Lough Erne

It is fairly certain that she will remain out of traffic for at least 10 years,(probably 15 or 20) however by the end of this year she will require some major boiler surgery which is very expensive and is getting no cheaper. But from analysis of the last 5Ft3 mag in the next few years as Garfield says 85, 4, 3BG, 171, 131? will/may be overhauled. This list does not include retubes (every 5 years on average), new superheater elements, worn chimneys, running repairs, carriage repairs, outside contracts etc. Also from 5ft3 186 is not suited to long operations on the main railway, due to capacity, timetables, speed etc however she has put in several fantastic runs of late (the cultra charter being one) and is ideal for short haul (santa trains) or sunday afternoon excursions. 85 will not be featuring on the 13th and will not feature on the broomstick belle judging by the requirement for adequate running in and remaining work to be done.

Yes, very interesting and promising. I've built a few bits and pieces to narrow gauge prototypes for a short garden line. The line itself follows real practice by floating in ballast - however due to other commitments the head ganger and his team will not be receiving any prize length awards due to vegetation that makes the burma road (about 2002 prior to clearance) resemble the GNR mainline in the 1930s!

I enjoyed reading the history of the branch though I do wonder about the dual gauge bit. I imagine they would have gone for the standard gauge option to the mine if the branch had been built. As regards the turntable I would install the walkways and handrails with quite a narrow clearance. - speaking from experience it can be quite narrow between loco and handrail!. If you are concerned about hiding the detail of the table you could say that the boards on one side have been removed for replacement?

For a little background reading on the enterprise this may be of interest http://www.steamtrainsireland.com/brochures/1987_40th_enterprise.pdf

Would agree with Gg - it is a fantastic model and the turntable looks the part. All you need now are the cantilevered walkways, well weathered handrails and the addition of timbers between the rails on the deck. Now that the layout is named have you developed a suitable history for it and how it came to be?

The H van body can be found on Inish Mor Island I think?

The 'in the city' clue is the tram system in Belfast I think.

Summarised From N Sprinks book - there were a number of schemes the most promising of which, was the approach coming from the Arigna - Dromahair Railway Promotion Committee (1903) which was an independent concern. This approach was not supported by the railway due to low capital but the slncr did offer to work it. In 1907 the independent Sligo and Arigna was set up which the slncr initially opposed, but later due to better mutual understanding they withdrew their opposition. However this line would have as you said gone west and headed south east to collooney joining the mgwr at the townland of toberscanavan (1 mile south of collooney). Surprisingly it seems that the MGWR agreed to this, though due to its position would be worked probably exclusively by the MGWR giving little excuse for mixing with the SLNCR. In my opinion if you want to mix it about, have the line built to link in with collooney and operate it as a joint concern. Sprinks does note that proposals to run from Arigna to collooney continued to 1914, until after ww1 where the C&L got in on the act and as they say the rest is history.

532 was broken up I think in 2001/02 though I can't remember exactly. As regards Railcar 1 I am led to believe that once work has started on the new exhibition shed at whitehead railcar 1 may be subject to a cosmetic restoration inside and out depending on available funds. One point in her favour is that a lot of restoration work was done in the late 80s - replacement of structural timbers etc,

Without wanting to be controversial I would say the only reason to preserve a castle class would be as a warning to future generations!. - I am sure anyone who traveled more than 15 miles in one will agree.

It looks like a GSWR 12T van series 8670-8679, however I could be wrong. If it is, it would be identical to the van at Dunsandle.

Looking at the video, it would seem that they could well be some local lads. Certainly a relative of mine when younger spent most of his afternoons after or possibly during school hours going down to Yorkroad and at the age of 14-18 he and his friends drove and fired the stone trains under supervision on the mainline and often ran the locos round the trains prior to banning of double heading. It certainly was a lot more easy going then, judging by the miles of cine film in the house.

One possible suggestion would be a typical small crossing keepers house that you could see out the Mayo or Sligo Roads

Looking at the coach rake it appears to be GNRB No9, A Park Royal, GNRI No88, CIE Laminate 2421, A standard open Laminate, a Park Royal and a Laminate Brake 1916. See below link for details http://www.steamtrainsireland.com/carriages/dublin_vintage.html. Stanier coaches like that never ran here however if painted in LMS NCC would not look out of place after 1945 as they would resemble the ex MR and LMS coaches brought over after Hitlers gifts to York Road. As regards the MK2s in my opinion the green suits them very well and they would have looked awful in maroon and everyone was sick of the maroon anyway. If painted in their original or even authentic liveries you would have 2 NIR blue and maroon coaches or some form of NIR livery, and the rest in BR blue and grey unless you chose a mixture of Scotrail, Network southeast etc. And 303 would be painted orange of course. This would have looked awful and it was therefore decided since the coaches had steam era design features they would be painted in the last steam era livery -UTA Green. However this was put to poll for all the members to decide and won by a considerable margin. As regards the coach liveries above I would agree that it is a shame that Nos 9 and 88 are not in authentic GNR colours but such is life!

Interesting that you say that there were six, as I was always under the impression that there were four nos 100-103. In some GSR stuff I have I can add the following They were built in 1926 They were all third class sitting 46 each They were electrically lit and had the luxury of hot and cold water in the lavatory The photo of the bogies appear to be early pullman bogie design as photos of British pullmans would suggest this, though they later had a range of bogie types. As regards livery there is a photo of a rather 'weathered' pullman coach awaiting her fate at Naas in 'Irish Railways in Colour' by T Ferris on pg94 and has no sign of a flying snail.

As regards loco drawings have you tried contacting the manchester science museum for drawings? A quick search turns these drawings up which may or may not be what you are looking for http://emu.msim.org.uk/htmlmn/web/pages/common/imagedisplay_mosi.php?irn=15486 In addition the magazine New Irish Lines (alan o'rourke) may contain some suitable wagon drawings within the archives ( well worth joining anyway). There is also the IRRS and the UFTM which are generally rather helpful for drawings.

The future of 186 in the short term depends on lots of things, however it is probably a safe bet to say there wont be anything done to her in the next 5-10 years at least as there are 4-4-0's to be concentrated on, not to mention running repairs. However it is hard to believe that 171 has been out of traffic now for 11 years (to date).

@Railer, the age of the engine unfortunately means very little in terms of overhaul it all depends on how they were treated prior to withdrawal and during preservation. 27 for instance is the youngest engine though is probably in the worst condition overall. No 4 had a major overhaul in the 90s as mayner said where the majority of the firebox was replaced. However I would estimate that 4 will be back within 18 months (not gospel by any means) as she is OK mechanically and will (fingers crossed) need very little done to the boiler. It is interesting to note when discussing the locos that 4, 85, 461 and 3 have all had major firebox surgery since being withdrawn. Using this as a guide, 171 will probably need major firebox surgery (very expensive as I'm sure JB will confirm) and 186 (if she steams again). However 131 has not steamed since 1963 ish and her boiler and firebox are effectively scrap. Therefore 171 and 131 are both very much long term and will need vast sums of money and time.

From memory, as JB says 171 requires major surgery and is a while off yet from turning a wheel in anger. As regards 186 her boiler certificate expires at the end of this year and is unlikely to be renewed for a considerable period of time, so if you want a final steam fix from 186 I would recommend travelling behind her in the near future!.

If you can track it down there was an "off the beaten track" episode with James Galway? which covered the line prior to the track being lifted. There was good footage of the magnesite trains if I remember correctly. The footage I believe came from the IRRS as there was a RPSI winter meeting about 2-3 years ago which had cine footage of the line in action as well as footage beyond Dungarvan to Mallow.

Such luxury! any real vehicle I've painted has all been done using a brush! and needless to say it takes days.

I think there is a definite potential for a book along the lines of "the decline of Irish railways 1957-1967" which could be a historical background setting the scene with a conversational style text based on the monthly observations from the Irish Railfans news interspersed with photos charting the run down of the railway, lifting trains, infamous repainting of stations and point rodding etc along with that greatly missed of all closed lines (IMO) the Great Northern branchline.

They are a fantastic resource and though I only have a few in the house, once you start reading them you're lost to the world for hours!

He is, though personally I would ask which one. Mr Beaumont of GSR fame or Mr Beaumont of GNR(I) fame. Though in this case both. PS It is a superb book and is a must for anyone interested in irish railways

Adelaide had a coaling stage accessed from a long ramp which wagons were pushed up, and I think manually shoveled out down chutes into the tenders/ bunkers. For a good photo see Norman Johnstons book "The GNR(I) in Colour" pg 37