Irishswissernie

More of Limerick Junction 9 May 2000, 20 years ago - it only seems like 5 years but apparently this is a symptom of old age! 164 arrives and departs again on the shuttle and 226 on the Cork - Platin Bulk cement mts drops off a wagon into the up sidings for servicing at Limerick works. This was a regular routine and I videoed it a few times over the years. A 141 would trip the bulks to and from the works. Again double click and then click to get the whole 4:3 images.

The next part from 9 May 2000 now uploaded to flickr. This depicts the shuttle arriving at the Junction and 164 running round. 160 on the 'bubbles' then appears from Waterford and continues across the main line and on to Limerick City. Finally the weed spray gang take advantage of the dearth of trains in the bay etc to spray the tracks either by hand or using a tractor. 2-6-0 461 dead in the down sidings had failed on its way to Cork (I think) AS USUAL sods law has given this video a black thumbnail so please just double click and then click the icon

I have a couple of views of J5's at Mullingar 5th June 1956 First 643 which was shedded there in 1938 as well, and 627 with a different larger tender.

Now that I have converted all my Irish video to MP4 I can now go through it systematically and upload some more extracts starting in May 2001. This one is from 9 May returning to Limerick City from Ballybrophy behind 164 and then leaving on the shuttle for Limerick Junction. As usual with it being 4:3 aspect please double click on the video to see it correctly or you wont see the bottom third.

The County Down's 4 Baltic tanks seemed to stick in enthusiasts memories more than the 15 Atlantic tanks probably because they were so massive compared to the rest of the railways locomotives and possibly also in the Loco crews memories but for different reasons!

For the last fortnight I have been busy converting my 35 hours of 2000-2006 Irish video from Hi8/Digital 8 to MP4 and have also converted some of the UK material from 2001 around Haltwhistle & Carlisle. The better parts of the Irish stuff are already on Flickr and I will upload more exerpts . Today I have added a couple of videos covering mainly Carlisle from 2001. The Thornaby Crane appears and there are plenty of 37's 56's and 92's plus an 08 with a long train of repaired wagons from the now closed Currock wagon works. Royal Mail piggy back trailers plus the ex Cawood 4w flats on Gypsum. https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/49862016188/in/dateposted-public/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/49862335776/in/dateposted-public/ This one of Belcoo & Black Lion, 1953 added yesterday

Probably another Swiss idea. All the SBB Swiss electric locomotives and railcars built prior to the Class 450 and 460 in the late 1990's had whistles rather than horns. I last visited the Gottard in 2016 just prior to the opening of the Alptransit Base tunnel and the Class Re 4/4'' and Re 6/6'' were sounding the whistles in salute at the numerous photographers on the North ramp around Wassen.

Many thanks for your kind comments. This topic got me thinking about the train services into Sligo on each of the 3 routes . I have a couple of CIE working timetables 1948 and 1957 which also include the SLNCR trains between Sligo and Ballysodare. The service in 31 May 1948 was much worse than in 1957 on the main route only 2 passenger and 1 goods made it to Sligo although there was a short return working to Boyle and also a return working to Dromod listed as a coal train (traffic off the C&L) The Limerick line had a Mail/Goods working to Sligo (arrive 11am) plus a passenger Limerick depart 12,30pm Sligo arrive 7.30pm 7 hours for 145 miles! From Sligo to Limerick the sole passenger service left at 7.30am arrive Limerick2.25pm (5 minutes quicker) then a goods at 8.15 am and that was it. SLNCR only had 2 return railcars (3 in 1957) plus the 2 goods or mixed. I have copied the 1957 Mullingar workings and added the Limerick line services to it next to the SLNC times.

North Wall happier times June 2001, I think it was dead and awaiting burial the following year. As usual double click on it to see the full images. They used to assemble the various 'liners' here under the container travelling crane, I think this one was for Belfast or possibly Dundalk

I thought about basing Glengarriff on Sligo but only modelling the 'country' end of the platforms with the roof end forming the scenic break. The line to Sligo quay could continue round the back and make the continous run back to the fiddle yard. As the Sligo trains have to reverse out to run round (this also happened at Galway) this also would concentrate the action round the Signal Box / shed area and the goods line back to the fiddle yard would greatly enhance the capacity for a good variety of goods trains. Of course if you are restricted as to space the Glengarriff "roundy roundy" scenario wouldn't be an option. Several of Sligo on my Flickr if you 'search photos' on it. This a JG Dewing negative from 12 May 1956

Going through the files, some more video from the last century of the Sligo & Donegal Junction has unfortunately been retrieved. are from the early phase with a lot of the track not even laid and revealing the mixture of track types. All of the 00 streamline sleepers would be buried in the ballast. DOUBLE CLICK ON THE VIDEO to play it or you will only see the top half. Its 4:3 rather than 16:9

Digging deeper there is an article in New Irish Lines Nov 2016 giving more information: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fppdhvdav7vjvos/New Irish Lines Vol. 7 No. 6 - 2016 November.pdf?dl=0 Together with a 7mm scale model. Angus/Gavin please pm me if you you would like a scan. Its not a GA drawing just a general outline with proposed weighs/ measurement etc Ernie

My son Alan has emailed me a scan of a Drawing prepared By Beyer Peacock dated 24 March 1924 for a 2-6-2-2-6-2 Garratt for the SLNCR . Loco had a tractive effort of 30850 lb , total weight 112 tons and max axle load of 12 tons. The railway had made enquiries in the 1920's for new loco (s) from Beyer Peacock but had been put off by the prices and eventually settled for Second hand purchases or hire of locos from the GNRI. I think the drawing was probably a sales pitch by Beyer Peacock to promote a Garratt in response to requests from the SLNCR for quotes for less 'exotic' power. I'm not sure of the source/copyright of the drawing so won't put it on the Forum at present. LATER. Had a reply from Alan, he says it came from Dave Holman so it won't be a startling piece of news for SLNC aficiando's on IRM!

I think it was Peco flexible Hom 12mm gauge. Somewhere I have a video of another Swiss loft layout which was both standard and metre gauge with a large viaduct. If I can find it I'll put that on as well. FOUND IT. The layout didn't progress much past the testing phase as it was extremely hard to get under the baseboards to the operating well. Later in 1999 it gave way to the Sligo & Donegal Junction. The video is 4:3 but this site can't cope with that so Double CLICK on the image to play it at the correct aspect Ernie

Mrs B is going through the photo albums and came across some views of other layouts which have existed for a time up in the loft. These are of a Swiss HOm layout based on an imaginary line from St Moritz to Chiavenna in Italy using Berninabahn stock. Over the years as well as Irish , Great Western, Highland, Glasgow & South Western, North Eastern I built some 5 Swiss layouts and N HO and O scale US layouts. There were probably others best forgotten! I think my daughter Lynne probably took these ones as she helped with painting the scenery.

Checked on Amazon and they have several page illustrations of the contents. There doesn't appear to be anything of railway interest/content/history and the book appears to be illustrated with woodcuts rather than photos. Ernie

All sold unfortunately as we went on to another project which was funded by then proceeds. Two more illegal photos have come to light with Alan playing with a Kitson-Meyer he had constructed. This also has the station buildings lying in the river so must have been in the early days

My wife Annie has been going through her old photos of the grandbairns and came across these of the deceased Sligo & Donegal Junction she must have taken on a clandestine visit to the loft Crappy camera! I don't remember building a West Clare 6 wheel saloon! Probably one of my son Alan's.

I took 30+ photos of Muine Bheag / Bagenalstown in October 2000. They are in this album ont flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/albums/72157629979572526 Might be of some help or might not! Ernie

Got sidetracked today, competition on the way - not long now hopefully. While I think on something for the 1990's - 2005 for IRM to consider! We need Guinness Fork Lift Trucks with the keg cage attachment and Guinness lorries for deliveries. Cement lorries etc

No I don't think so . On page 79 Bunch states the 11 coaches are at the platform , he doesn't say at the platforms , further the photos show coaches only at one platform face. I have also measured the part of the station on the map which conveniently has the scale reproduced just underneath it. This part alone works out at over 300 feet or 100yards + Ernie

Michael Bunch , Donegal Railway Diary Vol 1 Page 79. (This is well worth buying) Thursday 30 June 1955. A last school excursion was arranged totalling 14 coaches .There is a photo and a list of 11 coaches at the platform comprising numbers 53,17,12,14,38,40,13,32,16,15 & 28 These just fit the platform so if you can check out the coach sizes this will give you the platform length approximately. The other 3 coaches were the ex NCC Boat train ones and they were not allowed into the platform anyway as their lower doors fouled the higher platform height. Their passengers must have been unloaded onto the track.. This was some time after the official closure of the line 6 months previously. As to maps , Alan Godfrey Maps have published re-prints of parts of Northern Ireland and actually do one for Derry ca 1905. https://www.alangodfreymaps.co.uk/ld1410.htm Its the 25inch map reduced to approx 16 inches to the mile. Unfortunately only part of Victoria Road station is shown, most of the ex GNR Foyle Road station but not the loco shed. All of the NCC terminus is on the map. A fair amount of the lines along the quays are depicted but the Swilly's terminus at Graving Dock which was a long way from the City Centre is missing altogether. Ernie

Today I decided to run the layout, I think over the last 12 months I have only run one train so whilst waiting for the glue to set on the latest tree-bashing I gave the fertilisers a run and one train led to another. Here is a short video Glengarriff_train_tests_15april2020.mp4

Found a short video I took in 2014 at the Isle of Man Railway workshops in Douglas of the ex CDRJC railcars 19 & 20. Their re-building has been stalled for a number of years now. They were still in working order when I photographed them in 1995 2014_ex_Donegal_Railcars_19_&_20_Douglas_Isle_of_Man.mp4

Wey lads ar divvent knaa wot yees lot are tarkin aboot. Back een the ald daze in geordieland we dident givva bugga aboot latin n greek we wuz too bizee inventin things called railways.