leslie10646

Ditto, Lads, thanks for the Card. Super picture - not too often you can photograph Irish railways with in a decently snowy scene (thank goodness!). Merry Christmas to you all from a damp Surrey! Leslie

Good evening MAK I'm 99.99% sure that is not a H&W loco. They only built eight and four were for NI (BCDR and NCC) , none of which looked like that, in fact the H&W machines had a certain family likeness, quite unlike this loco - see - http://www.theyard.info/engineering/trains/trains.asp At a guess, it's a British industrial of some kind - where was it taken?

There's quite a bit on the Internet about the current status of 50.007 and 50.049, so I won't bore you all here, just have a look at websites like the Fifty Fund, or the Fifty Alliance. GBFr paid for the repaint and have trained some drivers to drive the locos, which appear to be based at the Severn Valley Railway.

During my talk on Lance King's travels in Ireland, I showed a pic of Phoenix on the CDRJC. A scholar like you, David, will recall that when the CVR was in trouble, Henry Forbes was one of the "helpers", helping himself to the Atkinson Walker tractor for a hundred GUINEAS, re-engined she outlasted the CVR by a couple of decades. Still, I suppose if we have pubs called Dick Turpin here, why not a pub in Ireland after a corporate asset stripper? (Only joking, you CDR men - he was a man with an eye to a bargain!).

Health Warning - taken on a handheld mini-camera by a rank amateur simply enjoying watching trains and in very windy conditions, so turn sound down! Anyone like Hoovers? 50014 and 50049 in GBFr livery pass Pangbourne with two barrier wagons on a wagon move from Kidderminster (SVR!) to Reading Traincare depot today. A one-off working. They came back about an hour later LE, but I messed up the focus! MVI_1649.m4v The Class 60 on the oil tanks is a regular working around 1400 from Theale Murco sidings. Sorry about the wind noise, you can just about hear the 60 purr through. Those bogie tank wagons might make a nice model, lads? MVI_1651.m4v

ABE is not a single bookesller, but covers hundreds of booksellers, so you'll find the book elsewhere without doubt. Usually, I'd offer to provide one through The Syndicate (so helping Irish preservation), but our trade price is what some other sellers are selling them retail at! Wordery - see earlier post - is still offering it at under ten quid. Looks a nice book. We sold four out of the five we took to the IRRS meeting last Thursday.

Hi Angus If Manchester takes off as an Area, I'm sure I'll be putting in an appearance there! I hope to get to the meeting in February and I'll prevail on the powers that be to at least put up a rolling slide show of some of the Photos. Leslie

Like David, I'd be interested in more info, ttc. It DOES look a neat job. I note that your video was accompanied by rock music, was that to cover the noise of the thing? I'm not being cynical - my Fleischmann job (thirty plus years old) is pretty noisy!

Come and see me fall flat on my face this Thursday at 7pm at the Calthorpe Arms! I'll be giving a first cut of the late Lance King's fine colour images of the railways of the Republic at a time of change - 1957 - 1963. My talk is followed by the Branch AGM, so I'll be on for about eighty minutes. Although I start with a quick look at the Co Donegal and the Sligo Leitrim and Northern Counties, most of the show will be of short visits to CIE lines like the branches to Ballaghaderreen, Ballina, Banagher, Clara, Edenderry, Kenmare, Loughrea, Tullow and Youghal. I also plan to cover a fair bit of the Cork Bandon and South Coast Railway. Even a few diesels have crept in, but MGWR types in service, a few GNR and the inevitable J15s. Even a shot with 800 and 801 in the same frame. It would be nice to see some of you living in the SE of England on Thursday. Leslie

Ugh, Broithe, please don't remind me of those claustrophobic passenger unfriendly apologies for trains, with their ultra high seats ensuring very little view. Mind you, they are a LITTLE better than their diesel sisters (also introduced for Virgin by people who should have known better) - the VOMITERS (sorry, Voyagers!). Mind you, things have got worse with the latest horrors foisted on the people of Britain by an uncaring Government - the 800, 801, 802s with their rock hard seats and spartan interiors. You don't know how lucky you are in Ireland with CAFS, Rotems, etc.

Yes, a very decent deal indeed - just wrong colour. Anyway I'm delighted with my dozen ORANGE ones which run very nicely behind my J15. Good luck, lads, with both your sales.

As ever, good to meet old friends and make new contacts. Warley has always been good for networking. Picked up my VS Class, which was having surgery, pulls eight coaches without any effort now! And a hand-made Christmas Present of a GNR Belgian Brake. Robert, the Club's "Great British Steam Locomotive from Cradle to Grave" was one of the best pieces of interpretative history-telling I've ever seen. A brilliant model - well done to Ian Carter and the Club. Very pleased to see Harry back on his feet on Sunday after his illness on Saturday. I had a great chat with Paddy also, not so much on single-ended Yankees. I'd had that at Blackrock. I suggested to him that the miniaturisation which made it possible to put so many features into the B Class was all down to an American President with Irish roots - John F - who kicked off the Moon Race, which dictated that things HAD to be smaller. Talk about unintended consequences?

Their website says cheap postage on £20 plus - did you manage even BETTER than that? A brilliant price - it's LESS than normal trade! Enjoy. Leslie

Ed, If you were attending Warley, we'd sign you up with great pleasure AND give you a free Journal. Applies to anyone else who visits us at the weekend. Leslie

Great stuff, David, I had missed the name when I perused the layout list. I look forward to admiring it again! Actually, I see the Irish are within whispering distance of one another! Well done the Warley guys for creating another Irish Corner. Leslie

Wow, I had no idea when I was photographing 37.800 at Pangbourne on Monday that the Lad's were busily announcing their model of the class! Now there's a Good Omen for you? Or part of The Great Eternal Plan (as we Presbys say). She wasn't making a lot of noise as she flew by at about 60mph, but I do have a great memory of two of them roaring past me at Frimley on the South Western mainline some years ago. One of the most successful Modernisation Plan diesels. Good luck with the launch, guys and massive sales of the model, which I'm sure will be well up to standard! I might even buy one! (Not sure how I'd explain that at Portadown). Leslie

I certainly shall. Today, I went train watching at Pangbourne (it counts as a walk and getting some fresh air on a God-given day) and as a train went by with those sliding top bogie wagons used for carrying car parts, among other things, I thought about you guys! Amazing to see 37.800 go by Light Engine in Rail Delivery Group livery - must be sixty-ish if a day? I hope that you have a successful show, demonstrating that you can outdo Hornby, Bachmann and Heljan. Leslie

As usual, the Irish Railway Record Society will have a stand at the NEC this weekend - Stand B57. Richard McLachlan will have several new books of scanned drawings from the IRRS Archive on sale. Of note are his books of architectural drawings of Heuston (it was Kingsbridge when the drawings were made); Amiens Street and Derry (GNR). I believe he is working on a Broadstone set as well. Plus old favourites of carriage and wagon drawings from the larger companies. We'll have a couple of slide shows going on monitors, showing drawings but also some photos from our collections. Something for everyone. Remember that his "books" are available on disc as well, making it easy for the modeller to zoom in on some detail to get it just right. I won't be selling Provincial Wagons at the show, as it's a society stand (and therefore free), but if you want some of my wagons, let me know via the website, or a PM and I'll bring the kits along with me. By the way, I now have the CIE cattle wagons back in stock! Finally, I will have a small quantity of Irish books, new and out of print, on sale. Warley is always very busy on the Saturday, but Sunday is MUCH quieter - a good time to miss the crowds and see, or shop, for the best in our hobby. Hope to see some of you there. Leslie (and Richard)

Oh Eamonn, you've made my lovely brake van dirty - almost as dirty as they seemed to get latterly! I have one photo where the blessed thing was BENT at one point - must look for it! Terrific. God bless Andy C who first made me think of that particular van. Thanks for posting it - a work of art!

The next meeting is on Thursday 14 November 2019 in the Calthorpe Arms, Grays Inn Road, London (near KingsCross). Hope to see a few of my "English" friends there. Leslie “Downpatrick and County Down Railway” by Robert Gardiner 19.00 – 21.45 in the Function Room of the Calthorpe Arms, 252 Gray’s Inn Road LONDON WC1X 8JR. (The room is accessible by stairs only.) DCDR Chairman, Robert Gardiner, reviews the railway’s history and updates us on recent developments. From inception in 1985 with just a ‘field’, the DCDR has grown to become the only full-sized operational Irish mainline heritage railway Initially a new station building and workshop were constructed, and a line built to Inch Abbey including reinstatement of a river bridge. More recently, a new Visitor’s Gallery has been constructed to view the workshop, the former Bundoran Junction Cabin re-erected on the railway and an 80 Class railcar acquired. BUSES TO THE CALTHORPE ARMS Due to restructuring of the central London bus network, two bus routes passing by or close to the Calthorpe Arms have been changed and are no longer auseful means of getting to our meetings. Route 45 (King’s Cross – Clapham Park) no longer serves Gray’s Inn Road. It has been curtailed to operate between the Elephant & Castle and Clapham Park only. Route 341 (Waterloo – Angel Road) used to pass through the junction between Gray’s Inn Road and Theobald’s Road. It has now been diverted away from that location (to a more direct route). Other routes in the vicinity remain unchanged. For further information, please check : www.tfl.gov.uk

As usual, no notice and NOT in Ireland! I'm speaking to the Fleet U3A transport group on Wednesday at 2.30pm in the Baptist Church Hall, 64 Basingbourne Road, Church Crookham, GU52 6TH. If any of you are retired and living in Hampshire, then you might find it entertaining! See my new thread on the IRRS London meetings too, please! Leslie

Come on, Colin, it's your railway - no need to be so pure! If I have As, Bs and Cs on my supposedly steam GNR(I) 1950s layout .......... You have to support these good men who are moving the goalposts in Irish Railway models?

Did ‘Truro’ manage the first 100mph? Does “Mallard’’s record really stand scrutiny? And now, did ‘Sir Henry’ manage 60? Neither Truro nor Flying Scotsman for that matter was the first steam loco to 100mph. That was 2750 Papyrus which did 108mph on trials pre-"SIlver Jubilee". There is no doubt that the GW engine did a very high speed that crazy night on the Bullion train, almost certainly just into the nineties; "Scotsman" only did 99mph according to CJ Allen, later amended by the LNER to 100mph. As for the "Duck" - three very brave men equalled the existing World Record of 124.5mph. That's what the LNER claimed at the time. The record was two years old and held by the German streamlined 4-6-4 05.001 - it was only during the War (Emergency) that the British claimed the World Record based on the dynamometer car roll of 126mph - for 108ft!!!! As one very wise man said recently, there were dozens of very fast runs which went unrecorded by we omniscient timers - the Lord knows, but the real speed record might be over 130mph! And the "Ton" done years earlier that the 1930s. It gives us all something to tlak about on cold winter nights, while enjoying a beer! PS Angus - the JInty is coming on nicely!

JHB, my lack of believe is based on 55 years of timing trains and a certain cynicism about Irish railway "tales"!

Coming along very nicely, Eamonn, the effort will be well worth the result - a delightfully antique and long-lived brake van! Thanks for sharing the "work in progress". Plenty more, where they came from for those of you who haven't got one yet!