Broithe

I see the pictures - maybe try it again..? Or try this - http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/824-Slightly-OT-coreless-motors-and-high-efficiency-drivetrains?p=10560#post10560

The traditional handles are great, especially if you're using them at home, but, if they're going to get rattled round in a travelling toolbox, then the retractable ones will stay sharp much longer - and it's a lot safer rummaging round if the blades aren't exposed. If you speak nicely to a nurse, they might be persuaded to let you have some stitch cutters - they can be useful in awkward places. There is also the Veritas scalpel handle, which uses a collet arrangement that will take most of the various blade fittings. The cap in the handle has a strong magnet and will hold around six blades of various shapes.

They are seriously sharp - the risk of a dramatic cut should not be underestimated - it's worth developing the habit of retracting the blade during even the shortest period out of use. A few plasters kept in the toolbox might get used over time.... Also, if you ever do manage to snap a blade, you'll find that they fly off at some speed. I've only ever done it once, but it made me glad to be wearing glasses.

And General Douglas MacArthur said "Have a good plan, execute it violently, do it today" - although that might not be fully applicable to model railway construction..

If you get the leeway at some point you might even consider a single-leaf bascule bridge.. ..there's a few about on railways. You can see how they work by looking at the ones on the North Wall Quay - http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/55484776.jpg - the pegs on the ground locate in the holes in the quadrant, keeping everything in line as it rolls back and lifts the span.

I still think it's meant to say Gubu...

'Tis your status <--- under your name - you turn into a Guru at 500, it seems - it means that can only post when you're wearing nothing more than a loincloth..

It looks like the Model Power tank - http://au.shopping.com/model-power-ho-oil/U-FNPbTlO24YgTe5kTYuxg==/info

It might also be worth closing up the gaps in the nearest track there - any time spent getting the trackwork reliable now won't be regretted later..

I know somebody that booked a visit from Pest Control because of sounds from their attic - only to be told that he didn't have traps for that sort of thing - which really put the wind up them, until he revealed that it was next-door's train set...

I get a warning not to proceed when I click that link..?

Is the Savoy still going in Cork?

Nor me - it has the look of Super-8, so it could well be silent..

This could have been a nasty event, but there were no injuries. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19488617 http://www.raib.gov.uk/publications/current_investigations_register/120628_knockmore.cfm

Available via Amazon- http://www.amazon.com/Sanding-Stick-Sticks-Finishing-Kit/dp/B0039ZCQAK/ref=pd_cp_hi_0 Widely available in USA as Excel Sanding Sticks.. They are pointed at one end and rounded at the other, with a flat section in between - covers most requirements.

I'm not sure, I may have picked them up at a fair. I thought Expo - http://www.expotools.com/ - might have been the source, but I can't find them there - Hobby's do sell them, though - http://hobby.uk.com/tools/sanding-abrasive-tools/sanding-stick-belts.html ..

Now that is a good idea! I'll be doing that. I have a set of these.. ..they're spring loaded, so that the belt can be moved round as it wears - and colour coded so you find the right grit more easily - if you can remember which colour it is..

Of course, there's http://modelshopbelfast.com/weathering too.. Maybe I've missed some more..?

There are three weathering services here - http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/forumdisplay.php/36-Services - all top-notch filth.

This one - http://www.nairnshire-modelling-supplies.co.uk/b70-fine-iron-ore-red-granite-ballast-p-995.html ? That'll save me grinding up the bits I pinched from the pile by the car-park..

And there's strangely little evidence of oil drips - the concrete sleepers seem to show this much more, maybe because it doesn't soak in. Here's the new track, before it got oil-spots in the centre of each sleeper. The cute pink ballast might be a bit awkward to replicate.. It was wet when this was taken, but the new rails were quite a different colour, even ignoring that aspect..

It can also be worth studying the track in a similar sort of real-life location - the colours can sometimes be quite different from what you might imagine - this is the main line through Ballybrophy, just before it was replaced a few years ago..

Perhaps it's meant to say 'GUBU'...?

Whilst you're rooting in her handbag, you could pinch a few of her emery boards as well..