Andy Cundick

Sleeper spacing is totally irrelevant to most of Courtmacsherry as you can't see them(currently burying them at the moment)Andy.

For trackwork i use Copperclad sleepers and Code 75 Bullhead which i get from the EM Gauge Society,its all built to EM standards.The useful thing about soldered track construction is that its easy to tweek after being laid,just the touch of a soldering iron.Andy

Tony,The only ready to run conversion i have is a Halling motor bogie under my C Class.For any one who hasn't come across these rather fine beasties,they are made by Leopold Halling in Austria and are mainly used under tram kits,they are however readily regauged as all you have to do is replace the existing axles (1.5mm)with longer ones,for the C i used 14mm coach wheels instead of the 9mm ones.The usuful thing with these bogies are they have a variable wheelbase and flywheel drive infinitely  better than those dreadful Tenshodos.Andy

Just finished doing the trackwork for Courtmacsherry and a quick calculation shows that it cost about 45 quid thats for a 196 foot layout(excluding fiddleyard) with 7 1/2 points (ones a catch point).So 21mm track needn't be expensive,Andy

Coach bogies are dead easy MJT do a range of basic compensated coach bogies in various wheelbases the two sides and centre bolster are connected together by wire so all i do is make the wire longer then solder up the whole lot,they work a treat and you can fix whatever cosmetic frames you want.As for wagon chassis i don't know  whether SSM still do their 21mm RCH w irons but those plus the wheel spacing jig from Brassmasters makes the job easy,Andy.

A few points (Pardon the pun) about doing 21mm gauge,like most things its a lot to take on board at first,however it really isn't that difficult.For a start my first attempt at track building was a 21mm point,The way i did was to buy an SMP point kit ,they come with a full set of instructions plans copperclad sleeper strip,rail,and even a crossing gauge.then what i did was blew the point plan up to 21mm gauge and built a point,and heres the scary thing it actually worked!up to that moment trackwork had been a black art worshipped from afar,incidentally the second one was a complete disaster as i was overconfident.I would sugggest as first go copperclad construction has a lot going for it as its easy to adjust track after construction with a touch of the soldering iron.My way of building the track is to mark the centres of the tracks directly onto the baseboards then lay the sleepers using double backed sellotape(the type used for laying carpet tiles).a 3ft steel rule on its side helps with marking out as bending creates its own transistion curve.Obviously a couple of roller gauges are needed,now the Scalefour Society do them,but they are easy enough to make yourself with some tube cut/filed to length and some washers with a bolt through the lot.There is a set of dimensions in Alan O'Rourkes "Modelling Irish Railways".I would suggest sticking to the EM standars then at least you can see the flanges.Back to Back gauges are usfull but a Vernier caliper does the job just as well,incidently i jst checked my back to back      gauge which came from Terry McDermont back in the day and that comes out at 19.6mm. A lot has been said about the cost but especially if you build your own track it shouldn't cost any more than doing it in 00,especially if get into kit building.Andy.

Totally agree with David,steamers especially look odd,the photo in the Modeller of the Loco Works U says it all with the wheels so far in they would virtually inside the firebox.Just started laying track on Courtmacsherry which will at least increase Broad Gauge on the circuit by 25%(Due at Warley next year so no pressure then!).Start small and have a go Andy.

Dead easy way of making an eliptical roof is to use 5 thou brass easy to form the ellipse over a bar.iv'e used  on all my Worsleys from Castlederg to Creat Northern dead easy Andy. 

Wouldn't bother too much in my experience of working on wagonry at Swindon they all ended up as a gungy brown colour.Andy 

Signalling error at Ballinamore Leslie.Now need to get on with Courtmacsherry for next year.Andy.

Not quite the Emerald Aisle (Sorry couldnt resist),but at least altogether,i echo Leslie sentiments and if anyone wants a test run of their stock on Arigna come and have a chat we're there all weekend Andy. 

Never had any problems with SSM Kits done most of them now or in the case of the J15's twice,with Valencia a must. As to the cost,its not really any more expensive building a kit to 5'3" rather than 4'1 1/2".Andy.

As its on the to do list put me down for both,depending on price Andy.

1 hour ago, murrayec said:

Hi Andy

Any chance you could post up or pm me a few photos of the bogie sides? even better if you could post a picture of Mike Chinery's complete bogies? and does Mike still make these?

Thanks

Eoin

Mikes stopped doing complete bogies but i believe he still supplies castings,i'd love to post photos but havn't a clue howto Andy.

It does make up into a nice bit of kit.Mine has a pair of motor bogies from Mike Chinery which does give it a bit of poke.Really needs a West Clare layout to run on,but has to make do with Castlederg or Arigna still you never know!Andy.

Suggest you check out the High Level website good selection of gearboxes and motors The boxes virtually fall together I tend to use them for everything.Andy

See you at Brighton Dave i'm there with Valencia and at Warley next year with Courtmacsherry(Arignas there this year)Andy.

Bear i mind that you don't need a lot to get started thats why Valencia Harbour was built only 3 points all the stock needed to run it apart from a brake van is available.Its always a good idea to start small .Andy

I build all my 21mm stock to EM standards a couple of the locos are compensated but the majority are fixed as are all the coaches and wagons,the main benefit of using 21 is visual with the best will in the world irish viewde end on looks odd.Andy.

Point to bear in mind when building No4 is the lack of space between the 2nd and 3rd driving axles,when i did the Castlederg version i made up the chassis as per the drawing,only to find that the wheel flanges overlapped(Oh dear i said!)So the 2 chassis i eased the rear axle back a bit and all was fine.Andy.

WV is a Wiltshire reg as her first owner lived in Wiltshire though they spent the hunting season on their estate near Cork hence the taxing in the Free State.Took her over a few years ago great especially "doing" the Tralee and Dingle.Andy.

For true authenticity Valencia has an Austin 10/4 Lichfield on it registration No WV7789,which was taxed 6months for 3 years at Queenstown laterly Cobh.So spot on for Valencia as well as Courtmacsherry.I did find out due to motive power crisis that Valencia will fit in/on her(fiddle yard on boot lid),did get some odd looks going up the M4 though Andy.

Just a thought surely the title should be standard gauge models after all 00 is narrow gauge even for 4'8,1/2",Andy.

Courtmacsherry in 4mm Not finished yet but due at Warley next year. Plus Strabane albeit just a couple of sidings at the front for the moment,Andy.

To be honest you don't need a lathe to do the axles the average length for driving wheel axle is 1 inch varies a bit depending on the boss.I just stick a wheel each side of the back to back measure off with a vernier ,then rod in vice and a quick hacksaw then clean up the ends with a file Hey presto one axle simples.As for pin point axles 1.5mm steel rod cut to 28mm,stick it in a drill,fire it up and with a fine carborundum block form a point the angle isn't that critical.Its worked for the last 15 locos and 60 bits of stock.Andy