StevieB

Athlone GSWR.

They obviously never considered a standalone railway centre like at Quainton Road or Chappel and Wakes Colne, both of which survive without a mainline connection despite their close proximity. Stephen

Would it be fair to say that the ‘authorities’ in the UK have been more responsive to railway preservation than their opposite numbers in Ireland. Both WISRA and GSRPS both offered much but both eventually failed because they couldn’t turn their aspirations into reality. Let’s hope that the Connemara project succeeds. Stephen

It looks very good. Stephen

Hands up those who remember what day it is! Stephen

Looking very good David. Stephen

Earlier on there was reference to David Malone’s Cliffoney, a presumed MGWR line from Sligo to Bundoran, an alternative to a GNR(I) line from Bundoran to Sligo. Apart from some pieces in Rail Model Digest and Irish Railway Modelling, I can find no other references to it anywhere else. Can anyone help? Stephen

Have a look at the Colm Creedon collection on corklocalstudies.ie. You’ll find a very personal record by a true enthusiast. Stephen

There is an American 00 scale, which utilises a track gauge of 19mm. If that had been adopted over here,rather than 16.5mm, there would have no great need for EM/P4. Stephen

Thanks guys. Stephen

Whose numbers did you use for the re-numbering exercise? I have a number of 141/181’s awaiting to go through this exercise. Stephen

Is that Gort? Stephen

Are things still progressing ok with Gort? Stephen

That’s as bad as £279.50 for the Lima 201 that keeps appearing on eBay. Stephen

Back in the middle of the 19th century, the Cork and Waterford Railway was set up by Act of Parliament to link the two cities by way of Youghal, Dungarvan and Tramore. However, it was not to be but we did end up with the Cork to Youghal and Waterford to Tramore lines. In my model railway world, it wouldn’t have been the Waterford, Dungarvan and Lismore Railway that completed the link but rather a line from Dungarvan to Youghal, providing a much shorter and quicker route between the two cities. It would certainly have stayed open for the magnesite factory at Ballinacourty together with BELL liner trains. Such is the power of imagination. Stephen

Well said Noel. Stephen

Patrick, I can only agree with the comments above. Absolutely lovely. Stephen

This dropped on the mat on Saturday morning and is, as usual, a good read. In the news section there is a reference to the clearance of vegetation on the former line between Midleton to Youghal and the fact that there is local opposition to the greenway proposal. This is based on continuing growth in housing between the aforementioned places and the fact that reinstatement of the railway would be environmentally beneficial, something that the greenway could not provide for long distance travellers. The transport plan for Cork includes dualling Cork to Midleton, together with electrification of the remaining suburban routes along the lines of DART, CART? Re-opening of Midleton to Youghal then becomes the logical next step. From experiences elsewhere, you can build a greenway alongside an existing railway but you can’t easily re-open a railway where a greenway has been built on the former railway alignment. Stephen

I’m up for everything that both Noel and JHB have suggested. Probably top of my list would be C/201’s, AEC railcars and palvans. Stephen

You could have a look at Colm Creedon’s collection online at Cork County Library. It makes fascinating reading. Stephen

That’s looking rather fine. Stephen

This is one of those layouts that you just want to keep coming back to. It simply oozes atmosphere. Once again, we’ll done Patrick. Stephen

The Christmas card to all their customers is a lovely touch. Many thanks from a damp south Worcestershire. Stephen

Stephen

It would appear that the same approach to closure by stealth was taken the railway authorities on both sides of the Irish Sea! Stephen