patrick

An empty magnesite waits on the main while a Cork bound goods enters the loop at Glen More October 1974. 20220623_104256.mp4

Thanks Robert, and Noel. I thought it was here somewhere!

What Kadee works with the mags?

Empty magnesite train on the South Waterford Line.

Assortment of CIE vans, most awaiting the paint shop.

Also on the workbench awaiting some final details is the first of two ex GS vans which will be painted CIE grey. The chassis is from a Dapol meat van kit. The doors are adapted from the extra ones which came with the Parkside 12 ton van kit.

Yes, three brake vans and they are indeed delightful however after acquiring seven A class and a rake of magnesite wagons this year it will be a while before I can afford anymore!

With four Crossley engined A class and a grey 121 added to the roster recently more grey loose coupled goods wagons were needed for sixties operation sessions. Here three Provincial Wagons GN 12 ton vans, a Parkside 12 ton van, a Parkside palvan kitbash and a Studio Scale Models 30 ton brake van await the paint shop.

20220527_000526.mp4 Here is that second video again. Hope it will open for you John.

Waterford Cork goods leaving Glen More and passing Keilys Cross level crossing. 20220527_001143.mp4 CrossOctober 1969. 20220527_000526.mp4

A23r on the Cork Waterford daily goods train. 20220523_163643.mp4 20220523_171312.mp4 20220523_165533.mp4

The daily Waterford Cork goods leaving Glen More and passing through Keilys Cross in 1974. 20220523_094027.mp4 20220523_094703.mp4

Waterford Cork goods passing Glen More 1973. 20220521_141427.mp4

I never imagined these wagons would be available ready to run. Wonder what are the chances of some oil tanks to run with them?

Thanks for the tip John. I picked up a pack of interdental brushes and am very pleased with the results. One issue I had with the tooth picks was them becoming jammed between the couplers occasionally causing derailments when trying to remove them. This was exasperated by the much lighter two axel irish stock compared to the much larger and heavier US outline models. This issue has now been eliminated. No need to adapt the brushes to fit on the end of a dowel as shown on the video. The protective cover fits on the end extending their length allowing plenty of room to clear the roof of any irish rolling stock.

The IRM A class is the wrong gauge. Even the silver one!

Woodland Scenic models Mold A Scene Plaster is basically the same as Sculptamold and costs about the same over here in the US.

The lack of progress on the layout in the last months was as a result of Maureen and I seriously considering moving. That is now no longer under consideration so work can resume once more. One project where some progress was made however is the conversion to Kadee couplers. At this point over half the loose coupled goods stock including all the opens used in beet service and the end wagons of the Bell liner and bogie fertilizer wagons have been fitted along with about half the locomotives. Kadee #5 couplers in their own draft gear boxes have been used on most wagons which prove to be extremely reliable. #19 were used on locomotives, the bogie fertilizer wagons and the JM brake vans. Operatuon is so much better and enjoyable with the Kadees. I don't use magnets but prefer to use cocktail sticks for uncoupling, a method I have used since my HO American modeling days. The accessibility offered by the high layout height and walk around design make this method very practical. I was skeptical about using this method at first but quickly found that during operation that operators are so engrossed in planning shunting moves that the introduction of "the hand of god" above the trains was not a distraction..

Remember many of us were glad to have the Silver Fox model in order to build and enjoy a layout which represented CIE from the fifties to the nineties before the IRM model came along. All of us accept some compromise in order to achieve our goals of building a realistic layout and I for one was very happy to have the Silver Fox models, four of them, which despite their shortcomings were important for the big picture of the South Waterford Line. Admittedly they were mostly run on through trains where they received less scrutiny! I have said it before that the availability of an A class was a deciding factor for me to switch to Irish modelling over ten years ago. Have we forgotten how few Irish models were available before IRM came along?

I caught these images of mid seventies Irish goods trains while switching from a late sixties to a 1974 operating session. Hard to believe when I started the layout ten years ago the only rolling stock available which appear in the photos were the MM baby GM's, SSM open wagon Dapol Prestwin underframes and the Parkside 12 ton van.

I wonder if manufacturers could release special collectors editions with say a different colour box at three times the price in order to subsidies the regular model for those of us who actually build model railways and run trains!

So true John. I panicked last week and ordered A12 before they sell out. An option for a second A55 would be to renumber it to one of the prototypes which had the CIE roundal and different placing of the numbers.

Incredible views of Irish Railways in 1963.

Bogie cement wagons?

Can you tell us about the weathering on the wagons John, they look great.