding, etc.

I'm in a pretty similar boat buying mainly from smaller batch builders, kit suppliers, etc, all online. That said Accurascale themselves have an increasingly large range of Accurascale exclusives, available via direct purchase (AFAIK anyway, open to correction) so I think it's that combined with the likes of Hornby TT, retailers are panicking they'll be cut out altogether over time. So Heljan is the straw that broke the camels back I suppose. I try to buy off Marks as often as possible but otherwise I'm almost entirely buying stuff online. Heljans TT range gives some hope for Irish 00n3

Rails and TMC just put out an email regarding supporting independent retailers: ... Imagine a hobby with no visibility: no shops, no exhibitions, and no clubs - where everything is conducted in isolation online. That’s not what we want for the future - do you? Dont think its a coincidence..

Many thanks Jb. What I've found is the following The fun starts with 3rd's 1356-71 and Brake-3rd's 1904-8 of 1953 which were turned out in apple green, which was according to Mr. Kennedy "most unsuccessful; within a short time the numbers were hardly legible, and the coaches were almost impossible to clean". Mr. Kennedy then goes on: "During 1953 and 1954 various other liveries, all shades of mid green, were tested on many vehicles, but all were unsuccessful". Sadly, the shades and vehicles are not mentioned, but those concerned would have been Buffets 2405-18 of 1953/4, Compo's 2137-61 of 1954 and 3rd's 1372-8 of 1954. The introduction of the new Park Royals, 3rd's 1379-1418 of 1955 introduced "Brilliant green" a lined light green which "became the standard livery for the following six years" So my assumption (a dangerous word!) is that the buffets would be in some kind of 'mid green', darker than the later green but lighter than the earlier green as on Maedb. A photo in Tom Ferris' book is mentioned of one of the WTR AEC's, and indeed its livery is quite the mid green, and includes a green roof! Perhaps my best bet is to go for something close to this colour.

The SSM 800 is under trials with the train, pickups added to tender made quite the difference in terms of performance. Other than the boiler bands it's been entirely lined by hand. Certainly testing the patience! The Tin Van TPO has received her silver livery. Couldn't get bare metal silver but Mica Silver seemed to do the trick. Quite the contrast against the dark green coaches. Speaking of greens.. The Buffet car isn't far off the priming and painting stage. This, however, begs the question. What livery were these coaches painted into first? The earliest photos I've seen of them, they don't appear to be in the dark green, but rather some variation of the light green with the single edn waistband line. This is around 1953 or so?

Perhaps one could send a pigeon! Seems like Roger has got his email back at any rate

Bogies might be of use also?

It's perhaps odd they've something listed as in stock when it isn't but my experiences with their online shop has been grand.

Fabolous work Mol!

Funny, I've been looking into getting an 0 gauge 800 done.... bit of size comparison.. Just personally I would (of course) take an 800 in 0, would probably sell too but for most people it'd be a display model. More realistically I'd take something like a J26, J15 or a 141, something smallish but versatile to kick start a layout. The thing about it is I'd be more likely to go with proper 5'3 if I go into 0 gauge since its a fresh slate compared to what I have at 00.