Ironroad

I will be the first to acknowledge that reserving a spot in the warehouse for orders that are being consolidated and pending delivery is an inconvenience that needs to be managed and controlled but the opposite side of the coin is that it's about customer service and potentially beneficial to sales. Additionally as DJ suggests the volumes involved are likely to be low if it is a service only for those outside the EU and UK who do not enjoy free shipping. I'd be quite happy with an arrangement that required upfront full payment on items being held and a time limit of say six months for dispatch.

Seriously though, for those of us outside the EU and UK, some form of consolidation would be helpful a la Hattons' trunk concept. I have four separate small orders for Bullied wagons, with total shipping costs of $112, and would be happy to wait a bit longer and even buy more of them in exchange for consolidation of the orders and consequent reduction of the shipping costs.

Be glad to see that gone, hopefully the new facilities will have more architectural merit

Excellent question, the cost of shipping mounts up considerably on multiple orders

Ballyfermot by reason of population

I think this would have been a non runner considering this was in the middle of the 1930's Anglo-Irish Economic War.

Conditions are also quite different since the age of steam when embankment fires were quite common. Those fires served to curtail line side vegetation and accordingly did not present a serious concern. But since then that vegetation has become quite dense in places with lots of accumulated deadwood so not an ideal environment for running steam locos. No doubt this will be an issue in the choice of routes going forward.

Builders sand usually has a high moisture content, so he's drying rather than cooking it. If going down this route I would suggest using washed sand as is used in kids' sand boxes. A 15 kg bag is probably the smallest quantity you can buy but it is a very cheap. eg https://www.landscapedepot.ie/product/glenview-playsand-15kg/

The cost of "attic stock" as you call it is something that should and is normally factored into the full cost of production and as such that cost is recouped in the selling price of the delivered order. In effect any money recovered subsequently from such stock is 100% profit.

Well maybe not in case of Rita or rather Meta Davies the maid who issued a ticket to Paul McCartney. Privatisation adds another layer of strangeness to all of this. I would have thought that that would result in a more rigorous approach to revenue generating enforcement. That is certainly the case with car clamping in Dublin.

so Rita has been made redundant

Sounds "Irish" but for once it isn't, very strange

Didn't you call "Lovely Rita Meter Maid" no respect there for double yellow lines or parking on pavements

There will always be people like that who can also shirk responsibility because the local authority model in Ireland is flawed not least because of how they are funded. Here's food for thought, If you will please read this lengthy Wikipedia article on the subject of the metro system in Atlanta. What is remarkable is that that this system was built without any state assistance by local authorities in a society where the private car is king. Note also the input of the constituents of those local authorities. The result is a pretty good metro rail system that could be better if the constituents of an adjoining county had not opted out in a referendum. Note the speed at which they had something operational. Note the flat fare concept. Note the free daily parking at stations and note that while not mentioned it is a lot cheaper to park longer term at the stations than it is at the airport. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Atlanta_Rapid_Transit_Authority

Since you mention them I have to take my hat off to the Italians, their road and rail infrastructure is incredible and created despite some very difficult terrain, historical cities and sites*. And achieved despite being the county with the most unstable government in Europe since WW2. We have something to learn from them. * This reminds me that the ability to build underground without the need for disruption and destruction on the surface is at odds with the approach being taken in the case of metro north. But that is a whole other rant.

The problem is that if you present a scheme on that scale to the politicians in Dail Eireann, they will run to the hills at the thought of the expenditure, the certainty it will not happen in the term of their tenure and the fact, for the majority of them, it may not be relevant to their constituents. Taking credit is very important to our decision makers and that means they think only in the short to medium term, very few get credit for being visionaries. We need to learn from history. The railways were originally built in incremental stages and I think the way forward is to present proposals as a series of projects each of which can be delivered at a cost that is digestible in a relatively short time and provides fairly immediate tangible benefits for a specific segment of the population or a particular locality (all politics is local). All of course with the ultimate goal of an efficient integrated network of services. We have the problem that unlike many other parts of the world, our local authorities have little or no power or say when it comes to transportation. Empowering the local authorities in the greater Dublin area could be a game changer. I seem to remember someone advocating a Luas for Kerry, we need to get past that. .

He's losing out because what is happening is theft of his intellectual property. It negates the demand for reruns and threatens the viability of his business. There is no way that a factory is entitled to do as it likes with excess production of items it does not own the rights to and considering his experience with the Lima 201s I'd be very surprised if Paddy did not cover that in any contract..

But when oh when will that capacity be provided and how can cause an awakening? Have you ever watched a televised Dail Committee meeting/discussion with so called experts or with those being called to account on any issue? Pathetic and uninformed nonsense is the order of the day.

You are absolutely correct as regards connections, travel can be stressful and you cannot start to relax until you are on the final leg to your destination something the planners don't seem to understand. As regards the origin/destination of those coming in and out of Dublin airport, I don't know and an answer would be interesting. But I'd guess it may be that the number of those with origins/destinations outside Dublin may be in the order of 60%. DAP naturally attracts from everywhere on the island because on the level of air services it provides. Greater Dublin itself will account for quite a lot of traffic because of the size of the population there. But I suspect that the numbers actually interested in travelling into the city centre regardless as to origin/destination may be quite low particularly if they had options that allowed them to avoid that. I don't think providing a heavy rail link to the airport diminishes the need or appetite for metro north, the primary purpose of which is to serve Swords and Ballymun etc,. According to the last census Swords is the 8th largest urban centre in the country with a population of 41,000 and that is not the entire catchment area. Projections are that it will grow to 100.000. Serving the airport is purely a bonus (good luck getting on the train there) and was clearly not the focus in planning the metro given it has no direct connectivity to a hub such as Connolly etc. And yes an equivalent line on the south side would be a good idea. It should already be part of the agenda and should fit in seamlessly but !!!!!

And she probably would not have even noticed.

That foundation analogy misses the point. As it stands the branch won't be built because the additional running lines don't exist and we won't add the running lines because the branch doesn't exist. So we "make do" as we are (and have been). That is a circle of negativity, that has existed for a very long time. I don't pretend that a standalone branch that relies on the current level of services on the main line would be ideal. It would however be a pragmatic incremental step that could deliver a service in a reasonable timeframe and provide the impetus to improving the main line and the services on that line. The news hounds will find something to bark about no matter what and heavens forbid they might have something constructive to say, isn't that part of the problem?

I don't know who suggested a single line, it would need to be a double tracked line. And yes ultimately adding at least a third running line from Clongriffin to Connolly is a necessity. But the problem is that making the provision of that additional running line into the city a prerequisite to the building of a branch line to the airport is a reason in itself for not adding the running lines. So nothing gets done. We are always in this circle of negativity of reasons not to do something. My suggestion was that trains on the branch would initially simply shuttle back and forth between the airport and Clongriffin with interconnectivity to all trains passing through Clongriffin. Not ideal but a whole lot more than we have right now which is no service at all. As for connecting Connolly and Busaras. They have coexisted for sixty years and it is inexcusable that the provision of a simple overpass to allow travellers to transfer from one terminal to the other (out of the weather without the risks of crossing one of the busiest streets in the city trying to lug suitcases) has not been provided in all that time. Consider this simple journey, I want to get from Drumcondra to Busaras to catch a provincial bus. I can take a bus into O'Connell St and then lug my bags down Talbot St or Abbey St etc. to Busaras. But wouldn't it be more pleasant and convenient to take a train into Connolly and cross directly into Busaras on a walkway. Making things convenient should be a priority.

I agree with the sentiment that we are playing catchup after years of of neglecting to invest. But the choice of projects, the logic employed, the order in which they are executed, the extremely slow pace of it all, and the overcomplication and extravagance that is manifest is extremely frustrating to witness and does nothing to satisfy very immediate needs. We live in the here and now. The logic of looking for low hanging fruit and the completion of relatively cheap projects (even if piecemeal and imperfect) on an ongoing basis would give us ongoing improvements in acceptable timeframes and do something to satisfy the needs of the travelling public on an ongoing basis as needs arise. Instead we come up with grand plans for projects that might be completed in a 30 plus time span that not only miss the mark (eg the metro and proper connectivity with other services) but may not be relevant to actual needs and circumstances at that distant point in the future.. I accept the Metro is an exceptionally large scale and necessary project that may be close to being spade ready, but it will be a least another 10 - 12 years before it is operational and how many years have passed since it was first proposed. In the meantime serving the airport is shelved, no alternative is considered and not a thought was given to those living the vicinity of the proposed major construction sites along the route of the metro who could not sell their property if they wanted to because this is hanging over them for all those years. The concept of a spur off the northern line is a classical example of the inability to grasp the nettle. This was first proposed by CIE, fifty years ago (yes in the 1970's) and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I read the following statement in a response from the Dept of Transport, to "Louth" and posted here by him on March 29. The draft rail review currently lists the spur from Clongriffin to Dublin Airport as a long-term intervention that should be delivered between 2040 & 2050. Work on the Review is now at an advanced stage and a draft report was published for a Strategic Environmental Assessment public consultation last July. The public consultation phase of the SEA process concluded on 29 September and submissions are now under review by officials from both jurisdictions. So there is still a possibility of a branch line from Clongriffin a full century after it was first proposed. But DoctorPan you seem to be saying it won't happen because of development on the route? It seems to me that this is a corridor that lies on the approach to a runway at Dublin Airport where there are low flying planes and on which there is currently very little development. If the principal is established that a line will be built, there should be no reason not to secure the land. Another point that seems to be missed but is alluded in the Dept of Transport letter, is that such a branch line is something that has All Ireland implications and would greatly benefit travellers from Northern Ireland that need to use Dublin Airport and to some extent the cost could be shared between both jurisdictions. As for stopping the enterprise at Clongriffin. This train already makes six stops, Drogheda, Dundalk, Newry, Portadown, Lurgan, & Lisburn and accordingly seems more like a commuter than an express service between the two biggest cities on the island. I think eliminating stops that are already served by commuter trains and adding a stop that provides connectivity to the major airport on the island would be more logical. Realistically what would the cost of the spur be? land acquisition, station at the airport, modification at the existing Clongriffin station, 8 km of double track, maybe 200-300m. This is pocket change compared to the 10bn it is currently estimated the metro will cost. It is a very small project that could be done as an aside.

Probably something to do with where you were coming from

That's interesting, because the line has to swing west to get to Glasnevin and then east for the Mater & O'Connell stops. So the question is, would there be more flexibility in the siting of the O'Connell stop with keeping to the straighter more easterly route originally proposed via Drumcondra (in which a lot has already been invested) ?