patrick

I'm getting flashbacks of being ten years old waiting on the footbridge at Fenit for the summer Sunday seaside special to arrive from Tralee. On a real good day a boat would be in and a Deutz would be shunting wagons between the station and the pier where the steam cranes would be unloading timber. I can feel the warm sun, smell the suntan lotion the seaweed and diesel exhaust and feel the Choc Ice melt on my fingers!

I just realized I spoiled the last three photos by putting the signal cabin roof back on backwards after doing the backdrop! I may update the paint job on the cabin by painting over over the green with grey but eventually replacement with a standard GSWR style cabin similar to the one at Dungarvan or possibly Kilmacthomas is planned.

The layout backdrop is being redone. The joints were filled and sanded, something I should have done from the start and the hills, which never looked right to me, they extended way too high and the color was wrong , were painted out. I am considering consulting an artist aquaintance of mine for advice before proceeding any further. For now it looks a hell of a lot better.

Vehicles are lacking on the layout at present as virtually nothing is available off the shelf over here and my limited resources has so far gone into getting the layout up and running and for scenery. The only accurate scale vehicle is an Oxford diecast Morris (I think, I know nothing about cars) The other vehicles are two Hotwheels front loaders and an Ertel John Deer tractor, None of which are anything close to oo scale but were found at the supermarket for a dollar each and were put on the layout to give it some life for now. One of the front loaders is at the beet loading siding at Keilys Cross and it at least gives a strong visual clue to what goes on there even if the barley which represents the crop is just a stand in for now until I find something better. There is also a Spanish HO scale model excavator which I got in Berlin when I lived there in the 80's Its tracks are crude and it lacks detail but the proportions are nice. Once the basic scenery is complete and detailing begins the vehicle issue will be addressed. Because of the rural theme of the layout not many vehicles will be required and I hope to acquire some nicely detailed models which will reinforce the location and era of the layout........I may have to learn something about cars!

I remember cycling out to Fenit from Tralee to see that shipment of starch being unloaded. The cargo was packaged in paper sacks like cement and unloaded into open wagons by the three steam cranes. A H van was present loaded with tarps to cover the loads. I don't recall a Deutz present to shunt the pier on this occasion, but a CIE lorry with an improvised buffer beam, a sleeper tied to the front with a rope was used. I believe the weighbridge was used at Fenit to weigh the wagons. At the end of the day an A class arrived from Tralee, assembled a sizeable train of starch and the H van and returned. The other traffic I remember from Fenit pier was timber for Mc Cownes in Tralee. Mc Cownes had a large property south of Tralee station with a timber and coal yard , a foundry and feed mill all served by rail.

This weekend ballast work was completed at Glen More and the first foot crossing put in. Ground covering was also done behind the up platform (Waterford to Cork is designated timetable Up). The next step is to redo the backdrop. The photo shows a Cork Waterford passenger meets a goods train.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Barry in 2012 while Maureen and I were on vacation. I was looking for a copy of "The Irish Metrovic Diesels" and it was suggested that a copy might be found at the IRRS in Dublin. We were greeted there by a very friendly member who regrettably informed us that they did not have a copy for sale "but here comes the author right now". While talking with Barry a copy of the book was unearthed somewhere which he signed. It was Maureens first trip to Ireland and everything seemed to go our way. The previous weekend we ended up in a pub with Geno of Four Men and a Dog after a concert in Clare. And in two weeks it only rained once!

Something a lttle different, a video showing how the layout fits into the room. It is planned to paint the valance and fascia (not yet completed) black and hang a black curtain underneath hiding the shelves so as to focus attention on the layout.

I agree with iarnrod and BosKonay. I would love to see the MIR range covered.

This past weekend the ballast crew were at work. Glen More was the first section of the layout started and one of the last to see ballast. I'm getting more dissatisfied with the backscene of the layout and am hoping to redo it soon. It lacks consistency and in several places the hills are too high.

They had excellent material to work with also.

Wonderful. They did a great job on Rails Through the West.

As part of a feasibility study for an extension to the layout bench work was mocked up using cardboard and hot glue. Since the benchwork ends at the foot of the stairs I felt it was advisable to see how it would work out before proceeding. It is hoped that there will be sufficient space to extend the west end of Grange station to include the point for the passing loop. At present both tracks through the station go past the platforms, under a road bridge and directly into the fiddle yard. The extended benchwork will work fine but I believe Peco set track curved points will need to be used in the fiddle yard. The whole thing took about an hour and is so much better than trying to draw it out on paper.

If it wasn't for the Silver Fox A class I wouldn't be modeling Irish Railways. When I started the railway I had practically no experience modifying or scratch building rolling stock and A class and 141/181 were the minimum requirements to effectively portray the era I wanted to model. My goal is to create a realistic plausible model railway which is fun to operate in a prototypical manner and striving to produce an A class up to the standard of Paddy Murphys GM's would not get me far down that road even if I had the ability to do so. At some stage the models will be upgraded, either with the SSM detail kit, when I am more confident in my ability to do a good job of it, or with a new model which will hopefully come on the market. For now when I view the layout in action I don't see a diesel model of questionable accuracy hauling a string of nice looking containers on underframes loosely modified to represent an Irish prototype all running on narrow gauge track. What I see is the Cork Waterford Bell liner travelling between Grange and Glenn More. I would never have started the layout if it was not for the Silver Fox A class.

The new brake gear looks fantastic. It improves the model no end!

Well done. This type of product is just what we need to encourage modellers to build their own rolling stock. Unfortunately I cant think of a prototypically sound reason to run a bubble train on my South Waterford line.

A quick look at "The Locomotives of CIE and NIR" will show that there is no "standard 20 foot chassis" There are variations in plates lift rings and brake gear between different wagon types and possibly in within classes also. A simple white metal kit consisting of solebars and bufferbeams which could be detailed as required may be the answer but for now the availability and price of the Dapol Prestwin is hard to beat. Its also easy to assemble, comes with wheels and couplers (if you choose to use them) and runs well.

Will it also be published by Colourpoint? This is really a great year for fans of the North Kerry with this new book and Alan O' rourke's excellent "The North Kerry Line"

Changing eras for now involves running the black and tan and black diesels and the Park Royal railcar for the 60's session. For the mid 70's session super train liveried diesels are substituted for the black diesels and the railcar and now we can run the new Bell liner also. All the rolling stock remains on track in the fiddle/staging yards, one track used to store any stock not in use at the time. At some stage I hope to acquire more prototypically correct coaching stock for the 60' session.

Yes indeed it is. These are a wonderful detail which scream rural Ireland. As soon as I saw them at your table at the show in Dublin in 2012 I had to have them. The layout has received some wonderful comments regarding the detail of the scenery. In fact its not very detailed. Getting a few signature things right like color, the stone walls and gate give the impression of far more detail than there is. (Anyone looking for these gates can find them on the Studio Scale Models website.) (

I am a little worried here since I am trying to model south Co Waterford! Rails Through The West has been a huge inspiration and resource and I am eagerly waiting a follow up. I seriously considered modeling Ardrahan and Croughwell but I didn't have the space, even small prototype stations are really long.

I have one which was inspired by the photo below. Its run on the late 60's operating sessions on the layout. We also run a mid 70's session. http://www.flickr.com/photos/holycorner/6749914191/in/set-72157628999720825/#

Here is a video showing the Bell liner run the length of the layout and the extent of the scenery so far.

Its always a treat to see new photos of the layout. How did you model the roadways?

Wonderful stuff John. I look forward to each new post.