thewanderer

Evening folks, Just a couple of pictures from around Portarlington & Monastervin on Sunday afternoon. Includes a picture of 22063 being hauled dead back to Laois Traincare Depot by 22001 after it struck and killed a women at Adamstown in the early hours of Sunday morning. http://smu.gs/14GMJNz The Wanderer.

Good evening, On Friday 28th June Hansfield Station opened for business after standing idle for three years due to the lack of an access road to the station. The Station is served by 24 trains towards Clonsilla / City Centre and 21 trains from City Centre / Clonsilla Monday to Friday. On Saturday's the service is a shuttle all day to/from Clonsilla with 16 services to Clonsilla and 17 services from Clonsilla. A similar pattern exists on Sunday with 13 services to Clonsilla and 12 services from Clonsilla. The station was officially opened by Leo Varadkar T.D. Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport who is a local T.D. in the area. Pictures of the opening are now online at http://smu.gs/10rn7EO Enjoy, The Wanderer.

Good evening, On Friday 28th June Hansfield Station opened for business after standing idle for three years due to the lack of an access road to the station. The Station is served by 24 trains towards Clonsilla / City Centre and 21 trains from City Centre / Clonsilla Monday to Friday. On Saturday's the service is a shuttle all day to/from Clonsilla with 16 services to Clonsilla and 17 services from Clonsilla. A similar pattern exists on Sunday with 13 services to Clonsilla and 12 services from Clonsilla. The station was officially opened by Leo Varadkar T.D. Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport who is a local T.D. in the area. Pictures of the opening are now online at http://smu.gs/10rn7EO Pictures from the rest of Friday are at http://smu.gs/10rnYoX and include: - LUAS Red Line services being delayed at Benburb Street due to the emergency services attending an incident. - LUAS Trams in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin's Docklands. - Docklands Station which is served in Peak Hours only to/from M3 Parkway. - M3 Parkway. - Connolly. - Skerries to see the afternoon Tara Mines trains (071 & 086), plus the 1235 Enterprise from Belfast, local Commuter services and empty ICR's from Drogheda Depot. - 8100 Class EMU's at Tara Street. - Heuston Station. Enjoy, The Wanderer.

Evening folks, Just a couple of photos of the Supersize Moon earlier in the week, plus 22048 & 22029 at Killenard on Portlaoise Commuter services on Tuesday evening. http://smu.gs/10nVlJq The Wanderer.

Evening all, Round up of photos from the last few days: Wednesday 19th June 2013: An evening walk in Derryounce Bog. The BnM railway which runs through the bog could do with a visit of the Weedspray train! Thursday 20th June 2013: 22055 at Portarlington and 3026 crossing Sean Heuston Bridge. Saturday 22nd June 2013: Several photos of the 1130 Waterford - Westport Ety. Timber train at Cherryville Jct., Kildare and Clara. All photos now online at http://smu.gs/12hY0jY Enjoy, The Wanderer.

Looks perfectly normal to me Memories I could almost smell the interior of a small GM while watching that, whilst grabbing onto my chair to stop being thrown off.

Evening folks, A ramble around Bord na Mona railways last Saturday at Edenderry / Croghan and Cushina. http://smu.gs/ZYyXGj The Wanderer.

It should be safe enough at 0635 in the morning! I have been down there several times throughout the years and never had any problems from the "locals". Then again you don't set up camp right outside their front door either. What incident happened? The Wanderer.

Evening all, After being dropped from its traditional slot at the start of the Weedspray Program, the mothballed South Wexford railway finally saw the train operate over the branch on Friday 14th June. It operated from Portlaoise to Waterford on Thursday afternoon to position itself for the run on the next day, thus giving the unusual sight of the Weedspray train operating in the Down Direction on the South Wexford Line. Scheduled to depart Waterford on the Friday morning at 0700, which necessitated a 0420 alarm clock call, the train crossed the Barrow Bridge at 0755 and proceeded to Rosslare Strand arriving there at 0940. 071 ran around its train at Rosslare Europort and then operated to Rosslare Strand where it waited for the 0940 Connolly - Rosslare Europort service to arrive. On board the 0940 from Connolly was the new Iarnrod Eireann CEO Mr. David Franks who travelled in the cab of the locomotive to view the disused line for himself. The line was also sprayed in both directions. Pictures begin with the positioning move on Thursday afternoon and some early morning photos in Waterford. Pictures of the Weedspray are from Barrow Bridge, Wellington Bridge, Bridgetown, Rosslare Strand and Rosslare Europort. http://smu.gs/120LqFA Enjoy, The Wanderer.

Good evening folks, The latest pictures are from Tuesday and Thursday. Featuring: Tuesday: Pictures of the William Dargan Bridge and Titanic Quarter Station in Belfast. Thursday: An afternoon visit to Straboe, Co. Laois to photograph ex works 071 bringing the Weedspray train from Portlaoise to Waterford. Pictures now online at http://smu.gs/ZMDmfn The main reason for the visit to Belfast on Tuesday was to visit the Titanic Belfast exhibition in Queens Island and the Game of Thrones Exhibition which is touring five cities worldwide. Game of Thrones: http://smu.gs/ZMAuiB Titanic Belfast:http://smu.gs/176tXVB Enjoy! The Wanderer.

It's hard to keep a secret in the railway

Evening all, I couldn't make Kilkenny today for the RPSI Steam but here is a selction of pictures from Ross Castle, Killarney on Saturday and Killarney Station on the Sunday. http://smu.gs/17AroKD The Wanderer.

No, I don't have any close up ones. I'll put it on the to do list!

Photos from Friday of a trip to Kerry. Locations featured include Portarlington, Thurles, Cork, Mallow and Killarney. - New ticket barriers at Cork. - 2614 + 2617 2055 Cork - Tralee. http://smu.gs/11LU231 The Wanderer.

Evening folks, Earlier today the Ffestiniog Railway's "Princess" was unveiled at Dublin Heuston by Junior Transport Minster Alan Kelly T.D. Public Transport Minister, Alan Kelly T.D. was at Heuston Station today to officially unveil the oldest narrow gauge steam locomotive in the world. Princess, which has recently been on display at Paddington Station, London is coming to Ireland as part of The Gathering, to highlight a railway heritage tour aimed at the UK market for The Gathering. The Locomotive, which is on loan from Ffestiniog Railway in north Wales will be on display at Heuston from today until 24th July and is open to all those who love trains, whatever their age. The Minister was joined at Heuston by the Dublin Welsh Male Voice Choir and guests in Victorian dress to mark the occasion. The original Ffestiniog Railway was built with capital funds from Dublin, and Irish labour was heavily involved in construction in the 1830s. Photos from the delivery to Heuston on Tuesday evening and the launch event on Thursday are now online at http://smu.gs/13J8U5l Plus a few other odds and sods from this morning: http://smu.gs/11HSoPJ Enjoy! The Wanderer.

Good evening all, The sunny (Exam Time) weather was too much to resist this evening. So here is a selection of photos from 60 minutes split between Clonkeen, outside Portlaoise and Portarlington. http://smu.gs/17pDrdM The Wanderer.

Morning folks, A varied day today. From a preserved RA bus in Portlaoise to the arrival of a Princess from the Welsh Highlands at Heuston Station http://smu.gs/11CS7NS The Wanderer.

Evening folks, Just a quick hop to Thurles this afternoon. - 22031 1325 Heuston - Limerick. - 22037 1420 Limerick - Heuston. - 232 1400 Heuston - Cork. - 22052 1820 Limerick - Heuston. http://smu.gs/17gUkHt The Wanderer.

Evening all, Just three pictures from the past week which hadn't made it to the website. http://smu.gs/10NUM8H The Wanderer.

Good evening all, All the photos from my recent UK trip last weekend have now been uploaded to the website. The photos are broken down into day by day galleries. The link to the 2013 International section of the website is at Individual links to each day are contained below. Thursday 23rd May 2013 - http://smu.gs/Z3I73T After travelling overnight from Dublin Port onboard the Stena Nordica I caught the 0655 Virgin Voyager from Holyhead to Flint. The first day of the trip was dedicated to travelling over railway lines in Wales that I hadn’t yet travelled along. So after Flint I doubled back to Llandudno Jct. and ventured into Llandudno itself. The station at this important seaside town has certainly seen better times and is very rundown in appearance. However, there are some signs of improvements on the way. After a short break which enabled me to take a quick walk around the town I found myself back at the station awaiting the arrival of the Class 150 DMU for the 1008 Llandudno - Blaenau Ffestiniog service. From Blaenau Ffestiniog I travelled down to Porthmadog with the excellent Ffestiniog Railway in there superb First Class observation car. First Class fares are available for a very reasonable £6 supplement single. Upon arrival at Porthmadog there is no mainline train from the town until 1456 so it gives ample opportunity to have some lunch and view the afternoon Welsh Highland departure from the Narrow Gauge Station. The reminder of the day was spent travelling on the Cambrian Coast railway lines from Porthmadog - Pwllheli - Machynlleth - Aberystwyth - Welshpool – Shrewsbury. My travelling companion and I decided to alight at the remote Dovey Junction on the Pwllheli – Machynlleth for the +5 minute connection into the Aberystwth – Birmingham New Street service. The Senior Conduction expressed surprise at collecting two passengers at this location, saying her manager wouldn’t believe her when she submitted her passenger loadings report at the end of shift! The only downside of the day was due to Engineering Works there was a bus transfer between Welshpool and Shrewsbury for the final service of the day in each direction. Friday 24th May 2013 - http://smu.gs/ZeKQr7 Staying in Shrewsbury overnight is a good launch pad to sample the Arriva Wales Trains locomotive hauled service between Holyhead and Cardiff Central and it departs Shrewsbury at the reasonable time of 0810. While Thursday was about travelling on new lines today trip could be compared to sampling some of the onboard restaurant car services which operate in the U.K. No sooner had we left Shrewsbury, tea and coffee had arrived at our first class seat and our Breakfast orders were taken. The trip to Cardiff was quiet with only four people in first class and standard class in the refurbished MK3 coaches was in the region of 60% full. Upon arrival at Cardiff a quick check of realtimetrains.co.uk revealed two freight trains would shortly be passing through Cardiff Central Station. From Cardiff it was a quick hop under the River Severn to Bristol Parkway where we got a Weston Super Mare service to Bristol Temple Meads and awaited the arrival of the 0606 Edinburgh – Plymouth Cross Country HST service which we boarded to Exeter. A 20 minute connection at Exeter saw the arrival of the 1255 Plymouth – London Paddington. The 1255 service is one of six services on the First Great Western High Speed Network that offers Silver Service Pullman Dining and we enjoyed a three course meal while at High Speed towards London. See http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Your-journey/On-board/Pullman for full details on this excellent on board train restaurant. London came calling all too soon and we found ourselves at the splendid London Paddington at the start of the evening peak of a Friday Bank Holiday weekend. The final trip of today was an evening spin on the new London Overground service to Clapham Jct. from Surrey Quays. Saturday 25th May 2013 - http://smu.gs/13j9XbZ The main reason for this UK trip was to sample London Underground’s Steam on the Met over the Bank Holiday weekend (http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/assets/downloads/pdfs/SteamontheMetTimetable.pdf) . The specials were operating between Amersham and Harrow-on-the-Hill / Wembley Park as part of the London Undergrounds 150th anniversary celebrations. The morning specials 1 and 2 were photographed at Harrow-on-the-Hill, Northfields and Moor Park and we travelled on Specials 3 and 4. On Special 4 we travelled on the Metropolitan Jubilee Coach 353, dating back to the 1890s. Sunday 26th May 2013 - http://smu.gs/16pKXpc A short day today with a late start and a requirement for an early finish to meet up with a friend in Central London later that evening. I caught the 1130 London Kings Cross – Edinburgh for the 45 minute non-stop journey to Peterborough. Minutes after arriving at the station I struck lucky with the Network Rail Test unit 950001 passing through on the Up Fast. A few minutes later a pair of GBRF Class 66’s passes through Light Engine from March to Peterborough Depot. My Cross Country service soon arrived and I boarded a very busy 3 car Class 170 for the trip to Stamford. I was aware of the transport bookshop located in the station and decided to see if it was open. Alas, being a Sunday it wasn’t. Not to worry as the town of Stamford made up for it and the sunshine certainly helped as well! 60 minutes later I was on my way again towards Leicester where I would be changing trains for an East Midlands Trains 10 car Meridian (222011 + 222012) to London St. Pancras. Monday 27th May 2013 - http://smu.gs/13jfkrI I had grand plans for today but a combination of engineering works extending journey times between London Euston and Manchester (however I did manage to mark the Northampton Loop off the Baker Atlas) and a sore hand I decided to postpone my plans for the Manchester Metrolink for another day. However all was not lost as I managed to pick up a few bargains in the W.H. Smith store at Manchester Piccadilly before catching a TPE 185 to Manchester Airport. I hope you enjoy the photos. Enjoy! The Wanderer.

Day 1 of the UK trip sees me starting in Holyhead after travelling overnight on the Stena Nordica from Dublin Port. The aim of today was to travel over railway lines in Wales that I hadn't done before such as the Conwy Valley Line, Fflestiniog Railway and the Cambrian Coast Line. The route covered today was: Holyhead - Flint - Llandudno - Blaenau Ffestiniog - Porthmadog - Pwllheli - Machynlleth - Aberystwyth - Welshpool - Shrewsbury http://smu.gs/Z3I73T The Wanderer.

Not sure yet schalane. Photographs from Rosskelton early this moning so see a hauled MK IV set. MK IV DVT 4005 was declared a failure prior to the departure of the 1820 Cork - Heuston on Tuesday 20.05.13. The set required haulage back to Inchicore and this was arranged for the Wednesday morning as a 0715 Cork - Inchicore Ety. which was worked by 218. Also at Rosskelton this morning: 4006 + 222 0700 Cork - Heuston. 22019 0800 Heuston - Cork. 22032 0740 Limerick - Heuston. Pictures start at: http://smu.gs/YWf8ih

The weedspray is in Limerick tonight and going to Portlaoise, via Thurles tomorrow morning. Latest pictures from Sunday and Monday (no weedspray Rich!): - Sunday 19th May 2013: Pictures from Portarlington, Heuston and Busaras while on a trip to Dublin. Monday 20th May 2013: - A lunchtime visit to Portlaoise to see 22033 on a SPAR charter to Killarney along with 22019, 22037 and 22054 on other passing trains. Photos start at http://smu.gs/18d2dvb The Wanderer.

Pictures from today are a tale of two coaches. In July 2009 International Carriages 6203 and 6205 were transported from North Wall to the Killashee House Hotel in Naas, Co. Kildare for conversion into a restaurant. See http://smu.gs/YQPs6w for pictures of the movement in the Dublin area. In March of the following year I visited Killashee House Hotel and managed to obtain photograph of the coaches stored in a yard behind the hotel. Click on http://smu.gs/168MGOq for the start of the March 2010 pictures. The yard was also home to Cravens Carriage 1558. It was always in the back of my mind to get back to the Killashee House Hotel to see what happened to the coaches but for one reason or another I never got around to it. Then, only days apart in late April 2013 my interest in these now unique carriages was rasied once again when I saw two seperate pictures on facebook of the carriages. Their individual condition now poles apart. In the three years since I last visited the Killashee House Hotel time has not been kind to 6205. The future plans for it never materialised and the coach has been left to rot away in open storage. All external windows on the coach have been smashed and the body work is in poor condition. Meanwhile its sister 6203 has been moved to Caragh Nurseries, about 10km away and converted into a Coffee Shop. Compared to 6205, 6203 bodywork appears to be in good condition and the interior of the vehicle is well presented. Pictures of 6203 and 6205, plus Cravens 1558 from earlier today are now online in the May Gallery at http://smu.gs/YQR4NN The Wanderer.

60 minutes spent around the Portarlington area this evening. - 22054 1825 Heuston - Portlaoise. - 22061 1930 Portlaoise - Heuston. - 218 1900 Heuston - Cork. - 22056 1855 Heuston - Portlaoise. - 22001 1935 Heuston - Galway. - 22037 1820 Cork - Heuston. The pictures start at http://smu.gs/112fpwC The Wanderer.