Past-Avenue

Once there gone there gone. Couldn't resist as there a brilliant model. Enda

Thanks JB and was a pleasure to meet you and put a face to the name.

Hi all great news. I have found a good home for this layout. I contacted Donegal Railway Heritage centre and they were more than happy to take the layout. Siobhan and myself removed the layout and were able to keep the complete station and scenery section in one piece . The layout is 11ft x 2ft and were able to remove it without any damage including the painted back scene. After a few emails and pictures plus a phone call or two they were happy to take it as it was and they would tidy up the ends etc and make good for display. We delivered it up last week along with a bit of Aidans rolling stock. The layout will be on exhibition in a newly refurbished wagon in the centre. I can't thank both Mark and Niall enough for their help and I'm sure Aidan would be very happy ( Barbara is delighted) that his work will be on display very close to Pettigo itself. The Heritage centre is a great place to visit and to find out the history of the Donegal railway plus lots of museum pieces to look at and read. Thanks again to Mark and Niall for everything and hopefully this layout will inspire people for years to come. Enda

Thanks i will keep you updated on the layout.

Hi I was contacted by a family member about this layout and removed it on Monday night and have it here .I was able to remove it (the complete station) in one full length. As I have no room really I am looking for a good home for it. There was talks of it been dumped but I could not let that happen as Aiden had put so much of his time into it and most of his life. I also have the rolling stock which I will hold on to as I can run them on my layout and other bits and pieces. All the literature (a lot I mean a lot) Barbara has found a good home for. Im hopeful that I will find a good home for it so his lovely work can be enjoyed for many more years. Enda

Hi Sean No i haven't but all that i done (after alot of trial and error with other types of couplings) was removed the tension lock coupling and replaced with the Hornby R8220 . I have fitted these to a few rakes of wagons and seem to work well on my not so level track. I've fitted them to MIR Boggie cement wagons and MIR Fertiliser wagons and MM carven coaches. Hope this helps. Enda

Hi he's MM MK2s that i put Hornby couplings on to get them to run flawless for a friend of mine a while back .

Thanks for that very much appreciated as i could not find much information on them. I'm making up 5 from kits i got a year ago and only getting around to it now.

Hi could anyone tell me the life span of the bogie cement wagons ,ie when first introduced right till there end etc Enda

Excellent work they really look great

Thanks George and enjoy your modeling experience Enda

Hi Thanks for your nice comments. The layout is on a 8x4 sheet of MDF.It's DCC with point motors and all linked back to a control panel. The inner tunnel goes under the station with a passing loop/ storage yard witch is about 7ft .The track continues and exits at the front under the race track. I can run a train 3 times around the layout before it comes back where it started. I can also run 2 trains in opposite directions using the crossover at the front of the layout. Hopefully this helps and I've loads of videos on YouTube but please feel free to ask for more information if you need. Enda

Thanks DJ I desoildered the wire going to the cab light as I only run in one direction mostly. As a result you can really see the control panel lights. I put a bit of tape over the other cab lights to tone them down a little and it looks better and you can see the control panel lights much better.

Hi it's been a while since I've posted but I've been ticking along with a few bits and I had a go at weathering a A class. I'm happy enough with the results but will try and do a better job on the next one and maybe not as heavily weathered. You can see the difference in the last picture. These are a great model and thanks to IRM . Enda

Hi guy's I do think that there is a market for a 22k as it's the most common train that people see and might appeal to the younger generation and draw them into the hobby . I'd love to get my hands on another class 170 and there are a few things that i would improve on and tidy it up plus i still have to add directional lighting . I'm not a experienced model maker and there are a'lot of highly talented people on this form that would be more capable to do a much better job than i could but that's one of the things i really enjoy and get the most satisfaction from is scratch building or altering something etc. Enda

Hi guys, Here's a Bachmann 170, that I did myself last year. Very pleased how it turned out.

Done also and good luck lads Enda

Hi guys I have just weathered one of my 121s as I find the IRs are very bright in my eyes and I think it's a big difference and brings a model to life.6 months ago if you had said that I would be weathering a new model I would have laughed at you but I'd encourage anyone to give it a go. Thank god I had no issues with damage etc in transit. They are a fantastic model and we have a lot to be thankful for as modelers. Stay safe and hopefully we can get to some shows next year. Enda

Hi try working the functions on the locos own address rather than the cons address when they are dubble headed Enda

Hi DiveController its a 6 function decoder and I've got it in a 071 .Is it only a matter of changing the CVs and if so witch one etc. Enda

Hi guys I have 2 of these chips in 071's and the only thing I can't do is turn on the cab lights . Is there a way to change the CV's or what am I doing wrong ? Enda

Thanks jhb171achill it's my first layout and still loads that i want to add (most are small details) and putting a old style garage in front off the station on the lower level . I also like scratch building as much as i can and resprays off locos and stock I have explained all about the layout at the start off this tread witch explains all about the design off the layout Enda

Hi JB I've used RAL 7015 on my resprays and decals from SSM as can be seen in the video below Enda PS i just need to weather her a little

I use a drinking straw one that you can bend and hold it firmly to the nozzle and spray. The bend will slow down the paint and you lose notting Enda