leslie10646

Today was a trip to Lugano todo two new tunnels. Guess what? My train didn’t come and I hastily replanned to get there by the Centovalli Line. that’s a remarkable run, although one wonders how it came to be built. A day of quick connections, so few photos. There are still some 1970s electrics around Spiez - And Lugano has a streamlined, air conditioned Funicular - After a late lunch in Lugano overlooking Lago Maggiore, it was 189kph through the new Gotthard Base Tunnel and back to Spiez. A relief to get away from the stifling heat at Lugano.

Well done Jim, sorting out Beaumont’s linguistic failings! JB, while I doubt if too many Barnesmore residents speak Swiss German, French or Italian, they might have a dig at official Swiss language No. 4 Romansch - if you studied Latin at school, you’d have a go. certainly the parish priests could have a go at it. My suggested Strabane - Letterkenny tunnel wouldn’t take the Swiss long, having come through the 57kms of the new Gotthard Base tunnel today (20 minutes, top speed 189kph).

Get the Swiss in, they’d build a Strabane - Letterkenny line as an underground Neubaustrecke and Bob’s uncle! Strabane to Letterkenny in 15 minutes …… Switzerland has railways everywhere, hourly, connecting services - all serving a population just twice that of Ireland (and a lot of tourists). What price catenary over Barnesmore?

Wednesday! Must have STEAM. To Interlaken to join the Lotschberg a 1914-built paddle steamer, renovated in 2000. This has impressive pistons, valve gear etc and a perfume (mainly hot oil) all of its own. E3004A47-3B45-4C97-B174-1CE1F4002ADF.MOV To Brienz, then Zentralbahn to Lucerne. Quick visit to Jesuit church (yes, you read that right!) an understated beautiful Baroque church. Candle lit, back to station to join train over old Gotthard route to Goschenen, up the Schollern Gorge on the little rack railway to Andermatt and finally along the Glacier Express route to Brig. The fast train through the Lotschberg Base Tunnel was cancelled, so had to use the local over the old route via Kandersteg and the original Lotschberg tunnel. We’d missed our bus, so train-spotted more freight in half an hour than runs in Ireland in a week. as PEPYS USED TO SAY - “and so to bed”………

I started to run the video on my iPad and had to stop when I got complaints about the noise interrupting Swiss Air Defences! Sounds great will order one for A30. well done

Oh to live to be a hundred - I need steam over some of the proposed reopenings. INCLUDING Strabane to Derry - I chickened out of a run there in December 1964 - I did the rest of the line with S Class, moguls and tank engines. It should never have closed.

A day off from Interrailing today to go into the Bernese Oberland for my favourite walk. Metre gauge rack and adhesion line to Lauterbrunnen where you change onto this cable car (takes 100 people). Goods and luggage are carried underneath as you can see. The return trip had bales of laundry from the Murren hotels. A little train takes you along to Murren then after coffee you WALK back. Thunder and lightening interrupted our walk but the sun did pop out to allow me to photograph the little train in front of one of God’s Masterpieces - Eiger, Monch and the Jungfrau in a line. I should mention that this view accompanies you along the whole 90 minute walk. I should mention that I’ve typed this lot on the balcony with another electric storm in background.

Monday was Montreux on the “Golden Pass” line.I’m staying near Spiez on Lake Thunder, so first I rode to Zweisimmen on a Bern Lotschberg Simplon electric unit and then I chose their lovely Belle Époque train: Haulage was different! I did a circuit via Lausanne where a new Metro saves your legs down to Lake Geneva. Then after nosh via Neuchatel ( I’d never been along its Lake) after another change, Bern and on to Spiez.

In Switzerland Interrailing. There is some steam if you know where to look! This little loco was running trains between Bauma and Hinwil last Sunday Not the most comfortable seating - But they know how to deal with kids!!

A Masterpiece, Alan. Congratulations.

Ah, a new form of "Whispering Death" which is what PW men called the (lovely) Wessex Electrics (Class 441) on the LSWR - you see the motors were in the middle car (of five) only - so if they were coming towards you (at 100mph) you heard nothing, until you heard the words from St Peter "Name please?" .......

This is British India Line, 35018 departing Brookwood (where I alighted this evening) with the "End of Southern Steam" railtour which she had just brought up from Weymouth. It is EXACTLY 56 years to the day that the last service train hauled by a Bulleid Pacific departed Weymouth. I saw that train departing Bournemouth! I was in a cafe having lunch - it wasn't expected to be steam at all! So my personal last service train with a Bulleid was the previous day. Never mind - if you had told me in 1967 that in 2023 I would be travelling behind one of the Blessed Oliver's locos I would have sent you to see a good doctor, yet, here we are! Enjoy! Incidentally, she is the SIXTIETH Bulleid Pacific I have ridden behind. BEWARE, it's nearly 200Mb, so first time you watch, it'll probably pause a couple of times while it continues the download - after you've got through once, just start it again and it'll go through non-stop! Lovely sounds! BIL at Brookwood.mp4

Sorry, mate, just as in Dublin etc in the 1960s, the beggars were watching British TV without paying a licence! The height of some of the aerials was breathtaking - was RTE THAT bad! Mind you BBC was better then.

Interesting group, thanks, Ernie I see a line of horseboxes on the right of the Junction shot! What a drag that the Dungarvan line was closed before the RPSI could run a train over it (apart from one end!) - it always looks delectable in the shots you put up. I wonder what was under those tarpaulins on the corrugateds in the Kilkenny shot?

Bob, she sure does! Without the unintended gradient (I'll have to buy two identical tables!) she'd be as happy as a Sylph.

Bob will be after me for cruelty to his locos! PoorSylph didn't think much of getting the Limited Mail over the hump at Rosses Point Lower! Four yards of track formerly in use at Queens Bridge! When my summer travels are over, we plan to clear a lot more space and see if we can find a clever way to integrate the lines. The hump is caused by two not quite identical tables. A lump of hardboard strip would ease things, but we couldn't find one on Sunday night. Apologies, Bob, for the slips (Lady driver - I'm the shaky hand holding the camera!). MAQ03934.MP4

To Norwich on Friday by one of these new "Flirt" thingeys. Much more comfortable than our local GWR "IETs". Nougt to a hundred in two minutes! How do you carry yards of 0 Gauge track on a train? Make a Track - Pack! The leg of an old pair of cords, sewn up, cord attached and you have something which can be carried over a shoulder. That was followed by Saturday, busy clearing up in the "Railway Room" - mainly repositioning boxes and boxes of David Soggee's slides, although I filled the back of the Smart car with items to bring over to Camberley, but it did yiled twelve feet of space as you will see in the next post.

Very kind of you, David. You'll see Steve 32mm track in use later today - just to show a "Limited Mail"!

A trip to Norwich yesterday to meet Colin (Class 87), Judi (Steve's widow) and her son Peter. One result is that the trackwork for Queens Bridge is now in beside Rosses Point and hopefully will act as a base for a modest layout using Bob's MGWR stock! Steve had a large collection of 4mm Irish stuff and one of the family will be listing it either here, or on eBay. Lots for the "modern" modeller including some rare-ish MM and iRM diesels. 4/5 Cravens, sets of Bubbles et. I promised Colin that I would post here that I've seen the said items and all look in very good condition, so I commend them to you. More less new, or like new. We couldn't find one particular "Jewel" - a 00 Works Class U. It looks as if Steve had already sold it on - so own up - who was the lucky lad? Time was a bit pressing, so I forgot to photograph Steve's 4mm garage layout which had rows of kit-bash Irish coaches and other rolling stock, which need a good home. I'll arrange a further visit, or get Peter (who is a Norwich resident) to photograph it for me. A great shame that Steve didn't see this larger layout come to fruition, as it looked packed with potential.

Actually, BOTH the surviving 800s were there - 801 had been used for a short stint on the 1961 All-Ireland tour. Yes, the did meet again at Adelaide when 800 came North - I was there!

Folks, I was speaking to Colin, Steve's brother earlier today. He has been deafened by the silence of statements of interest in Steve's models. Steve had several NIR-liveried early DMUs, built, if I am not mistaken by Ivor Hughes of Belfast about a quarter of a century ago. They are kit bashes, built on the proprietary coach chassis of the time. I have two sets myself (Steve having provided the intro) mine in GN blue and cream, of course. I thought them very good. I am going up to Norwich on Friday to pick up some other items, but if anyone is interested, I'll take photos if I get access to the 4mm stuff. PM me if you have an eye on anything in particular. Leslie

Like Noel, looking forward to this retrofit to my Silver "Bullet". Yep, that's what we called them back in the Day. Where do I put the SMOKE unit in, to make the model really true to life ........

Hmm, never seen an Irish wagon like those. The Worhipful Mr Wrenneire refers above ........ I forsee more references to the stupidity of people on The Big Island to follow the rantings of various Old Etonians .......

Come on, David, while I sympathise with your views re The Big Island, SPURS are there? So not quite "no interest in anything" .........

No you're not, Derek. My Man in the Isle of Wight put me onto them and while I have only dabbled with them, they've done the jobs I've tackled.