Irishswissernie

The scenery in the Tweed Valley near the Border with England is remarkably similar to that on the Sligo & Donegal! Some of the names are also identical.

Scenics at north end of the line at the Drowes River Bridge are now more or less finished. 127 + 192 posing for a few shots at 5 am this morning. Its getting to hot in the loft to do much for the next couple of months plus SWMBO is now on holiday for 6 weeks so not much will be happening although I am advised that a new locomotive is arriving today which will have to have its portrait taken. It is A ooops sorry a NER J27 one of my favourite locos! £94 from Oxford Rail.

Fertiliser extras ran on Four Masters today. The second train was video'd from by the river with the rumble of the waters as they flowed over the weir beneath the bridge. Actually we had a sudden heavy downpour which hammered off the loft roof as I filmed. Magic! 1949011290_2021-07-11DrowesRiverBridgeFertiliserextras.mp4

1 Brakevan purchased, looking forward to receiving it in due course.

I don't think my photo is the location, it is just another one of the general area, however I reckon the crane being used to load the bell photo is the same crane that is in the background of mine.

I have this one on my Flickr "Ernies Railway Archive" This is the north end of the long quayside shed with the curved roof. 23 August 1954

I would go for here just north of the City Goods Depots. Its another enlargment of a Britain from the Air photo

This is the site of the posed photo. The building behind the tower in the background of the posed photo still exists and if you look on Google the large building up the hill is also still there. Photo is another Britain from the Air Web site but not so good quality and rather cruel enlargment. Photo is farther down river towards the Graving Dock terminus. The building with the Tower was probably the Boating Club clubhouse, the road is called Boating Club lane and the large building is now the Magee University Music building. Godfrey Maps do a 1905 reprint of the old 25" to the Mile one which annoyingly just covers the boating club on its upper edge.

Just found this one in 'To Upload file" Shows quite well the effect of sunlight and shade on the green hue. A57 Limerick Junction 14 Sept 1960, 10.40am ex Dublin. The ' eu-de-nil' band shows as white but wasn't this a very pale yellow or did eu-de-nil mean that the paint didn't smell

XXXXXXX !!! The schools break up a week on friday so no doubt modelling will go out of the window for 6 weeks so cracking on a bit over the next few days. The Drowes River Mill received its coal via rail and rather than use the Mill siding the Mill had one of the rarer arrangements of being able to unload the coal via a shoot on the main line next to the old Warehouse. IT could then be barrowed or carted just a few yard to the Kilns and furnace. Back in the pre war days a horse drawn tramway led from the covered shed where the shoot terminated direct to the furnaces etc but due to an oversight (or perhaps because I just thought of it) I didn't cut grooves for the rails. So it closed. No 5 is returning the empty wagon to Four Masters yard

I usually paint my own backscene but keep it very simple, white matt emulsion base and whilst still wet blue and gray acrylic or poster powder paint brushed in broad wide strokes and then just suggestions of trees , hills etc ,nothing really detailed. I have in the past used printed sky papers but invariably managed to fleck them with paint which then is difficult to disguise.

It happens all the time which is why I have to put the 'COPYRIGHT ERNIE's Railway Archive' somewhere in the photograph where it can't easily be removed. It doesn't stop some PIA's from trying to obliterate the overlay though. A few years ago someone actually started selling prints of views from the Archive and I removed over 30,000 images from Flickr . I subsequently had second thoughts after messages of dismay from 'fans'. Where the images are my copyright it is still annoying, however I have permission from other Collectors , Trustees and Archives to use their material on Flickr and I do not want to upset them and have permission withdrawn should they think that I have been selling their images for my benefit. There's not much one can do about it. I just add perpetuators to an ever increasing list of those who will be first against the wall come the millennium.

I set out with all good intentions to do a bit more today, but its too hot and, as I hovered 50 feet above the babbling waters of the Drowes River drousing 192 appeared on a fertiliser extra. A dutiful son taking his 'addgagee' for a constitutional watched whilst his aged parent remembered something from his distant youth.

Propelling wagons into the Mill siding. I just missed the train arriving from Ballyshannon and managed to catch a view of the loco on the bridge as it reversed in to the siding with the 3 wagons.

Still 'vegetating' at Four Masters Bridge with a lot more detailing still in the pipeline

4 'foreigners' definitely 'OP' but then I didn't start this topic on my Archive originally back in May 2012 OK Back on Topic then. A couple of ex M&GWR Ballaghaderreen & Loughrea 1961

There are some foreign albums on Flickr including Spanish narrow gauge, Reseau Breton, Rio Grande narrow gauge, Swiss. I sold a lot of other slides a few years ago as I was running out of space but every now and then I come across boxes which I missed in the clear out. I also have kept scans of the items sold but as I no longer have the copyright they can't go on the Net etc. I will put a few of the ones still held on here.

A couple of different photos today. Orconera Iron Ore Co ,Sohlia No 1 BP 1527/1876 on 2 October 1968 (Scrapped by 1971. Orconera Iron Ore Company , Luchana Spain,16 May 1960. No 12 BP 2149/1882, scrapped after May 1970. Both the above 2 locos are to the same basic design as the original Ballymena & Larne 0-6-0t's and the 2-6-0st (The Bruiser) but metre gauge, having been built by Beyer Peacock at around about the same time. The Spanish examples were more numerous comprising 9 0-6-0ts built between 1876 and 1898, and 13 2-6-0st's built 1882 through to 1903 and one last example in 1920. They also outlasted the B&L locos mostly keeping going until the late 1960's. Unfortunately as the owning company AHV was a steel maker they all ended up in the furnaces.

Yes this view definitely confirms it as Tullow. The Water Tower is distinctive, the dressed corner stones are a reddish brown and the wall in between is a lighter grey rough stone filling. There are colour views of it on the Net

I'm thinking its Tullow, track fits and the white fence could be the station approach road. The trees look right. The lamp post also fits. The water tower had dressed stone corners with rough stone infill. Here is a link to a photo in the IRRS Archive ( You will need to be a member and admitted as a follower of their flickr albums to see it.) https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/50359686577/in/photolist-DVboV3-2kx9BSq-2kiuQSS-2kx98vF-2kx8xs4-2jJ37EH-2juYeQU-2ivUfVe-2jJ37E7-2jJ7yje-2jJ31uX-2kZWbv5-2kirhor-2m14HMb-2iPescj-2jqPy3s-2jqPy37/

A batch of original slides from 1967 arrived last week. They are mainly of Belfast York Road, with a few at Great Victoria Street and Dundalk. Here are a few : Skegoneill WT51 on 10 spoil wagons + brake van 27 April 1967 and at York Road June 1967. B188 + B192 at Great Victoria Street 29 April 1967

Its a few weeks since I managed to do any more work on Four Masters Bridge, but have done a bit today. The main hold up was finding a source of small fragments of stone and sand so that I could detail the river bank. Last Saturday we went to the seaside and I filled a small doggy bag on the beach but on getting it home realised that the contents were a kaleidoscope of colours with a high content of coal dust etc. Not very suitable unfortunately. I pondered over where I could find a supply of material with more appropriate colouring and it came to me this morning that approx 90 seconds walk away from where I have resided for the last 30 years is the River Tyne which possibly might have the odd pebbles and correctly coloured sand. I accordingly dragged one of the dogs out for a mid-day constitutional and on finding a suitable supply loaded a dog bag and put it in my pocket. Disaster! One of the old dears observed me doing this, and didn't notice that the contents hadn't just seen the light of day from the dogs rear. My behaviour has no doubt been broadcast through the local Granny Mafia Media and I shall no doubt be getting a few peculiar looks over the next few days! Here are a couple of views - appears to look (and smell) OK

I have one negative of No 7 , 20 April 1948. Henry Casserley and one of No 8 same date Note the differing roof racks

I would like a grey with snail.

Bit cheaper. https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30923427131&cm_sp=Searchmod-_-NullResults-_-BDP