DERAILED

Irish Railways Traction & Travel by Peter Jones. Metro Enterprises (1987) 1st edition plus 2nd edition (1989). A complete guide to all Irish Rail & Northern Ireland Railways locomotives and coaching stock plus loco diagrams and distance tables. Includes b/w and colour plates. Both in mint condition and come with tough plastic covers. The name visible on the front - Severnside Travel and Railway Society - is on the removable plastic cover and NOT on the books. €20 plus postage for the two and I will throw in a damaged (bottom corner of front and back cover) but nice clean copy of the (1996) Platform 5 guide. Postage will be €5 which includes FREE tracking.

Ultra rare magazine with stacks of information from the 1990s - A5 size. Average No.of pages (48-50) per issue. Colour and b/w images. All in nice clean condition. All 10 for €50 including free tracked postage. Just showing 1994 issues but I can send images of other covers to anybody interested.

I bought this GNRI guard's handlamp yesterday and I am looking to move it on if anybody is interested? It's quite a rare bird as not only is marked CNRI but it is also marked Cootehill. The Shantonagh Junction/Cootehill branch closed in 1947.

Dear god, Translink have even officially called it a "train" station......is this for the benefit of US visitors?

Two interesting items sold at Mealy's Book Sale today. The first a really nice item but a little rough - Lot.672. Fishguard & Rosslare Railways & Harbours Co.: Souvenir Programme for Visit of the Directors... for Inspection of the Irish Portion of their Undertaking, ... 28th to 31st May 1938 only fetched €180.00 while a far inferior item - Lot.714. A CIE Railway Poster: Co. Cork, Excursion to Youghal, Sun 6th September, 1959 fetched €280.00! At one time I would have been interested in the F&RRHC programme but the CIE poster - €20 on a good day.

The most depressing part about the state of 467a - if it is that carriage - is that it was in running order when delivered by rail to Mallow. It was either the Cork or Limerick breakdown van - I forget which without digging out my notes - but it is a sorry indictment of preservation in the Republic.

Here's a crude effort that I came across on Done Deal today. Only €30 and the seller was not making any claims for its authenticity. Vaguely similar to one that used to be adjacent to the road overbridge at Claremorris station. It's a long time since I last saw that sign and I think that it has disappeared in the intervening years but I doubt it had as many spelling mistakes.

Sorry, who are you some sort trainspotter who thinks he should be on the stage? I'll explain what I mean, It's quite simple really. Back in the 1980s, CIE/IE got passengers from A to B in a good deal more comfort than they do today and in the process, tried to break even. They failed to do so then and there's no sign that by making rail travel an endurance test rather than a pleasure, they are any nearer to breaking even. I'll put your patronising bad manners down to the fact that you're probably not old enough to remember the 1980s yourself. As an aside, do you ever take the train or are you one of the camera swinging brigade that swan around the country in their car taking photographs . I suspect if you were a regular rail user you might have stronger views on the range of facilities available.

It's not 1984 anymore - what does this even mean? In a great many ways the railway has gone backwards since 1984 something as basic as catering cannot even be provided anymore, neither can parcels be carried, stations be manned or passengers be protected from assorted types of pond-life...Yes, it's not 1984 anymore.

Wouldn't it be nice if IE gave the Mk IV's a bold new, serviceable livery too - something simple like, or identical to, that used by Belmond? Incidentally, no word when they are going to upgrade 1st class on the Rosslare line?

We already have a fairly jumbled up thread on fake signs and I thought it might be nice to have one on genuine items that still pop up from time to time. This DNGR boundary marker sold on eBay today for £131 - quite a bargain for a fairly rare item. It came with a good provenance from a reliable seller - I think he's on here. Initially I was sceptical as a number of these have sold at auction over the years and there can't have been that many but the wear, paint etc. corresponds with other examples sold and added to the details the seller provided me with I was happy - to £66. I only wanted it to sell on and at £131 things were definitely too risky - a nice item.

The 2200s are a horrible experience to travel on - airless, noisy internally from underfloor engines, noisy from lack of any internal partitions, tiny toilets apart from the wheelchair ones, no buffet car and no catering at all.. Having got rid of loco haulage and the associated vans they are now reinventing the wheel. Train travel is now an endurance which I partake of as infrequently as possible.

According to IE's latest Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/iarnrodeireann Inter-city trains are to become even ridiculous - see image. Hot on the heels of this comes more speculation about terminating Rosslare trains at Wicklow or Greystones....and it's not even April 1st. https://m.independent.ie/regionals/wexford/news/works-to-help-improve-rosslare-to-dublin-railway-service-are-ongoing/a2134218808.html

Malranny was indeed examined in the early nineties but considered too remote and we mistakenly settled on the other place. At the time the station and GS hotel at Mulrany were on the market with 80 acres for IR£120,000 - how times have changed! EDIT: My memory fails - it was IR£175,000 but still a bargain.

Over the years I have put numerous proposals to politicians of all colours, and others, on the need for a National Transport Museum and I might as well have been talking to the wall. I have nothing further to say on the matter but as the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words and this recent photo of the 'preserved ' MV Naomh Éanna (CIE's Aran Island Ferry) says it all. https://www.facebook.com/MVNaomhEanna

You need to have been involved in it to understand and there's no way it can be explained adequately to an outsider. As for Moyasta, I won't mourn its passing - it was always going to end this way run by an arrogant SOB. I know from first-hand experience of dealing with the individual concerned. Blennerville was hijacked by a coterie of local business interests and Tralee UDC and was always doomed to fail once they drove off the enthusiasts. As for the other well known project...what goes around comes around and I won't be shedding any tears.

The 2007/09 volume is now sold. The other two volumes are still available.

Hard to believe - well over 1,000 views and no enquiries. Do people not read anymore?

Normally, but at this time of year I don't want to tie myself down being available at times/dates. Sorry.

Detailed fleet listing with photos of Bord na Mona narrow gauge fleet as it was in 1996. 48 pages, soft cover. In excellent condition save for two dents to front cover see images. Scarce volume. €10 plus postage. I still have loads of IRRS Journals, RPSI 5ft 3" and Donegal "Phoenix" mags, and various other Irish titles - message me with your wants.

A4, soft cover, 116 pages plus cover - indispensable when searching for articles in your IRRS Journal collection. In good condition. Also included are two folded indexes for VOLUME 24 (2010-11) and VOLUME 25 (2012-13) I also have hundreds of IRRS Journals available - in excellent condition - feel free to message me with your wants. Scarce item: €10 plus postage.

We don't all march to the same tune.

It's mainly timetables with some pages on terms and conditions and fares.

A glimpse into the horrors of WW.II. rail travel with little more than a skeleton service available and horrendous journey times. 60 page booklet in generally very good, clean condition. The only damage is a small hole top left which runs through the whole booklet and was probably caused by it being hung on a hook in the ticket office. The barely noticeable hole does not detract from the timetable and, strangely, the staple has NOT rusted. €15.