Irishswissernie

Work continues on the 'dereliction-ing' of the cattle loading bank. I need to get the shrubbery and small trees planted. As regards the Sligo and Donegal Junction, the wood has been acquired and the building site cleared. The actual size of the base boards established and detailed work on the track plan underway. Here are a few views of the proposed layout with a revised scheme which uses the Glengarriff fiidle yard and with a few alterations to the off scene trackage it should be possible to run Sligo fiddle yard , - S&DJR station - hidden loops - Glengarriff - Glengarriff fiddle yard giving a running route of some 60 feet without any point changing. The actual location is envisaged as being at the crossing of the Drowes River at a place now known as Four Masters bridge south of Bundoran. In the past it appears to have been called Mullanaleek Bridge and the site of a Corn Mill and Kiln. Mullanaleek for Bundoran could well be the layouts eventual title.

I will order one through you next week plus a few wagon kits. The photos should be great but I might be a bit more cautious about any text judging by the Publishers blurb; quite a few geographical boobs. https://lightmoor.co.uk/books/irish-narrow-gauge-album/L8818

Trade Shows and Stalls were the main net income flows in the old days when attendances were much higher and stand fees etc in real terms far lower. Nowadays (Well pre Covid) I worked out with various traders that their actual profit or hourly wage worked out at about £3 per hour taking into account time taken in packing the van, driving there, setting up, possible B& B expenses then packing the van and driving back after the show plus wear and tear on the van etc. There are the hidden benefits of course , meeting people , enjoying the 'craic' OH! and away from the missus for a few days, Yeh come to think of it - definitely worth doing!

Not really a good idea anywhere especially in the current pandemic. I spent over 40 years in Banking and when I retired worked in a Model Shop for approx 7 years covering for the Owners when they were doing Shows or on Holidays. For several years I watched over some 8 accounts for various model shops none of which are trading today. The problems with an actual shop are the fixed costs, Rents, Rates, Insurance , Heating/Lighting and the running costs mainly staffing. You would need to ensure that the Shop maintained its advertised opening hours otherwise customers will soon give it a miss. This really ties up your time. A shop will also need a large varied amount of stock in order to hopefully generate enough sales and profit margin to sustain the above fixed costs and also buy the odd loaf of bread. Just to fill out your evening there will be Vat returns, Accountancy and Income Tax, National Insurance etc to sort out. Finally after you have decided to retire, if against all odds the shop is a success you will then have to find someone to buy it. I would suggest if you want to test the market then start On-line and see what interest there really is "hard cash" wise.

I attended via Zoom as well although my Webcam has gone the journey and enjoyed an excellent set of films. There were some fascinating scenes of the demolition Contractors working on the Clonmel-Thurles branch using what looked like one of the ex GNRI railcars D E F or G ( can anyone confirm ) with a makeshift wooden board Driving end. I have another Webcam on the way and look forward to the next Show

Cattle bank developments

The larger Puffers (89 ft long as opposed to the earlier 66 ft long) certainly traded to Northern Ireland and probably down the east coast to Dublin but probably not round Malin Head and down the west coast. They traded to the Western Isles in Scotland but went via the Crinan Canal to avoid the rougher seas around the Mull of Kintyre. The Langley kit is the smaller 66 ft version which were built to fit the locks of the Forth & Clyde Canal and around the Firth of Clyde If there was a chance of making a few bob on the side Para Handy and the Vital Spark would have taken it though!

My download speed is 71 MBps so uploading will be correspondingly a bit faster than yours , the last video I uploaded to Glengarriff was 322mb for 4 mins 28 secs so my file frame (or whatever you call it) size is a bit smaller. Its still only copper wire to the house though.

Does it happen every 25 years or so? here's a Graham Roose slide from 25 October 1995

I had my Flu jab this morning bright and early 8am and also as a result of a BOGOF managed to have a needle in both arms (free Pneumonia offer) So I gave up work on the cattle bank fencing and cleaned the track so I could try out one or two trains. A couple of Sligo & Donegal layout locos make their appearance, not many people remember that the S&DJR acquired several ex GNRI & SLNCR locos in the 1957 closures. From the SLNC in debt settlement and from CIE , ex GNRI locos not required on the dismemberment of the company. This was to cover the expected increase in traffic to Co Donegal via Sligo on closure of the Irish North Western etc. 2020-10-20_Glengarriff.mp4

I just upload Glengarriff video direct from the PC to IRM, its only slightly longer than uploading a photo. I combine the clips on the 'Photos' thing on Windows 10 but don't upgrade the 'export' to high. Its 4K video to start with so massive files so you need to keep the final film length to only 3 or 4 minutes

Yeh I was charged a quid, it took 10 days to arrive but I think that was because Robin Fell hadn't quite completed adding it to the Web site. There's some cracking photos in it plus fairly extensive captions. Ernie

Glengarriff is looking a bit cluttered whilst I finish off the last bits of scenic work, however I felt the need to escape to the 'man cave' or should it be eyrie as its int loft so I did a bit of videoing. Didn't bother cleaning the track and there's been a bit of movement track wise over the usual Haltwhistle summer heat wave so a bit shaky. A few more photos as well. Glengarriff_18Oct2020.mp4

19mm x 16mm single pallet or 19mm x 32mm 4 pallets

Not about my photos etc for a change! I was talking to Robin Fell of Trotskee Travel, the source of a fair number of my negative and slide acquisitions a couple of weeks ago and he asked if I bought Irish railway books. I replied that I probably already had them all but he said that they were publishing an Irish railway book by the legendary British railway photographer Dick Riley. Apparently Dick had made a weeks trip in May 1950 in the company of noted Irish railway photographers Henry Casserley, Tom Middlemass and HS Brighty. Its a Print on Demand book and a new venture by Robin under the Transport Treasury umbrella. Compiled by Michael McMahon. It arrived today and is a superb good quality hardback volume of some 80 photos . coverage is roughly Belfast (3 main termini) Greenore Dundalk Connolly, WEstland Row Bray Mullingar C&L Clones SLNCR Sligo CDRJC Strabane Stranorlar, Derry, L&LSR Waterside Colerain Ballycastle. https://totempublishing.co.uk/product/riley-in-ireland-by-michael-mcmahon/ Price £12-50 postage in the UK free. Looks like £5-99 to Eire (Europe) unfortunately

A couple more interesting station views, Athlone M&GW station 1967 and an enlargment of Ballysodare with an its sturdily built Goods shed 1969.

Today I've started on the last area to be developed, the Guinness Compound.

Markle Video, Irish Rail Archive Volume 8 , Tara to Clara covers the unloading including inside the unloading shed at Dublin Port..

I came across this one today whilst sorting out some Swiss negatives. Rather faded or possibly lighter paint on the Container end. Some 6 years after Bell Lines folded. EDIT Another one at Goschenen 26 May 1988 20 foot containers , white roofs but possibly one grey or just dirty.

About 40 negatives of station views in the 1960's landed on my door mat last week and now I have finally finished up-grading Swiss video to MP4 I have scanned the negs today although none are on flickr yet. Here are 4 which might be of some interest. I have overlaid the titles on the photos - they won't be so adulterated on Flickr.

My CBSC Album on Flickr might (or might not) provide inspiration and the web site http://map.geohive.ie/ Look in the Data catalogue top left hand corner and click on Historic Map 25 inch (1988-1903) and enlarge to the CBSC area for track plans

The Flickr 1956 Trip Album has reached Strabane today and other views added today are of Waterford: 263 under repair in 1953 and CIE 1953-08-14 Waterford 150 on 10.45am to Macmine Junc. Interesting alteration to the platform and addition of an inspection pit in the foreground.

I have the 1953 WTT and all the trains in the notes ran then but no mention of through coaches or bread containers. I had also completed a scale model ( invoking the view at 500 feet rule) in order to work out the moves but have been hindered in completing my examination of the manoeuvres by a.) one of the dogs ate the bread container model and b.) my missus suggesting that really I should perhaps go and have a lie down. I plan to continue my investigations after she has gone to work tomorrow and after locking the dogs in their cages.

I'm still trying to get a grip on the manoeuvres at Bundoran Junction. I've got some plasticine somewhere so am thinking I'm going to make little lumps marked for the different locos and stock and draw a diagram of the junction and move them according to the writers notes. I think the bread containers according to the notes came from Enniskillen and are now being added to the Enniskillen bound train which doesn't make sense unless they were picked up at Ballinamallard and it was easier to do this operationally. Or I could just take some paracetamol and have a kip!

With regard to the 1956 Trip album currently being uploaded (ont Flickr) I have scanned the photographers notes rather than laboriously typing them out and have added them up to where the uploadings at. Tomorrows are at Fintona Junction and Bundoran Junction