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Here is my version of a back to back which was built from styrene and mounted on a modified Dapol Prestwin underframe. Dimensions were guesstimated from the video John posted as it was virtually the only image of the prototype I could find at the time. It is a much more primitive version than the one shown in the photo John posted.

Page 53 of Rails Through the West shows an empty unit train of back to backs heading South on the North side of Tuam in 1974.

Very exciting to see this project progressing. If a RTR version is produced what liveries might they be available in?

Posted yesterday.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrgVLa8cM6Y

I was born I 1959 and my main interest in Irish railways is he period between the mid sixties and late seventies when the loose coupled goods ended.This era is particularly fascinating since much of the Railway infrastructure which had changed little for decades existed side by side with modern developments such as unit trains of containers, cement, oil and ore. Sadly today's Irish railways hold virtually no interest for me and on visits home over the last ten years I have not even bothered to go out of my way to see a train. I recall reading somewhere that a good approach for a satisfying model railway is to model what got you interested in railways in the first place, an idea which I feel has much merit.

I was on that trip from Tralee to Fenit and back, all of 12 years old! My father did know Gleasure's in Tralee but then again between his job and the Tralee Development Association he seemed to know half the county.

A few did separate for me also but making a new one was no problem. I happen to have several lifetimes supply of oo scale brake protector raw material in a drawer at home!

This tool very useful for shaping brake protectors. It's from Kadee for adjusting the height of their coupler trip pins although I have seen similar tools from other suppliers. Several posts here have commented on the unsuitability of the staples in Leslies kits but I have never had an issue with them, and have built 12 Bulleid opens and 5 cattle wagons.

I remember them used along with open wagons in the late sixties and early seventies on timber traffic from Fenit pier to McCowns siding in Tralee. Due to weight restrictions on the causeway a Deutz was used to transfer wagons from the pier to the Fenit station. The ships were unloaded by the rail mounted steam cranes on the pier directly onto the wagons. The trains were handled by a mainline locomotive between Tralee and Fenit. My father worked for the Department of Agriculture visiting farms in North Kerry from the 60's to the 80's and during the summer months he would often drop the family off for a day at the beach at Fenit where I got to see the rail activity first hand. His job also required him to spend time at Mc Cowns who were a large agricultural supplier in Tralee and on many occasions when I accompanied him to work during the school holidays I got to see the shunting and unloading of the timber trains there.

Due to my talent for sticking my fingers together or to kit parts or anything else that happens to be nearby when using superglue I too have used epoxy to good effect on Leslie's kits. Another advantage is having time to correctly align parts before the adhesive sets.

The lighting is done with fluorescent light bulbs in cheap holders about 2 foot apart. The layout is located in an area of our condo the previous owner converted from a storage room to what was described as a media room with a multitude of electrical outlets. The bulb holders were wired in parallel using cheap extension chords which provided the wire and plug when I discovered this method was cheaper than buying wire and a plug separately. There are three such circuits covering the layout, each with it's own on/off switch so the entire layout doesn't have to be illuminated when I'm working on it. This assembly is fixed to the pelmet framing and plugged in to one of the many electrical outlets.

Close enough for me. In any case Leslie's cattle wagons will get all the attention.

Wouldn't it be great if a downloadable copy could be made available from the publisher. I do have a copy acquired a few years ago. It wasn't exactly cheap and I'm fearful it will start coming apart.

The cattle pens were painted using a Woodland Scenics rail tie brown weathering pen and dry brushed with white poster paint. The cattle are rubber figures I found at the checkout of a local Hobby shop. I dont know if their livery is correct for the geographic location or era.

Looks like a six axel version of a BL2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_BL2

I never got to see the Dead when Jerry was still with us and Maureen and I were were really disappointed when the Dead and Company show in Cleveland was cancelled due to the Corona virus. A consolation was these two box sets.

Amazing what can be achieved with a fistful of coffee stirrers and a tube of glue! It was painted/weathered with Woodland Scenics rail tie the marker. Inspired by the Scalescenes downloads I found a picture of a factory online, printed up two copies spliced them togeather to extend the length and glued them to a piece of foam board. I will add some roof and sides to give it depth. It may get replaced some day with a more detailed structure. Meanwhile well worth the effort for an hours work!

A farmer waits the arrival of empty beet wagons at Glen More. The platform surface is downloaded Scalescenes concrete ground.

If the presentation box would double as a jewelry box or hold a bottle of wine maybe some of us could pull a fast one on the domestic authorities in the interest of acquiring another A!

Two videos show a short fertilizer train travelling across the layout. 20200602_182804.mp4 20200602_183813.mp4

Here are a few more shots from the East side of the station.

Finally Glen More is coming together. A major reason to rebuild the station was to provide more shunting possibilities. There are now seven spots to spot wagons. The track behind the passenger platform has an end loading dock, cattle pens and a spot for a yet to be built goods shed. The siding on the North West side has a hard standing, a gantry crane used to load containers of produce from the local co op and a tar bitumen depot. The siding on The South side has a bank for beet loading. John Mayner asked in a previous post which I did not get around to reply to (sorry John) if a card forwarding system was used during operation. Not at present, I write up a switch list telling the train operator which wagons to drop off and pick up at each station. Wagons are blocked in the fiddle yards to facilitate shunting. There is plenty of interesting operation running a pick up goods without resorting to shunting puzzles which I find get tedious quickly. Beet specials drop off an empty for every load picked up.