Galteemore

Thanks Ernie. Pic 2 looks v similar to a colour one on the cover of one of the Ferris books.

And in the meantime we could all take a leaf out of WCR’s book as below in terms of recycling Hornby stuff etc. Don’t be afraid of kit bashing or scratch building. It is nowhere near as difficult as it looks. If you can use a knife and fork you already have the skills! It also gives you a much deeper awareness of how the prototype was built and functioned.

Isn’t this what proper Dublin suburban looks like? And closer to Methuselah’s time, too….in all seriousness, I’d love to see a retro livery on these things. As a kid, the old CIE livery had a pleasing resemblance to a liquorice allsort….would love to see it again.

That’s really nice. Thanks for posting. Really good CIE atmosphere

Interesting article here…https://m.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/freight-is-on-right-track-40488826.html, particularly in its account of what IE freight was like in the past.

There’s no escaping Ulster Tayto. As for Club, I understand it’s all made in Dublin.

Yes, Ernie, only suitable for the unsophisticated NE of England Great vid of Beamish. That’s precisely the sort of thing Frank Atkinson was trying to preserve and keep alive. You’d only see such things in Ireland at places like Lyle Hill or Carnlough.

One for @Irishswissernie!!

Thankfully essential supplies are getting through to the big island as I discovered this am …

One positive to emerge from all this is that Tesco have just announced an expansion of rail use. Much of their import traffic from Spain will now be by rail. Having had a few commutes into London last week via WCML, it’s encouraging to see how busy the container freight sector still is here.

And one can only imagine what happened the night that an SLNC wagon fell apart in the yard at EKN…interestingly, cattle traffic had priority over all else on the SLNC. Woe betide the driver whose tardy station work caused a delay to the ‘shipper’…. On one unfortunate day in 1956, Lough Melvin blew a cylinder cover on the climb out of Glenfarne with the afternoon goods ex EKN, and had to limp back downhill. The driver of the 7:20 later that evening was not amused to discover that he had to shunt the wagon loads off this train as well as his own. The crowd of cattle dealers travelling in coach 9 were even less impressed by the lengthy shunt at Manorhamilton that ensued !

Unless it’s pre 1892 in which case it might be 1 foot 9 inches too wide !

Thanks Ernie - nice view of 850. As for pic 2, we have finally found the prototype for those odd looking and misproportioned locos that appear on birthday cards, pub art and generic advertising…..

GN, Noel

Nice comment on the Donegal, Mayner! Here’s a similar effort on the SLNC. It’s the 1115 ex Sligo which was technically goods only but seems to have had enthusiast passengers in the final years. You can see some poking their heads out here In Dromahair. I think there’s also gricers in the signal cabin!

Great stuff Andreas. As we often say in modelling - wenn es richtig aussieht ist es richtig - if it looks right, it is right! Really captures look of loco.

It’s York Road, Belfast.

Yes, growing up in 70s NI when almost nothing went by rail, the sheer amount of freight still being hauled in the 60s amazes me.

Wilkommen, Andreas! Lovely models. More details on how you built them would be great - thank you for posting.

Drumkeeran Road had its show debut today. A nice local show - so local I could leave house at 9 and be home by 5. Layout has performed well with just a few glitches but nothing dramatic. Lovely to meet lots of people who took an intelligent and often informed interest in the layout. A few photos, including a rare passenger working by Blessingbourne…..

BritishRailwaysILLustrated

What he said! A joy. Looks like a new-ish cement van in the siding. Thanks Ernie

Sadly, a WT and not a Z class - Lough Erne was well out of commission by 1984.

As far as the 450s go, anything that moved was better! Here’s a fascinating photo from that 1984 era. All is not as it seems - there’s a large black tank engine at the other end banking!! Photo on RPSI website by I Smyth