Mayner

Don't know about other dimensions the GNSR/SECR locos had 6' driving wheels & 18X26 cylinders same as the ex DSER D8 & D9 4-4-0s & C2 4-4-2T which appear to have been a tank version of the D8. The 4 D9s were elegant locos in their original form but had the reputation of being a failure & poor steamers, although one was rebuilt with a D8 boiler, the un-rebuilt locos had all gone by the mid-30s the rebuilt loco in 1940. One of the 2 D8 was a Civil War casualty the surviving loco withdrawn in 1949. Personally I don't believe its worthwhile to pay over £200 for a loco that requires major modification or a new body/superstructure to resemble an Irish loco. Harry (GSR800) has already comissioned a 3D printed model of the rebuilt MGWR As/GSR D6 using a Hornby D16/3 4-4-0 Chassis fitted with Hornby B1 wheel sets, the Hornby D16/3 may be a workable chassis for ex-GSWR Coey D2,D10-12 family of 4-4-0 and almost £100 cheaper than the Rapido GNSR/SECR model, & re-wheeled with B1 (or heavens forbid Gibson or Magib) wheels potentiaally open up the widely used GSWR/GSR D4 family of mixed traffic 4-4-0s.

A copy of a copy so to speak, received from Alan O'Rourke many years ago under the guise of 'The Loughrea Coach?" Came in very useful when producing the artwork for the Side Corridor and BSSGV

Elephants in the room. (a) CIE leasing or selling Navan Station/Yard to a prospective Heritage Railway operator. Establishing a Heritage Railway on the Navan Branch would be dependent of the willingness of IE/CIE to enter into a (long term) agreement to lease the line to a Heritage Railway Group (possibly with Meath Co Council acting as guarantor) and to maintain main line access to the Irish Rail network. With its (near) town centre location CIE Property Group are likely to be considering the sale of Navan Goods Yard for residential or retail development. (b) GSRPS and Westrail experience with loss of 'main line" connections to their Heritage Railway operations. IE disconnecting the 'main line" connections to the GSRPS at Mallow Shed and Fenit Branch during the late 1980s and Westrail's Tuam base during the mid 1990s was a significant contributing factor in the demise of their Heritage Railway operations. Although both Groups had leased depots and negotiated line access with CIE/IE, the connection to Mallow Shed (& restoration depot) was removed in connection with the Cork-Line re-signalling, the partially restored Fenit Branch disconnected in connection with CIEs sale of the North Kerry Yard in Tralee both late 80s. Westrail operated Excursion/Tourist Trains in Galway and Mayo from its Tuam base for several years during the Mid 80s-Mid 90s, including the restoration of GSWR 90 and the operation of a scheduled steam service between Athenry and Tuam on weekends for a number of years during Aug. Westrail's operations were severely disrupted by the 'temporary closure" of the Ennis Claremorris Line during the mid-90s to provide material for emergency track repairs (mainly Mayo line). IE closed Tuam signal cabin and disconnected Westrail loco depot and sidings from the network in connection with the re-opening of the Athenry-Claremorris to Asahi traffic in 1995-6 No 90 hauled trains of hired coaches between Galway-Athenry (1? season) and Cork-Cobh (final season). Apparently Westrail Cork-Cobh services (run in connection with a festival) were not successful financially, poor passenger loadings, cost of hired IE carriages, cost of transporting No 90 to Cork, cost of lodging Westrail maintenance/setam raising staff in Cork. (c) Use of Inchacore Works for storage/restoration of locos and stock. Reason for ITG re-locating to Moyasta and eventually Downpatrick Its doubtful that IE would be willing to allow Inchacore Works to be used as a base for storing/restoring locos and stock. ITG (and possibly others) were required to remove stored locos and stock from Inchacore mid-late 2000s, land/space required for construction of "Interconnector". The requirement to remove ITG locos and stock from Inchacore lead to the move to Moyasta where it was hoped/planned to build a museum, but planning application apparrently rejected by Clare Co-Council, space then unavailable at Downpatrick. Potential way forward. I guess the first step would be to see if there is sufficient interest in this group and other Irish on-line groups interested in establishing a Heritage railway in Navan, establish a group/comittee, sound out interest groups in Navan, Council, Chamber of Commerce, Tourist promotion, Irish Rail/NTA, CIE Property Group (willingness to lease+how much?), Irish preservationists Downpatrick, RPSI, Maam Cross, former Westrail and GSRPS comittee members, UK preservation group, how much is it likely to cost? how much money is the Group likely to capable or raising each year? If you think there is enough interest and the group is capable of raising the necessary funds go for it!

Needs to be narrated in a Beara-South Kerry accent/dialect with English subtitles, back in the 90s I had a work colleague (an accountant) from Sneem who some people thought he was French! Years earlier a girl in a Dunlaoire chip shop could not understand a colleague from North Kerry when he asked for sausageandchips and asked his friend from Meath to translate and became even more confused.

Less sophisticated that Eoin railcar roof formed from a balsawood block carved and sanded to shap then covered in aircraft tissue then coated in dope, roof panel joints formed with HMRS lining strip. Roof is grimy from 15+ years storage in a display case!

Well the Tin Vans have finally left the Shops, the 21mm gauge ones into storage & 3 temporarily re-gauged to OO to form a Mail Train made up of PO Van, two Hooded Vans and Heating & Luggage Van (orinally assembled in OO!) The downside is the train is too long for NorthWharf as there is only room for the loco and 2 4W vans in the Fiddle Yard/Traverser, so I guess its back to freight only and the vans into long term storage/Display Case. The main upside of (nearly) finishing the Tin Vans is that there is now space in the Shops to complete 229 a Coey J15 one of a pair of SSM kits I bought about 15-16 years ago and started to assemble about 7-8 years ago, but often sidelined by other more urgent, profitable or interesting projects. The main 'spotting' differences between the "Coey" J15 built in the early 1900s and earlier members of the class were (a) raised sandboxes on the leading splasher, (b) direct reversing lever (at an angle) rather than the "linkage" reverser, curving cab footsteps and slight difference in cab on some locos. No229 is based on a photo of the loco on a Limerick bound 'overload' goods at Ballycar on the Sligo-Limerick line, a saturated loco running with a larger GSWR Type B tender which indicates that the loco may have been regularly rostered to long distance goods work. No229s companion No124 is based on older the (much) more common version of the Class with distinctive lever reverser and more common smaller Type A Tender. Hopefully I will complete No229 within a shorter time frame than No124 picked up as a part built kit at Expo EM in 2001 and finally completed in 2022, though most of the work carried out since 2018 when I basically dismantked and re-built the chassis.!

Glider tissue and model aircraft dope https://www.hobbies.co.uk/model-aircraft/aircraft-dope?srsltid=AfmBOorHFZXg02LqSNCGSOu6Y_sXSZZFPp3wtERYhPc1NJKBbtEUGQd9 worked out well for finishing balsa roofs on a pair of Worsley Works AEC railcars.

"Landslide" appears to have been caused by liquefaction of "quick clay" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quick_clay, described as a 'sinkhole' in a article on the slip https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2025/08/30/travel-chaos-after-landslide-splits-norway-in-two/. "Quickclay' appears to be common in countries close to the pole including Norway/

The Great Northern and Western Railway--------Athlone-Westport and Ballina otherwise known as "Lord Lucan's line", or the Mayo Line The line was leased by the MGW in 1859 until amalgamated with the larger company in 1889/90. Whether genuine GNWR gate signs ever existed, I am not really bothered.

The IRRS in Library nights in Drumcondra station takes me back!. Some members used to stay close/run to the emergency exit door (kept ajar) to see what was passing/take the loco number of passing trains, mainly Night Mails and Liners when I attended in the late 70s. Sulzers had largely gone, loose coupled goods and banking had largely ceased. Regularly attended MRSI club nights at their North Richmond St premises close to the Midland "Liffey Branch" from the early 70s the majority of trains departing the North Wall loose coupled and banked could be heard from the basement clubroom or waiting for the bus home close to either the Ballybough (23) or North Strand (54) overbridges! Usually preferred the 23 as there was a good view of the railway in the Island Bridge area from the top deck of the bus on the way to the club on spring/summer evenings, those were the days!

Back in the day (early 1980s) I hoped that the GSRPS would convert Qs Class 131 into a facimilie of a GSWR Coey 4-4-0, strangely 131 would have been closer to ex DSER 4-4-0 No 454 apparrently the actual loco was based on the GNR Q Class design. At the time the GSRPS really appeared to be making progress as a preservation society. Establishing a base at Mallow, the loan of 131 to the Society and the successful move of the loco to Mallow, acquiring and restoring carriages suitable for an Excursion Train operation.

Im in my late 60s and have distinct memories of B101s in the late 60s-early 70s usually waiting at Island Bridge Junction to work Kingsbridge-Northwall transfer goods trains, though my first sighting of a B101 was in the terminal section of Dunlaoire on a parcel train. The B101s were bascially considered a "Southern engine" with Waterford one of their strong hold working over the Cork-Rosslare Route, Waterford-Limerick and Dublin lines, though there is a photo of a B101 in Supertrain livery on a north bound goods at Gort on the Limerick-Sligo line. The Class appear to have been mainly used on Kingsbridge/Heuston-Northwall transfer freights and possibly Kingsbridge-Dunlaoire parcel/mail trains in their leater years. Although less powerful than an Ar the B101s would have had an advantage over the 121 Class and single Bo Bos in working loose coupled goods trains over the steeply graded Island Bridge Junction-North Wall line. I bought a Qkits B101 in my teens, but the body was quite badly warped and at the time hadn't gained the skill to assemble or motorise the loco.

Possibly old news, Royal Mail https://www.postoffice.co.uk/mail/international-services?country=usa and other European postal services have temporarily suspended the shipping of packages to the United States. https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360801044/european-postal-services-suspend-shipment-packages-us-over-import-tariffs. Seems to be tied up with the ending of the $800"deminimmis" exemption.

Well weather was fine this afternoon with cold weather forecast during the next few days before the beginning of Metrological Spring, so decided to finish installing the trackbase on the "Pacific Extension" or tail track of the wye I removed several years ago. The Trackbase for plain track on the garden railway is best described as a T Girder in CCA treated timber supported on timber piles, while track in station yard areas are supported on what's best described as open framed or solid topped baseboards framed in 4X2 treated timber. While some repair/replacement of the track base has been required after 16 years, most should be good for another 10 or so years. The original intention back in 2017-8 was to extend the "Pacific Extension" as a branch line into further into the garden possibly to serve a mine or logging camp, but ended up as a temporary 'tail track" to a Wye for reversing/turningtrains with one end of the T girder supported on wooden packers before making a 'final decision" on the 'extension". In the end I decided to replace the temporary packing with a (timber) pile and reinstate the tail track to its original length. I usually use 4X2 treated framing timber used in decking and outdoor structure as the vertical element of the T and 4X4 treated again used for piling in decking & light outdoor structures. Top of the pile is notched to support the vertical element and pile is supported (clamped) a minimum of 100mm before the bottom of the foundation pad (on firm subsoil). Bagged quick set concrete (just pour in water) makes life a lot easier than hand mixing! The end of the existing wye originally installed 2018. Trackbase reinstated for some unknown reason I had two pieces of 6X2 that fitted without the need to cut, that once had been used for a trackbase with one end cut at a matching angle! The green is a wood preservative. Green off cut on the right is a Kauri (native hardwood) offcut from an old pergola of which I have some more in stock to replace some short(ish) sections of trackbase that have decayed during the past 17-18 years. Tailtrack reinstated to its original length. I snookered myself by planting an apple (supposedly plum) tree on the line of the original extension, only suitable place left in our garden for planting a fruit tree! First train to test the reinstated tailtrack, now long enough for a large loco plus 10 cars. I changed from using brass to aluminium rail for new work when I originally installed the tail track with some interesting reprecussions cropping up this year. Serious problems at rail joints as a result of the aluminium rail reacting with brass rail joints and in one case causing rail joiners to fail as they could no longer hold the rails in alignment This time round I lifted the affected track panels ran the rails through a railbender (rolls) and lubricated the new railjoiners with graphite paste (LGB). Despite this the re-laid joints on the curve still require attention the K27 2-8-2 loco tends to de-rail its leading driver on the curve when running forward, though no problems when propelling its train around the curve.

There was a piece in one of the IRRS Journals on the incident. A Killarney or Trelee bound goods was wrecked at the Mill, apparrently the points were set for the siding rather than the Main Line.