StevieB

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

Lovely set of photos but I have to ask if the line is being prepared for closure. Whenever there is talk of economies, this line is one if the first to be mentioned. Stephen

Good new. Governments and their agencies can take a long time to make decisions and then act on them, so don’t always blame the boys at the coalface. IE recognised the problem and made the request some time ago. Stephen

It’s railway modelling, but not as we know it. Stephen

The H van was mounted on both Bulleid’s triangular underframe and the earlier version with the long brake lever. Leslie’s kit is if the former version, so is there any possibility of a second version to add variety? Stephen

Might some of them be at Galway? Stephen

Over on rmweb, in the Wright writes forum, there is periodic discussion about the haulage capacity of RTR/kit built locos, in particular steam. Tony Wright’s depiction of Little Bytham on the ECML runs passenger trains of 12+ carriages and his kit built locos have no trouble with this but put an RTR loco on the front and it struggles. Has anyone tested what MM’s locos can haul and, in particular, whether a pair of 141/181’s outperforms an 071. In reality that was the case with power coming through 8 wheel sets rather 6. Stephen

Just been looking on Antics website and I saw £145, even better. Stephen

Is there a similar drawing of the Bulleid open wagon anywhere? It would a great help to those of us striving to make accurate models, which is not to say that there is anything wrong with Leslie’s model. Stephen

I agree with FL’s comment about a palvan kit, but at the end of the day it’s your decision. Stephen

Patrick The link throws up photos of a good many covered vans that are highly model-able in this day and age. Keep up the good work. Stephen

Murphy Models have a full page ad in the current issue of BRM and quote dates slightly earlier than in Dave’s post. They will be greatly welcomed whenever they come. Stephen

We live in interesting times. First of all industrial tank engines and now 4w/6w coaches. Stephen

They’ll be on my shopping list as well. Stephen

There is some good news for the stretch to Midleton. In the transport plan for Cork, it is proposed for doubling. I do agree, though, that once an alternative use has been found for a closed railway, re-opening is fraught with difficulties. The Bodmin and Wenford are finding just this with their proposal to re-open from Boscarne Junction to Wadebridge. Stephen