Ironroad

I know little of the subject of UK vehicle registrations and photo is not quite sharpe enough to be sure, but the last letter of the registration (year suffix) of the Cortina looks like an "N". That being the case I think that car was registered between Aug 1 '74 and July 31 '75. So yes, photo probably dates from late '70s.

Excellent execution of an air of age and neglect with so many small details, simply fabulous

Some research needed but they probably used the Royal Yacht to get around in 1911 as Edward V11 did in 1903. The political climate of the time may have had a bearing. So far as I'm aware the earliest travel by a British royal on Irish rails was by Prince Albert and Princess Alexandra in 1885 from Dublin to Cork, they were not well received. And the earliest i know of by a reigning monarch was again by Albert as Edward V11 and Alexandra in the course of a private visit in 1904. They arrived in Dun Laoghaire on April 26 and travelled by train to Naas for the Punchestown races. From there they travelled to Kilkenny again by train and stayed at Kilkenny Castle for two nights. They then travelled on to Waterford again by train and left by sea on May 4th.

Didn't pay VRT, report to Customs

I think 95% is bit of an exaggeration, one third of the population lives in the greater Dublin area. The proposed interchange in Glasnevin alone will link Kildare, Maynooth, Swords, the Airport, the Docklands, the south side of the city and the Dart system (both Connolly and Tara St.) Although I have never understood why a quick and easy link to the city from the airport via the northern line at Clongriffin could not have been provided long since. Perhaps the fact this may have necessitated adding a third running line from at least Clongriffin to the city was a factor mitigating against this but I believe this will ultimately have to be done anyway given the congestion that exists on this section of rail line. As for who pays, well the same can be said of motorways and national road routes (anywhere in the world) which are funded centrally. They would not be built if local populations were expected to pay for them. But I do have a problem with the fact that the trucking industry is not expected to pay proportionately for roads. The fact that they enjoy this invisible subsidy is always overlooked when the finances and viability of railways are under scrutiny. As regards the Dublin Metro, central funding does make sense in the interests reducing car dependency in a congested area with the environmental benefits this brings and reducing pressure to expand road capacity. It is also impossible to consider some sort of local taxation to contribute to this funding or even for local initiatives to be considered or commissioned, when the local authorities have been stripped of their powers progressively since the inception of the state to the point that the Dail has become a glorified county council. A re-organisation is in order including elected Mayors in the major cities.

Likewise, or does anyone know of a source?

Regardless as to the origins of this livery and whether it achieved the desired striking corporate image, it was perhaps an unfortunate choice of colours given their historical association. As a kid I remember some disquiet on the part of a family member but don't know how it was received generally. If it was influenced by a cat there was precedence.

Thank you folks, from this I found Leslie's email address on this site and have written to him. Again thank you

Is this still the correct web address for Provincial Wagons? If so there seems to be a problem.

And as they say Rome wasn't built in a day. As I recall Murphy Models only produced the EGVs and Restaurant cars subsequent to the successful release of the coaches they were complementary to. I think the same logic can apply to the AEC railcars. There are all sorts of options that could be taken with an initial release that could be expanded on over time. It may be that the Cravens were slow to shift but that may have been related to the quantities produced and the market size at that time. Those were still pioneering days and the market has probably increased since then. It is worth noting that Murphy Models suggested a rerun depending on demand. So Paddy does not seem deterred.

I think they are viable. Anyone interested will likely want more than one train and in the various liveries (GNR blue & cream, CIE green as well as black & tan. They were ubiquitous for a long period on the network and ran in consists I believe of two up to eight. with all sorts of intermediate coaches including Park Royals and Laminates and were ultimately converted to run push pull with C class locos which are a natural complement to them. Assuming the availability of a C Class I'd even buy them in their final state on Dublin Suburban services with the blanked out cab windows. I think there is a lot of mileage to be had over time from the tooling (more than a loco) and they broaden the market for earlier coaches for which there is probably a solid demand following the release of the A class. Ideal for offering as a four car trainset !!!!

That sheds a more positive light on matters and is encouraging. Yes a C class is an obvious choice and they together with the AEC railcars that would open up lots of possibilities.

I see it as lobbying and I don't see any harm in keeping hopes alive. Most certainly some of our wishes are probably unrealistic commercially but we have not seen outright dismissal of the suggestions being made and it would be a shame if the goose that laid the golden egg was forgotten entirely as I sometimes fear is the way things are going. I think these are the figures posted by Stephen on RM Web quote; "Generally if we can make 20-30k of it, if its a wagon, 15-20k of it if its a coach and at least 5-8k of it if its a loco, it's 'viable' in our eyes. " The problem is that if John is right in his assessment above that the market is as small as 1,000 active modellers/collectors, that number is not necessarily representative of the interest that may exist for particular offerings because it is diluted by bias for particular periods. So I think the best we can hope for is items that spanned long periods of time that will sell in multiples. A possibility here is the AEC DMUs that ran in various liveries from 1951 to the early '80's. Running contrary to all of this was the production of the ballast plough. The probability is that few of us purchased more than a pair and they did take a while to sell out and that maybe a reason for hesitancy to go with such a unique item again. But given the fact that they are essential to completing a ballast train, did they contribute to sales of the ballast wagon? So I don't think items that may have low volume demand can be entirely ruled out. It is noteworthy that Paddy Murphy seems to have had success in selling purely complementary items such as EGVs and Restaurant cars. So is the glass half full or half empty???

They are much simpler or perhaps should I say more sophisticated than that. They uncouple magnetically, via a magnet under the track bed. Reversing the stock over this magnet opens the couplings, you can then change the direction of the loco and leave the stock behind. I think Noel has posted extensively on this subject and has included a video.

Even a kid knows what a CHU CHU is

Yes, nostalgia is probably a big part of this, but steam made the railways possible and steam engines are the epitome of them. Diesels for all their practicality are pretenders.

That about sums it up. The GMs except for the 201 have more interesting profiles than probably any other diesel prototype in Ireland or the UK. but that doesn't justify describing those less interesting profiles (long or short) as bricks or briquettes. They are what ran or still run on the railways we aspire to model and so we need to accept them otherwise what's the point. They are what they are.

For those that say this I would ask, "As compared with what?", besides no diesel has the character of a steam loco.

Never saw that before, very dark. Opening scene is definitely Rathdrum. For a well made piece there is a bit of sloppiness at the end, in that, the train arriving at the station is not the one that departs in the final scene as she walks along the platform.

This is insulting rather than funny. You have been relentless in knocking this model and won't say what you see as wrong with it despite being asked many times to do so.

On no please don't even suggest that, if they are not part of the official production runs they represent theft from those that took the risk of commissioning them.

When I see these, I'm suspicious of their provenance.

Ford was the top selling car maker in Ireland in the '50s. Not sure how many Ford 8s were on the road but the late '40s model Prefect (similar profile) was common as was the newer model of of the Prefect that was introduced about '53 (more boxy) , I have a vivid memory of seeing one in a spin and overturning onto its roof on the bridge over the Tolka in Drumcondra. Have a look at this https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2056353489/road-vehicles-in-ireland-in-1950s#:~:text=Anyway OP%2C the 50's would,popular among the working class. One of the postings states the following;- New Car registrations for January 1959 Total 2,680 Top 10 1. Ford 852 (696 Anglia/Prefects, 132 Consuls, 24 Zodiacs) 2. Morris 458 (395 Minors, 2 Cowleys, 61 Oxfords) 3. Austin 411 (314 A35/A40s 6 A45s, 80 A55s) 4. VW 273 5. Hillman 118 6. Standard/TR 100 7. Renault 98 8. Fiat 94 9. Vauxhall 50 10. Simca 40

Didn't realise there were two other doors that are so close in that landing, but a pocket door might still be possible within 10cm, if that's the depth you have without interfering with the trim around those doors on either side. EG https://www.homedepot.com/p/Masonite-32-in-x-80-in-Unfinished-Pocket-Interior-Door-Frame-59824/202082314?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=Shopping-VF-F_D30-G-D30-030_025_INT_DOORS-NA-NA-Feed-PLA_LIA-2144823-WF-AllInteriorDoors+PL3&cm_mmc=Shopping-VF-F_D30-G-D30-030_025_INT_DOORS-NA-NA-Feed-PLA_LIA-2144823-WF-AllInteriorDoors+PL3-71700000033101425-58700003868916472-92700031718764240&gclid=CjwKCAiAxJSPBhAoEiwAeO_fP3q6EJ_QS33u8E-ZI0EQUQPPYj5BYzWH_TEX9wfX2dHXQFZvNf9xdBoC6wwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds I know this is from a US store but according to the specs the pocket is 3" deep and covering it with 1/2' plasterboard is still just under 10cm total. Might be worth checking locally for what's available. Another solution to consider is a "Barn Door"