leslie10646

Ever since the three 37 sightings at Goring, I've been asked (daily) when the next one will be by! They appear on stock movements, of course with Rail Operations Group, Europhoenix etc. Invariably they are taking unwanted stock away (a lot of that in UK after a deluge of buying). They appear on Realtime Trains as paths for that day only and you don't always see what you expect. Recently, this turned up - giving a whole new meaning to Superpower - a 60 with ONE coach. 2020 09 26 60 plus one.MP4 But yesterday, I spotted a move from Ilford EMU depot to "Newport Docks Simmsgroup". A bit more searching came up with the news that Simms are Scrap Merchants to the Gentry. Other searches showed that a loco was leaving Leicester at about 5am, making its way to the West Coast main line, then via North London to Illford. There it picked up a four car Class 315 Electric set (superceded on the Great Eastern) and now rejected for further use. So, this sixty year old diesel loco was going to pull a forty year electric set off to meet it's Maker, so to speak! Anyway, I expected it to be on the Relief Lines at Goring, so I went over to the Fast Line platforms to try and get a more side-on view of the cavalcade. However, it got checked in the Reading area and seemed destined to come through Goring either just before or just after a Freightliner, also heading West. So, I positioned myself and before I knew it, it was hurtling towards me ON THE FAST LINE! Sorry about the shake part way through (remember my injured arm ....). 2020 10 01 37 800 plus emu for scrapping.m4v 37.800, by the way. She later made her way back to Leicester via the Birmingham area.

Alas, Sean, my "usual suspects" haven't produced the same nuggets of information on your Dad. Being a Northerner (I was 17 years old when steam finished in the Republic) I'm afraid my experiences South of the Border were very limited before RPSI days.

No, I put the photo up to show you the sort of engine your grandfather was driving when he did 60mph in reverse - that is "tender first" - see my earlier post - such a speed was a rare exploit in steam days. For a driver to die in service would be unusual and I would have thought it was reported in one of the railway journals of the day. I'm away from my IRRS Journals, but Irish Railfans News may have reported it - that's on line somewhere. JHB has copies of Cuisle. Have a look Jon, please - 1965.

Mr Geraghty, this is as far we’ve got - I take no credit for this, for I “Phoned a Friend” – in this case David Houston of Dublin, who reports - “Your Grandfather, Joe Dennis, was a Dublin Amiens St. driver. A very cheerful guy, always good for a laugh and a bit of craic; always said yes for a footplate trip. Joe turned up frequently on local runs, and was quite a lively runner. On one occasion he did 60 tender first down Rush with 199 Lough Derg (a GNR “Old” U Class) on a Mosney turn. Interestingly that run was mentioned in the Railway Magazine Traction Performance article when they asked for any interesting tender first runs, and I submitted that run. 199’s sister, 196 Lough Gill, restarts a train from Newry Dublin Bridge, Sunday 26 June 1959. Photo by the late Lance King, © IRRS "David was, until recently of the view that Joe died somewhere in the Donabate/Rush area when he got out of the cab of a railcar to attend to a defect, and was hit by an oncoming train. He wrote – “However, strangely, in recent months I came across a memorial to Joe in the Enterprise waiting room in Amiens St which I think is of recent origin. From memory I think the inscription says that he died at Lurgan - open to correction here - in the service of the company. This would tie in with the Enterprise aspect you were told about. One thing is clear - he was killed whilst on duty. So whilst I can't confirm where he died, the basic story you related is true”. So, Mr G, you’ll have to pay a visit to Connolly (or Amiens Street as it was in your Grandfather’s day) and have a look. OR, one of you brave lads could pop into the Enterprise waiting room and take a photo for us? Regards Leslie

We've found him! I'll post a full reply shortly. And yes, he did die "on active service". Leslie

Last Saturday at Didcot: Sorry about the wind noise, but a nice sound despite the "Divine Interference" - MAQ03616.m4v We used to have these in Ireland, but they weren't a roaring success. Kernow announced it was going to do a GWR one about four years ago, still at the CAD stage, from their website. For the younger folk among us, you're looking at the ancestor of the Rotem railcar! MAQ03622.m4v Putting it to bed. The lady fireperson wasn't worried about getting her hands dirty and was underneath encouraging the ash out of the firebox five minutes later!

Intriguing idea, Colin, regauge a 5ft loco - maybe a Russian L Class 2-10-0? Just make sure it's not one of the EIGHTY I've travelled behind already! ----------- Someone needs to win the Euromillions and do a NewBuild MGWR 2-4-0? Or maybe an L Class 0-6-0. With Flyaway Cab, of course!!!!

Stunning shots, showing that Drones CAN be useful. Shows Connemara at its very best - better than I managed with five different Great Rail Journeys groups there. Railway looks good too! Jim, you'll have to persuade Peter Liney to include your line on the GRJ Irish tours.

Easy, Hex. Repetition doesn't make an inaccuracy any more correct! For example, City of Truro - possibly a speed in the nineties, but NOT a hundred mph. You miss mileposts down Wellington today with massive BR posts, but the tiny GWR ones of that time and in the dark ....... That said, probably the first reasonably authenticated run around 90mph. Flying Scotsman? Cecil J Allen made it 99mph, but being a LNER employee, said nothing about the claim. Like it or not, the first authenticated British "ton" was 2750 Papyrus which did 108mph (Dynamometer Car reading) while testing the possiblities for High Speed Trains before the Silver Jubilee service. All that said, I agree that a loco of the size of an 800 should have been good for 90mph. We need a Time Machine.

Hexagon asked: Based on that if an 89mph geared 071 could do 116mph and a 165km/h geared 201, 120mph, then what sort of speeds could the likes of a 141 or even an 'A' Class manage? Presumably an 'A' could manage at least it's maximum speed on re-engining of 85mph but could they go faster? One of the uprated 1,650hp might have enough grunt for a 'ton' I would've thought. Or an 89mph geared 141, possibly 89mph would be pushing it for a single 141 but a higher-powered 181 might be just about able with a very light load but a pair would have enough power to get into the 90s I'd think. Now, I don’t time diesels, but have spent a fortune timing steam around the World (over a couple of dozen countries). So, as in “Who wants to be a Millionaire” – I ASKED A FRIEND who does time all forms of traction and has done so for over fifty years. He has timed an 071 at JUST over 100mph, and suggests that a 201 may have managed close to 105mph. As for the others, 83mph a few times with a 141 and once only with a 121, but the mid-seventies were the norm. He timed a re-engined A Class ONCE at 80mph.The originals were not much faster than the steam they replaced, but could accelerate much better, of course. And is 96mph the overall Irish steam record or purely the record for a GSR B1a/800 Class? Plenty of Myths and Legends about the 800s and the 96mph is part of the story. For what it is worth, the late Drew Donaldson had a max of 89mph driven by the famed Mark Foley in 1939. Not the last word, by the way, as neither of us can lay our hands on our copies of Decade of Steam, which covers 800 Class running pretty well. In the same way as we count the rivets on our models (no need on Paddy's locos which stand for themselves), no-one should believe a speed out of the blue, but as part of a methodical log (ie looking at averages between stations, or, in my case mileposts, before claiming a maximum speed). So, NO HORNBY DUBLO SPEEDS WITH YOUR NEW 121S, LADS - THEY DIDN'T DO THEM IN REALITY, BUT HAD A VERY DISTINCTIVE SOUND, WHICH I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING AGAIN.

Lord White commented in his opening post of this thread that his B Class arrived just after his 78th birthday. Mine was a present for my 70th - four years ago! No complaint, mind you. Paddy raised the bar way above the heads of the prevailing standard of British model diesels when he produced the Double-ended Yankees. This long-awaited, but superb model, is in a different league to any 4mm diesel I've seen. As Old Blarney says, we owe Paddy a huge thank-you, for bringing Irish Railway modelling out of the darkness and into The Light. I would have suggested that Paddy had done more than enough to get a major Irish Award for services to the State - but there ain't ANY! There was an Order of St Patrick created by the Brits within The Kingdom of Ireland (Wikipedia says), but it has lapsed. Paddy you are, and ever will be, The King of Irish Railway Modelling. Thanks very much Leslie

Ditto, my RPSI one. Took it out, looked disbelievingly at the incredible amount of detail, excellently executed. The colour looks much, much better in the flesh, than some of the photos I've seen. Puzzled like others by the Bag 'o Bits - thanks for the explanations above, gents. Back into the box. I've no intention of running it. When I get a suitable display case, I may put her on the wall! The "Runner" - B121 - was ordered from Chris Dyer during a chance meeting on the Central Wales line last year. It will be put to work, never fear! MY outer packaging will be recycled by being used to send one of my fine customers half a dozen kits! Very, very well done Mr Murphy. Worth every minute of the wait.

Nope, on that occasion it was just to get a window seat on the milepost side! Nowadays, given the chance, I'd go for the front and be deafened!

Hi George and thanks for that. Nice to hear a bit of "Bulleid Chatter" - albeit muted. They make a splendid noise when working hard on a decent train - I had an unforgettable run up the long 1 in 250 through Winchester in 1967 - 75mph uphill with 9 coaches, I was at the back and, boy, was the engine noisy!

Right, back in from dinner to celebrate the Smart Car's driver's birthday. Yes, Lord White, we'd put the indicator on to "pretend" we were part of the convoy and then could enjoy the experience a bit longer. Thanks, Andy for the Heads-up on the owner and details. Steam Lorries are serious vehicles and make a decent sound - if you listen to the roadside shot. Thanks, George, and yes, I agree with you that the Kings look really good in the short-lived BR Express Loco Blue. Merchant Navies and A1s, likewise, but NOT the A4s - not a patch on the LNER Garter Blue livery. I'm away from my logbooks, so I can't remember if I've ran a run with Sir Keith Park. There are 1 or 2 Bulleids around which I have to add to my collection - now in its high fifties (from 46 at the End of Steam). Thank ypu to those who've done up locos I was too late to get! A, Mr G, you're giving away your "Day Job", but that's an interesting story from Dublin. A really God-given day.

God-given day today, so after church (at St Andrews, which suit Warb of Barrow Street) we were off to Didcot where the King (Edward II) was on it's last runs before its boiler certificate runs out. On train rides with three six wheelers - for the nice sound, by the way. MAQ03586.MP4 Then on the way home..... MAQ03600.MP4 Turn the sound up! And chasing steam in the Smart Car .... MAQ03601.MP4 15mph uphill, I forgot to keep the camera running as we overtook!

Yep, between young Patrick M and I we can let you have that train by return of post. Mind you, you'll have to build my vans from the kits! I think the one behind the loco is the 10ton variety, rather than its smaller sister. Leslie

To add to Mike's comment about Make do 'n Mend - after WW2, the West German Bundesbahn had many six wheelers (new bodies on old wooden ones?) - nick-named "Thunderboxes" I believe. Rightly so, as they were very noisy to travel in. That said, I was delighted to clamber into one of them on a local train on the Rheine - Emden line and be hauled at a full SEVENTY mph behind a coal-burning three-cylinder Pacific. I understand that the B&CDR six wheelers were pretty wild at sixty mph, but these were a bit more modern and I suspect the Bundesbahn track was better in 1969 than the Bangor line twenty years earlier.

Yeees, I think so ..... So I checked - see - https://tomcurtisrailgallery.weebly.com/lost-in-france--forty-37s-in-2000.html Also a load of 20s earlier on, working on Chunnel work. Also see Internet for pics. I see there's a couple of stock moves tomorrow. I must try and get up early and see what appears!

Interesting stuff, Jon. The pic of Glanmire was a real Provincial Wagons Benefit with all those CIE cattle wagons! (Cheque in post, as usual). The shot of 193 is on the IRRS's St Pat's Day tour in 1962 (No.207 Boyne to Cork) when No.193 was really dolled up by the local staff for the event. If someone well tell me how to upload a 8Mb file, I'll post the late Lance King's version of the same scene - IN COLOUR!

Yes, I believe that the CIE engines were actually worse! The story goes that Robin (BOB) Clements footplated a 2-6-4 Tank on the Spoil Trains and when the crew commented on how rundown the engine was, he remarked later - "these fellows don't know what a bad engine is!" Bob, you see, spent days and days on the footplates of MGWR locos , fighting to make them steam and driving them easily so that they could see ahead through the steam leaks. Another version was that when the CIE crews first drove No.4 they were amazed to open the regulator and still be able to see in front of them .......

Ah,Phil, that's just lovely (even though it's narrow gauge!). As Garfield said, one of the neatest looking little locos built for the Irish Narrow Gauge. Of course, it was from a line (unhappily short-lived) which looked like a "proper" railway, as it was almost unique in having double tracks. Anyway, this is what you have to turn it into, not No.12, but 10L - Photo at Dromod by the late Lance King, IRRS Copyright. Good luck with it, a super piece of work.

Hi MAK Diesel I have it third hand that one of the 37s disgraced itself the other day on a stock move and was actually rescued by a Class 47. We don't see 20s or 31s in the bit of the railway I watch from time to time. The oldest diesels we see are Class 60s on the Theale oil trains, otherwise it's 66s and the occasional 70. Ah, and the Class 50s very occasionally work stock moves. On 7 August (see September Modern Railways) 50049 and 50007 hauled a 769 set to Reading from Burton on Trent. We are getting these Tri-modes on the Gatwick services which I used to use regularly when I did a bit of work at Gatwick. Alas, with Covid, I think that's history for me. I have posted the Hoovers in an earlier very windy video on 9 December 2019. See - https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/8131-foreign-freight/?tab=comments#comment-126440

Patrick said: Example, a passenger train composed of a MM Craven, an Irish Freight Models laminate brake and a Park Royal all flanked by a Silver Fox tin van and heating van. No two vehicles are alike - Hit the nail on the head, Patrick. Nice train, by the way. Even in late steam/early diesel days secondary trains were often the inevitable tin van, a modern bogie coach and an ancient one! To model that, you either scratch / kit build, or accept "the two foot rule coaches "available. Except you are modelling main line in sixties onwards, uniformity was NOT the order of the day in virtually any part of Ireland.

Yes, I did, although I messed up a couple of them being a bit ham-fisted at present. I'll post a couple of the more colourful ones later. My secretary/driver, who notes what I take was very taken by the Class 37s. I found "Cute Engine" written alongside the notes! With Accurascale doing them, it could turn out to be an expensive afternoon! No charge for the advertising, Lads!