Flying Snail

NIce to see the layout James - that's an interesting mix of rolling stock you have there. Hope to see more of it getting a spin around the layout. Good luck with the youtube channel - sound is much better on the recent one

I picked up a remarkably similar train set in Lidl a few years back. It almost appears to be the same tooling .... with one (grinch-like) difference: check out the coal load Available on Amazon too https://www.amazon.ie/Christmas-Upgraded-Control-Electric-Railway/dp/B0D97T4NSG/ref=asc_df_B0D97T4NSG?mcid=09666beb17103050afb9028a496ad972&tag=ieshopgode-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=743419017779&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4894886971959447663&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9047197&hvtargid=pla-2410729619892&language=en_IE&gad_source=1&th=1

Whats the chap on the right hand side of the picture siting on? At first I thought it was the buffer, but that is at his back

Future readers of this thread will find links to Colm Creedon's records and some background here: https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/19615-colm-creedon-archive-cork-railways-as-well-as-former-gswr-dser-and-gnr-lines/

Just a note for future readers of this thread - links to Colm's records are in the first post of the 'Colm Creedon Archive' thread, where's also a link to the Dermot McCarthy's collection of almost 250 photos of Cork railways from the middle part of the 20th century too: A little further down the thread @Westcorkrailway has provided a breakdown of the contents of each of the records, as well as some background on Colm himself.

I saw it pop into my social media last week. Sadly, I expect its too late to save it - but that picture really gives a sense of the scale of it: it's really impressive.

I think that would be very helpful! Also thanks for the bio - it really is great to know something of Colm as I flick through his notebooks.

Actually @Westcorkrailway - if you or any of the other members on here can provide a little background in this thread on Colm and give a sense of him as a rail enthusiast, it might provide some nice context for those of us just discovering his work now.

They are wonderful - hand drawn maps and annotations, long lost clippings and his own photos. Colm has left a real legacy.

Yes - have a gander at the GSWR albums ... you'll find a mill of interest in there (Webbs Mill in Mallow, which I recall you are interested in)

I came across a fascinating collection of digitised notebooks compiled by Colm Creedon in the Cork Digital Archive (link below). I believe Colm wrote a number of books on Cork railways so its no surprise that there’s a strong Cork flavour, but Colm also included the former GSWR, GNR and DSER lines too. Also covered are the preserved and tourist railways as they were in the early 90s such as Stradbally, Tralee & Dingle etc. There’s 18 note books in all. Each notebook consists of newspaper clippings, photographs and Colm’s commentaries. The list of Colm's notebooks is: The Railways of West Cork - Illustrated Album No. 06. The Railways of West Cork - Illustrated Album No. 05. The Railways of West Cork - Illustrated Album No. 03. The Railways of West Cork - Illustrated Album No. 02. The Railways of West Cork - Illustrated Album. Irish Tourist Railways - New Lines, Preserved Lines, Restored Lines and Stations (1991). GSWR Album Vol 3 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992. GS&WR Album Vol 2 1955 -1987. G. S. & W. R. Album Vol 1. Great Northern Railway (GNR). D and S. E. R. Album. Cork, Youghal and Queenstown Railway Vol. 2, July 1991-. Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway 1850 - 1932. Cork, Bandon and South Cork Railway Volume 2. Cork, Bandon and South Cork Railway Volume 1. Cork and Youghal Railway Album. Cork and Muskerry Light Railway. Cork and Macroom Direct Railway Album, 1866 -1955. Link to the collection here: https://corkdigitalarchive.ie/items/browse?collection=8 (note terms of use on the bottom of the page – permission required for publication but free for private/research use) You'll also find the Dermot McCarthy Railway Photograph Collection of almost 250 photos of Cork railways from the middle part of the 20th century on the Cork Digital Archive too. Link here: https://corkdigitalarchive.ie/collections/show/9

This thread is starting off as more of a slow burner than the 'Early Irish Railway Photos', but that's definitely an interesting find to kick things off @Mol_PMB In my mind, not-so-early Irish Railway photos might be more the place for stuff after the formation of the GSR, so here's a photo from GSR days of a mixed train in Mountmellick about to depart back down the branch around 1939. The interesting thing is the carriages have two loose coupled wagons between them and the loco. Mountmellick was the only stop on a short, very lightly trafficked (and flat) 7-mile branch that trains from Portlaoise (Maryborough) entered through the rather awkwardly configured Conniberry Junction (requiring the loco to run around its train) - which is most likely the reason why. * I can't recall where this picture came from: I think it could be 'Lost Railways of Co. Dublin and the South East' by Stephen Johnson

It's a good album alright, although there may be some errors in the labelling here and there - that particular GSWR loco is tagged as WLWR in the Flickr album, but in DB O'Neill's WCIR article in IRRS Journal 074 (October 1977) it's identified as WCIR No 7. Of course, regardless of whether it was originally WLWR or WCIR- by 1905 when the photo was taken it was indeed a GSWR loco .

Another interesting shot from Portrush by Robert French - the tram in the foreground, but behind it are some tipping wagons with what I think is an open wagon on a lower level: Original Lawrence Collection picture here: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000058791

And don't forget about the WCIR either Rob, they did it too as per this pic you found from Waterford for the WCIR thread (the rest of the stock here is WLWR - in the immediate aftermath of the takeover of both those railways by the GSWR. https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000590012 W&CIR van just behind the erstwhile WL&WR N0 34

As early railways go, does it get any more interesting than the Lartigue Railway? Robert French has a lot of photos of it including the one above: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000327321 There's also a few with the broad gauge railway in the background, such as this: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000058573

Returning to Abbeyleix, this early 20th century picture of the station is a favourite of mine: Its in the Eason Photographic Collection on the NLI website: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000047930

The 'Abbeyleix' photo appears in the Poole Collection on the NLI. The caption is that it was 'commissioned by Mr. John Gorry, Derrykearn, Abbeyleix'. So to be fair, it doesn't actually claim to have been taken in Abbeyleix. It almost certainly wasn't, thats a MGWR loco. Original link here: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000595074

That was my first thought too but then .... there's also a bigger potential market in London and Scotland than there is around Lough Swilly ... maybe it's more a Delboy type that's coming up with it? You know it makes sense

There's also quite a few early photos on these forums, such as Rob R's thread on the WLW: or JHB's thread on the GSWR here: and that's just a sample of what you can find on here!

There's a few more sources of early photos closer to home, such as the National Library of Ireland. Robert French took a number of railway photos around Ireland, such as this one of Achill taken some time in the early 1900s or the late 1890s (I think the staton opened around 1895): Link to original here: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000058755

Also from the Ken Nunn Collection - this is in the UK Science Museum archive, a 1895 Kitson and Co built 0-4-4T: 52 Brian Boru. https://zoom.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/iiif/3/316%2F70%2FWaterford.ptif/full/max/0/default.jpg Link to collection here: https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8362459/ken-nunn-collection

Sams Trains has documented his journey designing and 3D printing locos and rolling stock over on YouTube. It's not a set of tutorials per se, but he does go into the process in some detail. He also has an article on one of his designs, and 0-4-2 in the August 2023 Railway Modeller. Link to his Youtube playlist here:

Given that it's such a niche scene, I think its also very likely that someone passing off another person's design as their own would be identified fairly quickly. When I talk about opportunities - I'm really talking about individuals wanting to develop their own Irish layouts or use examples like @Rob R's MGWR wagon to learn CAD. I love reverse engineering things and understanding how they work, or why the designer made the choices they did. So my plan is to have a play with your design, use it to understand and learn from your approach to designing a wagon, then have a go at my own models.

Yes, I think you're absolutely right - it would really open up opportunities for those interested in the Irish scene