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John, Very many thanks for providing that valuable information - from a source I didn't have access to. It's interesting to hear about the Guinness vans that were predecessors to the IRCH standard ones, and I'll keep an eye out for photos of these, I'm sure I've seen one or two though they may have been GNR examples. Regarding the MGWR IRCH vans, it's great to know that there were 150 'convertible' and another 150 with continuous roofs. I suspect that the small height difference you quote was a result of the longitudinal rib across the middle of the roof opening (visible in two of the photos in my previous post). The number lists are very useful. It's interesting that all the numbers I had identified from photos are in the 3200-3350 range of the 1923 batch. I think there are 289 numbers listed so almost all of them. 18 built in 1922, 188 in 1923 and 83 in 1924. I wouldn't have guessed at all the random numbers of the other vans (no doubt replacing withdrawn older vehicles with those numbers). There's another NLI archive image of a rake of freshly-overhauled wagons at Limerick in 1964, which includes several IRCH-type vans. One of them is 1726, seen below. The number has a suffix but I couldn't read it, and potentially it could be N or M. https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000307038 We now know from the number listing you quoted that the MGWR had a van of this type numbered 1726 (in the 1924-built batch). So I think it's likely that this image does show 1726M rather than a former GNR van. It has a continuous roof, which may be an original feature or a later modification. The livery here is pale grey with white roundel and lettering. Thie IRRS photo dated 1955 shows an IRCH van in CIE snail livery, with a suffixed number - again the suffix is illegible. There's also a very similar photo in Ernie's collection on Flickr, also linked below. https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53501264990 Since 1955 was before the GNR split, I think this must also be an MGWR example. The visible part of the number is 370 but there may be another digit hiding in the shadow. Thanks for the summary of the models - the whitemetal kit would appeal to me if it were still available but it sounds like they're long-vanished. The construction style of these vans is very different from most GB goods vans, particularly the side planking flush with the solebar, and the vertical timbers. I haven't found anything similar to use as a basis. Here's a link to the image of the GNR 10-ton van on Leslie's website. I asked whether he still has many (any) in stock, but he's on holiday at present and not in a position to check. Given Leslie's impending retirement, I think these IRCH vans could be a good subject for a 3D printed kit. They would be prototypical for a 50-year period (1920s to 1970s) across the whole island, and could be lettered for MGWR, GSR, GNR, CIE, or UTA. The drawings are available (see link in the first post of this thread) so it should be possible to make them dimensionally accurate without any guesswork. In due course I'll write about the GNR vans and the GSR double-skinned variant. I need to do some more research on both of those first! This nice photo from Brian Flannigan on Flickr shows one of each, in 1971:

Info from P O'Cuimin Feb 1970 IRRS Journal Paper "Wagon SAtock of the MGWR Midland Hard Topped 1915 Covered Wagons for Guinness Traffic The MGWR predominentaly used Standard Covered (convertible) Wagons as opposed to Cattle Wagons to handle the heavy cattle traffic from the seasonal Fairs. The Midland listed 1646 Covered Goods & 635 Cattle Trucks in its 1910 rolling stock return. The 1924 return lists 459 Cattle Trucks ) no Covered Goods are listed in the 1920 & 1924. Although the Midland had a small (approx 400) fleet of covered Cattle Trucks, covered cattle wagons only became common on the Midland following the Amalgamation with the arrival of large numbers of ex-GSWR 14' Cattle Wagons (classed K) The MGWR continued to build its "Standard"7t -14' Covered Wagons with curving roofs up to the 1915 introduction of a 10t -9'6" ---16'8" (overheadstocks) covered wagon with continuous roof for Guinness Traffic. Released into service in 1916, Nos 19,46,112.127,235,286,302,332,448,492,561,579,812,839,899,936,945,966.988,1020,1-69,1173,1183,1409. These 'Guinness" wagons appear visually similar to to the outside framed vans used by the GNR(I) and SLNCR during the same era. The Midland had an earlier shorther curved roof version of the Guinness Wagon complete with large "Guinness" lettering on the side panels. I don't know whether the 1915 wagons carried similar lettering. Midland Hard Topped and Convertible IRCH pattern Wagons 1922-24. Between 1922 & 1924 300 1oT 10T-9'6" wb 16'11"(OHS) wagons were built to the IRCH specification-------------150 Open Centre. Height over rail of the open centre type 11'71/8 " same as the 1915 Guinness Wagons, Continuous roofed 11'5¼" 1922 batch:35,5587,131,279,809,838,859,884,980,1174,1186,1202,1211,1386,1388,1428,1482. 1923 batch 1,9,21,38,70,65,80,113,146,210,217,,217,217,533,609,620,636,707,806896,943,1091,1175,1412,1436,1473,1222,1737,1767,2110,2187,2288,,2430,2479,2535,2898,2909, and 3200-3350 1924 batch, 41,147,212,298,313,323,347,,363,398,401,,456,483,536,590,606,611,629,650,663,685,696,700,701,716,719,720,725,755,,762,779,,790,,880,891,905,908,917,927,944,951,953,959,961,990,992,993,994,1008,1031-33,1038,1058,1059,1188,1212,1726,1751,2037,2060,2095,2204,2296,2459,2664,2466,2468,2469,2471,2472,2480,2482,2488,2496,2499,2500,2403,2510,2526,2532,2533,2537,2543,2454. Models of IRCH vans My first attempt in 4mm was to scratch build the vans in plasticard about 30 years ago with scribed planking and Northwest Stripwood framing in 21mm gauge wusing SSM Wirons 'standard' Gibson EM/OO wheel sets with axles extended to 28mm by cutting and sleeving with 2mm brass tubing, models never progressed to the detail stage but look ok at a distance,I had a attempted to scratchbuild a MGWR 1875 Goods Brake during the same era with individually applied plasticard bolt and strapping detail on the timber framing. Jeremy Suter released a very nice whitemetal kits or the GNR/IRCH van, along with a MGWR "Open Box Wagon" and GNR & NCC Bread Container Wagons about 25 years ago but kits have not been repeated. I have a 'stash' of Leslies Provincial GNR IRCH Vans and Cattle Wagon kits, if I ever get round to assembling them!

Ive LEDS already and i can get them cheap almost anywhere and i would get one like the ones i already have that change colours which can be cool and then have a lamp with a scope to help detail either parts/kits or decals is what i plan or my desk Im also been thinking abt getting a proper sturdy desk and chair, for the desk something like an old office desk that i could do up with built in shelves and for the chair ill get either an old office chair or a gaming chair

They dried out perfect and i will show my process sunday of me detailing my coaches as i will get some black and brown spraypaint Im working with one coach at a time

Who owns 015? I thought it was the ITG too?

121 class no. 124, 141 class no. 152, 181 class no. 190 and A class nos 003 and 015. All but 015 belong to the Irish Traction Group.

A few more images of the system on the IRRS archive: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53570708153/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54418647342/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54418647332/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53510358297/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511251981/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511570284/ What I had not realised until just now is that this is the same place! My own photo:

What locos are in Moyasta at present.? Passed that way couple weeks ago and could see a 121 and 141 I think, but I believe there are two others? Was driving at the time and my better half didn't appreciate me having my eyes on the trains instead of the road so I couldn't get a great look .

See also...

Tomgue in cheek there were 94 CrossLeys on CIE... The slide is in the Mason Photographic Collection in the NLI archive. The glass plates are described as follows: In Collection: Mason Photographic Collection Description: Lantern slides are organised under box numbers M1-52. M1- M10 Irish Industries; M11- M13 Ireland At Work; M14- M15 Dublin City and County; M16 Box A; M17 Box B; M18 Box 3; M19 Box D; M20 Box E; M21 Box F; M22 Box G; M23 Box H; M24 Box I; M25 Box J; M26 Dublin Scenes; M27 Christchurch; M28 The Normans (includes handlist); M29 St Patrick's; M30 St Patrick's (includes handlist); M31 St Patrick's; M32 Irish Manuscripts and Their Cases; M33 Irish Croziers and Shrines; M34- M37 Antrim; M38 Carlow/Cavan; M39- M40 Clare; M41 (Mason T.) Boyne and Tara (includes handlist); M42- M48 Irish History; M49- M50 Isle of Man; M51- M52 Foreign/ Unidentified and unnumbered. Also in his collection, this image shows a Dublin-registered canal barge laden with turf: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000519034 There is also this image of turf stacks in the Bog of Allen: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000519037 Given that part of his collection is categorised 'Irish Industries' I wouldn't completely discount the railway being in Ireland. The arrangement of the trolleypole matches that on the electric locos illustrated on the Annaghmore Turf Railway, in the little book mentioned by @Galteemore. I bought a copy last week following that recommendation! The bodywork of the loco is different, but the book says that was built locally so it may post-date the NLI photo.

Sid Stubbs wrote a particularly fascinating article in MRJ (no.42, I think) on how worm gears could be made reversible, by increasing the pitch angle and number of starts, effectively turning them into crossed helicals. Unfortunately I discovered him too late, but crossed helical gearboxes are available to this day from Slaters and other specialists. They are very efficient transmissions.

Wasn’t aware of that - I had heard of ley lines, but I thought they related specifically to ancient English history - hence my initial as l thoughts that this railway must be over there….. Mr google tells me we have “ley lines” too; but I’d still be certain that railway isn’t here.

The smokebox door hinges are on the wrong side of the door ring.... ....and the outside motion looks pretty half-hearted as well.

Delving a little deeper on Google reveals that Cross Ley is probably not a geographical location. Ley lines are a concept connecting ancient burial mounds. There is a Ley line in Ireland connecting such sites running from Sligo to Dublin.

Continuing the theme of lesser-known locos at Fenit, here is 'Erin', early in life when it worked at Waterford. A photo in the NLI archive. https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000036650 It is recorded that 'Erin', later GSR 300, worked at Fenit in the late 1920s, but was then scrapped in 1930. Sister 'Shamrock' GSR 299 lasted much longer. I also found a photo of GSR 100 at Fenit in Martin Bairstow's book 'Railways in Ireland Part 4: GS&WR' page 89. Plenty of choice then if I fancy an 0-6-0 tank engine!

In the NLI archive, alloy-skinned containers being built at Inchicore in 1959: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000304518 These are a very distinctive shape and I've never seen them on a railway wagon. Perhaps normally used by the road transport division? This one on the other hand is a more traditional shape and material, and nicely painted in CIE 2-tone green livery and on a flat wagon at Drogheda: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000305422 Could that be Shipping London chalked on the side? Also of note is that it's on a flat wagon (rather than the more usual open wagon), indeed LB flat wagon number 23415 of the type produced by IRM. So you CAN prototypically put a container on an LB flat!

Here's another green H van, even in shades of grey, in the NLI photo archive in 1961: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000305518 By enhancing the image I'm fairly confident that the number is 18776, which is within the expected number series. As with other green vans, it has a black underframe and ends (clearly darker than the green sides), and packing behind the buffers.

I'll now look at the MGWR vans to the IRCH wood-framed design. Some, perhaps all, of these were built as 'convertible', i.e. the centre part of the roof above the doors was missing, and designed to be covered by a tarpaulin. They had special roping eyes on the side uprights so that the tarpaulin could be held taut. Some may have been modified with normal roofs later. Here are the few photos I've found: 3318M at Kenmare in 1958, from 'Irish Railways in Colour: a second glance' (Ferris): Ferbane in 1958, wagon number not legible, from 'Lost Lines Ireland' (Welbourn): From the NLI archive, here's 3286M at Liffey Junction in 1939, a useful view of the roof. This is part of a much larger image that will interest wagon nerds: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000303458 Another NLI Archive image, this time dated 1950 at Tuam, shows antother convertible with a conventional roofed van behind. Neither number is visible. https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000303499 Here's a very nice NLI view of two ex-MGWR 'convertibles' at Ferbane (again) in 1959 - numbers 3261M and perhaps 3262M. The latter has been re-clad in sheet material replacing or overlaying the planks. A GSWR 'Big Boy' is visible beyond. https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000304064 Some of these MGWR vans survived into the 1970s, and there's an excellent IRRS photo of 3259M at Limerick in 1970, newly overhauled and repainted in red-brown livery with roundel: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511621949 This number falls within the series of MGWR 'convertibles' but 3259M has a normal full roof and I'd guess that it was modified at some stage in its life, losing the roof hatch. The identifiable numbers of the MGWR IRCH vans are as follows, and these suggest they were numbered in a block of at least 60 vehicles: 3259M, 3261M, 3262M, 3286M, 3318M I have a couple of books on the MGWR but they don't give specific details of these vans. The MGWR wagon statistics quoted in Ernie Shepherd's book have some odd gaps in the table for covered vans in the 1920s. One of these would provide an interesting variation in a train of newer CIE vans.

Thanks have found evidence of private openings until 2023

I’d say so, yes.

I have asked the question on the Industrial Railway Society egroup. Someone there will know for sure.

Must check out my Walter McGrath book…the only electric peat line I know of was Annaghmore.

I would be pretty certain it isn't here, to be honest. There would be bound to be at least SOME sort of reference to it somewhere. Has to be Britain. Mr. Google is silent on this location.

I did wonder where it was, and failed to find any references online other than coming back to this photo. The NLI photo archive does include some photos from abroad (including a few Swiss trains, for example) so it might not be Ireland.

"Cross Ley"? Actually sounds English. Anyone know where this is / was?