ttc0169

Unfortunately you won’t find any specific details of fertiliser operations in the circulars,as I said before a”running notice” was issued to the relevant staff,e.g Signalmen and depot staff a few days in advance of the fert operating to the location. That operation never took place in Kildare. Northwall was always the location where freight trains were remarshalled for outlying locations

Refurbished Enterprise gen van 9604 heading for the paint spray facility.

It’s rush hour on the high street as EI-BED takes off over the bus garage heading for Washington.

056 has charge of a Claremorris to Tubbercurry single winch truck of rails The wagon has had its bogies replaced by the excellent IRM replacements

The 00:01 Athenry-Limerick bogie bulk cement passes through Tara junction hauled by 124+134, All the wagons have been successfully fitted with the IRM replacement bogies.

The 747 has seen intensive use since it’s arrival….seen here taking off for Chicago…as 2x181s haul a Guinness liner underneath passing 2x121s.

Yes Mogul-exactly

The class 31 is seen here hauling some oil tanks as it overtakes a 50 hauled TPO train, The 56 passes in the opposite direction with a laden MGR train.

Both sides were marked.

BS = Brake serviced,brake blocks changed,and adjusted and any other brake components replaced as required I did work on the real EGVs mainly on GAA spls but unfortunately never took any photos of the interior but they were similar format to Mk2 and Mk3 EGVs.

The EGV was given a brake test and exam at IC-(Inchicore) in week 29 in 1998-week commencing 13/07/1998. All types of GSVs and Mk2 EGVs were stencilled like that during the late 1990/early 2000s, It is the fuel tank filler marked in while and the restricted to 30mph was used when the EGVs were taken out of passenger service and were used for empty stock transfers to and from Inchicore/Heuston-they hauled Mk3 coaches for attention at Inchicore and returned them to Heuston where they were added to passenger trains, A similar BR GSV 3189 was also to transfer both Mk2,Cravens and the odd Mk3 coach as it was duel brakes with air and vacuum pipes fitted

Thanks DJ

Another view of EI-BED on final approach over the bus garage-a real 1970s feel to this scene.

Aer Lingus 747-EI-BED is seen here on final approach to the airport with a flight arriving from JFK. Thanks to Ray at Die cast models 4u in Galway for selling me this fine model.

Of course Jhb…another excuse to operate big trains.

37 251 comes to the rescue of an ailing five car DMU.

A cavalcade of 071s pass through Tara junction on a positioning movement. 078 is seen here hauling 077,080 and 083.

Both routes would have been used.

Typically during the 1980s and early 1990s the block ferts would operate mainly on a Saturday arriving in Ballina after 12:00, having left Northwall using the 06:25 path in the WTT, the Athlone crew returning home on the 13:20 passenger If the fert was operating from Foynes then it would have used the 09:00 path from Limerick via Athenry and Claremorris to Ballina,arriving there just after 15:00, After being unloaded in Ballina the empty fert would use the 16:50 path from Claremorris to Limerick departing Ballina at 14:30. As the fertliser operation was seasonal-it was common to send a fert once a week or as demand dictated.

Ok, you may encounter derailments with the 001 class locomotives as I have found when traversing Hornby points.

I would suggest using PECO points as they are far more reliable than the Hornby rubbish.

Throughout the 1990s block trains operated to Ballina and while there is no mention of actual fertilizer paths in the WTT, they could and did operate on the liner paths that are in the WTT, Fertilizer trains would be advised locally through a ''running notice'' issued a few days in advance of the working. Again two or three fert wagons would be attached to the regular 19:00 Asahi or 20:45 Guinness liner on weeknights to Ballina during the later years-1998-2001 period.

Back in the days of the fert operation,a block train of ten laden wagons would operate to Ballina from either Foynes or Shelton abbey,after being unloaded-(on overtime normally on Saturdays)-the train would work back empty to either location, During the weeknights,two wagons would be attached to the 19:00 or 20:45 liner trains to Ballina,the formation was; Locomotive(s)-fert wagons,bogie container or Guinness wagons, On arrival in Ballina the laden fert wagons were shunted off and two spare LX or LP wagons were added to make up the eighteen wagon return to North wall, When the morning branch passenger set arrived from Manulla Jctn the locomotive was used to shunt the fert wagons to the Crossmolina road siding behind the bus Eireann garage where a local farm supply business (Barrett’s),unloaded the wagons, The wagons were then collected in the afternoon and pushed up the down siding at the Manulla end of Ballina freight yard for collection by the 22:10 or 02:50 liner that night. Great memories,and thanks to IRM they can be recreated now in miniature.

Ten bogie fertiliser was the normal formation as a block train They operated as an “add on” to other liner trains which conveyed containers,Guinness,oil and cement wagons, e.g-a typical formation during the late 1990s were-two bogie fert wagons,five bogie container,two bogie Guinness wagons,then a mixture of two axle cement,Guinness,or oil wagons, I intend to get a pack of two wagons to add on to my Bogie Guinness and oil/cement liner

As DJ has said.....well done Rob.