NIRCLASS80

I have just checked up and if you can get your hands on a book called "35 years of NIR" go to page 100 and you will see a photo of a twin Class 70 power car set powering the "Derry freight" on the 3rd July 1979.

The Class 70's definitely hauled the Derry goods back in the late 1970's. I am sadly old enough to have witnessed it. If I recall correctly it was on occasions two power cars back to back.

A little video on a rather wet Sunday Evening.

Nelson the layout looked fantastic. Thanks for the tip for ground cover during our chat on Saturday.

50 037 also was painted in this scheme for about a week!! It was definitely in these colours 28th March 1990. http://83b.weebly.com/taunton-p1---1990-2005.html

How hard is it to remove numbers from Murphy locos for a renumbering project?

I think that ended in court so the less said the better!!

I think that the East Coast main line between London / Edinburgh recently proved the point that a company owned by the government can run a very efficient service. This company ran the service after private operator National Express almost completely ruined the service. The East Coast ran a good service but in the end was effectively privatized again even when the company ran at a profit and reduced subsidy. A recent programme on tv was very impressed with the way the NIR system ran under government control and less subsidy than any of the operators on the Mainland UK.

NIR DH Class picture

Here is one of 68 at Moira in the early 90's

I believe that gradually there has been a move away from the negative tourism attractions (painted walls, bombed hotels etc) to things that have a lasting appeal (Giants Causeway, Distillery, Coastal scenery and beautiful Glens), as an occasional coach driver the talk that many guides give now concentrate less on the nasty NI than say 10 years ago.

Get 101 out on the Specials and forget the Kettles!! Great modelling.

Rapido LRC passes through town!!

Just a little video of the second pre-production sample.

I think one of the items that is a common part between the 121 and 141/181 classes is the bogies, so hopefully to use the mold already made means that MM will use Bachmann manufacturing facilities to keep costs down. What name that is on the box that it comes in won't worry me. The recent problems with paint colour and quality of masking have no doubt effected sales and I just hope that this doesn't create a cash flow problem that will ultimately effect the timing of a 121 release. MM quality is as good as any manufacturer of models as all the companies supplying the UK and even the North American markets have had serious mistakes. These are just my opinions.

Now gone

Well I have given Mousa Models Brass Etched sides a try for the IE Mk 3 Electrical Generating Van. Here is the results. Still to have couplings, glazing and transfers added.

Kato HO Scale SD40-2 for sale in CP Rail Dual Flag scheme and Smokey the bear moto. Great runner £60 plus postage £5.00 Sensible offers accepted

Just as a matter of interest, how many of the 071's have been refurbished in the recent programme?? (IE Grey Livery)

Very interesting and well done. Thanks for the results. I would say that the chances of a re-run of MM141/181's and 201's are slim when over 50% of some of the most active irish modellers would buy none.

Hi Noel Eoin's photos some up exactly what I did so that saves me posting. My only other suggestion is if your layout is a home permanent set up, get the hold of Bachmann coupling bars from either Mark 1 or 2 coaches and try a couple like that and see how they work.

Hi Noel. I have used KD20's successfully but I razor saw a small piece out of the rear of the nem pocket. I will post some photos sometime in the next few days. I have no radius below 22" and also the sharpest points are Peco medium. I can also reverse slowly without any derailment issues.

looks great

Are you getting the 071's ready for some supertrain Mk2's;)

Great video. Thanks for posting.