MRSI 2026 Dublin Show - October 24-26th 2026

[Mol_PMB]

I had a really good couple of hours at the exhibition this morning - saw some great models and lots of familiar faces. 
The IRM C class look superb! 
I spent some money with Enda and also bought some clothing to wear for my talk next month. Plus a few books from Tailte who were hiding away in a corridor.
A few things that caught my eye:

 

[Jack_Dunboyne]

DAY 2 (More photos here: https://fremoireland.ie/gallery/ )

[jhb171achill]

Last day of the show tomorrow - and what a great one it's been. I'll have some loco drawings and "Cuisle" CIE magazines at the Tailte Tours stall (in the corridor). Very many thanks to all who have supported this stand over the last two days.

[Warbonnet]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note to say thank you to everyone who stopped by our stand for a chat and to say hello why ogling our wares! We were kept extremely busy all weekend and were a bit more hoarse than we were on Friday.

We’d like to extend a special thank you to our hosts, the MRSI, who once again looked after us tremendously and put on a fantastic show. Please remember that this is the work of volunteers who give up their time for us to enjoy our hobby. Thanks to Tony, Dave, Ed and team! 
 

Cheers!

Fran

[jhb171achill]

14 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note to say thank you to everyone who stopped by our stand for a chat and to say hello why ogling our wares! We were kept extremely busy all weekend and were a bit more hoarse than we were on Friday.

We’d like to extend a special thank you to our hosts, the MRSI, who once again looked after us tremendously and put on a fantastic show. Please remember that this is the work of volunteers who give up their time for us to enjoy our hobby. Thanks to Tony, Dave, Ed and team! 
 

Cheers!

Fran

I’m STILL ogling pictures of the “C” class……!

[leslie10646]

IRRS Eightieth Celebrations and MRSI Show Weekend.

A crazy few days. Nothing went right before we left England. The IRRS steam train on Saturday became a diesel when No.171 failed. So I was chasing the MRSI guys for a stand for three days, not two as planned. I was very keen to be at the Exhibition as I had mountains of books to sell – the IRRS gets given a lot of books! The lads at MRSI kindly found me six feet, despite me messing them about.

So, Thursday I was in Dublin to give a talk to the IRRS at the “North Star”. Friday, Richard and I met up with Margaret Wynne, David’s widow., whom we hadn’t seen since his untimely death.  Back to the Premier Inn at the airport (highly recommended) to change into posh togs for the IRRS’s 80^th reception at the Ashling Hotel – another short speech about the work of the London Atrea of the Society. Once that was over, Richard battled through the Dublin traffic to the Mount Temple School to dump my books off. Just time to say hello to Enda and back on the road to the IRRS event, Part 2, where it was great to meet up with other Society members.

Saturday, Richard dropped me at The School and he headed off to travel on the IRRS diesel. I got my stand into some sort of shape. I then had a record day of book selling at “Priced to sell” prices – how I love Dublin readers! I even sold some wagons. The morning was crazily busy for a one-man band. Sunday was much busier than I expected, more wagons as well as books. The exhibition dinner was great craic and good food – David and Tony are experts at finding a good location with yummy food. By Monday, I was down to twenty books – and even sold a few of those.

5pm, take the empty boxes out to the car, down to catch the “Ulysses” at 7.45pm.  A late start, a very dumpy crossing in a gale, followed by an hour just to get docked! So we were very late on the road at Holyhead in driving rain and high winds most of the way South. Several stops to let Richard have a break and rest his eyes. We were “home” by 9am this morning – it’s usually 6am! To cap it all, Richard had a miserable trip back to East Anglia and got through his door at 7pm.

Apart from better than expected business, Richard and I laid the foundations for more goodies for your layouts. As ever, it was great to meet old pals and some talented young ones.

Being a Northerner, I loved seeing “Derry Waterside”, the big South Dublin layout was an excellent example of a good exhibition layout – constant activity – we’re here to entertain and I’m sure that our younger visitors loved it. Maam Road showed that you could do that even with a “branch” layout, as did Wexford South. Obviously, for you “modern image” men, the C Class Announcement was great news and very well it looks.

NOW, do I provoke The Almighty and assume that I'll live long enough to run it for a few years?

Last time? Maybe – the Great Eternal Plan may say otherwise, but I’ve still got hundreds of good books to sell and Dublin’s the place for that, so South Dublin may see me next year! Hard work at the time, but a very satisfactory outcome, for which my thanks to you, the customers; Tony, David, Ed and Co from the MRSI for laying on the exhibition and especially Richard – Chauffeur par excellence.

Edited 23 hours ago by leslie10646

[leslie10646]

Someone asked me whether I had photographs of the LMS "Jinty" working in Belfast - it could have been a guy from Mark's Models.

He wanted to make a little diorama of their 0 Gauge version at work.

I now have a reply of sorts for him - 

Page 151 of Bill Scott's Locomotive's of the LMS(NCC) has No.19 on the docks in Belfast with a train of coal wagons - so that's not hard to replicate. She's on tramway track, in stone "setts", so easy to replicate; a low warehouse in the background.

I'll break Bill's copyright and scan the SMALL picture for the gent if he gets in touch.

"Ask and it shall be given".

 

[jhb171achill]

13 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

IRRS Eightieth Celebrations and MRSI Show Weekend.

A crazy few days. Nothing went right before we left England. The IRRS steam train on Saturday became a diesel when No.171 failed. So I was chasing the MRSI guys for a stand for three days, not two as planned. I was very keen to be at the Exhibition as I had mountains of books to sell – the IRRS gets given a lot of books! The lads at MRSI kindly found me six feet, despite me messing them about.

So, Thursday I was in Dublin to give a talk to the IRRS at the “North Star”. Friday, Richard and I met up with Margaret Wynne, David’s widow., whom we hadn’t seen since his untimely death.  Back to the Premier Inn at the airport (highly recommended) to change into posh togs for the IRRS’s 80^th reception at the Ashling Hotel – another short speech about the work of the London Atrea of the Society. Once that was over, Richard battled through the Dublin traffic to the Mount Temple School to dump my books off. Just time to say hello to Enda and back on the road to the IRRS event, Part 2, where it was great to meet up with other Society members.

Saturday, Richard dropped me at The School and he headed off to travel on the IRRS diesel. I got my stand into some sort of shape. I then had a record day of book selling at “Priced to sell” prices – how I love Dublin readers! I even sold some wagons. The morning was crazily busy for a one-man band. Sunday was much busier than I expected, more wagons as well as books. The exhibition dinner was great craic and good food – David and Tony are experts at finding a good location with yummy food. By Monday, I was down to twenty books – and even sold a few of those.

5pm, take the empty boxes out to the car, down to catch the “Ulysses” at 7.45pm.  A late start, a very dumpy crossing in a gale, followed by an hour just to get docked! So we were very late on the road at Holyhead in driving rain and high winds most of the way South. Several stops to let Richard have a break and rest his eyes. We were “home” by 9am this morning – it’s usually 6am! To cap it all, Richard had a miserable trip back to East Anglia and got through his door at 7pm.

Apart from better than expected business, Richard and I laid the foundations for more goodies for your layouts. As ever, it was great to meet old pals and some talented young ones.

Being a Northerner, I loved seeing “Derry Waterside”, the big South Dublin layout was an excellent example of a good exhibition layout – constant activity – we’re here to entertain and I’m sure that our younger visitors loved it. Maam Road showed that you could do that even with a “branch” layout, as did Wexford South. Obviously, for you “modern image” men, the C Class Announcement was great news and very well it looks.

NOW, do I provoke The Almighty and assume that I'll live long enough to run it for a few years?

Last time? Maybe – the Great Eternal Plan may say otherwise, but I’ve still got hundreds of good books to sell and Dublin’s the place for that, so South Dublin may see me next year! Hard work at the time, but a very satisfactory outcome, for which my thanks to you, the customers; Tony, David, Ed and Co from the MRSI for laying on the exhibition and especially Richard – Chauffeur par excellence.

Good to see you as always, Leslie; and equally as always I was unable to walk away without purchasing something further of four-wheeled “Provincial” provenance….

[leslie10646]

You're very welcome, Jonathan. I look forward to seeing my favourite passenger van in CIE green at t' Harbour

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, leslie10646 said:

You're very welcome, Jonathan. I look forward to seeing my favourite passenger van in CIE green at t' Harbour

Tis under construction at Dundalk Works as we speak! 

[jhb171achill]

4 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

You're very welcome, Jonathan. I look forward to seeing my favourite passenger van in CIE green at t' Harbour

Had a look to see what number mine ought to be. Most Y5 vans (Leslie's kit of a GNR passenger train parcels van - the GN equivalent of a fitted "H" on CIE, or a "brown van" on the NCC) ended up on the UTA. (In contrast, of the six Y4 vans, CIE and UTA got three each). 

Of the Y5s, Leslie's kit type, CIE got one (No. 770 - probably 770N) which had originally been 469. I have seen a picture of it in green, which is what mine will be, and as far as I recall with a snail on the sliding door. The UTA got four, two of which lasted into NIR times, both being withdrawn in 1971, so it's unlilely they got NIR maroon and most likely ended their days in UTA dark green. The other two UTA ones were withdrawn in 1963 (probably still brown) and 1967 (definitely green, as I remember seeing its body in a  field about 1988!). Of the other four, the GNR themselves had withdrawn them before 1958.

So mine will be 770, which was withdrawn by CIE in 1962.

Interesting to note that among the older Y4s was one (GNR No. 439, UTA 644) which also lasted with NIR until 1971.

[Irishrailwayman]

8 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

Someone asked me whether I had photographs of the LMS "Jinty" working in Belfast - it could have been a guy from Mark's Models.

He wanted to make a little diorama of their 0 Gauge version at work.

I now have a reply of sorts for him - 

Page 151 of Bill Scott's Locomotive's of the LMS(NCC) has No.19 on the docks in Belfast with a train of coal wagons - so that's not hard to replicate. She's on tramway track, in stone "setts", so easy to replicate; a low warehouse in the background.

I'll break Bill's copyright and scan the SMALL picture for the gent if he gets in touch.

"Ask and it shall be given".

 

There is a photo also of NCC Class Y Jinty at Belfast York Road on page 92 of Colin Boocock's book "Locomotive Compendium Ireland".