Galteemore

That’s excellent work indeed. Really convincing.

Fabulous - thanks Ernie. Quite apart from entertainment and general interest, your archive is invaluable for modellers. I refer to it almost daily. Thanks for all that you do - I know that each image uploaded represents much effort on your part. It’s not taken for granted - and I know I speak for many others here in saying that.

Closest thing we had in this regard was Lord Dunleath, heir to a linen fortune, who decided he wanted to restore a main line steam engine. At his instigation, 85 was removed from Witham st museum - still in the same condition as she had been at withdrawal. Significantly funded by Dunleath, 85 was taken to Harland and Wolff for heavy work and then Whitehead. I was on the platform when 85 ran up and down on test c1984/85, with Dunleath on the footplate. Thoroughly decent man who was far from being a snooty aristocrat! He was also a keen Church of Ireland lay preacher and a huge fan of church organs and classic cars. Pic from RPSI site. Lord O’Neill, for his part, ensured that we enjoyed the experience of the Irish roadside tramway for many years in his establishment of the Shane’s Castle Railway. As a bynote, it’s worth remarking that 85,74 and 800 were all in Witham St together at this point, so in theory any could have been chosen. 85 was clearly seen as the most realistic and useful prospect. Note the ironic pic of 85 safely travelling past a scrapyard……

Try a dark wash. Then some talc. That will blend the two elements together and minimise the look of the gapping.

Simply spectacular Ken. Iconic GSR loco wonderfully captured.

When suits you to start the heresy trial Leslie? Never did I think such words would fall from your keyboard. I’d have been thrown out of the house had I said such things at home! Was bad enough when I showed an interest in the NCC….i always thought of the GN as blue and brown but never grey Immortalised here by Tony Ragg and the late Harry Mulholland…

Fabulous views of the INW Ernie - thanks. Although those scenes of baby GMs also seem a lifetime ago now!

In the 1980s it was briefly considered sending 171 for a visit. She was quite troublesome at that time and I well recall the RPSI’s loco engineer being fairly philosophical about the risks of losing her at sea….he opined that as long as the wheels were rescued, everything else was fit for Davy Jones locker….

https://www.flickr.com/photos/36034969@N08/5634800408

Certainly happened at the Glenfarne timber railway in N Leitrim c1919. 2’ gauge including an ex WD HC well tank once used to construct Tallaght aerodrome outside Dublin. Picture credit….http://www.leedsengine.info/leeds/histhc.asp.

Very atmospheric. Hope the kettle’s on in the back office - looks a nice refuge on a winter’s night!

Great stuff. Loco shed has shades of Thurles…

Beautiful Leslie. LNWR and SECR late 19th century liveries are hard to beat!

Given that the RPSI’s initial aim (even before preserving an S class which was the main objective c1964) was simply to preserve a GNR railbus, they have actually been fairly open to the internal combustion engine….the RPSI’s perennial problem is balancing the costs of a hugely expensive motive power fleet with running enough fare paying and revenue generating efforts to cover it. The enthusiasts have always been subsidised by the general public stumping up cash. Having spent much of my childhood in muddy traction engine rally fields flogging RPSI merchandise I know how hard that exercise is. Had the purist hard core of Derry Road nostalgics really won over the levers of power in the early 70s, the organisation would have ceased to exist c1980…….any comments @jhb171achill or @leslie10646? As far as I know, the RPSI is generating very little revenue in NI right now and is largely held above the waterline by packed Dublin family trains, not all of which are steam.

Although I thought poetry was more in metres…..I’ll get my coat

Got to be narrow gauge. Cue lots of discussion as to whether it’s a small railway or a far away one.

Fabulous work Patrick. Pure GNRI in all its faded glory. To quote Thomas Moore…. Let Fate do her worst, there are relics of joy, Bright dreams of the past, which she cannot destroy; Which come in the night-time of sorrow and care, And bring back the features that joy used to wear. Long, long be my heart with such memories fill'd! Like the vase, in which roses have once been distill'd -- You may break, you may shatter the vase, if you will, But the scent of the roses will hang round it still.

Coming on really well - great work!

Yep. Look at their loco crew….

Try Des Coakham’s NG rolling stock book too, plus David Lloyd’s. Worsley do the WCR Drewry car - I built it in 3mm scale when I briefly fell off the 7mm wagon a few years ago…..

Is it an island or a peninsula? If west Clare then an extension of the existing 3’ gauge system is highly possible. If 5’3 I’d suggest GSWR or WLWR as the most likely candidates.

I suspect it’s a riff off this….https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_is_a_green_hill_far_away

Yes it’s great stuff when used well.

Lovely stuff. Thanks Ernie. Ballyhaise looks very smart.

Even when the Bishop clarified ‘stations of the cross’ it didn’t help much. Off he went to Sixmilecross, Carrickmacross, Crossdoney, Crossgar…..