jhb171achill

Yes, the numberplate was completely non-standard, in size, shape and font. The GSR may well have ordered it from from a foundry in Cork, but as everything down to printing tickets was done in-house, my money would possibly be on Limerick works.

I’m tempted!

Nothing was ever either white or off-white - everything was the same eau-de-nil. Most of what appears whitish in photos is the deterooration of the photo (or low quality of iriginal film used to take the picture*), and the rest would be due to fading, like the door numbers on the MGWR 6-wheel first that was on the Loughrea branch in the late 50s. (* Sadly, while Cyril Fry was a great modeller and also took a number of highly interesting pictures of some very interesting subject matter, he scrimped and saved with colour film! Much of his colour stuff - in fact, most of it - is so poor now that it's beyond redemption - there is very little that reliable livery details could be gleaned from, if those doing the gleaning didn't already know what was correct....!)

It seems clear from the 2nd last post that it DID get a grey coat at some stage - I was unaware of that. Anyone know what RTR model might approximate?

I’m the same! So far I’ve about 12 six-wheelers and the makings of another couple of freelance ones….!

Is the siding the salt works?

I don't get the location - where's the main Larne line? Behind the photographer, or away round the corner to the left?

So is this a siding off the actual Harbour branch? If so, I did not know there were any. Your dad would know chapter and verse, I'm sure.

Just found this. Senior took this in the 1940s. I do not know where, but the buildings style strongly suggests on the NCC somewhere. A nice example of a small industrial sidi9ng (I presume!) (H C A Beaumont collection)

I have two of John Mayne's tin vans and can confirm that by far they are the best models of these vans on offer, and they are completely essential for any sort of 1960s scene.

Correct on all railways in Ireland - possibly even higher than 80% were standard covered vans.

A scratchbuild for one of these, yes. Nothing on the market is even remotely like one.

Most ingenious, yes!

Exactly. A variation on the theme is what I'm considering for "Dugort Harbour". As will be seen from accompanying diagrams, the "real" scenario imagined for this line was a semi-main line (like the North Kerry, or Mallow - Tralee) which ends up at a place called Castletown West (Newcastle West / Castletownbere?). A bit like Cahirciveen to Valentia Harbour or Skibbereen - Baltimore, there's a short extension built later with government assistance, somewhat extravagantly worked almost as a separate branch. Now; how to fit in private sidings, which themselves justify acquisition of grain vans, and also generate interesting shunting moves. Goods train arrives in CW, and the local pilot engine (a last outpost of a wheezing J15 in the early 60s, as Crosleys and (AEC railcars (IRM??) increasingly become the oprder of the day) shuttles wagons for two private sidings "up the line". This is imagined to be perhaps a mile away; think Fry Cadbury Siding / Shannonvale - i.e. not actually IN a station or within a built up area. So when the goods arrives, vans will be detached and taken away to each of these places and empties brought back. I always think that some sort of "reason" adds interest to a layout. Since I don't really have room for an actual private siding for either, the best solution is that both the private premises are, in reality, the fiddle yard itself off-scene!

Now that is interesting. No traces of the original green lined livery on that - could it be that it eventually DID get a lick of grey paint? Senior's picture (with lining) was likely taken a long time before the above, possibly on his first visits to the area in the 1937-43 period.