Colin R

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?

Thanks for the update Noel most appreciated.

Thank Blaine, to be honest I am looking more for class A, B and C Diesel locos in the green and silver livery period. does anyone know if these are on Murphy's model hit list?

Hi Roxyguy, let see if we can save you the money first, from what you are saying I suspect that you either have a dry solder joint (at either end) or the link wire itself is broken inside the insulation somewhere. Do you have access to a small hand held electronic tester? if you do try making a circuit with the tester touching one tend to the motor and the other end to where the wheel pick up from. if you get a circuit try gently moving the cable and see what is happening if the meter reading goes from 1 down to zero you will need to replace the cable or at this stage check for a dry joint with a small soldering iron. Hopefully this should sort the problem out for you. The other thing to check is the connecting pins between the loco and the tender, pull the pins apart and give them a good spray of electrical contact cleaner, allow to dry and re assemble then try it again. Hopefully either of these will help. Good luck.

Thanks Ciarang, thanks for the heads up I am watching this one, does anyone know what the are like to build? If I do win it, I might have to have it in the early as delivered livery. Colin

Hi David Thanks for the heads up, I guess he must have been ill, since I never got a reply to an email I sent him about a month or so ago. It is sad that he is no longer with us, I have a feeling I would have liked him. I don't want to sound like I am a buzzard circling about his estate, but I do hope that some one will take good care of his models and his collection for the time being and that his paperwork and Irish notes get passed over to the IRRS. Too many people I have meet and since died, have not left instructions as to what to do with their models and archive material after they have died. I don't know what Richards domestic situation was, but I hope he has some good modelling friends which will help guide his family into making the right decision. Colin Rainsbury

I am with you when it comes to 21mm gauge, I have a guy who has a small lathe, so I will ask if he can chop some up for me, both in 1/8" and 2mm sizes, I think I will always need some more at some stage so I might get him to do a couple of length's of rod when I get them. I understand they need to be 28mm in length? As for some one else coming in that would be fine. Hopefully some one will read this and get in contact.

Hi the last time I emailed Allen he told me the same thing, I know he was looking for up to four confirmed orders for the jeeps, I said I wanted two, so it would not be a problem for a couple of others to join in at this stage. I think they are designs for 21mm gauge, but they could be built for 16.5mm gauge as well. I got the impression that if we can get just four people to agree to any loco design that he can get hold of, then there is no reason why it should not happen. There are a number of locos I would love to see get this treatment, but it would still be a case of finding of any castings, wheels, motors, gears etc to finish the loco. LMS NCC would be the easiest to do since most of the Midland and LMS fittings are already done as castings by other companies. The GNRi should also be possible as a number of fittings are also available from the above sources as well. As for GSR loco fittings I am sure something is about, it would just be a case of find out who made what. As an example I have five Backwood's C&L 4-4-0T kits to make up. As they all come with enough bits to build them as they came from the manufactures. But I don't at present have anything with the kits to show what Inchicore done to them over the years on a couple of them. I need to find GSR style chimneys for them to start with.

OK Brian no problem, I have got to get myself up to Birmingham at some point to look at the Metro cam archives to dig out the Clogher Valley rolling stock drawings and some of the same companies records regarding Irish railway company stock. If there are any MetCam drawings of Irish rolling stock anyone would like me to try and take a photo of them for you, please PM the details. I will let the list know when I hope to be going, as I will need to submit a list of drawings I want to see a week in advance of the visit. This gives them a chance to find them and have them ready for my visit. Colin

That's OK Leslie All I want to do is to make sure that I enough of the right type of Irish good stock for the layout. For me I hope to build up at least two good's trains of thirty plus wagons a piece, now while I am not in to tail chasing, it is important to get a balance of goods to passenger trains. Not forgetting a long cattle train as well and then a short local pick up goods as well I should have a fair bit of stock to use. Just working out the above I think I need to acquire at least one hundred wagons and vans.

Hi Brian Should you find drawings for both the bogie coaches and you can obtain clean clear copies, lets us know on here and then send a set to Allan at Worsley works once we know how many he needs to fit on a sheet of brass I am sure he will set up the sheet. I for one would have a set of etchings for both carriages to help the project along. Colin

Hi Guys I get the impression that the IRRS has loads of rolling stock drawings but no one to go and collate them on a regular basis. I think Richard Mclachlan does a lot when he gets over to Dublin, but even he has said that it is more than one life times work to sort out. As modellers it is hard enough to try and get our heads around the amount of information which is out there. Hopefully the IRRS records are basically everything that was due to be dumped by the CIE when they where given it all, that being the case there might be a few gems which even the IRRS are not even aware of at the moment. With my 00n3 hat on for a sec, while I would think that a lot is already known about the Irish 3ft gauge railways, it never surprises me when someone comes up with another bit of lost information about one of the railways. Richard Mclachlan has said to me that the IRRS have had a number of personal collections which have been donated to the IRRS over the years, but which have so far not been co-ordinated with the main collection, people know it is there it is just about having the time to put it all in one place. I am sure if I had the skills and the time to do it there is a market for what I would call scale drawings of Irish railway rolling stock. A GSR Book would have to be split into a number of volumes to cater of all the sub railway companies such as the MGWR, GS&WR, D&SER as examples. But until all the IRRS records have been digitised it is going to remain a problem of just what they have got in total. the downside is the fact that those with the hands on day to day knowledge are getting fewer every year.

Thanks John that brings me on to another question tank cars where these for Milk or what did they carry, I am trying to get a picture in my head as to what type of tank car was used, there must have a been a difference between diary products and oils/chemicals. The period I am interested in is up to the mid 1960's or just up to the introduction of the bulk carrier fleets of container wagons. This is because I happen to like the Model A, B and C diesel locos that where introduced around that period and so I could just about run Green/Silver locos.

You know what Leslie, I cant think who that is:confused:, I think he trades under the name of Provincial Wagons:), I have visited the website on a number of occasions and when the financial drought is over I will be placing an order or two. The upside of having no money in the modelling budget at present means I can get around to building some of my 009 or 00n3 kits.