Peter

Thanks so much for the reply. Will fill that out now.

Hi folks.

I'm curious to know if anyone has successfully received a refund for a delayed Irish Rail train. The process isn't straightforward: found a number to call and then told to send an email to customer care. 

I booked a trip from Newbridge to Killarney on Friday just gone. There was a delay of over an hour getting the connecting train from Portlaoise to Mallow, which means we missed the connecting train to Killarney and arrived 2 hours late. Ah well, a story to tell the grandkids. 

I just so happened to be on the Isle of Man last weekend when the festival was on. We took the electric train from Laxey to Ramsey return, and the return train to Snaefell the same day. We also took the steam train from Port Erin to Douglas. The journeys were very picturesque. I've never seen so many rail enthusiasts. There were men positioned all over the countryside, at the side of the road, in fields, etc taking photos. The rail paparazzi, it was quite funny. 

Cheers folks, I've been in touch with him. 

Hi folks,

I'm just wondering if Des Sullivan is active on the forum? If he is, does anyone know his username? I'm trying to get a couple of packs of n gauge transfers. 

Cheers, Peter 

Thanks for the advice folks. 

Phil, I see Humbrol do a dark brown enamel wash. Someone in a youtube video recommended that as well for n scale. I'll give that a go. 

John, I took the train from Greymouth to Christchurch in 2015. That was some scenic journey. 

David, I'll give the weathering powders a go as well. 

Thanks for the advice. 

My first attempt didn't go so well  

That's a 1:1 mix of water and flat black acrylic paint on another model. I used a cloth and cotton buds to take the paint off but if dried too quickly. Back to the drawing board. 

Afternoon folks,

I'm looking to do some basic weathering to these 2 n gauge locos. I still have to attach some parts and apply transfers. What would be a simple way to weather them to take the new orange paint look away? This will be my first time weathering, I don't have an airbrush either. Or are there videos you recommend online for basic weathering?

Thanks very much, Peter

Thanks for the advice.

Robert - are there transfers available to cover the yellow and black striping on the side of the loco? Maybe from Studio Scale Models?

Cheers

Ah nice one. Thanks for the reply Phil. 

Afternoon all.

I'm painting the 3d printed n gauge model below. I started by spraying it using a can of RAL 2011 from Vinny Byrne. Then I masked off and brush painted the black and yellow. The paint bled a bit under the masking tape. I'll fix the orange bits by brush painting.

• What's the best way for thinning the cellulose-based spray can paint for brush painting? Or can I spray directly onto a paint palette and brush without thinning?

Many thanks

Ah that's perfect. Thank you so much. 

Peter

This one here please

Can someone please point me in the direction of detailed images of this loco, particularly the roof so I know I'm painting it correctly. Thank you. 

Is there anything to be said for an n gauge model. Just one, that'd be grand

Happy Christmas everyone. 

I had an interesting sail and rail experience to Scotland last weekend with my girlfriend and dog. We were meant to take the ferry on Friday morning but because of storm Eunice there was a good chance the ferry would be cancelled and we'd miss our train to Mallaig on Saturday. We decided to change our ferry booking to Thursday evening.

Transport for Wales and Avanti West Coast cancelled all trains on Friday so we ended up hiring a car in Holyhead to get to Glasgow. I think we got the last rental car out of Holyhead. It was a wet and windy drive to Glasgow on Friday. We stayed in the Voco hotel in Glasgow Central station. Beautiful hotel if anyone is in Glasgow. The bar overlooks the train station concourse. 

On Saturday we took the 12:20 train to Mallaig. It was an absolutely stunning journey, taking in views of Ben Nevis and the Glenfinnan viaduct.

On Sunday we took the 10:00 train back to Glasgow. This is when things got even more interesting. On our way from Fort William to Glasgow the driver got word of a tree down on the single line. The train would drop us off at the station before this and we would take a replacement bus back to the city. On our way there we came across a landslide. The driver made the decision to go back to the Bridge of Orchy station where a minibus and coach would bring us back to Glasgow. I had a chance to take some photos at the Bridge of Orchy station while we waited for the busses. After many announcements and lost contact with the busses they arrived and brought us back to Glasgow. We arrived in Glasgow four hours later than expected, by which time we were tired and hungry. We stayed at the Grand Central hotel again on Sunday night.

On Monday we took an afternoon Avanti West Coast pendolino to Chester and stayed for the night in the Queen at Chester Hotel by the train station. The hotel has plenty of character. On Tuesday we took the train to Holyhead and boat home. It was a fun trip with more modes of transport than we expected.

I've attached a few pictures here. The Caledonian Sleeper was parked up in Fort William. The chandelier is in the hotel in Glasgow Central Station. 

1 hour ago, BosKonay said:

We've SLA printed items in the past, primarily as a 'test print' to check details of a model. The last locomotive we so printed, printing out about 1/3 of the total parts the final model would have, cost £3,900 for ONE locomotive. (and it had to be hand assembled, obviously)

Bargain 

When you factor in Shapeway's VAT, shipping and processing costs it works out nearly double the price of the model. I guess 3d printing is of the biggest benefit to someone who owns a printer, and has the skills to create 3d models. They can make single models.

I'm curious to know what the Minimum Order Quantity is of a RTR model to make it economically viable? And the minimum run of 3d printed models to be viable. 

1 hour ago, BosKonay said:

We've SLA printed items in the past, primarily as a 'test print' to check details of a model. The last locomotive we so printed, printing out about 1/3 of the total parts the final model would have, cost £3,900 for ONE locomotive. (and it had to be hand assembled, obviously)

Would IRM make one RTR model in n gauge and everyone on the forum agrees to buy it? 

I'd be interested in an N gauge no. 90. Your model above is very nice. I'll take anything Irish in N gauge. 

A quick Google search tells me that Dapol make N gauge terriers. 

I hadn't considered that the nozzles on 3d printers might be too small to print N gauge. 

N gauge Irish rolling stock please. That would be unreal. 

I think it would open up the hobby to more people who want to model Irish railways but don't have the space for a 00 gauge layout. 

Hi folks,

I'm resurrecting this old topic. Does anyone happen to know the person who designed the 3d printed body shells on Shapeways, goes by the name B1lancer / Valve Design?

I'm trying to figure out which chassis works with the class 71. I bought a Life Like model but don't think it'll fit without cutting the chassis to bits. 

Cheers

Wow, the work that has gone into that is incredible. It's a shame there hasn't been an update in years. 

I don't have the patience to go down the route of scratch building Bord na Mona rolling stock. I still have to finish my Curragh n gauge layout. 

On the topic of bog trains, are there any models of bog trains, RTR to run, kitbash or otherwise that anyone is aware of?

A layout based around the bog would be interesting. I've always wanted to have a go driving a bog train. I grew up not far from the bog of Allen.

Cheers

Thanks for the reply Eoin. 

I'm only getting back into working on my layout after taking a break for a year.

I'd love to hear any updates you have. 

Hi Eoin,

Is there any update on this model? Or is it on the back burner?

Thanks, Peter

If anyone models Ireland in n gauge, I found the following Lima coaches on eBay. They're a bit pricy for me. 

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/133652635555?hash=item1f1e515fa3:g:Dv8AAOSwc1VgFrkU