Mol_PMB

Here’s another view of an MSJ&A Sharpie, which appears in the Oakwood Press book on the line: The MSJ&A line ran within 100 yards of Sharp’s Atlas Works, but there was never a rail connection to the factory.

Straying a little from Ireland, there is a working replica Sharpie 2-2-2 in Denmark. It's a tender loco rather than a well tank, but otherwise similar to the CB&PR locos:

With a handful of the Mk2C BFKs still available, I've been mulling over a conversion project. As if I don't already have too much to do! But the NIR driving trailers seem in short supply and I think it would be a fairly easy fix to convert one of these: into one of these: I think it's really just adding two cab windows and two headlights, plus a repaint. Somewhere I have a spare set of broad gauge bogies, though I haven't seen them for a while. The unique DBFO 813 was delivered in the maroon and blue: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511736095/ Later carried the grey/blue livery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54419841610/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54419645964/ and then the grey/blue/white as shown in Neil Smith's photo above. Ideal for a shorter low-season Enterprise rake.

If it stays there much longer someone’s going to find the big NIR stencil and some white paint…

The three 2-2-2T locos were built by Sharp Brothers in Manchester. The firm Sharp, Roberts & Co was formed in 1826 in Manchester, operating the Globe Works and the Atlas Works. Amongst other things, they built steam locos including 'Hibernia' for the Dublin & Kingstown Railway in 1834. In 1837 they introduced a new design of 2-2-2 loco, no doubt with significant influence from their draughtsman Charles Beyer (later a founder of Beyer Peacock). About 600 of these 'Sharpie' 2-2-2s were built over the following 20 years for railways around the world - whilst they varied in dimensions, the basic design was consistent and successful. In 1843 the partnership with Roberts was dissolved; the Atlas Works was thereafter run by Sharp Brothers with Charles Beyer as chief engineer. This factory was on Oxford St and Great Bridgewater St, close to Manchester Oxford Road station. In this period their production of 2-2-2s included the first 20 locos for the GS&WR, as well as the 2-2-2WTs for the CB&PR. In 1852 the firm was renamed Sharp, Stewart & Co, continuing in the same business and building 2-2-2s, later also larger locos. Beyer left in 1853 to form his own firm with Peacock. Sharp, Stewart relocated from Manchester to Glasgow in 1888. Although built 16 years after the CB&PR locos, this Sharp Stewart 2-2-2WT for the Furness Railway has a lot in common with its Irish cousins: (Photo from Historical Railway Images on Flickr) Sharp, Roberts and Co - Graces Guide Sharp Brothers and Co - Graces Guide Sharp, Stewart and Co - Graces Guide

This page has a nice photo of the original station too: 9. The Old Railway Line | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy http://kieranmccarthy.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/9b.-Cork-Blackrock-and-Passage-Railway-Company-Terminus-Cork-South-Docks-c.1860-now-demolished-900x759.jpg Note the water tank visible in the right background which is shown on the NLS map:

The former Victoria Road / City Park station:

A few useful links on the early history here: Cork Blackrock & Passage Railway 5c. On Track, Cork & its Railway Heritage | Cork Heritage Map of the Cork City Railway, with Albert St station at C and the former Victoria Road (City Park) station roughly where the word 'Marina' is. The lines shown onto Victoria Wharf weren't installed until long after the CB&PR was converted to 3' gauge. Image 9 in this lot (I can't seem to get the link to work direct to image 9) shows an aerial view with the CBPR approaches to Cork visible: https://digital.corkpastandpresent.com/Documents/Detail/aerial-photographs-of-cork-city-and-crookhaven/105267?item=105277 Some of the other images also show the same area. Image 13 is a good one too. By the date of these images the Victoria Road station had been demolished to make way for new mill buildings, and the Albert Street station had closed and been converted for other use.

Nice - thank you. It's interesting that the three locos seem to have ended up different to each other. No.1 and No.2 had flat sides to the cab, but No.2 had a small saddle tank added. No.3 had a wider upper cab, and a different style of buffer. All these photos show the locos fitted with vacuum brakes, so I assume they are from the latter years of broad gauge operation (1890s) I also found these: (from https://oldphotosofcork.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/98195547_2891388294291418_8321570423867179008_o.jpg) Plus Colm Creedon's notes (linked in my first post) include a photo of a train at Passage in 1897, and another photo of No.2 with its saddle tank.

I've is busy at present as I'm away from home a lot with no time for modelling. But after a recent discussion which touched on the railway stations of Cork, I have spent a few odd moments looking at the two termini of the broad gauge Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway. These don't get much coverage in the normal Irish Railway books, as the first was abandoned in the 1870s and the second regauged to 3' in 1900 and then abandoned in 1932 - nearly a century ago. However, the buildings themselves both long outlasted the railways. I just thought I'd jot down a few links and bits of information in this thread in case anyone else was interested. Please feel free to add more on the topic, ideally keeping to the pre-1900 broad gauge theme. A proposal for a railway from Cork to Passage was first made in the 1830s. This map shows the entire route, running on the south bank of the river. At the city end it is shown going further west than the line actually built, and terminating where the City Hall is now: 1836 Cork–Passage Proposed Railway - Cork Past & Present The line as actually built in 1850 followed a similar route but terminated east of Victoria Road, at a station known as City Park or Victoria Road. There are a couple of maps from 1852 and 1872 here which show the location: The Catholic Heritage Association of Ireland: Back on the Rails II - All Rails Lead To Cork Also here: View map: Ordnance Survey of Ireland, Cork Sheet 74 (St. Finbar's;Inishkenny;Carrigaline;St. Anne's, Shandon;Caherlag;Carrigrohane;St. Nic... - Ordnance Survey Six-inch Ireland, 1829-1969 Colm Creedon's research notes available on the Cork Local Studies website include some more detailed plans of the City Park terminus Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway 1850 - 1932: digital format · Cork Local Studies Digital Archive Colm Creedon also found a couple of external photos of the buildings in 1878 and 1932 (both after it had been closed as a railway station) and they can also be seen in the document linked above. The station building including the train shed remained as part of the mill complex built around it, at least into the 1930s. I imagine that many of these plans and photos are reproduced to a better quality in Colm Creedon's book on the CB&PR, but that book is hard to find. In the early 1870s about 2km of the western end of the line was realigned further south, to free the river bank for development of quays and industries. A new terminus was built alongside Albert Road, about 200m south-west of the original, and it opened in 1873. At this stage the line was still 5'3" gauge. Colm Creedon's notes (linked above) include trackplans of this station in its broad gauge days; there was also a siding towards the mills on the quay. This map shows the realigned route: View map: Ordnance Survey of Ireland, Cork - Sheet 74 (includes: St. Finbar's;Inishkenny;Carrigaline;St. Anne's, Shandon;Caherlag;Carrigro... - Ordnance Survey Six-inch Ireland, 1829-1969 I think the 25-inch map at this location shows the broad gauge era at Albert Street, though the track layout may be simplified: Irish Townland and Historical Map Viewer I don't think there was ever a link line between the CB&PR and the Bandon or Macroom lines. And the CB&PR was regauged well before the Cork City Railway was constructed. When the line was regauged to 3' in 1900, the Albert Street station was re-used, but with a very different layout of tracks and platforms. The building still exists today, though probably threatened with re-development. There are several photos of the broad-gauge locos - there were three, all 2-2-2Ts. Here are 3 images: No.2 - 2-2-2WT - built 1850 by Sharp Bros & Co., W… - THE CORK, BLACKROCK & PASSAGE RAILWAY - transportsofdelight No.1 - 2-2-2WT - built 1850 by Sharp Bros & Co., W… - THE CORK, BLACKROCK & PASSAGE RAILWAY - transportsofdelight No.2 - 2-2-2WT - built 1850 by Sharp Bros & Co., W… - THE CORK, BLACKROCK & PASSAGE RAILWAY - transportsofdelight There are a couple more photos in Colm Creedon's notes that may also be published elsewhere, but so far I've only found about 6 images of the line in broad gauge days. Good views of the other rolling stock seem non-existent. That's what I've found so far but I may do some more research. I was idly wondering whether it might make an interesting 'what-if' layout imagining the scenario that it remained 5'3" gauge and thrived into the early 1960s and perhaps beyond - a busy but small city suburban terminus.

I've just had another look through the list and there are some great titles there at good prices - recommended! I may be dropping Leslie a message to get a few for myself. One book that may pass under people's radar that I would highly recommend: 50 Years of Railway Life by Tatlow. We've probably all read footplate reminiscences from the 1950s but this is something else entirely - it was first published in 1920 and so the 50 years start in the 1860s. It's a first-hand account of life on the railways in Victorian times. Tatlow started his career as a Midland clerk in Derby, then moved to Scotland, but spent most of his life in Ireland, rising to become a senior manager and then a director of the MGWR.

The RPSI has 837, which is being restored to act as extra seating for the cafe at Whitehead: https://www.steamtrainsireland.com/rpsi-collection/66/837-open-third So 2 of the 10 have survived in good condition - not bad considering they were built in 1902! This was one of the reasons I chose this type of coach to model.

A summary of the liveries carried by some or all of this class are as follows (thanks to JB for the basis of this). 1. All-over dark "lake" (an extremely dark brownish red) with GSWR markings 1902-25 2. For any used on main lines after 1906, same with white upper panels. This is the livery 836 is preserved in. Being only a few years old in 1906, they were front line stock and it's likely that some of them received this scheme when repainted. 3. All-over dark lake but with GSR markings, 1925-early 30s. 4. Some of these did receive the short-lived GSR "main line" livery of chocolate brown and cream (late 1920s to mid 30s) - there is photographic evidence. 5. Standard GSR all-over maroon, same as LMS maroon in Britain (and for that matter NCC & BCDR here). 6. From around 1946, CIE dark green with elaborate lining, snails and 3 digits on the doors 7. From around 1951, CIE plain dark green with no lining, snails or class digits 8. From 1952, the tea cars used with railcars had CIE plain dark green with a single thin EdN waist line. No snails or class digits. 9. From 1954, CIE brilliant green with a single thin EdN waist line. No snails or class digits. 10. From 1956, CIE brilliant green with a single thin EdN waist line and 2 digits on the doors. No snails. 11. From 1959, some may have received snails on a livery similar to 10, but I haven't yet found a photo like this. I have not yet found a photo of any in 'black and tan'. It's possible; some other carriages of a similar era and shape did receive that livery. There were also some more liveries once they were withdrawn from passenger service: 837 was converted into a camping coach no.8 and was painted in a bright red and white/cream livery. Later it became departmental 530A and was painted red oxide (including ends), and later again dark red (including ends). 836 was also subsequently in departmental use (463A). Initially repainted in dark green, it was later very dark grey with red oxide ends. 835 became departmental 540A and may have had had another different livery but I'm not sure what it was.

I like the carriages at Athenry. With 2 on the doors it will be after June 1956.