LNERW1

More than a million trips a day- fair impressive, I’d say thats about 10x LUAS isn’t it? But then I’d use a rail line if it was built by my house so fair enough.

Anything for good public transport. It's long past time we got a proper European metro system, never mind rail. Hopefully this leads to more development of the Luas and new rail lines in cities around Ireland.

Headed to Stradbally to volunteer at the railway this morning, and as we were approaching on the road in from Ballyroan, I was shocked to see a driving car of a DART 8200, in a field to the left of us as we drove in. Two other volunteers, one in the IÉ CME department and one in timetable management, had no clue what was going on. Even stranger, it appears to be gone as of a few minutes ago, headed home the same way. Can anyone help shed light on this? The working theory is it’s for the Electric Picnic, as it’s held on the Cosby Estate.

Just started playing the NIR game, has better in-train physics than SCR as far as I can tell, which is a nice quality of life improvement.

As everyone adores and is deeply emotionally invested in this, let me just drop a bit of lore that will seismically change the lives of all who read it. Been working out the route and lore of the Ardree line for a bit, so here's the general overview, as of right now anyway: The line initially ended at Salthill, with a roadside tramway being established north of the city (at the time) in 1887, and in 1893 a more direct line was built, connecting with the Clifden line north of where the hospital stands today, west of the Corrib, crossing the viaduct along with its sister Connemara line- meaning the short section after the junction was open until 1974. After Salthill the line had stops at the following: Knocknacarra: 2-platform passing station that had the line's eastern locomotive facilities (a 40ft turntable behind a 2-road shed) until absorbed by the GSR in 1925, after which the shed roads were used as wagon storage until demolition in 1966. The turntable bridge was removed in 1927 but the pit was only filled in upon tearing up of the line in 1981. Silverstrand: Single-platform halt. Closed 1942. Barna (Bearna under CIÉ): two-platform passing station with goods siding (siding torn up 1970) Garrynagry passing loop is believed to have had short wooden platforms between 1879 and 1884, when two trains collided at the loop and caused a fire, killing 2. Furbough (also spelt Furbogh and Furbo in printed material): 2-platform passing station with 1-road carriage shed and two goods sidings. Closed to passengers 1967 and to goods in 1969 Ballynahown: Single-platform halt with one goods siding (torn up 1936). Closed to passengers in 1942. Doorath sidings: a 200m loop off the main line to allow transfer with a short-lived 18in gauge line that ran to a fishery (closed 1930) and a small sand quarry (closed 1931) on the coast nearby. The line was ripped up almost immediately and everything was sold off to try make a tiny bit of money. The loop was no longer used after except very occasionally to allow trains to pass. This practice ended when a minor derailment occured in 1946, when CIÉ removed the points at both ends of the loop. However, the loop itself, and the wooden transfer platform, stuck around until well after the line's closure, rotting away until removal in 2013. Spiddal: 2-platform passing station, with a short branch to the pier that opened in 1882 and was last used in 1906, being removed as part of road renewal sometime in the late 40s. Station closed to passengers with the line in 1967. Beyond the pier line the town never had goods facilities. Inverin: opened as a 2-platform station on Inverin loop in 1889, rationalised with the removal of the loop in 1936, and closed in 1945 with CIÉ takeover. (note: this served one of two communites named Inverin, this one being east of Loughaunbeg) Loughaunbeg: actually located in Cornaron, single-platform station with a goods siding, however this siding was so rarely used it was thought to have been abandoned from construction until a photo of a train using the siding and an oral account from a driver on the line surfaced in 2009. The siding was built with the station in 1894, but was torn up around the 30s, likely 1936 as much rationalisation took place then, and the station closed in 1960. Creggan: 2-platform passing station serving Creggan, Baile na hAbhain and West Inverin. Opened and closed with the line, no goods facilities. Ardree Town (coloquially Ardree McKenna after the 1916 renamings in 1966, nicknamed after a local poet): 3-platform station (2 bay, one through) with a wooden overall roof akin to Foynes or Tramore and a 3-road goods yard with a goods shed covering the two roads nearest the station, and a 2-road engine shed with 60ft turntable. The through platform was for the Ardree Quay branch, one goods road (outside the shed) was removed in 1936, the shed was demolished in 1960, and the turntable was left in situ until 1990, when the bridge was removed and destroyed for scrap and firewood, and the pit was used for bonfires by local youth. The station closed to passengers with the line in 1967, but several IRRS specials visited in 1967, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74 and 77, after closure. The goods yard closed in 1974 and was torn up in 1981. However, the station was left largely intact, with the two bay platforms being repurposed to display four carriages preserved by local enthusiasts (two Cravens and two Park Royals), with the roof being refurbished and the bay platform used by the Ardree Heritage Railway in 2000 (see below) Ardree Quay: 1-platform terminus station with a loop and goods shed, opened in 1882 on a short (1.6-mile) extension from the original terminus. Between 1882 and 1936, the line extended onto Pier A of the harbour, but this section closed after Pier A was struck by a ship and required rebuilding. The station was otherwise kept largely the same until a bridge was built over the station throat in 1962, allowing road access to a new ferry terminal, built to allow better access to Aran and Sheehaun. The station closed to passengers in 1967, and to freight in 1974, but the line between Town and Quay was not torn up with the rest of the line in 1981 as the cranes could not fit under a road bridge in Ardree. This allowed the Ardree Heritage Railway to reopen this section in 2000, operating with a CIÉ G class and a Mk2. This operation closed in 2009, but all stock was moved to Downpatrick and Whitehead, and was returned to the site in 2021, with operation recommencing February 12th 2024. Obviously nobody cares but I needed something creative to do and I like worldbuilding. If there is anything particularly unrealistic about this please do point it out- I am far from the smartest person on this forum and so welcome any constructive criticism. I do hope someone finds this at least a little interesting. Thanks. All the best, LNERW1

Hate to be pestering with all the questions, but will TIC be freeplay or have set routes?

Odd thing to object to, a Roblox game.

when is the game planned to go public?

I should have noted that the loop is shared with my younger brother- it’d be more accurate to say it’s his layout, in fact. He does most of the running trains!

About a year ago(probably embarrassingly less) I went through a phase of complete confidence in my modelling ability and went posting any idea that flew into my brain, touting them as definite projects when I had never done any modelling whatsoever before. On an unrelated note I may have just done an ADHD assessment… but that’s beside the point. Anyway I thought I’d find a more useful outlet for those ideas and ramblings with a dedicated thread (yes I know I made one a while ago but that’s beside the point, it was shite ignore it). Anyway, at the moment I actually do have a functioning layout but it’s one I’ve been quite clandestine about for no real reason other than I’ve learnt my lesson. It’s a 00 double-track loop, I'm not sure of the exact dimensions but a loop of 3rd radius curves with two short straights (Hornby) fits nicely enough with maybe an inch on each side and at the apex of the curves. It was just an old board found in a relatives shed and I’ve never measured it. Here’s a photo- nice and neat and tidy as ever. I also have a tiny layout that represents a preserved railway in early spring 1970, somewhere in the English Midlands. This is a layout inspired by obsessive reading of the Micro Model Railway dispatch and is as such tiny. Sorry about the focus! To the right of the platform seen, I plan on adding another abandoned line, with overgrown tracks and one of the double tracks removed, leaving only sleepers behind. Other than that there are some details I have planned but I shan’t say more, for it will spoil the next story. As it’s a small, fairly manageable project I have quite a lot of confidence in it and may even set aside Ardree Quay temporarily while I build it. I am very much desperate for some semblance of achievement so may have to settle for the dopamine boost rather than the serotonin. But that is all a moot point if I get nothing done, so now I must go to the kitchen table (God forbid I have a workbench) to build a Metcalfe kit because of the aforementioned dopamine. Best Regards, LNERW1

Can I have an 071 pin if I drag one of the turf wagons out of the bushes for the group's entertainment?

Plenty of progress up ahead so. Well I look forward to it.

I gave Dundalk the interim name MacMahon, after my mams old hairdresser who hailed from there and who, somewhat ironically, referred to it as Fun-dalk.

For something like that I plan on using something akin to Manchester Metrolink, where the vehicles can run as both trams and mainline vehicles. Luckily I was too lazy to use accurate 1600mm gauge track, so interchangeability shouldn't be a practical issue, though it may draw some logical concerns!

Pre-1916 had occured to me- I believe at one point I replaced North Wall with a huge station and named it Dublin Tone. Sounds a little too much like some sort of perfume or a song though, I think monosyllabic names rarely work. The only reason Pearse works, in my opinion, is because it's a very sharp word, and defines itself enough that it doesn't just sound like punctuation, which Tone unfortunately does. Peace activists and widely respected politicians are something I had in mind for the North. I would have to be careful with the placement though, as obviously the huge levels of division would necessitate a lot of consideration as to what stations would be named after who, I'd say it'd especially cause issues along the Dublin line as the line divides East and West Belfast and so naming a station on the border of the two after a political figure would be an issue as the vast majority of politicians in the North are hated by enough people to be controversial, so more nonpartisan names, such as artists or performers, might be the best solution in that case, although an unfortunate bulk of art, especially from an area as politically charged as Belfast, is not entirely nonpartisan. Overall most art to emerge from the city in the past half-century is pro-peace though.