FrankS

Thanx Broithe, That seems to have done the trick, much appreciated. Learn something new each day, I'd wondered what an 'avatar' was Cheers, FrankS

Hi Guys, On my profile I've got a photo (actually a logo) but it doesn't show on my posts. What have I missed doing ? Thanx, FrankS

Hi Guys, I was wondering what you use to represent sugar beet for loads in 4mm scale, I've already asked Enniscorthyman. In On30 scale I used a seed bought from a Health Food store, but it's probably too big for 4mm and I've forgotten the name of it Thanx Frank S

No plans. I just make it up as I go along. Wiggy. Ah! A man after my own heart Great Stuff, Wiggy

Thanx, Anthony. No, not mainline Australian. My other railway modelling passion is the On30 King Island Tramway which is set on King Island which is about the size of the Isle of Man located in Bass Strait NW of Tasmania (BTW Tasmania is about the same size as Ireland) which is completly freelance loosely based on British Colonial?Tasmanian very minor railway practice with American backwoodsy overtones Other interests ~ far too numerous ~ Industrial NG railways, Irish NG, Maine two-Footers, South African 2' gauge, basically ANYTHING NG, G scale NG, Spanish Civil War, Dutch & Finnish Air Forces pre-1940, British Colonial Military History Pre-1914, American Colonial Military History Pre 1905,(yes, it did have one), old films etc, etc, etc. Which probably explains why I have a library of over 8,000 books and not nearly enough time to devote to the current layout

Yes, I think you are right there, John. My passion is "operating" in the American Model RR sense with freight car forwarding card systems, timetables, etc., and I need lots of industries to keep me happy Actually, the layout was started as an idea for a "Universal" 16.5mm gauge layout, that could be used as the basis of many layouts, with the scale, prototype and location being swapped by changing stock, buildings, signs, etc. But, somewhere along the way, it got hijacked by an aggressive Leprechaun Re: The tarpulined opens. These were actually done for a British layout, but, I thought I'd get away with them on the Irish incarnation. This photo probably shows them better : The wagons are just Bachmann British 5-plank opens. The tarps are made by a guy named Roger Smith who lives in Italy but his range is supplied from the UK. See his website at : http://www.rogersmithmodelrailways.com/4mm_scale_oo_6.html He does them in packs of 6 for £3.90. The ones I used are the black TARP400 (Old Cat No TARP19) Early BR and the grey TARP420 Later BR. He does lots of others, but they are printed with pre-BR UK Railway names. They come in the pack with 6 different numbers, but, If you contact him direct, he can do a pad of 18 (I think it was) with different numbers. There are no photos on his website but you can see photos at : http://pufferwillies.co.uk/uk2ecommerce/department/roger_smith/ who also sell them They are just oblongs of thin but strong paper/thin card (maybe it's cartridge paper, not sure) which you fold to fit the wagon after scrunching it up into a ball to create the creases. Flatten it out. Glue to the right shape and glue ropes to the inside surface. I used brown rigging cord used by modellers of sailing ships which has the right texture and doesn't fray. Then just glue to the wagon. They can be made removable, but look much better permanently fitted. I also made some of my own, for more 'modern' coloured tarps. I bought sheets of drawing paper from the newsagent/art supply store. These come in sheets about 24" x 15" and will make many more tarps then you'll need. These come in a vast variety of colours, I used black, yellow and mid-blue. This is a bit thicker than Smith's so needs scrunching up/flattening out a few times to get the creases embedded into the tarp. Following the same dimensions and procedure I think they look nearly as good as a bought one When my camera has recharged I'll see If I can take a photo. A few more photos of per-way work around Castlecromerby : Cheers, Frank S.

This is fascinating stuff, Dave, more please Cheers, FrankS

Thank You for your kind comments, gentlemen I like to say I have a fertile imagination, maybe comes from bouncing round on our heads, down under unfortunately, my wife describes it as being in my second childhood If so, can't wait for my second puberty, hopefully it will be a bit more active than the first one was Perhaps it's just as well I'm running out of baseboards, or I might start excavating for crocks of gold at the end of the rainbow. Presently looking for sets of TV or film crews amongst the continental figure manufacturers, 'cos there's rumours of a new TV show being made down in Ballykay and they might be coming up to Cilldargan on location Cheers,

Bag goes the budget again !

The surveys have now been completed for the LHS of my Cilldargan layout and this area has now been officially named the East Cilldargan Industrial Estate. Actually, track laying came first and planning afterwards as this area is dominated by four 1" square bookcase supports which run in a straight line along the basboard. These are a real pain in the bum Inevitably, they occur just where the track wants to run and tracklaying has to incorporate several twists and turns to avoid these 'imovable objects'. These supports are impossible to hide, but hopefully by disguising two of them as part of the Sugar Beet loading dock and one as part of a mountain of track ballast and keeping the top line of photos pretty low, they can blend into the rest of the scenery. The fourth I thought, might be disguised as a Telofon Eireann Microwave Tower, I guess these things blight the Irish landscape as they do in the Land of Oz. Features of this area are the diesel loco refueling and layover siding, a row of modern industrial factory units, which will bring in palletised cement and fertiliser traffic, among other things, and the loading dock for the seasonal sugar beet traffic. There are storage sidings for beet wagons and during the rest of the year these are used by the PWD for loading ballast wagons, using front-end loaders. I might slip in a small HALT for local passenger traffic. All track at East Cilldargan and Blackwater are now in place and wired for DCC. I don't know about DCC wiring in the UK/Irish scene but I use the pretty standard practice in the USofA of a two-wire 'bus' running right round the layout with feeds off these running to every section of track between 2 points and on dead-end sidings. Probably overkill, but it eliminates reliance on the point blade contacts to carry power. The Bachmann Surveyors have earned their money and found a payable deposit of Shale near Blackwater, so enabling me to put in an order with Hidden-Agenda and Anthony for a rake (maybe even two, of shale wagons). The only section of the main layout which is still undeveloped is the main station at Cilldargan, which remains just a single track running across the bare baseboard to complete the continious run. Work here awaits a big order for pointwork to the USofA. Trouble is, whenever the treasury starts looking healthy enough to place this order it leaks away on shiny new goodies. Patrick Murphy has a lot to answer for PWD work continues at Castlecromerby But, hopefully, Cilldargan will be in operation before the MM 071's come along to deplete the treasury in October. Little to do after that. The two fiddle yards representing Mallow/Limerick and Dungarvan/Waterford and the start of the Branchline down to Ballykay. Although this will only get as far as the first station down the line, Knockree, before it hits a brick wall , literally ! 1976 - One of the last deliveries of bagged cement in tarped opens and covered vans to Castlecromerby Cement Works, within weeks this type of transport will be history to be replaced by the new order of Pallet Cement Wagons and fork-lift trucks.

I'll certainly be interested. Frank Savery

Thanx John, Interesting stuff on where it went to ................... Anyone know where it came from ???

BLACKWATER STATION on Cilldargan Determined to get my moneys worth out of my set of Bachman surveyors, I've had them survey the area around Blackwater Station :~ Blackwater is at the bottom of the layout. Unfortunately, this bottom section of the layout and the LHS between Blackwater and East Cilldargan had to be built running through floor to ceiling IKEA book shelves. This means that there is an approx. 1" square support post every 3 feet. When running the layout they are surprisingly "invisible" as I've painted them the same dark green colour as the layout facia and they blend in very well. However, in photographs they will stand out like a sore thumb, so I've got to try and hide them, either that or learn to use Photoshop In the Blackwater station area I've (hopefully) disguised the two posts by making them the core of the two outer ESSO storage tanks, but I'll have to think hard about the section from Blackwater up to Cilldargan. At present I have the surveyors out searching for a deposit of Shale, as we have a loading bank almost ready. If they can find a shale deposit, then tyhe mineral will be Shale, If not, probably, ballast for CIE. There is a chance that the mineral might be transported from the quarry to the loading bank by a 9mm gauge Narrow Gauge Railway. BTW Can anyone please tell me the name of the company who quarry the Shale at Kilmastulla, please ? I may have to contact them about offering another site for them to operate Cheers, Patrick "Frank" Savery, District Manager, CIE

Wow !!! Anthony, Those Shale Wagons look fantastic I'll have to send the Bachman surveyors out in search of a Shale deposit reasonably close to Cilldargan, big enough to justify a loading bank Cheerrs, Patrick 'Frank' Savery, District Manager, CIE Cilldargan

Cilldargan has now acquired it's own Diesel Shunter Loco, No D.303 via e-bay. And as the branch to Ballykay is going ahead, and there may be a branch 141 based at Cilldargan, I think we might justify a diesel loco layover and refuelling point at Cilldargan. So, I bought a set of Bachmann surveyors and sent them hot foot over to East Cilldargan to look at a site near the new factory units, and this is what they came back with : ~ Mind you, If we do run to a branch loco, knowing whose territory it's going to, I fully realise that it will HAVE to be Absolutely FILTHY Cheers, Patrick F. Savery, District Manager, CIE Cilldargan.

HI Guys, Harking back to Post # 4 on this thread, Anthony said "I can't see your branch line to Ballykay from Cilldargan as I have a branch line heading your way hurry up and get it built " Actually at the bottom end of the railway room/cum spare bedroom/cum library/ cum study/ cum workshop there is a passageway with floor to ceiling IKEA bookshelves along one side. Through this runs a continious shelf 1' wide by 12' long which will eventually be the start of the Branch Line to Ballykay I'll have to watch the first episode of Ballykissangel again to have another look at the map on the wall of Fitzgerald's Pub and see where Ballykay is in relation to Cilldargan, so I can work out wether the branch should come off the Mallow line (Fiddle Yard # 1) or the Waterford line (Fiddle yard # 2) . Cheers, Patrick F. Savery, District Manager CIE

Just what I wanted, Thanx, Josefstadt

Hi Guys, In a post to the thread on my new layout "Cilldargan" Mayner suggested a source of traffic ~ "and a Ballinacourty-Cork Tivilo Oil & Magnesite Train 001 with tank wagons and covered hoppers," this is a new one on me, can anyone give me a bit of info on it, please. I presume the 'covered hoppers' are/were the # 26590 - 26611 series Magnesite hoppers illustrated in ' Locos & Rolling Stock of CIE & NIR' , were the tank wagons part standard tank wagons or something special ~ maybe demountable tanks on flat cars, perhaps ??? Any info, much appreciated, Cheers, FrankS

Thanx John, That opens up all sorts of possibilities I believe Father Mac was very upset when he heard that the District Manager's sister had been appointed personal and private secretary to a high official in C.I.E. Patrick F. Savery, District Manager, C.I.E.

Great Stuff, Snapper. Keep 'em coming, Cheers, Frank S.

Hi Guys, Following Mayners advice I've decided to site my model railway on a through line rather than a branch line, Thanx John. And I've settled on the Waterford to Mallow section, which was slated for closure by C.I.E., but at the last minute it was reprieved and C.I.E. decided to modernise and rationalise the section for operation in the latter part of the 20th Century. The main station is to be CILLDARGAN, with smaller through stations at CASTLECROMERBY and BLACKWATER with 2 seperate fiddle yards representing the rest of the line to WATERFORD and to MALLOW. The layout will be operated as an end-to-end line using an American based wagon forwarding system. However, there is a short section of line on a bridge over the River Blackwater which gives a continious-run when I just want to watch the trains go by. The period is around the mid-1970's, but, as I'm a bit of a collector, latter day stock and liveries will be run subject to the District Managers approval. Control is by DCC using the American Easy-DCC system. Track is Fleischmann Profi-Track and after much humming and haaring I've decided to bite the bullet and use Kadee couplers, which I'm very familiar with from using them for many years on several narrow gauge On30 layouts. The main station of CILLDARGAN............. Unfortunately, at the moment CILLDARGAN is just bare baseboards with a single line of rails going across to complete a continious run. However, the next station down the line, CASTLECROMERBY is about 95% complete and Shamus O'Neill, roving reporter for the Cilldargan Gazette, was there to take some photographs when the Irish Cement Castlecromerby Distribution Centre was declared open for business. After visiting the new Irish Cement facility............... ...................He spent the rest of the day there, recording the railway scene. There is lots of PWD activity at the moment connected with the upgrading of the line. He caught Loco # 181 hauling a rake of Ballast Wagons which are on hire by CIE from the NIR system................... ................... Earlier in the day, 181 had brought in a rake of 4whl Ballast Hoppers ..... and mid-afternoon, his patience was rewarded when Woolwich Mogul # 385 stormed through on a RPSI Steam Special Train bound for Waterford. 385 really seemed to be enjoying being on its old stamping ground again. Patrick F. Savery, District Manager CIE

G'Day all from Sunny Tasmania - AND it's Mid-Winter here Another "Cheap & Cheerful" suggestion. Who said I'm cheap ???? Well, my wife, Bernadette actually, and she should know But, she doesn't count. Re: The tension lock couplers, Jeez, I hate these couplers, even in their latest incarnation as the Bachmann Mk. II Mini-Type they're still a pain in the bum. One day, when I pluck up the courage I'll replace them all with Kadee's, but until that day comes, you might be interested in a "cheap and cheerful" suggestion to make uncoupling a bit easier. It just uses a fork from the sets of plastic picnic cutlery (I presume) you can buy in the pound/Euro shops, up top. Just wrap some insulation tape around the prongs, and you'll find it's just at the right angle to lift the two hooks of coupled wagons. It works with the prongs cut-down to about half the length too ! Cheers, FrankS.

Some good ideas there, John. Who is it who makes the BR Palvan, please. I thought Bachmann, but Hatton's don't have it, so I thought I'd check before searching further affield. Cheers, FrankS.

Definitely interested in some of them, please Frank S. Tasmania

Thanx BosKonay ~ How's that for service Those photos are just what I wanted. I knew If I took a chance on it, someone would point it out or I'd buy a new book with a photo AFTER I'd sprayed the final coat of matt varnish.