Horsetan

Exactly, compared to how broke it is now. In virtually every sense, Ireland is materially better-off in today's hard times. When I compare how both Dublin and Clare were in 1988 to what they were when I returned for 1998-2003, the contrast could not be greater. And more importantly, since the late 1980s, the dead hands of Church and State (in each other's pockets) has been lifted; thanks to greater information, we are more willing to question every move that is (or was) made.

I suppose that rules out Kilmainham Jail ....which more or less sums up my view that "official" Ireland has generally been unsentimental about its railway heritage - there is not the tradition which gathered pace in Britain in the 1960s, and there was not the money to go round at the time. With steam ending in 1963 in the Republic, and CIE having other priorities, there wasn't a hope that much would be saved. If there had been, we'd have seen a few more of the narrow gauge systems restored, or previously uneconomic lines such as Achill or Clifden being reborn. There isn't quite the same railway modelling tradition either - that has arguably only grown since the 1980s as Ireland's economy strengthened. Before that, Fry and Donaldson were effectively ploughing lone furrows.

It seems to be the fashion - sometimes with good reason - to bring down celebrities. See what's happening over here with the late Jimmy Savile - much easier to make out he was some sort of perverted weirdo when the man's in his grave. It's true what they say: you should never meet your heroes; you'll only be disappointed.

The same could be said of the truncated Tralee & Dingle just to the south of you. Lack of cash, lack of enthusiasm, lack of co-ordination. Given Dublin city centre commercial rent levels, even in a recession, that could be a costly exercise. I'm not sure TCD would want it on their patch either. Is there spare space at Leopardstown Racecourse (which would give the course some year-round income when there's no racing on), or Liffey Valley Shopping Centre (drop the kids to see the railway whilst you go shopping?)

If this one includes his trip on the CDR Railcar on the Foyle Valley Railway, the latter is also effectively defunct as well......

Scrapping of Irish engines seems to have had a lot less photographic coverage than in Britain. There are, I'm sure, many reasons for this: 1. Ireland was, on the whole, a lot less sentimental about disposing of its old / obsolete stock; 2. UTA in particular was very much the plaything of the roads lobby, and a lot of railway infrastructure went by the board in order to protect or promote roads. 3. It didn't have the same widespread tradition of railway enthusiasm, so there weren't roving bands of enthusiasts taking photos of everything; 4. In economic terms, there wasn't the money around for Irish enthusiasts to save stock from the cutting torch. By the time that there was, steam was long long gone. 5. Record-keeping of engines scrapped may not have been quite as exhaustive as it was in Britain.

You'll have to ask the Garda and the Revenue - perhaps they think they have better things to be going on with?

In some of the GNRI/NCC loco guides that I bought recently, these mention that some of the engines were auctioned off after being withdrawn from service; presumably private scrap contractors then moved in to start cutting work, but the guides don't say which contractors were involved. I think CIE were different, and - being a State body - kept almost all scrapping work "in house", although I have read in some cases that the Hammond Lane Metal company in Dublin did dispose of some railway items, including the former Glenties line bridge at Stranorlar. In the case of the CDRJC, stock was auctioned off to private bidders (including scrap dealers) after closure. What is interesting is what happened to no.4 Erne, left at Letterkenny after being used to lift the S&L line into there. Like much other stock, Dr. Cox successfully bid for her but had no money to cover the shipping to the US. Erne is written down as having been cut up "surreptitiously" either in 1967 or 1969, but the question is: who did it?

Woodhams at Barry scrapped comparatively few engines after the mid-1960s, preferring to work on cutting up and processing wagons. The engines acted as a sort of reserve in case of hard times. A couple of engines were cut up in 1974, including a BR Standard 4 mogul, plus two in 1980 (GW 4156, and BR 92085, one of only two-surviving single-chimney 9Fs). Other engines cut up there in 1980 were some early BR diesels - again the last survivors of their kind. Contrast this with Cashmore's of Newport, where scrap locomotives sat around for maybe a few months at most before being cut up. Buttigieg's were also a major scrap processor in Newport and accounted for a great many steam engines, though not quite on the scale and speed of Cashmore. In 1969 Cashmore cut up BR 73069, an engine which had been involved in hauling a few of the last steam-hauled services on the BR network in August 1968. I think that was Cashmore's last mainline steam victim. There are loads of photos of Cashmore's victims on Google: click here

Would she let you scratch hers if she scratches yours?

I specifically wanted something that would give me a 16mm spacer width. It was truly the "Luck of the Irish" that I realised the hex spacers, when glued together, would do the job. I adopted the step-by-step photo approach with notes, so everyone can see how I work and - if they choose - adapt those methods for themselves. Think of it as a nod to the exploded "eejit diagrams" designed by Airfix, Revell, Tamiya and so many other international plastic kit producers. Scratch that itch