Tractionman

Many thanks @Flying Snail that's good to see, I should be more attentive!! I shall study with interest Is there one for the Park Royals as well? cheers, Keith

I do like these formation guides, they help a lot in selecting which stock to acquire, or prioritise! I would love to see one done for Irish rolling stock too--for the 1960s-1990s especially for me--part of the fun is trying to work it out for ourselves from books showing scenes from yesteryear, but often the coaching stock is less visible than the loco, and not all captions are so detailed. With the recent and imminant IRM CIE/IE/IR coaches, I'd love to see something similar done for Ireland cheers, Keith

yes this really is a retrograde step by Translink in my view, even looking at the latest TTs, they are all separate now, so the Bangor TT does not show the connecting Enterprise trains (or onward Portadown services) like it used to, it's a matter of fiddling around with three PDFs (none are printed thee days) and lining up the arrival and departure times! I guess a lot of folks these days will use the Translink online journey planner to join up services, but I'm old fashioned and like to study a proper timetable

hey don't shoot the messenger!! I have no idea, but the Dundalk Rail 'Halt' anachronism has been brought up before in these parts...

There's more folks, listed here--https://clarkrailworks.com/collections/new-arrivals eg https://clarkrailworks.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/silver-fox-oo-cie-class-2600-3-car-dmu-cie-green https://clarkrailworks.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/silver-fox-oo-c-class-b206-diesel-locomotive-1

I see the Bangor line is up https://www.translink.co.uk/timetables?routeHashCode=70fd172c154ac5a62e10594170110f3dd8a833db7887dcba521cd52c91a2a32e&transportMode=Train&route=T0&direction=H and now Portadown line... seems like Translink are popping up the TTs bit by bit... Enterprise also now there from Sunday 13 October 2024 - To Sunday 27 October 2024:

I've taken to driving to Newry and using the massive car park at the station and getting the Enterprise south from there, though I'd rather get the train all the way from Bangor...

Yes no sign of any timetables yet. Rail n Sail Glasgow to Dublin, too late now I know but is routing via Holyhead an option or is it always Stena from Cairnryan?

Well today's the day apparently: A new rail timetable will be in place on the Translink website from 7 October. Let's see...

the latest https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3wd98d2n2o Translink Group Chief Executive Chris Conway said: “We are pleased to announce that good progress has been made on the Rail Safety Certification process. “While our teams across Translink and Department for Infrastructure will continue to work tirelessly to ensure the completion of this process, we are now taking appropriate steps to plan the start of rail services from Grand Central Station on Sunday, 13th October.” He added: “The launch of an hourly Enterprise service between the island’s two capital cities is being planned for Tuesday, 29th October.”

taking the long view, if there is going to be investment on the Belfast-Dublin route, an inland alternative alignment makes good sense, the coastal areas are vulnerable, and if by 2100 we actually do get the new line the last thing we need is for it to then disappear into the Irish Sea... https://www.gsi.ie/en-ie/programmes-and-projects/marine-and-coastal-unit/projects/Pages/Coastal-Vulnerability-Index.aspx

This popped up on my newsfeed https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/watch-first-enterprise-train-move-29988370

that is a retrograde step, so all NI rail services will be starting and ending at GC? is the idea of this to minimise knock-on delays? it'll be a nuisance for those coming from the Lisburn direction, wanting to go to City Hospital, Botanic, Lanyon and TQ, all basically city centre stations but now requiring a change of train to reach from GC... so much for progress

Existing Enterprise timetable now extends to Sat 5 October...

Yes way more comfortable, plus a proper space for bicycles, the times I've turned up at Lanyon and seen a caf on the enterprise my heart sinks... They do nip along though!

On point 3. I follow Translink on twitter, it's difficult to quantify which is the greater issue, train faults or 'operational reasons', both phrases are used as explanations for delays, someone somewhere will have the figures...

In a flight of whimsy I did wonder if the services could be alternated between DDs from Lanyon and ICRs from GC, one from each for each hour if it's an hourly timetable... But then again perhaps likely to create confusion but at least then Translink could say that Enterprise trains are running from GC, to save embarrassment...?

Personally I would prefer regauged HSTs!

Anyone any insights on what happens with the Enterprise between 2027 and 2029?

Monday October 7 is the first date the timetable shows a rail service from Belfast to Dublin without the bus

The latest enterprise timetable runs til early October, I took that to be a sign, we'll see... The latest enterprise timetable runs til early October, I took that to be a sign, we'll see...

Looks good, https://sites.google.com/site/sleafordmrc/LAYOUTS/club-layouts/bantry?authuser=0 Presumably it could very easily be recast to fit a different geographic setting and period, perhaps widening the market for it?

Rail cart! Sounds about right

Tomorrow

Tonight Dublin ex1850, at Newry