leslie10646

Oh, come on, the original Bulleid/Raworth electric at least had some curves, but it's follow up was, I give you, totally beyond the Pale! We must stop this, it's a CB&SCR thread and the forum is very much the richer for it!!!! Keep it up, Bantrymen!

Dear Slavek and others. I'm back in UK for a while again! I actually replied to Slavek from an ICE Train in Germany, when I got access to the Internet. While on holiday, I saw a great model railway in a town called Hausach (in the Black Forest) - it's a model of the railway from there UP to St Georgen - a prodigious climb involving 37 tunnels and at least four hairpin bends. If I find time, I'll put up a few photos. I did the actual run with a 2-10-0 the same day - it's a 100 mile round trip on the main line, for just €26! Just wonderful. In reply to The Controller's query in Post 20, the attic has a 21ft by 17 ft model railway (or more honestly, the start of it!) - PW's "warehouse" is in the middle! I am happy to confirm that I have supplies of most of my kits ready for immediate supply. Leslie

Des Alas, these railcars were, arguably, the ugliest thing built under the Blessed Oliver's direction! Can't wait to see Bantry on the show circuit here - truly a lovely piece of work! Leslie

For what it is worth, Norman Johnson in his book on GN locos (which covers the diesel fleet) refers to the livery as OXFORD Blue and cream. I look forward to seeing the results at Warley, David - shall I bring my BUT set? Thanks for posting the interior photos, John - DON'T show them to modern British commuters who have to suffer rock hard seats in the much-trumpeted new EMUs. Leslie

Whoever, they're very nice stamps! I don't think we Brits have had a railcar set on one! I'm still working my way through the books of NI railway stamps which came out some years ago!

<Hi Robbie, Nice job they look great. Are the chassis less fiddly to work on then the single beats? Noel> Noel, as Robert has already replied, he hasn't had the pleasure of making Mr Bulleid's pretty delicate brake gear! The Double beet's brake gear is a simple single casting - well two, as there's one on each side - as the observant will know, quite different arrangements, for such was the brake gear of the 25xxx flats which the doubles were planted on. Robert - it's quite humbling to see a big rake of the wagons - so thanks for posting the pics. I'm sending Michael the link - as the craftsman behind the wagon (I just "provoke him"), he'll be delighted. Good luck with the weathering - as other have mentioned the "colour" is a matter for conjecture (and possibly personal taste). They really DID get bogging dirty! For those of you who are tempted, plenty more where Robert's came from! Leslie

Friends Thanks to a post on the "other channel" I can pass on a link to a load of photos of a truly superb layout. See - https://highlandmiscellany.com/tag/castle-rackrent/ Leslie

David Thanks for passing on this sad news. I only met Richard once when he turned up at a talk I was giving on modelling to the IRRS London. He brought a couple of his locos which were just superb. I had no idea Castle Rackrent grew to such a size! Re Colin's comment on notes etc, I can only express my relief that my late friend Lance King eventually made a will and a treasury of Irish photographs is in IRRs possession. I hope that Richard left a similar instruction so that a lifetime of knowledge is not lost. My condolences to any family he may have had and to his friends. We have indeed lost a master of his craft who happily turned it to matters Irish! Leslie

Apologies, I was only quoting the site, which I shall have changed!!!! Well done Eiretrains for providing accurate info. Leslie

Colin - Can't be certain that Archive is also open, but Library Nights are - "Library Night every Tuesday from 19:30 to 21:45 (except December 26th 2017 and January 2nd 2018" Quoting the IRRS Website. Leslie

Yes, IF you have room, you almost have a duty to run proper length goods trains. I have twenty cattle wagons so that I can run a realistic Enniskillen Shipper - mainly my GN ones but a few SLNCR ones for variety. That said, and as others have related, the short "rambler" (anglice "pick up") goods reminds us that at this time most things made a journey by rail to their eventual destination - so flats with a new tractor, or baler, or car make a nice break from endless vans? Leslie

Colin I'll leave a "Southern" expert to answer regarding the oil traffic. There WAS a notable oil train which went to a halt on the Bangor line, right up to the 1960s - Tillysburn rings a bell - for Shorts' aircraft testing needs? General oil traffic was sparse in the North. I think I am right when I say that tankers were never used (as they were in GB) for the bulk carriage of milk. That said, many "Creameries" had sidings, North and South, but I suspect mainly for the export of butter, cheese etc, rather than the milk coming in. My Northern farmer cousins sent their milk away in churns - lorries, of course, in the Black North! I must have a look at the appendices to see if I can get clues re milk traffic! Thanks for provoking some thought on WHY a train ran at all! Leslie

Colin You can do little better than to peruse the books which have photos of goods trains - the trouble is, few enough books have! As you say, it depended on the line. The GNR's Night Goods to Derry by the Derry Road could be sixty wagons with a 0-6-0 hauling it. There were two around 8pm ex Belfast and BOTH had anything up to ten flats with bread containers on them! However, the greater part of the train would have been vans - Ireland's weather didn't encourage the use of opens - not to say that there were none. The GN main line goods "over the Bank" to Dundalk were not quite as heavy, were mainly vans, no bread containers - they were a Northern Ireland peculiarity. Mineral traffic was very much less than Britain, except for loco coal going to outlying sheds. You didn't get the British situation of local coal merchants with offices in station yards (and even their own wagons). There were a FEW, of course. East Downshire Steamship Co. on the BCDR was a case in point. As you say, cattle specials were a massive business for the Railway - especially CIE - I saw one weekly notice of 120 pages where the first FORTY was entirely fairs specials! Of course, the smaller branch lines would have had short goods with a mix of vans, opens and cattle wagons. Well wagons were uncommon. If you're modelling the Great Northern, the IRRS reprint of the GN Wagon book might prove useful. I'm sure Jon will add massively to this, but it will get the ball rolling. Good sources of photos would be his books on the Western Corridor and the recent North Kerry book. For the GN, Charlie Friel's "Fermanagh's Railways would give you a steer. I've ignored beet traffic, which were in effect block trains, seasonal, but not a typical goods train! Hope this helps Leslie PS If you need wagons of this period, I know someone who sells kits of them ........

The Class N were the 5ft 6in driver SECR locos which were finished in Ireland as the 372 Class - Class K1. The Class U were the six foot driver version, of which Ireland had six - Class 393 - Class K1a. If memory serves, they had a tiny splasher, which made them easily identifiable from their "smaller" sisters. You can get the full low down in Michael McMahon and Jeremy Cleminson's excellent tome on GSR locos. Leslie PS my copy was upstairs, so I looked up a certain on-line encyclopaedia!

I think that this is what you're looking for? http://www.provincialwagons.com The Bell container isn't the DC kits / C Rails one, but an earlier MIR one. I assure you that it carries the later container just as well - I just didn't have one of mine to hand when I took the photo! Our kit is of the 27000 series, 1970-built skeleton flat. The earlier 1966 flat had a steel floor. If you want a rake, e-mail me and I'll "do you a price" - Her Majesty's postage on single kits to Euroland is criminal, but you can send several for much the same cost. Or, you can wait to the Blackrock exhibition in the Autumn, when postage won't be an issue and I'll price it accordingly for the exhibition. Leslie PS, I don't think anyone will have too much trouble with the kit - about a dozen parts!

Tony While not on the web, the IRRS, through Richard McLachlan, has digitised the drawings for at least eight GNR loco types, a CDRJC one and a SLNCR one. These are available both as books and digitally.I might say there is enough top build a full scale loco, so if anyone wants to help me put together a million plus to build a VS Class - get in touch! He has also produced books of GN carriage drawings, railcar drawings and the wagon book (which I believe you have?). There are GA drawing books of selected GSR coaches and MGWR coaches and wagons. The list is considerable. When I find a moment, I'll scan it and put it up here. I believe that you can see some of these books at IRRS Library Nights in Dublin and Richard will be displaying and showing them at the SDMRC exhibition in the Autumn. Leslie

Jon HEAR, HEAR! The number of times I've heard people say "wouldn't it be great to get No.800 out of the museum". But ask them for a a few Euros towards it and ……….

B&B? - a perfect ancestral home with room for we oldies, the boys plus their families, each in their own demesne!! Pity I'd have to murder the Boss, as she'd never move to Ireland! No good having a LGB garden railway - only a 12 inches to the fut job would do - maybe the RPSI could loan the buyer a 101 Class? No - thinking out of the box - if you could afford that place, you could probably afford to have a replica BCDR tank built and a train of their six wheelers.

David Humphries and a group of friends resident around Dundalk are modelling part of the DNGR. To that end they have been doing superb work in restoring drawings of the route and buildings I'll see if I can get you a contact. Leslie

I see that three of my wagons are on eBay at present, having come down from their stratospheric original price. The flat with the Guinness containers is close to the price I last charged for them - the flats are sold out, plenty of Guinness though. The other two strike me as very dear - the open was about £11 when I sold them, the furniture container was under £15. Caveat emptor! Leslie

Tony et al They DID exist and were small, I think wheeled containers - a fraction the size of my bread containers. I have a note somewhere as Michael and I being lovers of Fig Rolls (I"m lying!) were tempted! I'll get back on this one. Leslie

I have to agree with the guy who commented that putting so much stuff up at once would keep the prices down - just £3,000 for a S Class nameplate? Interesting to see the variation in price - but if you lived virtually anywhere in Ireland you could pick up something with your local station name on it - obviously, in some cases there were two folk chasing (very hard) for the same thing. Dave, I'm glad Malahide ended up with a "Local Boy" - all right and proper. 184's numberplate is the original -I understand that the ones on the engine are copies. Old John's estate has certainly had a boost! Leslie

Apologies, folks, I kept this one under my hat for the Bangor Show which is where Kieran got his. I will post it on my website when I get a further supply in, having cleared the first couple of dozen. As John says, it IS the same chassis from the Beet. BUT that kit does not have the skeleton, vacuum pipes etc, which are visible in this version. As usual Kieran has done a super job - indeed, I gave Nelson one to build, which he did at Bangor and presented me with it painted, recalled on the Sunday - that's the one I'll show on the website. I should explain, I didn't like the chocolate brown in which my prototype was painted! I hope to have them available again in about a month - Michael is on his hols in Malta for another week or so! They are £23 or €27.50 post paid. As always, if you buy more than one kit, I usually can knock about a quid off subsequent kits. NOW - We plan to do this "Flat" several ways - a) As Kieran has shown you - the pure "Skeleton" which is the 27xxx series 20ft container flat built around 1970; b) The same wagon, but without a skeleton interior for you to run WITH a container - after all, you can't see the detail - so save yourselves a bit by having this version if you're always going to have a container atop the chassis. In effect this IS the Beet chassis and such a kit will be a £1.50 (€2) cheaper than the present skeleton; c) finally, the 1966 20ft container flat WITH a Container included - this will be the same chassis but with a thin floor - the 1966 ones were like this (but Heaven knows what the floor actually looked like - if you have photo, please let me see it!!!!). By selling it with the container on top, I don't need to know that detail. The container will be a standard side door CIE Container of the period - "the orange ones" - I found a survivor, thanks to Anthony McDonald and we measured it up, photographed it within an inch of its life and it awaits Michael's return! So, Kieran having let the Cat out of the Bag - I have now totally spilt the beans and you know what will be around for Blackrock! Not finished yet - there was something interesting beside the old CIE job ……. Regards to you all and congrats Kieran on a typically nice job! Leslie

Yes, I remember seeing No.19 around from time to time during my evening visits to York Road with John (now Lord) Laird). I first went down in 1961 or 1962, but never saw No.18. Indeed by then only two Castle Class U2 4-4-0s were around - Dunluce and Dunseverick. Just to bore you with facts, they had been 7456 and 7553 on the LMS, becoming 18 and 19 respectively. Latterly, they bore a UTA "Red Hand" Coat of Arms. Leslie

Nil Desperandum. My list of would-be owners is growing, so I may yet persuade R&R to change their minds. But Guys, I need some more would be owners!!!! Send me a PM or preferably em,ail me at my well-known address lesliemcalister@aol.com Thanks Leslie