leslie10646

WHAAATTT!!! You're dirtying my lovely wagons? Didn't you read the conditions of sale?

I think you may be right about the normal purpose of this "horse". It looks just like the shunting tractors used to shunt unaccompanied trailers onto the boats these days. Obviously it isn't a new idea to leave the power unit behind and just put the wagon onto the boat (just like a train ferry in fact). I asked Joe (who took the photo) if he could read the script, but alas, no. Good luck with the model Larne Cabin - I visited that place dozens of times between 1964 and 1968.

Available as a kit, like two other wagons mentioned above from a well-known maker of Fine Wagon Kits........... Ah, we've got a series of wires crossed - I didn't find mty photo quickly enough! For some strange reason, I couldn't find any reference to these wagons being built in the "Recent Developments" of the 1950s IRRS Journals (or in my index). Well done IRN for providing the answer!

I'm not sure what you mean by "beet wagons", but if you mean the corrugated sided opens, they date from 1956 and the first batch was built at Limerick. My source is Irish Railfans' News for April 1956. The series began with No.12000. I think that you are referring to a statement in "Locomotives and Rolling Stock of CIE and NIR" which DOES refer to a 1945 start date for the open wagon series 11817 - 14672. The statement is confusing as it seems to cover all opens, both the traditionally built ones and the later opens with their unique corrugated sides and triangulated chassis. Some of the surviving corrugateds were double-stacked on redundant 4 wheel container flats in 1985 to make the iconic "Double beets" - also at Limerick Works! Oh and I may have news for you. One of the corrugateds does survive at Dunsandle (in 2014 anyway). I think it may be there in a "private" capacity, but someone here will put me right on that! I used Robert Drysdale's photos of it extensively in producing our kit - yes, we really did research it!

More from Jim Edgar: They might have worked them up as two laden trains or split in two between Ballymena and Ballymoney in the Down direction. I am pretty sure that there are 9 wagons on the train in my photo, but I would need to dig out the DVD to check. 8 was the normal load. The question was how likely it was to get that weight up and over Ballyboyland given the state of the rails etc. NIR sometimes sent out a Hunslet with an MV coupled in front plus a driver in each one. Once they reached Ballymoney they took the MV off and sent it back light engine. It recalled for me all those Sunday School runs to Portrush when the second Jeep came off at Kingsbog. Proper railway working I suppose. I was astounded to find out that in the days of the overnight goods CIE paid for the third shift in every signalcabin from Dundalk to Lisburn and then all the way to Derry, the full cost of maintenance of Lisburn to Antrim, the cost of shunting and clerical staff at Derry, and of course CIE maintained their depot for County Donegal at Stranorlar. Denis Grimshaw said once that in the end CIE had no problem with paying the money, but they needed to add the general container traffic to the Sligo goods to keep it running. Thus only the fertiliser trains ran on with just those costs still covered by CIE on a trainload basis. Later there was bulk timber too. Maybe I will slip a photo of the Derry goods into my slideshow at this last minute ...

Alas, Darren, I must disappoint you. The Amiens Street set which the IRRS has uncovered to date does not include the cabin. We can provide plans of Jim Meade's office in the building (well as it was in GN days), but not the cabin. If we find it ..... There are lots of photos........

I asked Jim Edgar, of Markle Videos (incidentally giving a talk at London IRRS next week). He replied: There were occasional bulk fertiliser trains from the mid 1970s until at least 1990. The traffic was for County Donegal, and was seasonal depending on the demand for fertiliser. There do not seem to be exact dates and the trains ran as required. Fertiliser for Donegal via Derry ran sporadically as a block train of bogie wagons (usually 8), and only when demand was really high. I think that is what we mean here, though there might have been the odd wagon on the general freight service for Donegal which ran via Lisburn and Derry between 1965 and around 1980. Yes these bulk trains were fairly rare but there are plenty of dated photographs of them, so not so unusual as some suggest. At times a CIÉ loco worked through. There is a photo of one train in Derry on 19 October 1976 in J M Allen's book on NIR, with CIE loco 171 in charge. Here are some photos of it in 1985. > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3025809 > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/503775 I photographed it on 22 April 1987 behind 111. You can check this out on the Markle DVD (still available!). Also in Jonathan Allen's book is a photo of it hauled by 112 on 21 July 1990 <ACTUALLY TEN FERTS>. He also included a photo taken by Denis Grimshaw on 11 April 1981of it hauled by a pair of Hunslet locos. A model with a Murphy 111 class and up to 8 IRM wagons would be pretty <on the evidence, even TEN Ferts - LM> close to what I saw. Hope this helps. Jim

Darren You will be a most welcome addition to our ranks. I could answer your query re the Amiens Street cabin straightaway, but "Mr Drawings" aka Richard McLachlan - who is staying with us this week - IS BACK IN DUBLIN for the night for a IRRS Board event. As soon as he's back, I'll put the question to him. Watch this space!

Like Fran, our thanks to the guys (and gals?) of the MRSI for arranging last weekend’s exhibition. A lot of hard work by a faithful few before, during and after. We exhibitors were very well looked after and a further thanks to the ladies who provided lunch and kept us all fed and watered. Talking of being fed and watered, the Exhibition dinner was in another League to any I’ve attended before – great food, friendly service and good craic. From The Few, to The Many. It was wonderful to be back among Irish modellers who not only bought loads of my kits (I actually nearly sold out!), said nice things about them and encouraged me (at 76) to “keep it up”. Well, if I’m spared and encouraged by this great exhibition, I intend to do just that. New kits are in the pipeline. An additional pleasure was to find that I had become (in)famous, thanks to the “ZOOMed” IRRS talks which I have given! Early on Tuesday morning, The Ulysses cast Richard and I up on a Welsh coast being lashed by torrential rain. After a tiring overnight journey, we were home by 7am and crashed gratefully into our beds - and stayed there! Still wrecked from what for us is a week-long Odyssey. Thanks again, Dave, Tony, Ed and all at MRSI for having us and for a very successful exhibition. Thank you to all of you who visited us, even if only to say “Hi”. Looking at the number of beet kits I sold, this year's season should be well looked after!

Dear White I shall take pleasure in communicating with you after I've got this little event in Dublin behind me (if i make enough profit to cover the call). I'll even let you know what my next wagon is - before this lot! Yours faithfully McAllister

Noel, thanks for the Advertorial! As Tim says, a very nice bit of building (the spindly brake gear takes patience, but is worth the effort) and superb weathering - although we've come to expect that from you! For the rest of you, I have a supply with me, so have a go at a true Irish Icon. Noel, do come and say "Hi". We've yet to meet!

Anyone get any sleep last night?

No, no, no I was thinking of "0" Gauge next ........

My dear David, YOU'RE ALIVE! Great news. In your posts above, you don't mention the date?

My dear John, What a fine fellow you are! I WAS going to leave them at home! Going into the box now! Probably not treading on my toes, maybe a good hack at my shins! It's time Dave B opened the book on your announcements, proceeds to the Gardai Benevolent Society?

I wish they'd get on with it, then I'd know which kits to leave at home.

I thought young Des does the 0-6-4T and the Bandon tank?

Hhmmmm, time to retire?

John is still with us. His collection was (in part at least) with the IRRS.

Can't be more autocratic than China .........

I am NOT getting a THIRD AEC set. I was "outed" to my steam pals by a chap on this forum, with the initials LB. No excuse that it was in the pub. Just as well I was in Hong Kong at the time. Mind you, it was a great kit bash model, still running and the builder, Bless him, build me a load of GN Mahogany coaches.

It IS the Digital Dray horse!!!! Wow. More seriously, I've never understood why no manufacturer has set up in the Phillipines. Lovely people, hardworking, and English-speaking.

Robert, make sure that you call by C22 so that I see what one of my best customers looks like!

Referring to the final paragraph - you mean the UK?

Just a thought, (Hallowe'en coming up) - having "Lit the Blue Touch Paper" the Management have indeed "withdrawn immediately" and let us speculate. From the deafening silence from them, one of us has hit the nail on the head! I'm pretty sure it's JB with his Fintona suggestion - a fully working horse could be used on British layouts, so could cross fertilise with the Accurascale brand. After all with their forthcoming GWR Manor Class, there is the obvious connection with the fact that the GWR used hundreds of horses. AND, the same horse, reliveried could be used to pull Guinness drays. And, And, What DID I put in this bedtime drink?