NoelG

Got these two finished yesterday 7105 and 7142 These are both Hornby 'Shortie' donors (ex BR HST 125 coaches) but curiously one has 7 windows the other 8. 7142 with eight windows (ex BR Swallow livery) so the removable window strip was already black (very very very dark blue) which saved masking or painting the window surrounds. No buffers but will fit some from PetersSpares in due course. 7105 Had 7 windows (ex BR Blue+Grey livery HST 125 sets). Buffers had to be added. Both got a light weathering

I hate masking windows more than peeling onions. Maskol seems utterly useless for this kind of thing due to its viscosity preventing precision application, so back to masking tape with the aid of a Sharons scalpel. Hycote plastic grey primer (same chemical mix as Halfords) Removed masking tape from the windows before the paint had hardened Hey Presto - Black window panels, as black as priests socks but not very very very dark Blue Ted! Two more coming off the respray bench. Two Hornby shortie donors. One was BR Blue'n'cream with blasted cream window panel surround, the other was BR Swallow livery with Black window panel surround which halves the work load of respraying one of these. PS: Got a pack of 100 LLPs (Little Layout People) on ebay last year a bag costing €3 which saved me about €75 had I used higher quality Bachmann figures. Looking from outside the coach through the windows you cannot really tell any difference. These two coach loads of pax cost about 75c rather than €1.50 per figure had It used more expensive Bachmann or Pross figures. Cut the legs off most of them so I could seat them. Had a few folks walking down the isle or standing on the isle chatting to seated passengers. Not a habit in sight so these won't be used on Knock special.

Afternoon workings. 15:40 Ennis to Athenry waits for stater signal View from the rear of the local train Cattle due to be loaded onto a cattle van for the 16:30 working to Tuam.

Thanks Robert, yes but ballasting may be one of the very last things to get done. Lots of other stuff still to do like get the point motors wired up and working, a lot of telegraph poles for the station area, scenic landscaping, etc. But it will be ready when its ready. At the moment just designing the possible loop extension so that instead of being 10ft x 2ft in size it could end up 15ft x 4ft in size with a loop running behind the back scene and a fiddle yard. But I need to get this 10ft x 2ft section finished first.

Thanks Jonathan, I subscribe to the notion less is more. I was never a fan of weathering locos to the extent they looked like scrape line rusting hulks. In the 1960s the locos were kept in reasonable condition, it was only the 1990s diesel locos were allowed to get into a state. The 141/181 and 071s didn't lend themselves to the washing plant due to the walkways between cabs, whereas the A class and 201 class with their smoother curved profile did. I went a little grimier on this Super Train. No 182 was my first every Murphy Model loco and was responsible for rekindling my interest in this hobby. Bought it at the Fry museum at Malahide Castle back in 2007 or 2008. (I accidentally broke the lamp irons when taking the cab off)

Thats a fab layout feature.

The Cattle dock now has a proper pen with gates, cattle, dung and some weeds Cattle waiting to be loaded on provincial wagons van bound for Tuam on the afternoon pick up goods train. Provincial wagons cattle wagon will be shunted around to this side of the dock later. Cattle about to be loaded

Hi Kieran, clever work as ever. Ironic your looking for 57', Dapol are out of production of 60' staniers and so are all the retailers. I couldn't find 60' donors anywhere (C101A etc). Only 57' in stock.

Yes Robert ballasting will probably be the very last thing done. Will need to use grease proof paper to isolate platform edges while ballasting so that they remain removable afterwards using magnets.

Now focusing on the cattle pens Fabricating gates for the cattle pen Some weed growth on the dock since the yard crane arrived

Excellent are these available to purchase online at the moment?

Goods yard area has some progress Happy with the little yard crane

Revised train formation as its march and heating needed. A single laminate coach with a HLV up front and tailed by a 6 wheeled HLV. The leading HLV being repositioned to Sligo via Claremorris. I just love this CIE golden era that I remember so well. Often branch trains had just a single coach and a heating van. Nowadays just boring plastic yo-yo DMU/ICRs, no locos, no run arounds, no shunting, so marshalling stock, few station points needed, no buffering up for coupling, etc. Progress and more efficient but dull as ditch water to model and operate. B188 awaits the starter signal at Gort bound for Claremorris via Athenry and Tuam.

Stunning scratch build. Love the gangway details and the roof details.

Ah one of these? Silverfox do them RTR.

Twas fiddley getting a good fixing for the cattle pen fencing on the dock but found a solution using wire pins. Now for the pen gates.

Gort activity. 14:15 Limerick to Westport working waiting in the loop for the Athenry to Ennis Goods trains to pass. Yard crane should be installed tomorrow. The cattle escaped and the signal man and two shunters are running across the fields trying to chase them back to the yard. The driver and guard in the cab of B188 are laughing their asses off at the men chasing the cattle in the adjacent fields. Limerick to Westport via Athenry and Claremorris waits for the starter signal (not yet built), so could be a while. The cattle dock will get much use from Provincial Wagons cattle wagons once I put the gates on it. And to save the signalman's legs. Late evening the moody CIE Laminate with its pronounced tumblehome waits in the loop for traffic.

Truly wonderful scratch building. Epic result.

Very resourceful as ever. Excellent build

So enjoying this journey of learning, discovery, and fun. And . . . thanks to my wonderful dad who left this life 40 years ago for running his trains on the floor under my cot as an infant and giving me this wonderful train set bug for life. So glad he never lost his inner big child. I still have much of his Hornby Dublo stock in the attic. Lots more yet to be done, but sure that's the fun part of it, endless landscaping and scenics that never end like gardening.

Its finally all beginning to come together now with these unique group of buildings that give Gort its unique character

Some more progress on Gort. Its beginning to come together at last. Looking forward to shunting this layout circa 1967 Gort goods yard was very busy. The town was a hub for building supplies, agri produce, farm supplies and a market town I'm content that the place has a look of Gort railway station about it

This seems the best news for our hobby in some years. Delighted MM has not taken up golf.