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The same train passing through the junction while the branch passenger waits in the bay platform.

Tracklaying is now complete. As with the previous layout I used Midwest cork roadbed glued to the plywood baseboard. The Peco track is then screwed to the cork using 6mm x 1,2mm screws bought on Temu. Most of the track is reused from previous layouts. Indeed most of the electrofrog points are at least 30 years old. Droppers recycled from telephone wire are soldered to the rail and connected to a ring main of 1.5mm square recycled household wiring using clip on connectors. I am reusing the Roco multimaus DCC controller. The finished track plan is almost identical to the above sketch. The oil siding is now a carriage siding and doesn’t extend into the corner. The crossover on the main line in Belview is facing rather than trailing and only one siding for bulk cement at the Junction. I have unboxed most of my Irish rolling stock that I have accumulated over the last twenty years. I am enjoying test running my sound equipped Hunslet and all the other stock. I have never got around to doing any scenic work on any of my previous layouts so now I have many buildings to assemble and scenery to build. The first area I will try is the end baseboard where the bridge and the quarry are situated. As the main focus of the layout is operation as opposed to scenic accuracy, my first priority is to devise a working timetable for the layout and available rolling stock that would be appropriate for 1980’s Ireland. In my world the Hunslets did get beyond Inchicore! Due to the withdrawl of timber bodied stock 102 and the NIR mk. 2’s will remain on loan to CIE until the Mk. 3’s are available. Staging yard . The three tracks on the left are the south staging representing connections to the port and also Cork and Limerick. There will be a bridge over the entrance track to form a scenic break from the passenger station. The two middle tracks can be accessed from either end. As these tracks form a reversing loop they are isolated for reversal of polarity. There is also a programming track. The four tracks on the right represent north staging or Dublin. 102passingmine.mp4 The same train passes the dolomite mine and through the soon to be built tunnel , across the liftout flap and into the Junction. Belview230726.mp4 102 has left the passenger station and heads a train of 6 coaches passing the yard at Belview junction230726.mp4

In CIE days we never refered to locomotives as 'Traction' . They were always 'Locos' or 'Engines' By the 1980's maintenance was only carried out in Inchicore in Diesel 1, the old steam errecting shop ( major overhaul), Diesel 2 also known as the ramps ( body repairs) or the Running shed ( daily and weekly service checks). As part of the DART works Connolly shed was upgraded for service checks on locos working the Belfast, Rosslare and Sligo lines. A failure anywhere else and the loco was hauled to Inchicore.

The trees are probably younger than the railway?

The GM engine had a tendency to dump its coolant if it was shut down and let go cold. After the first oil crisis boilers were fitted to keep the engine warm but these were not reliable and drivers tended to leave the engine idling overnight rather than risk a restart.

I'd love an E421 class but I am not sure how many they would sell. It would be very hard to make a reliable model of a Deutz that would be heavy enough to pull anything, they were so small. Most likely could be a D 301 class which would probably be able to share a chassis with an 08 and had a somewhat similar body. Again I am not sure how well it would sell as all were out of service by the 1970's.

Did they ever get even as far as Heuston or Inchicore? I have never seen a picture of any of them at inchicore but stand to be corrected. I do actually have a memory of them on Rugby specials at Lansdowne road during the 70's when I went to Internationals with my dad.

I though I would bump this thread over six years on as the Park Royals and Hunslets are on the way, leaving only the ICRs and the 800 class outstanding of announced models. Maybe changing the title to 1960's to 1990's might be more appropriate as this is where I believe most peoples interest lies. Laying out my own cards, if it ran on tracks in Ireland in the 1980's then I will buy for my layout, but not to sit on the mantlepiece. I really wish to support the manufacture of Irish railway models but my budget is not unlimited and so will not be buying the ICRs, 800's or Darts. Of Noel's original list only the Park Royals have been announced and almost delivered. In addition project Bulleid has delivered a large range of wagon stock including H vans, Palvans, opens, grain vans,flats and oil tanks. We have also received the Hejan Esso oil tank wagons. IRM have hinted that the next new announcement in October will be a C class which would be very logical and I think would sell very well. it could be produced in a large variety of liveries for both CIE and NIR. Hopefully the mainline Park Royals be produced. After than I think an 80 class could be on the cards as I also think this would sell well. Some of the developement costs should already be covered by the mark 2 range. Next in line would be a BR mk1 GSV. From the mid 70's on, every train of Cravens or Park royals needed a GSV and again the developements costs could be shared if accurascale produce their own range of Mk1s. It looks like the Murphy family are continuing with the production of the mk 3's so hopefully they will come out sometime before I die. Enda's 30 ton printed brake van solves the problem of what to run at the end of a train of Bulleids, maybe IRM will produce a 20 ton van? I think we can ignore the idea of a working model of Dick. After these I am struggling to see what else would sell in sufficient numbers to justify developement costs. Apparently a carriage costs nearly as much as a locomotive to develop and produce, but sells for a fraction of the price. I would love to see a model of a 2400 class buffet car as almost all non AC mainline trains had one in their consists. It would go well with the Cravens and Park Royals but as most trains only had one would it sell well enough to justify production? Would an AEC, railcar set sell well? Yes it could be produced in GNR and CIE versions but could it be sold unpowered as a model of the push pulls? Maybe a full train of GSR coaches to go behind Meadhbh? On the freight side maybe a pallet cement wagon, bogie bulk cement wagon or ammonia tanker as some running gear is already produced. Other alternative would be one of the preserved steam locos to pull the RPSI stock.

Much of the testing in the Lab in inchicore in the 1980's was the analysis of lube oil for diesel engines for all the CIE companies.

Did the Hunslets ever get beyond Lansdowne road or anywhere west or south of Dublin?

Is there anyone in the Dublin or Wexford areas who would like to share an order for Pallet Vans? The wallet is fairly empty at the moment as I have just paid for my Hunslet and Park Royals I fancy a set of pallet vans in brown even though they are outside my modelling era and would like a set of three but with both types of end pressings. My proposal is to share an order for IRM1291 and 1292. I would be happy to go ahead and buy the two sets and then meet the person to transfer over and split the costs. I am not fussy which end type I keep two of. If anyone is interested please send me a PM

Last nights IRRS film show had a clip from Joe St Leger showing a tar train going from Mallow to Quartertown

Almost another year has gone by since my last post. We finished doing up the new house in June but it took another few months to clear out all the “stuff” that was stored in the railway room. I finally got possession in September, installed lighting and sockets and then got started on the benchwork. This is a rough sketch of the track plan. After a lot of thought I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to achieve. The new layout is similar operationally to the old layout but in twice the space. The available space is approximately 15’ X 11’. The baseboard is built around the walls with a peninsula up the middle. There is a lift out section in front of the door. Trains will leave north staging (Dublin) and arrive first at the junction (Ross Junction) where there is a trailing connection to the branch terminus (Drinagh). The junction has two through platforms and a bay platform with run around for the branch passenger. There will also be a siding for sundries, cement and fertilizer. I also hope to fit in a siding or two in for a bulk cement silo. Drinagh will have a siding for sundries, cement and fertilizer and a private set of sidings with runaround for dolomite, magnesite and oil. In the future I will probably operate this with a private owner shunting loco. The position of the magnesite plant( in practice a Walthers grain silo), is designed to distract from where the main line comes out from behind the backscene. Heading south the main line leaves the junction and goes into a tunnel and around a curve. Emerging from the tunnel there is a trailing connection to a dolomite ore quarry cut into the hillside with two sidings. The line then crosses over a wide slow flowing river and around a curve into the yard of the main terminus station (Belview standing in for Waterford). From here to the main passenger station the line is double track with a crossover halfway along. On the up side is a three track container or marshalling yard with a headshunt and a short siding for palletized traffic. On the down side is an oil siding and connection to the two track loco shed and turntable. Also on the up side the line to Belview quay branches off curving around to go under a bridge and into south staging. At the passenger station the main arrival and departure tracks go through the backscene to the far corner. And will be long enough for full length passenger trains. A bay platform is for shorter trains and also doubles up as a continuous run. There will be nine tracks in the staging yard, three for south staging, four for north staging and two tracks in the middle that can be used for either. As these tracks form a reversing loop they will be isolated for reversal of polarity. There will also be a programming track in the yard. The main baseboard is all one level apart from one short dipped section for the bridge. The main track baseboard is 12mm ply. Baseboard height is 1400mm and the 2 x 2 supports finish 300 mm above this to which 300mm x 6mm MDF is fixed for the backscene. Much of the plywood and 2 x 1 PAO has been recycled from the old layout. Baseboard construction is now almost complete and I am now starting on tracklaying.

RIP Paddy Very sad news. Its an understatement to say has left the Irish railway modelling community an enormus legacy. I was modelling american HO because of the quality of UK and "irish" outline models available at the time. Then Paddy brought out the 141/181s and the rest is history. Condolences to his family.

@Mayner You didn't mention that the GNR AEC railcars were almost identical to the CIE ones and some of these were painted in UTA and NIR liveries. Also many of the park royals were wired to run as intermediate coaches, The main missing coach would be a 26xx buffet car which ran on most railcar or loco hauled services from the 50's to the 80's but I'd say there's very little chance of one of them being produced. On balance I think you are right about the more popular appeal of the 80 Class over the AEC railcars as a lot more people are still around who remember them. I still think a C class or a GSV or both would outsell an 80 class. All of Murphy Models effort seems to be concentrated on the DART+ at the moment so it would be interesting if IRM were to leapfrog them and produce their own range which would have the advantage of crossover with the much larger UK market.