Old Blarney

I cast my vote at 17.40, or thereabouts this evening, on the poll for how we wish - Irish Model Railways Ltd - to announce their product release information. I must say I am astonished at the number of responses to this poll. I shan't disclose the figures that was shown at the time I voted, it will become appear after you vote. May I encourage each reader of these posts to participate in this very important exercise. We, the modellers of Railways Irish, constantly bemoan the lack of items available to us, and then, when they are produced, we tend to complain about the costs. The point I am endeavouring to address is this - The larger we make our Market Place, the less expensive the product should be for us to purchase. An increased market and market potential should also encourage our Manufacturers to produce an increased product range for us too. Please cast your VOTE. I purchased my Ballast Wagons and Cement Bubbles from Marks Models whilst I was exhibiting Old Blarney at Warley, 2017. Hopefully, I can purchase some more when they are at Glasgow this Month. Do the decent thing - get voting - We all need to let our suppliers know what we want,. Don't vote, then don't complain when a product comes to market and it is not what you wished for or wanted!!

JHB, Message sent to you re details of MIR.

Glover, "A question: were the 4 wheel luggage vans ever painted green?' I hope they were painted so, I have one. It is a superb model that was made for me by John Mayne. One of three, he kindly made for me, one Silver, one Green and one in Golden Brown and Black with the white line below the roof and top of the windows. John made a number of coaches for me too.I doubt a Gentleman of his experience and knowledge of the Railways of Ireland would have supplied me with a four wheel heating and luggage Van in an incorrect colour. DJW.

David, As far as I'm aware the G Class were never paints in Grey, as per the 121 Class. The first deliveries, G601/603 were delivered from Germany between September and October, 1955. G602 was overhauled in July, 1960, repainted green and returned to the Clara Branch. G603, in CIE light Green was photographed in Limerick Station,26th, August, 1962. G611 Class. All seven were delivered in February,1962, in green livery but like the rest of this class of locomotives (G611) it would shortly be repainted in the new CIE Black and Tan colours prior to entering service. Information taken from - Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society, February, 2016, Vol 27, No189. Author. Author, Dan Renehan. "Deutz G Class Locomotives of CIE.

Richard, What a beauty! That coach would be a prize on Old Blarney. A yes from me. JB. Can you provide information on the liveries this coach ran in? GSWR, GSR and then into CIE Green i suppose? Did this coach run in various CIE Greens? David White.

Attachments are not opening.

Oh no! Your not out Flashing again John? A we flashing story. My Aunt was Flashed at one day whilst returning to her home on Military Road from Killiney Station. She had decided to take the lane-way, the one opposite the Station and return home that way. On her way along the lane, a Man opened his coat and exposed himself. Her response. "Oh dear, were I you, I should be ashamed to point that little thing at anyone." Whilst relating this story to me, her explanation was -"Well David, I should know about these things and what they look look like. I have, after all, borne seven children and I know what a proper one should looks like." With that, she insisted I pour her a very large Whisky, and a Gin for you Dear. Hope to see you John! David.

I'm coming over from Scotland on Thursday weather permitting. Hoping to meet-up with some of our fellow travellers on Friday and looking forward to Saturdays tour. Hope to see you on the train on Saturday John.

Bantree, The photograph shows a CIE 2600 Series Railcar (DMU) to those in the UK. Bodywork - Park Royal - Chassis and engines AEC of Southall, London. The exhaust system has been altered, if my eyes are seeing properly, so that the exhaust gases are being emitted to the atmosphere via the vertical exhaust pipes to the right of the railcar. The original railcars exhausted at ground level thus, the exhaust re-enter the coach when trains were stationary The Bus is a CIE P Class Leyland OPS Tiger.

I vaguely remember seeing some coaches that retained their Great Southern, Crimson Lake livery at Foxrock Station, however, I cannot be certain of the location! Were it Foxrock, then the date has to be before November, 1947. I was surprised to see coaches in this colour as all railway coaches were either green or brown as far as I was concerned at that stage of my life! For me the original CIE coaching colours of dark green, eau-de-nile with white and black lining is my preferred livery. Why? Quite simply it was the only livery that I saw on a regular basis, I liked it and I liked the trains on which I saw it. For me, that livery also offers realistic variety in the model trains trains that I can run. I can intermingle GSR coaches with CIE Coaches to represent the early years of CIE, alternatively I can run mixed CIE livery sets with their later variations of lighter greens. It is also worth remembering the first AEC railcars and Park Royal Coaches carried a darker shade of green and they too ran with the earliest CIE livery – so variety – or perhaps – many shades of green!

Gang, Can anyone out there help with this question please? I wish to put a Sound Decoder in a T2 GNR(I) Tank Locomotive. What Sound Decoders are best suited to give a GNR(I) Sound? Assuming no Irish Sounds are available, what British Sound Decoder would best suit a ZIMO Decoder?

Hi Gang, May I thank each of you for your replies, photographs and assistance. Steve,aka - Status Quo - (He is a massive fan of the Quo, has attended 30 Plus of their Concerts) is the person responsible for the construction, detailing and painting of these coaches. Two Driving Trailers and the Intermediate Coach. I'm looking forward to seeing the completed set and to testing its running both here at home and on Old Blarney prior to taking everything to Warley in November, 2017. Can anyone tell me the number the intermediate coach should carry when it is part of the set 600 and 601? Help please! Thank you. David.

Yes, it is the GNR 600 series and an intermediate coach that are being built by Steve. All help will be appreciated re the interior colours. Should the Blue be Oxford Blue? We are hoping to have these items running on Old Blarney at Warley 2017. Thank you in advance. Old Blarney.

I'm so saddened to hear of Richard's death. I was fortunate enough to have met him on a number of occasions and to have visited his home. I had the absolute pleasure of helping to operate Castle Rackrent too. It was a most enjoyable experience and frightening too. It ran to a timetable, all trains were listed for their operation at each station, and everything was signalled as if it were on a proper railway, bell codes etc. Oh, you also had to signal in at your station using the appropriate bell codes to the box on either side of you - before you did anything at all to do with trains. For anyone who is not familiar with Richards's work - please see the link I have included below. Hopefully it will allow you to view:- https://highlandmiscellany.com/2014/06/03/last-train-to-castle-rackrent/ It was both a pleasure and a privilege to have known him. David J. White. Perth and District Model Railway Club.

A wee example of the type of coach variations to be found in the 1950s on Irelands Railways. http://www.ebay.ie/itm/ireland-railway-private-postcard-derailment-at-kingsbridge-dublin-to-cork-1953-/400794052298?hash=item5d512fe6ca:g:t0AAAOSwVFlUH0iw Only Two coaches, well there are the Turf Coaches in the background.

Ah, memories. Donnybrook Bus Garage. This is a reminder of the building of Donnybrook Bus Garage for us, the Older Generation. Possibly the younger people amongst us may be unaware it was firstly, a Tramcar Depot. An additional Bus Garage was added by Dublin United Tramways (1896) Ltd and finally CIE demolished the Tramcar Depot. They replace it with the Depot that graces the site today. http://makingirelandmodern.ie/2016/10/17/making-ireland-modern-bus-tour/ OB.

Old Blarney goes south for the Summer. Old Blarney has been invited to -The Great Central Railway - A wonderful location. Real railway and model railways too. Three day Model Railway Exhibition. Friday to Sunday 16th to 18th June 2017. Please come for a chat. All welcome. http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/modelevent/ https://www.facebook.com/SoarValleyMRC/

I found this Film from UK Channel 4. I'm unaware of it having been posted on IRM. Well worth watching. The quality of the pictures can, at times leave one frustrated. See whom you recognise! Happy viewing. Old Blarney.

Flour Tea Milk Sugar Beet Beet bye-products for Cattle-Feed Meat Eggs Butter Bread Biscuits Chocolate and Chocolate Crumb Cigarettes Beverages - Guinness - Smithwicks - McArdles etc Coal Petroleum Products:- Mex - Esso - Shell/BP - Burmah - Lobitos Agricultural Machinery Cars and Vans and Buses too Building Materials - Timber - Brick - Cement - Slate Aggregates Ore Boats and Yachts Cement Timber Fertiliser Manure Livestock - Cattle - Horses - Sheep - Pigs Poultry - Hens - Geese - Turkeys Pigeons Perishable Produce - Vegetables - Fruit - Soft Fruits Flowers Cloth Wool Ordnance Military Traffic Paper Newspapers Timber These are just some of my initial thought on traffic carried by the railways. Over to you John!

British Rail Containers on C.I.E. I have viewed a number of photographs of BR containers of the type discussed on this thread. The text associated stating, the Containers were used for transportation of Motor Vehicle Parts shipped from British Car Manufacturers for assembly in the Republic of Ireland. The reason! During the 1950 and 1960, many of our imported vehicles were shipped as parts - Complete Knock-down (CKD) for re-assembly in Ireland. A number of Motor Trade Businesses in Dublin were importers and distributors of these vehicles, Brittain's , Booth Pool Etc. For further information click on this link:- http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/and-in-the-beginning-there-was-ckd-for-car-imports-1.1293448 http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/past-imperfect-1.389523 http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/gearing-up-a-history-of-irish-motoring-1.1096586

Oh, the infernal use of modern spelling and phrases. Gaol. That's what the laser shining Guttersnipes and hooligans deserve. Gaol - "Its most common use today is in the names of jails, but it is still possible to find a few scattered instances of gaol as a common noun in recent writing. For reasons mysterious to us, it appears to be most common in Ireland and Australia." I too have completed your Survey - Very interesting.

Well. That's me put firmly back in my box.

Kirley, Have you had a look at the Gaugemaster site. They are advertising Piko 58900 for sale. They are HO wagons and are a good representation of the IE timber Wagons. Regards, David.

This is the link for RM Web's Irish Page:- http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/forum/183-irish-railways-group/

Welcome to this Forum. Hopefully you will find it to be inspirational. If you are aware of the RM Web site well and good. If not I suggest you visit it and head for the Irish section. Have a look at Mr. Colm Flanagan's model of Coltrane. Also Cookstown Junction which in both real and Model Terms are no longer with us. Happy modelling,