Garfield

Irish Railway Models Ltd today announces that it has ceased its working arrangement with DJ Models Ltd for its upcoming CIÉ/Irish Rail ballast wagon and cement 'bubble' wagon projects with immediate effect and will now deal directly with a factory in China for the production of these models. It is envisaged that only minimal disruption to the manufacturing process will result from this development, with delivery of the ballast wagon expected in the first quarter of 2017. A definite production schedule will be provided in due course. Furthermore, Irish Railway Models Ltd wishes to assure its customers that prices will not be affected by this move and we wish to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has placed orders for their loyalty and understanding. Irish Railway Models Ltd wish DJ Models Ltd the very best for the future. Responsibility for manufacturing the recently-announced Tara Mines lead/zinc ore wagon will also lie directly with Irish Railway Models Ltd.

This thread reminded me of this documentary:

Richard's 'Lissadell' looks right at home on Arigna Road, David. The look on poor Weshty's face when the loco fell between the rails will stay with me!

I wonder if this archive may be of use? http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/N13694797

Is it possible it had an underfloor engine, or at least something less intrusive? The GSR's 5ft 3in gauge Drewry inspection cars had Ford Model A engines, which were quite compact and would have provided similar horsepower...

Fantastic work, Jason! Take a bow!

Is Maeve the Millenium Falcon's sister ship?

Meant to post this before... Irish Railway Models was delighted to support the UFTM's Model Railway Day and we hope to be involved again in 2018.

Nice find, John. There's a shot of the cab interior at 7.29. No sign of a speedometer in the corner between the windscreen and the driver's side window. Was there an older type located elsewhere prior to rebuild or did they simply not have one back then, I wonder?

Hi Roxyguy, have you tried adding some weight to the tender?

No problem, Joe. There are a few on the site. If you have a browse around you'll find them. Also, check out the 'services' section: http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/forumdisplay.php/36-Services Georgeconna (Wonderful Weathering) would be among the guys who might be able to assist you.

Hi Joe, as far as I know the business is now defunct. It looks like Rennicks either inherited the RC car element or noticed the website domain was available and snatched it.

No problem! There's more information on the Irish Traction Group's website, including a photo of DH3 after its rebuild at Beaver Power in Wales: http://www.irishtractiongroup.com/page25.html

Two of NIR's old DH class shunters are in service there at a cement plant owned by Holcim, having being rebuilt and re-gauged.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/germany-unveils-zero-emissions-train-only-emits-steam-lower-saxony-hydrogen-powered-a7391581.html?cmpid=facebook-post

JB, I've a feeling there's a photo of a C class shunting a green four-wheel postal van at Sligo in Tom Ferris' 'Irish Railways in Colour'. I don't have the book to hand, though...

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/minister-ross-has-no-intention-of-closing-any-railways-764403.html

Sounds like someone involved got the wrong end of the stick. I think a new timetable was introduced around that time?

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/transport-minister-may-shut-lossmaking-line-that-carries-just-73-passengers-a-day-35216080.html "The review identifies wide disparities in the funding requirement for the various routes on the network. It identifies the subvention requirement per passenger journey on each route, based on the running costs for these routes (excluding the capital investment). It shows, for example, that the subvention for each passenger journey on the Dart is 90c and on Limerick-Ballybrophy is €550." - Government memo

Cheers, Jason, it was great to meet you, too!

What's that quote about best-laid plans? Revised arrival time of 2pm for anyone wanting to see the samples...

Concrete sleepers have been around for a few decades but points with concrete sleepers have only become widespread in the last 10 years or so. The impact of the train wheels on the pointwork was absorbed better by wooden sleepers than they were by standard concrete ones until the design improved...

For anyone attending the show tomorrow, I'll be bringing pre-production samples of the IRM ballast and bubble wagons with me. I should be arriving around 12.30pm and Des has kindly allowed me to utilise the Studio Scale Models stand (stand 9) as a meeting point. See you there!

The IRM team will be present and we'll have the EP samples of the ballast and bubble wagons on display. We'll be taking pre-orders for both and we can accept both cash and card payments on the day.

I see the programme for the show is available online: http://nmni.com/Documents/UFTM/Model-Railway-Prog-2016 Really looking forward to it now!