Colin R

Hi guys is it just me or has the site had a make over since my last visit? it looks good by the way

Hi Guys Not sure if you have come across this company before http://www.unitmodels.com/index.php?id_lang=1&id_category=3&controller=category&n=114 I suspect you don't want to end up doing the same stuff. Regards Colin

Thanks Tony that will help a great deal thanks

I guess that is what I will end up having to do. The details I do have don't match up with some of the photos I have. They make the whole building look to long and thin for it to look right in any of the photos, I have a feeling this is going to be one of just hope it look near enough builds.

While I can get a general size of each building from the details I have. It is so much harder to try and work out the size of such things as windows.

This reminded me of something which happen to me a few years ago as well, I was at a club meeting with a book about British & Irish narrow gauge railways and this one night one of the guys took an interest in my book and he asked if he could borrow it for a week, at the time I didn't mind, but about six months later I ask if he had finished with my book and he told me he didn't have it, he claimed to have left it in the club room for me to pick up, well I asked everyone and no had seen it so I put it down to experience and though I would try and get a replacement copy, sadly I could not find one anywhere. Moving on to about 10 years ago (about ten year on from the above) I was at a model railway exhibition which I help with the running during the day and on the clubs sales stand was the same book I had lost all those years before, so I went over to it only to have the biggest surprise of my life, it was my book with my name in it, I asked who brought it in but no one was sure, so I asked the treasurer if I could claim my book back which he agreed to and it now forms part of my book collection. I still have my suspicions who was behind it, but as I haven't seen this guy for a few years or so I can't exactly say for certain if he was behind returning it to the club all those years later. Colin R

That's great thanks Colin R

Hi all I appreciate that most of you guys model the old broad gauge, but I though I would give it a try anyway, I am looking for photos and details of all the buildings at the old Stranorlar Station and yard before it was turned into a school, I think I have most of the published books on the Donegal, but one of you guys might know another location for more details. I have sent an email to the Donegal heritage group to see if they have anything of use, I don't have the space to build a 4mm scale layout of this station (20ft long approx x 8ft wide plus fiddle yards)at present, but I look at it like this if I have all the information to hand now it will make building it that much easier when the time comes to do it. Colin R

I totally agree with you regarding exhibition layouts, a friend of mind built a station called Chelfham on the 2ft gauge Lynton and Barnstaple Railway in North Devon, you could not get a simpler layout, a passing loop and one siding and it is a fantastic model, boring as hell to operate at an exhibition, yet when it was working, there was always three or four deep just to watch the trains pass by. For me, my idea layout would be based on one of the American shunting puzzle designs, but it would incorporate a continuous run as well. I know when I was little there was nothing better that watching trains go pass at speed, either in real life or on a model railway. Why is it we always wanted it to crash? Good luck with Claremorris, if I had the room that would be one layout I would build as part of a team effort.

Building the track is not a problem, I have in the past built both points and track in a number of gauges, what I was thinking about was more of a time saver if you could find someone else to do it for you. Most layouts I see at exhibitions have a very simple design and consist of a run round loop with a number of sidings off of it, it is getting harder to find layouts that for want of a better reason are a bit more of challenge to operate or to view. To me, it would appear that some of the more complicated but interesting track layouts fail to get modelled. I also realise that over time track plans where modified to make them more simple and easier to maintain, one thing I have noticed with a few Irish track plans, is the use of a siding coming off the middle of a loop on one side and crossing the other track of the loop via a diamond crossing and then going on to serve a good shed behind the loop. Its these little quirks and curiosities which for some reason get missed out when a layout get modelled and would make a whole lot of difference to the character of the layout. Either that or I just happen to want to make my life difficult when it comes to modelling.

Thanks Tony, I was not aware of all the bits available via the Scale4 Society thanks for bring me up to date. On RMWeb I asked the same question and some one has offered to buy the gauges I am after which inmy case will be the curved gauge widening three point gauge and there is another I have asked him to get me as well, just need to wait for a reply and the cost of postage for them.

Hi Tony I spoke to the new owner of C&L Trackwork yesterday at an Exhibition and we both agreed that while a custom built 21mm gauge point might be say 25-35% more than an off the shelf Peco point, you just can't get that look any cheaper. To be fair this is one of the reasons why I have found it so hard to get started with 21mm gauge, I have been quoted silly money in the past for hand built point work, but if you can find someone who can make a decent point at a reasonable price then other factors need to come in to the equation, such as will it save me time? It is one less problem to consider, we are not all good at everything in modelling, sometimes it is good to get others involved with our projects. The guy at C&L who has just taken over, said that there are a lot of old computer files he has not looked at yet so they may be something in there, he appears to be very helpful and I guess it will be a two way development if he is to help us get 21mm gauge templates at some stage. He did suggest for the short term that we could buy his P4 point work kits and then adjust them to 21mm gauge. What we need now is someone to make 21mm gauge: roller gauges, back to back gauges and the tri gauge for curves as well and I am sure it will become much easier. While it is early day, I did find him very helpful.

Hi John I have the exact same problems no space and a bit of a butterfly span of attention, I do admire all those guys who can stick to getting one model and get it finished

Amazing modelling Sir can't wait for the You tube video to go up.

Backwoods minitures are in the process of being sold, I am awaiting to findout the new owner if he or she is willing to just sell the etches and castings of the Donegal locos and coaches so I can at my pace purchase all the wheels and motors myself.

What a great bit of work:)

Hi Guys might be worth looking at this, no point in trying to reinvent the wheel as they say http://www.free-mo.org/standard

Hi Dave, I think you can be sure that this is going to be one of the directions the model railway hobby is going to go in. 3D prints are getting better, but they are not up to the MM standards just yet, give it a few years and I don't think you will be able to see the differenece, I understand that at least one company is playing around with a form of plastic resin in 3D printing. There has been talk from someone else who plans to use a 3D print as the mould for resin wagons, as far as I know it may well be the same guy, they where talking about this over on RMweb, but I sometimes lose the will to live when I visit that site, so I don't go there very often now. hopefully the link below will help, as I understand it most people do it so they can have a certain model for themselves, if someone else wants a copy all well and good. Ther are of course a few people who have started to make it into a living, so it is up to you if you want to support them or not. https://www.shapeways.com/search?q=n+gauge+Irish+railways&type=&s=48#more-products Colin

Sadly that is the way of the world on railways at the moment, many railways which operate with only DEMU's have found that if they have a fault then that whole unit is out of action until it is fixed, the London Underground Piccadilly line often has this problem, I read somewhere that it only has 36 train sets to cover all its operations, but a leading manager has suggested that they needs 39 units to cover all the services and to allow for down time when they suffer from leaves on the line and the increase of flats on the wheels. IR will face the same problem's in the future if it goes down this route, I cant help but think that at a time when the world is trying to get rid of the diesel lorry on the road, why railways are not investing for the long term in electric traction and the movement of freight by train. I am not suggesting we go back to the local pick up freight train, but continue with the current bulk transport methods and we could look at developing a container system that can be loaded and off loaded at a local level. Recently I saw a bit on TV about a small company who manage an area of commercial grown trees in the kielder forest and from 12.30 am to 5.30am in the morning, they have a log train run alone the main line which stops at various loading stations to pick up logs, these stations are on the main line so they can move to wherever the tree felling is taking place rather that being in one fixed locating, so when this is happening the log train occupies the main line for all that time as it is not used by any other traffic, such is the success of this project they where considering running two train sets per night each of twenty wagons. Sorry I am not up with what locos where used, but I think they where the class 57’s

The garbbage smell comes from not cleaning the AC unit out properly in the first place or it could be a leak from the gas itself in witch case they where not fitted correctly in the first place. Colin R

If I wasn't so committed to having a load of 4mm 00n3 stock and kits I would say go with that, but if you can find the space go 7mm it is very impressive at shows and remember never build a baseboard bigger that you can get in the car as you don't want to keep hiring a van to take the layout to shows. If you have never built a baseboard before it is worth getting hold of a copy of Landscape modelling by Barry Norman ISBN 0 906867 44 4

Thanks Richie, I think I will wait until a proper kit or model is available, I have nothing against silver fox produces, but I would prefer to buy something that fits in with the better detail models available today. I am sure I have seen a 3D print of these 3 loco bodies somewhere, but I don't think it was on shapeways. Colin

Hi roxyguy I don't do them myself but my local model shop does repairs http://www.invictamodelrail.com/ Hope this helps Colin

In that case it sounds like one of the pins is getting stuck in, try electrical contact cleaner sometimes it is the spring inside which need to be to replaces or looked at. Hope you get it sorted.

I am looking for typical road vehicles of the 1950-60 period found in Ireland, as part of the long term exercise in 00n3 modelling I was wondering what road vehicles where in use around that period, I have been told that the good old donkey cart was still much in use, by farmers, but I was looking for cars and trucks used by the local gentry ie the Doctor. Would I be right in thinking there would have been more bicycles in use by the police and local council workers etc plus would the local shops have employed a boy with a bike to take out delivery's?