GSWR 90

Agreed, there is not much anyone can do unless they have extremely deep pockets – hence my sarcasm in my first post. If I had to guess, he’s maybe not replying because he’s not interested in spending his time answering emails from random strangers. Again, not much anyone can do

Don’t shoot the messenger! Unfortunately preserved railways are expensive, time-consuming, and very difficult to run. The poster didn’t even attempt to contact the owner of the railway, which would be a very very basic starting point

Unfortunately I’m being sarcastic. The West Clare is a lost cause, and even if it wasn’t, it would need a bit more than a few vague Facebook posts with a “call for support” for someone to do something

You will be pleased to hear that a burgeoning campaign group has recently been set up on Facebook to bring the West Clare back to life. No doubt they are only a handful of “likes” away from getting the railway running again. Services are expected to resume in the coming weeks

Amazing photo – the elusive silver Park Royal! Do you have a source for this photo?

If you want to help us to get to 30 or even 40 volunteers in at one time, send me an email at info@downrail.co.uk

DCC no, but it will have sound, directional lighting, and flickering firebox

Ashpan out. Big tanks to the lads from Cork for sortin dat dere for me

Great pic, those engines would have been great at Downpatrick. I would be very interested to get a solid date as to when they last operated, I think Mallow No. 3 last ran in 1963.

Does anyone know when steam locos were last in industrial use in Ireland (apart from Harvey, of course)? I'd be interested in hearing about the ones that were the almost-last as well, not just the last one

Impact driver won’t fit as the nut is right next to ashpan. Getting a better spanner or cutting the nut seem to be the best options

Been there done that

Great post. Worth mentioning that one of these coaches still exists, GSWR 69 built 1888, originally with a birdcage but was rebuilt at some point in service. It was one of only three I think to carry black and tan and is currently being converted to a first class saloon/observation brake (based on WLWR 77 which is at Belturbet) at Downpatrick.

This update is the worst-case scenario: they all look great. Now I have no idea whether to go for 800 in GSR, CIÉ, or as-preserved livery...

We recently took delivery of some new 3D enamel badges, which are now available on our online shop. These are based on the celtic-style roundels seen on the GSR 800 class loco nameplates. I'm a big fan of these since they look good to both railway and non-railway people!

Well-placed teaser in a class 73 post

Whoops, wrong thread... Looking for 800s, not 101s. Too much excitement going on!

It wasn’t vandalism. It happened in the middle of the day, I think when they were running trains

We’ve recently restocked the DCDR online shop with our popular mugs and Christmas cards, as well as new enamel badges of the DCDR logo and DCDR teddy bears. In addition, we have a few copies left of our 40th Anniversary Brochure and our book about the history of the DCDR, “Back in Steam”. You can easily order online at https://downrail.myshopify.com/

I saw these photos on the news/social media. Horrible to see the signal cabin go up in flames and sending best wishes to the great volunteers at Maam Cross. No doubt they will build back better, and a horrible day like today will be nothing more than a memory in the not-too-distant future. https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/breaking-horror-fire-engulfs-entire-36397136 You can donate on the Connemara Railway Project Gofundme page.

This is a photo of 800 in grey. Interesting that the GSR logo seems to be on a raised bit (wood?) rather than just a transfer on the body. It also seems that the logo doesn’t fill up the whole of the raised part – was this varnished wood? It doesn’t seem to be the same shade as the grey. And was it raised like this in GSR green?

More 80 class madness – a bubble, an A class, a 141 and G617. And shunting steam engine No. 90 into the shed. It can’t shunt in the rain right now as the rear end is a bit exposed

184 will look great when finished. The paint on it is based on a swatch taken from No. 90, which is in turn based on a swatch taken from a model in the Science Museum in London that has original GSWR paint. Always nice to see some inter-society cooperation! We are almost at the point where every 5'3" Irish steam loco will be in restored condition apart from Lough Erne

Whistle on 90 in the 1990s was a BR one. Stolen while it was stored in Tuam. The RPSI made a replica of 186’s original GSWR one, so 90 will sound like it did 150ish years ago

Following on from another thread about locos that CIÉ painted green, here’s one about locos that UTA painted green. Generally when the UTA repainted locos, they painted them black. There were some exceptions – apparently a Jeep, a W, and a U2 painted in experimental apple green, Brunswick green, and olive green This Jeep, No. 5, is apparently painted in “apple green”. You can clearly see that the lining is very bright and the tanks, cab, wheels, and boiler are much brighter than the black smokebox and chimbley This W, 98, is apparently painted a darker Brunswick green This BCDR loco, No. 21, is apparently pictured after overhaul in 1953 – it seems to be in kind of an olive green, and to me that doesn’t look like BCDR lining as it’s more white/green than yellow, especially compared to the yellow numbers. An experimental livery…?