Garfield

Nice one! I'll do a bit of Googling to see if there's a suitable thickness of perspex out there, but I've a feeling you might be right on that... Edit: Microscope slides might do the trick... they're usually around 1mm thick.

Richie... just wondering. I'd imagine a perspex frame could be made up fairly handily for the phonebox and the overlays placed on that?

Nice fine, Broithe. The Brits also had their own RailPlane, which was tested in the late 1920s-early '30s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4Qamg3C188

I vaguely remember seeing a model of this one time. A really interesting vehicle... basically a Budd RDC railcar with a set of booster engines from a B-36 bolted onto the roof. It still holds the speed record in the USA.

I swear, I can never view this thread without drooling... love the phone box!

Still, not so long ago a bidding war would've broken out for it!

In today's Irish Independent: * Tough decisions must be made to get back on track * Bus and rail users face years of fare increases In many respects, the chickens have finally come home to roost. CIÉ are in a precarious financial situation and could actually be on the verge of receivership. Looks like they'll be seeking to lay-off staff, cut services, and restructure bank loans. The second article also says "only basic maintenance will be carried out", which also has the potential to wreck havoc. If this policy is enforced, expect an increasing amount of train failures, and a growing line of decommissioned 071s in Inchicore.

Humbrol also produce a specific 'dayglo' paint, too... http://bit.ly/RCMuxE

Yep... and it looks fab!

Your layout, your rules!

Black & Tan lasted into the late 1970s (around '78 or so). The first Supertrain Mk3s appeared in 1984.

Absolutely stunning work. You don't often see Irish layouts set in that time period.

Good to see the next generation is taking an interest in the hobby all the same.

Hi Kirley, The 'Supertrain' livery is the plain orange and black livery introduced by CIÉ as a successor to the 'Black & Tan' colour scheme. I forget the exact year, but the change-over began in the early-mid '70s, and began to be phased out when Irish Rail was formed in 1987, although it survived well into the '90s on a few locos, with the CIÉ roundel replaced by the IR 'points' logo. An example of an 071 in the livery: An A class: And some Mk2s: I'm not sure of the exact shade of orange, but it was a tad deeper than the shade used for the IR/IÉ colour schemes. The A, C, 121, 141/181 and 071 classes all received the livery (or the ones that remained in service at that point in some cases). A small number of the B101 Sulzers were also repainted in Supertrain colours, while others remained in the Black & Tan or black & white trim liveries. The only coaches to receive the livery were the Mk2s and Mk3s, and their generator vans. All other coaching stocked remained as it was, although the Cravens received a minor livery alteration post-1980s. JHBAchill, Mayner or some of the others may be able to provide more information.

Both must be around the same age as well...

Spot on... HO scale, too.

You'd better have the platinum Mastercard handy... LS Models products ain't the cheapest. Also, they only produce limited runs and when an item is out of stock, that's usually the last you'll them.

Indeed. It was the harsh conditions of the Armistice agreement that laid the foundation for the rise of extremist politics in Germany. On a lighter note, I read this simple explanation of the politics behind the outbreak of WWI...

Two great grand-uncles on my mother's side joined the British Army and died at Flanders shortly afterwards. Only one of their bodies was recovered. On my dad's side, my great grandfather served as a sergeant with the US Army and is mentioned in a book about the history of his Infantry Regiment. After the war he returned to Ireland and used his military experience to train volunteers during the War of Independence. +1 for All Quiet on the Western Front. Storm of Steel by Ernst Jünger is also well worth reading, although it's a bit more 'stiff upper lip' in comparison.

Agreed. It was borderline condescending in places... at one point what the narrator was saying basically boiled down to 'commuters use the Dart to go to work'. Surely 99.9% of the population know what the Dart is and what it's for? I'm all for programmes like this being produced in a way that the general punter can understand, but there's no excuse for that. Also... the 'talking heads' they brought in looked uncomfortable in front of camera, especially Michael Barry. It was hard to keep track of what he was talking about at times. The footage is in there... somewhere.

Well, that was a waste of a half-hour... inoffensive fluff.

Cheers. Only thing that annoyed me about it was that I would've liked to have had the guys facing the opposite direction during the interview (to avoid the shadows), but some rubberneckers had moved in after the ceremony and didn't want them waving at the camera when talking about something like that... Any photos of that, Seamus?

As you probably know, yesterday was Armistice Day. While most people associate it with commemorations for war dead in the UK, there were also ceremonies held here to remember the Irishmen who fought and died in World War I. In Longford, the local branch of Óglaigh Náisiúnta na hÉireann held a commemorative ceremony at the the WWI memorial in the town's Market Square. Here's some footage I shot of the event: http://www.longfordleader.ie/news/local/video-armistice-day-commemoration-1-4469527

You know what? You could probably chop out a piece of sleeper and replace it with the magnet... seems a perfect fit and would make it even less noticeable.