Mol_PMB

By 1973, most of the freight traffic was going by liner train and there would have been less need of a pilot engine stationed at Mallow. Here's the summer 1973 WTT which only shows a weekday Mallow (North) turn. It is listed as a 'Pilot Engine' whereas at many other locations the pilot duties are noted as provided by 'Train Engines. However, the pilot availability is not continuous, perhaps governed by traincrew shifts which might overlap with other turns. There's no indication of loco class, and I guess it could have been almost any A or B class. WTTs from 1975 onwards do not appear to include a list of Traffic Pilot Engines at all. There were still some - I can remember pilots at Heuston into the 1990s, but the WTTs don't seem to contain an equivalent listing. But by the late 1970s the wagonload traffic had gone, and my modelled branch line had closed, so it's not so relevant to my interests.

My next WTT is summer 1967, and the listing of pilot engines is simpler than before. Again, here is the Southern Area: Mallow (North) still has continuous pilot availability through the week from 0045 on Monday morning through to 0410 the following Sunday, but this time there is no mention of loco type or how the shifts were split. They were all diesels by 1967, of course. Mallow (South) just gets a loco for 2 hours each weekday evening. What do you think is the significance of the (North) and (South) pilots? Would these have served different lines or yards? Can we guess which might have served Quartertown?

I'm making progress with my first 21mm gauge layout, a shunting plank based on Quartertown Mill near Mallow. I haven't found a great deal of information on how this was operated, but these notes from the 1966 IRRS Munster Area railtour (thanks to WestCorkRailway) give us a couple of useful snippets: 1. The line was in almost daily use, and was worked by the Mallow pilot engine. 2. C class were permitted but A class were banned. The layout was inspired by this photo in the IRRS Journal No. 198, an article by Ciaran Cooney with this photo by Joe St Leger. It also notes that the line was usually worked by the Mallow pilot engine, in this case a B141 class. So I decided I needed to find out about the Mallow pilot engine. Fortunately, the older WTTs contain a list of 'Traffic Pilot Engines' available at each location on the CIE system. From the summer 1961 WTT, here is the list for the 'Southern Area' including Mallow: Although not as detailed as I'd really like, this does contain some very useful information. Mallow (North) had continuous pilot availability through the week from 0130 on Monday morning through to 0645 the following Sunday. However, this was provided by at least two different locos: a steam engine covered long daytime double shifts, while a diesel electric was allocated to the night shift. Mallow (South) only had a pilot on weekday evenings - 1800 to midnight, stretching slightly into the early hours of Sunday. However, this short shift was also split between steam and diesel electric traction. They must have been different locos from the Mallow (North) pilots as they were on duty concurrently. Perhaps these locos were also used on other duties such as timetabled or overload freights to/from Mallow, during some of the time when they weren't allocated to pilot duties? Loco classes aren't given. Do you think these would likely have been J15 and C class locos in the early 1960s?

Here's the Birr branch WTT for summer 1961, with a little more activity than in 1959: I have a reasonable number of CIE WTTs if people would like me to scan any more for them.

"Turn to page 3 to see our two plucky 'nuns' in the clothes God gave them..."

Here are some scans of the better images - sorry the quality of the originals isn't always great. It's probably worth you having another read of the relevant books - at least the sections on carriages. The CVR went through several stages of carriage lighting, including oil, acetylene gas (from carbide), oil again briefly, and finally some were fitted with electric light. I suspect that some of the variations seen on the clerestory roofs aren't just ventilators but include lamps of various kinds. Oil/gas lamps would have needed some kind of vent of their own, to allow the combustion gases to escape. In the early days, oil lamps might have been prepared away from the carriages, and then put into the clerestory around nightfall, placed into holes that would be covered with a cap when the lamp wasn't there. I think this is the earliest photo and the roof details appear quite different to later images. I'm pretty sure some of these are oil lamp tops rather than vents: Most images of the first class coach(es) show 6 vents, unevenly spaced and maybe not all the same height or size. Exactly as you have marked on the Flickr photo. At the end with 2 vents close together is the square 'chimney' thing (it might not be a chimney at all) which is separate from the clerestory. It is connected by pipes (or maybe conduits) to the clerestory and to the boxy device on the headstock. This is a first class: This is also a first class: I think the next two are either thirds or compos, but they show the 'chimney', the device on the headstock and the piping connecting them. I think the box on the headstock is an acetylene gas generator for the lighting, and the gas goes up the pipe to the lamps, passing via the 'chimney' (whatever it does). I'm not an expert on actylene carbide lighting though, it might be worth a Google to see if this looks plausible.

There are some nice colour photos of clean ones in the IRRS Flickr archive, if you have access to that: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53510416252 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53527285211 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53527598169 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54419841675 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53509010636 The chassis were blue too, with one yellow link.

I may be too late for you, but I've had a quick trawl through my CVR books and the following photos show first class coaches: The Clogher Valley Railway, Patterson (original hardback): p.17, dated 1910. Not a very clear view. p.52, undated, in a lengthy special train. Not a very clear view. p.54, dated 1937, in a lengthy special train. Not a very clear view. p.71, dated 1910. Part-way down a train but reasonably clear. 3 vents and 3 lamps on the roof. Layout of the panelling and lettering is visible though not legible. The Clogher Valley Railway, Patterson (second edition softback): p.32, dated 1935. First coach behind the loco, there appear to be 5 vents on the roof and a 'chimney' over the nearer balcony. Side panelling concealed by a post. p.88, dated 1903, half the carriage side is visible on the edge of the photo showing some of the lettering and panelling arrangement. Roof out of shot. p.89, dated 1920. First coach behind the loco, there appear to be 6 vents on the roof and a 'chimney' over the nearer balcony. Side panelling clearly visible but lettering unclear. p.134, dated 1920. Partial view of the end, showing lots of vents and the 'chimney', also a device on the balcony headstock (for acetylene lighting? Associated with the 'chimney'? See also p.153 lower photo, a third class but it has the same arrangement of acetylene generator.) p.71, dated 1910. Part-way down a train but reasonably clear. 3 vents and 3 lamps on the roof. Layout of the panelling and lettering is visible though not legible. In the Days of the Clogher Valley, Johnston: p.1, undated. First coach behind the loco, there appear to be 6 vents on the roof. Side panelling clearly visible but lettering unclear. p.3, dated 1934. First coach behind the loco, there appear to be 6 vents on the roof and a 'chimney' over the nearer balcony. Side panelling clearly visible but lettering unclear. p.8, undated, in a lengthy special train. Not a very clear view. p.11, dated 1903, half the carriage side is visible on the edge of the photo showing some of the lettering and panelling arrangement. Roof out of shot. Lost Railways of Co.Tyrone and Co.Fermanagh, Johnson: Front cover, undated but early. First coach behind the loco, 6 items on the roof, of two types, but unlike any other photos. 3 vents and 3 oil lamps? The Irish Narrow Gauge vol 2, Ferris: p.9, dated 1920. First coach behind the loco, there appear to be 6 vents on the roof and a 'chimney' over the nearer balcony. Side panelling clearly visible but lettering unclear. p.18 top right, undated. First coach behind the loco, side panelling clear but roof detail rather lost in the trees. p.18 middle, 1939. This may be a third class but it shows a fairly good view of the device on the balcony headstock, the chimney and two types of vent. Fermanagh's Railways, Friel/Johnston: no photos of CVR first class coaches though there are some other CVR images. IRRS photo archive: no photos of CVR first class coaches but this image shows the acetylene lighting arrangements pretty well: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53813359618/ This is also a fairly good view on Flickr; 6 unevenly spaced vents and a chimney: You may already have found many of these; please let me know if you would like me to scan any images from my books for you.

I expect that would have to be bleeped out!

Super! Many thanks. I guess the thicker base uses a bit more plastic and time, so please PM me to let me know the total cost including postage, and I'll send the ££ over. Cheers, Mol

Operating that timetable at a model exhibition would make for a very relaxed show!

Some of the mill buildings are still in existence, as seen in these photos from Fred Dean and Jason McAree on Flickr. I think I'll need to make a field trip there next time I'm in Ireland.

Plenty more progress today on Quartertown Mill. Having marked out the track positions, I then had to juggle the desired positions of point tiebars and uncoupling magnets, with the diagonal bracing underneath the boards. This was made easier because I hadn't fitted the diagonal bracing, and indeed I had to modify it from the intended design to make it clear the leg mounting positions as well as the point tiebars. Anyway, here is the result, seen from underneath: The two boards will be permanently joined together in due course, and will sandwich another piece of ply that will be part of the structure of the scenic breaks. Here are the main components temporarily bolted together, but there are still a lot more parts to make: Also seen in the photo above are the track bases. These are 4mm MDF, cut to shape on my little laser cutter. Raising the track slightly above the board gives me some height for the sector plates, and also helps to avoid the 'flat earth effect'. There will be another layer of 3mm cork on top of the MDF. Another thing visible in the photo above is that the scenic breaks are about 50mm wider than the main boards. I'm not sure why this is - they are all standard parts from Grainge&Hodder and have the same interface geometry. I've decided to use this to my advantage and to widen the board by 50mm at the rear (fiddle yard) side with a cantilevered extension. This will simplify the track geometry in the fiddle yard and the scenic break along the length of the layout between the fiddle yard and the visible section. Here's a view showing the main sector plate, a home-made laser-cut assembly: Finally, here's the crossover positioned on the layout. This is the only complicated bit of track, the rest is plain line although there are some more sections with checkrails: Also on this image I've tried to sketch in (in blue) the scenic break that will hide the fiddle yard. This will form a backdrop to the low-relief mill buildings. I feel I've made good progress this weekend, though I can't hope to match Darius's speed!

Hi Rob, I used quite a lot of the 3dp track bases in my display cabinet, but I still have some left over and I'm hoping they will be enough for this layout. I've just got them out of the box to have a look, and it's going to be tight. If I do the sector plates on copperclad then I'll have just enough 3dp bases for the rest of the plain line (both the scenic side and the fiddle yard). It'll be tight though. However, the copperclad I'm using is 1.5mm and the 3dp bases are 1mm thick, so I'll need to pack it all, which is a bit of a pain. Are you able to do the 3dp bases 1.5mm thick? If so I'd need 40 sections. Cheers, Paul I'll use copperclad where there are checkrails, but there are plenty of areas without, where the 3dp bases are easier than soldering and look better too!

Today I have assembled the baseboards. I have also made a start transferring the trackplan from the computer to the board. This is a kind of 'human in the loop' plotting exercise...

Looking closer at the photo I posted, the loco has a load of coal in the tender, and is a bit grubby in places, suggesting that it may have seen a bit of use (trials?) in this condition. Note that it does not carry a nameplate, or the GSR crest on the tender. IRM's photo at the top of the thread has the cast GSR crest, but less (or no) coal in the tender.

This image is from the Inchicore 175 album on Flickr, showing another view in grey. It seems to have been moved around for photos in different locations at Inchicore, at least!

Please let us know how you get on. I have one of their laser cutters which I have been very pleased with.

Excellent work! I’m presently planning to use sector plates for my little layout but you have got me thinking about cassettes as an alternative.

That's crying out to be made use of elsewhere... (Neil Smith photo on Flickr)

Switch blades now made and fitted, and some wires for power supply added too: I've tried a couple of wagons and they seem to run smoothly through it. The next job is a good clean up, and then I need to try and fill the insulation gaps in the 'timbers' so they're not so obvious. At the weekend I might put the baseboard together.

That looks superb!

Wonderful! I have duly ordered a 5-car rake in the original livery to go with 'Eagle'. Thanks for making these available individually so we can choose our preferred combination.

Given the recent publicity and IRM's support for its move and restoration, I'm wondering whether the small announcement will be a special edition cement bubble 25199?

Great photos. Coach 1130 was a kitchen car, originally built by the GSWR in 1914 and it survived until 1968. Seen in your photo sandwiched between two of the 1497-1503 series open standards which were built at Inchicore in 1962, just before the Cravens. Coach 1319 S was an 8-compartment corridor third built by the GSR in 1926. It was in front-line service in 1961 but the S suffix indicates that it had been demoted to secondary stock by the date of the photo (1965). In 1969 the secondary stock was renumbered in the 4000 series and 1319 became 4035. The coach to its right appears to be one of the 1119-1131 series, also 8-compartment corridor thirds built by the GSWR in 1914/15. These were also demoted to secondary stock and some survived until 1969/70.