Blaine

Well you need to buy a decent tv/monitor, maybe a gaming chair and a good internet connection...... Its one of those arguments, different levels you can take things to

Not really - how much are other things like Nintendo DS's, Playstations and Xboxes for 'younger buyers' these days? Easy enough for manufacturers to judge and in many cases buyers too - example cant see the announced Murphy Models Dart Plus selling many, hence the IRM Hunslet is a 'one-off' and despite this being made very very clear there will be people in the future who regret not buying them at the time, or never even heard of them

Ah - misread it - thought it was 3 coaches in total

Thats the 'spare' set out of Belfast most likely - 1 standard, 1 first class, 1 restaurant and 1 driving car. Wonder if the Head End Power was used given its a short set

Long gone, yet the sign at the entrance to Boucher Retail Park is still there

Its down too to the the rpsi and a lesser extent the IRRS, IRRS pushed for 131,184 and 461 to be preserved initially although only 131 ended up plinthed for a few years - the original plan was for the 3 to be plinthed in Dundalk, Inchicore and Wexford Irish Railway Preservation is like entrepreneurism - for every 1 scheme that got somewhere, there were many that didn't. Traditional Irish tribalism and people being in things for themselves rather than the common benefit of all messed up more than one organisation and the hard work of some people went overlooked for whatever reason. Be thankful for what's here now and don't dwell too much on those that didn't make it

I was involved in this one too with JB and his merry men, was merely a feasibility study, and it was never a case of 'We are doing this, we are restoring XYZ', was just seeing what was possible and as we found out, not all the pieces of the jigsaw were available to complete it, so no egg on face really as it was all kept low down. Of course if anything was going to happen it would have been publicised well I now reside in the area and there's very little if any reminders of the railway that was here - few buildings in Athboy and what's left of the platform and an old road bridge in Trim along with some pillars over a long gone bridge over the River Boyne. A huge plus was there were no level crossings or underbridges - the hump back bridge on the Trim-Athboy road was the only one, and the road went over the railway. We are not Britain, and population is very small compared to theirs, so less interest Ultimately preservation is about being realistic and not dreaming. Occasionally dreams come through, but not every time. Same in the UK too, theres been plenty of closed/abandoned projects for whatever reason, and other stuff that would be great if it happened, but there's an obstacle or fifteen in the way

The Model Railway Society of Ireland in association with Dundalk Railway Heritage Society is proud to present Dundalk Works in Dundalk on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th July 2025 This is another opportunity to see the iconic model in its home town and in Central Dundalk too More information to follow

No need for it, it is a full on commuter line and a terminus (for now), so only busy at peak times

Almost sure they had no train brake equipment at all, slow speeds and loose coupled trains along with the skills of the crew. Wasn't until the late 70's/early 80's that CIE started introducing air braked stock, the bogie cements and MK3 coaches were first, well after the G's were gone. But lets not divert the thread

They had electric horns, similar to what you would find on a car (beep beep), the air horns are a more recent addition in DCDR days. Less said about the whistle the better They were an off the shelf design, so parts availability was quite easy. Deutz as a company still survive, but no longer making railway equipment

Peter Schweppe was the guy, still going strong. He later opened the Model Shop on Capel Street which sold trains, but later retired and taken over by a new owner, which closed down a few years ago

Time and in most cases you are better to inspect items in person, not everything is 'Mint in Box'

You can almost see the bits of talcum powder/baking soda used in the 'ageing/weathering' process. Plus 'line of tramway' makes no sense, doubt the Hill of Howth tramway had such signs, as I dont think the Fintona branch was considered a tramway - just a lightly used and short line. Fake people buying fake signs....

That's a Swiss Railways BM4/4 II class diesel https://www.trainsdepot.org/en/vehicle/589/bm-4-4ii-18451-18452 Irrelevant to make any Irish comparisons aside from the Sulzer engines Dont forget Oliver Bulleid was pushing for American locos in the early 1950's having seen what was happening on American Railroads even before WW2, Irish Beef Exports to the UK were one of the factors that prevented this from happening - initially at least, so when CIE needed more diesels after the A/C class debacle the order went to EMD. Would have been interesting to see what would have happened if he was allowed to go to EMD in the early 1950's and if the GNR had proceeded with their diesel locomotive plans - they wanted electrification too and if this happened in the 1950's it all would have been sourced from Continental Europe, not the UK