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It's Plastruct #91532 wood planking "painted" with a rail tie brown track weathering marker. The Waterford fiddle yard and Grange loop have a capacity of twelve loose coupled wagons and a van. The Cork Fiddle yard and Glen More loop are considerably longer. Careful traffic management and some "fiddling" in the Waterford fiddle yard allow for running longer trains because its fun to do so!

The three back to backs are finally assembled and will be allowed time for the polystyrene cement to cure before washing and painting. I would love to see more photos of the prototypes but unfortunately they seem extremely camera shy. Does anybody know when they were introduced and finally withdrawn?

The three back to back fertilizer wagons are well along. I seem to remember the prototypes running in blocks and a block of four will look good in a train.

Cork goods crosses the Waterford passenger in Glen More. 20201024_151733.mp4

Waterford Cork Bell liner passes Glen More Ovtober 1974.

Having completed the major scenic work and cleaned up the layout area it's a good time for a video showing how the layout fits into the available space. Our condo is split level, the stairs in the video comes down from the upper floor which is at ground level. This area has no windows, being a partial basement and the temperature remains constant throughout the year making it a perfect environment for a model railway. The area was originally intended as a storage room but the original owner had the builder omit the door and wall, finish the space, installed numerous electrical outlets and cable TV and called it a media room. Maureen agreed to me using the space for the layout "as long as it is tidy and looks good" 20201018_122448.mp4

Work progressed on three new new back to back ferts on the kitchen counter under carefully controlled conditions. Maureen was not home.......

The ground cover is Woodland Scenics light green coarse turf scattered over wet tan paint. Further applications roof turf is added as needed to cover bare spots or build up texture. The bushes are Woodland scenics light green Clump Foliage. While it is often recommended to mix different color scatter materials I found it did not work for me at least on this layout. While running a few trains this morning I caught the Cork passenger behind 141 at Grange.

Once the Waterford passenger train left Glen More the beet train completed its shunting and began its return journey shunting Kielys cross on the way. There is no work at Grange so the train rolls straight into the Cork fiddle yard ending the operating session.

As the beet special shunts Glen More the passenger train from Cork to Waterford runs through.

The goods proceeds through Kielys Cross and Grange where there is no work today and on to the fiddle yard.

The beet special drops off an empty and picks up a load at Grange. It then proceeds to Glen More where it meets the Cork goods which waits in the loop after finishing its work there.

Having finally got most of the messy scenery work on the layout out of the way it was finally time to clean up. Tools and materials which were left on the layout were put away, the floor swept and washed and the layout set up for an October 1974 operating session, the first in a while. The photos show the first train run, the Waterford Cork goods. The train dropped off three wagons and picked up two. The train then continued to Grange where it met the Cork Glen More beet special which will be the covered in the next post.

A50 shunts beet wagons as the Cork Waterford passenger leaves Glen More.

134 on a Cork Waterford passenger crosses A50 on a beet special in Glen More.

Here you go John. Prestwin underframe, styrene body Dart Castings buffers. Dimensions guesstimated from the few photos and videos I could find online. Three more are in the works which will make a nice block of wagons for the pick up goods to drop off for Glen More co op.

Waterford to Cork goods train passing Glen More and Kielys Cross October 1974. 20200929_030044.mp4

That has worked well for me also.

Sixties action recently posted on You Tube

134 hasn't turned a wheel on the layout yet, I'm still waiting for the decoder to arrive from IRM. Meanwhile I'm having fun posing her for photos.

Its finally here! A sound decoder is due any day now, a first for the South Waterford Line.

"I would love to have a Sulzer! For a producer, seven options would be there - silver, green, black, black'n'tan with full height tan, and with low band, and a few ended up in "Supertrain" livery, though most assuredly never pulled any "supertrain" - nor, probably any passenger train in that livery, apart from the IRRS special in 1978. Also, of course, with and without tablet snatchers. " 106 remained in servile until 1976 in Supertrain colors often working ballast trains. I wasn't aware that any were fitted with tablet catchers, presumably for the Rosslare express.

Much the same scene as the previous photos but with an A class and signals.

That is a Silver Fox C class. Let's hope IRM will do one, but first hopefully a Birmingham Sulzer!

The immement arrival of a grey 121 inspired the. construction of a grey palvan, this time with different doors and ends. It may be time to build that SSM brake van kit and finish it in grey