In answer to queries, I asked a few questions of those who were frequent visitors to Inchicore from the mid 1920s onwards; while this does not by any means constitute a detailed history of these coaches, I repeat some details I was told today which might not otherwise be known or obvious.
Unlike UK equivalents, they had normal gangway connections and were constructed to Irish loading gauge (width and height) rather than GB gauge. Naturally, their bogies were unlike those across the water, though I have no details.
There were 4 of them, and they operated mainly (if not exclusively) on the Broadstone - Galway and Kingsbridge - Cork routes. There would be one in each train as opposed to the system in GB of making up a whole train of them. He who I asked (who is 95) says he never saw them used otherwise. They were all THIRD class (albeit of a better standard than normal third class!). He does not recall second or first class, but would not rule out perhaps one being first; though he says he never saw a first class one. (That bit surprised me, I have to say!).
When delivered, they may have been in Pullman livery (brown and cream), but the GSR used a brown and cream livery themselves on main line stock, therefore it is his view that any sightings of them in that livery is far more likely to be GSR brown and cream, not British-style Pullman livery. They were eventually repainted GSR maroon, and then CIE green, though CIE withdrew them after only a few years. While in GSR maroon, they had a variation on the standard, in that (a) they did not carry GSR crests, and (b) they had the inscription "GREAT SOUTHERN PULLMAN" in gold letters, shaded; this was carried on the strip above window level where British Pullmans would have had "P U L L M A N". The GSR in any case took over ownership of them entirely after 10 years in traffic (1926-36), and by 1959 all had been scrapped after quite a few years derelict.
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jhb171achill
In answer to queries, I asked a few questions of those who were frequent visitors to Inchicore from the mid 1920s onwards; while this does not by any means constitute a detailed history of these coaches, I repeat some details I was told today which might not otherwise be known or obvious.
Unlike UK equivalents, they had normal gangway connections and were constructed to Irish loading gauge (width and height) rather than GB gauge. Naturally, their bogies were unlike those across the water, though I have no details.
There were 4 of them, and they operated mainly (if not exclusively) on the Broadstone - Galway and Kingsbridge - Cork routes. There would be one in each train as opposed to the system in GB of making up a whole train of them. He who I asked (who is 95) says he never saw them used otherwise. They were all THIRD class (albeit of a better standard than normal third class!). He does not recall second or first class, but would not rule out perhaps one being first; though he says he never saw a first class one. (That bit surprised me, I have to say!).
When delivered, they may have been in Pullman livery (brown and cream), but the GSR used a brown and cream livery themselves on main line stock, therefore it is his view that any sightings of them in that livery is far more likely to be GSR brown and cream, not British-style Pullman livery. They were eventually repainted GSR maroon, and then CIE green, though CIE withdrew them after only a few years. While in GSR maroon, they had a variation on the standard, in that (a) they did not carry GSR crests, and (b) they had the inscription "GREAT SOUTHERN PULLMAN" in gold letters, shaded; this was carried on the strip above window level where British Pullmans would have had "P U L L M A N". The GSR in any case took over ownership of them entirely after 10 years in traffic (1926-36), and by 1959 all had been scrapped after quite a few years derelict.
I hope this is of interest.
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