Branchline121

This post has convinced me that a Forza game on the Canaries would actually be great.

Good ol’ bones. It’s a shame they’re all being scrapped on the continent.

Um, the GNRI didn’t build the Armagh-Castleblayney but operated its services and acquired it in 1911, and the INWR was already there, so that couldn’t have blocked the line; might you be referring to the Carrickmacross branch opened by the GNRI in 1886? I will take into consideration your book.

I wonder what stock would be ordered for an electrified Great Northern line? Would a more conventional TRAXX or Vectron loco be ordered? Or would they go with a full bona fide high-speed electric Velaro EMU? Whatever it may be, they would presumably have to be dual-voltage for the 1500 V DC Malahide-Connolly section, so maybe a Euro Dual loco will be ordered if the BR Class 93 is a success.

The line was supposed to have made it to Kingscourt, if that had came to fruition that part of the railway probably would have lasted a bit longer.

The old GNRI station used to connect up to Waterside via the lower deck of the Craigavon Bridge, but seen as that is nowadays a road, I don't know how it would play out.

What was the story with the Drogheda-Navan line? All the OS Maps show it as single-tracked (although the final 6-inch signifies accomodation for a second), but various photos show two lines, and it was singles again from c. 1965 onwards(?) Can anyone clear this up?

Perhaps this is a silly question but is/was there a platform 9 in Heuston station. There’s the terminal platforms 1-8 and the now-shut(?) through platform 10, but what ever happened to number 9? Was there ever a plan or did they just name platform 10 that because 10 is cooler than 9?

... But also the most boring!

It is!?

It's good to see the possibility of more rail reopenings, so hopefully that happens (and the northernmost MGWR line in the east reopens!) Maybe this is impossible to answer, but what was the line with the highest ridership to close?

Thomas the Tank Engine suddenly looks a lot more realistic!

or a dreamy Kingscourt…

It seems consideration was given to a CIÉ standard fleet of steam locos (perhaps similar to the BR Standards?), but full-on dieselisation was chosen instead, probably not that smart considering the reliability of the A & C engines…

The railways of Eden sound great!

Also, the 121’s livery doesn’t nicely line up with the DVT. Either they were experimenting, or they were going to have a low green band on the loco and high one on the coaches, which would make the colour not the worst thing about the livery!

Not to jump the gun, but… Judging by the design of the locomotive it seems IÉ are planning on buying a fleet of electric Alstom Traxx engines, and the mountains and freight signify that the Kilkenny line is going to be electrified!

Here’s the mock-up — on a parade float!

Compared to the UK, not a lot of Irish lines have names. Example: the lines in Britain have many names, like the Tees Valley Line for the Bishop Auckland-Saltburn line, or the East Coast Main Line for the London-Edinburgh line. I could go on with examples, but the point is, the lines aren’t just the “A-B line” or whatever company built the railway (some are, but that’s besides the point); so, which Irish examples have names? All I can think of is: Derry Road (Portadown-Derry) Great Northern main line (Dublin-Belfast) Meath Road (Dublin-Navan) Western Railway Corridor (Limerick-Collooney) Branches (Youghal, Kingscourt, Oldcastle, Fenit, Castleisland, Ardee, Foynes, Ballina, etc.) Can anybody think of more?

All we need is a 5ft 3 version of that and take it to the Kingsc- oh wait, that’s a greenway now; maybe the Foyn- wait, that’s being lifted; how about Yough- greenway also; Feni- ditto. I guess there’s no abandoned tracks in Ireland to ride a yoke like that down anymore… Apart from the WRC! Hopefully that doesn’t get greenway’d.

Never seen a WT with the NIR logo. I assume this was short-lived?

I heard somewhere Irish Rail were looking for a(nother) mid-life refurbishment tender for them, so it looks the old DARTs won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Playing Train Simulators a good bit, I’ve learned setting up a standard American EMD consists of starting the engine, flicking on yer ‘Engine Run’, ‘Field Generator’ and ‘Fuel Pump’ on. All you have to do then is set the cut-off and MU-2A valves, charge the automatic brake by using the handbrake until you got ~90 PSI, set the reverser forward (or backward), then put throttle up (not too high or you’ll put stress on the engine) and you get your loco moving! Simple!

The Clinchfield RR also painted their EMDs in a grey and yellow livery (albeit without the stripes):