MikeO

Noel

Thanks. In video mode my camera does not provide any option to adjust the shutter speed. I will try more light to see if that helps and also slow the trains down even more than i do already. i will experiment with the slow running qualities on my German DCC layout.

MikeO

Noel

A very comprehensive set of tips. I have tried the side and slightly elevated views but still get a "blurred" picture of the passing train due to the movement of the train itself. My camera does not have image stabilisation, as far as I am aware.

Any other tips on taking shots of a moving train.

MikeO

I will be there and hopefully get to talk with as many as possible.

Speedy

Thanks for the endorsement about the Impressions of Ireland Display.

Attached a a few photos of the display

Two overviews front and rear

A few details from the layout

A selection of locomotives and stock running on the day

MikeO

I hope everything goes well for Séan and that he will be up and around for the South Dublin Exhibition in October.

MikeO

Not quite up to date, i will be there with my T=Trak layout.

MikeO

All aspects of wiring layouts including bus wires, dropper wires and how they are connected and fed to the controller and switches such as DPDT etc.

Another issues could be the cutting and shaping of plastic sheeting and the tools used. Particularly how is the plastic cut straight and how are openings for doors /windows made and kept straight.

MikeO

Thanks for the info. I will try to get to Enniskillen and will definitely be at Dublin.

MikeO

Belfast to Wexford is a long trek but maybe a few days in Wexford might be a better option. If you are at either the UMRC show end of August or Dublin end of October I may get some time to talk to you.

MikeO

For an Enniscorthy layout I was thinking of something larger perhaps 3 boards for the scenic sections each about 60cm long (making 1.8m in total) and about 30cm deep with something similar for the fiddleyard.

I looked at your Cynwyd layout which is very impressive. The electrics look very daunting way beyond my abilities at the moment. The Heathcote Electronics unit you have sourced for Llanuwchllyn does it work the same way as the one used in Cynwyd?

MikeO

An interesting idea. On the eiretrains website photo 12 of Enniscorthy shows a track plan diagram and some of the other photos show a tunnel and a river crossing. Incorporating these features could make a very good small layout. A fiddle yard behind the backscene would allow a variety of trains to be run fairly easily.

MikeO

JHB

Very helpful. I can now say with authority that when I put different styles of coaches together that this is how a train could have looked even with a birdcaged brakevan or a GNR coach in its original livery as well as some in CIE Green. Would that have been the lighter green?

Do you have anything similar on GNR train make up?

MikeO

I would be interested particularly in wiring. Would these be day time courses which would suit me as i live in Belfast?

MikeO

Andy

Thanks exactly what I wanted. My estimates were very far off.

MikeO

Does anyone have or know where I could find information on the size of these locomotives excluding tenders. The length from front to back including or excluding buffers would help me identify possible donors for conversion.

The J5 has 5ft 8in wheels which would suggest a length of around 22ft. J18/19s have 5ft 3in wheels suggesting a length of about 19 to 20ft.

MikeO

Noel thanks for the compliment on the rolling stock. Expanding the collection is becoming addictive but finding suitable donors, time and information slows things down considerably.

MikeO

Broithe

Thanks I will pass on the comments to the module's owner. Perhaps in time the House will be extended and the dog and bicycle added.

MikeO

Colin

Have you considered Alphagraphixs kits for station buildings and signal cabins.

In 4mm scale there is

F514 Station based on Glenfarne

F527 Manorhamilton Signal Cabin based on Saxby & Farmer Type 5

F536 Goods Shed based on Glenfarne

F552 Florencecourt Station

F555GNR Signal Cabin

These generally have stone or stone covered render.

F570 GNR W H MIlls style Station

This is the distinctive brick work usually yellow/cream and red.

The photos below are of N gauge versions where I scaled down the 4mm kit components. I have not yet built the W H Mills station.

F514

F527

F536

F552

F555

MikeO

I had a small layout at the show in Bangor on Friday and Saturday last. It was not totally Irish as some Japanese influences crept in. Below are are few photos of some of the trains that were run.

The S class in the foreground is running some of the GNR Enterprise stock that I made. These ran circa 1948. In the background is a GNR V class with freight stock.

The class 181 in Arrows livery is a conversion of a Hobbytrain Vissoh G 2000 and the stock are MK 2 coaches with Electrographics sides in Arrows livery. The Mogul(K1) is a Fraish Southern N Class and the stock is a mixture of printed sides on MK 1 coaches or scratch built.

Here we have the Class 181 again and a Class 121 with stock in black and tan livery.

Some scratch built Cement Bubbles and a cement wagon plus a Ranks wagon.

The Japanese House crept in partly for variety and partly to help its builder ensure that the module could successfully connect with others. Some Japanese trains also made an appearance from time to time.

Another new temporary module for variety is the Pond made by yet another modeller. This uses a different technique for making the water bed but has had around 6 coats of varnish applied. There is a small river in the foreground.

MikeO

I will be there with a small T-Trak display. The rolling stock will be mainly Irish covering CIE B&T and Green as well as GNR Mahogany liveries but any nationality could turn up.

MikeO

It is sad but within the niche of Irish model railways, the GNR is an even smaller niche. Conversion or scratch building is the only way to go there are just not the numbers to make commercial manufacture worth while.

MikeO

Peter

I believe that the Brasso works on the older pre-Chinese made coaches. As mine were newer coaches the nail varnish remover pads worked I got about 99.9% of the paint off. What little remained did not affect the adhesion of the vynl sides. If you have the newer coaches I would persevere the nail varnish remover.

MikeO

David

Thanks unfortunately the backscenes are not mine. They were only there for the 2 days of the exhibition along with many of the modules. They did inspire me to look again at my own backscenes and while I have decided to keep the scenes, I have made some changes and have had some of the larger on commercially printed. I think they look better and I am putting them on new boards that span the full width of the module.

MikeO

Hi Peter

I tried Brasso but it did nothing for taking off the paint. I used Nail Varnish Remover Pads made by Pretty and sold by Home Bargains. There were 30 pads in each container I cut each pad into four. I used about 40 full pads on each coach. It was slow about an hour for one side of a coach and very little happened for the first half hour. There was some residue. I used some turps to clean that and then washed the whole side with warm soapy water which was not a great success. I then used more clean pads and got a clean enough side that I could live with. Still a little cloudiness in parts and some paint just would not come off. On mine the cloudiness seemed to be paint stains but if it was the plastic melting it was very slight. It gives the effect of windows not being cleaned.

MikeO

A very good question. I had to consider this aspect while making up my T-Trak modules. My solution was to incorporate items from the landscape, dolmens, standing stones, round towers and thatched cottages as well as yellow gorse. In addition where possible I used authentic landscapes for the backscenes. Types and position of buildings I think also play an important role in identifying the landscape as Irish. A combination of of all of these goes along way to help people identify the origin of the scene we have created.

MikeO