Mol_PMB

Many thanks John for all the info and for this photo reference. I've just had a close look at the photo, agreed it's a 1960s AEC Mammoth 8-legger, which is a type available in model form from EFE The one at Ballysodare appears to have a dark green cab, possibly with a circular logo on the cab door. The body of the vehicle is grey as you say, it looks a boxy shape but it's very hard to make out what type of body it is. The colours could be CIE, but equally could be any other firm with a green livery. Regarding grain and flour trucks, mostly GB types but with a few Irish ones, there is a really excellent set of photos here: https://www.trucknetuk.com/t/mainly-rank-hovis-spillers-milling/225912?page=1 The show a great variety of shapes of bulk flour bodies, as well as a nice selection of flatbeds and other types. I'm not attempting to model Ballysodare, but the simpler Quartertown. Owned by Webbs for most of its life I have read that it was latterly part of the Ranks empire.

Thanks Mick - I’ll have a look.

Based on what I recall from my visit to Cultra a few months back, I guess this Oxford model in 1:76 is the best option for... Though possibly with an attack of weathering:

I'm quite tempted to see what these two EFE models of AEC trucks would look like in CIE green.

Nice view of one of the few Belgian locos to run in Ireland, on eBay at present: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/pt0AAeSwBnVpJySs/s-l1600.jpg

Same for me. There's not much Irish in-stock that I haven't got already! And only a couple of weeks ago I bought some of those ESU goodies. Ah well, I'll save my money for other things.

For Quartertown Mill set loosely in the 1960-1975 period I think I'm before the Hino period, but I also remember them everywhere in the 1980s and 1990s. Even then, there were still plenty of donkey carts to be seen on the roads, a few churns of milk or a mound of hay on the back (not many balers in the west of Ireland in the 1980s as I recall - lots of rounded haystacks, sometimes on stone 'mushrooms', with a small tarp on top held down with weighted ropes - like half a bikini). Ancient trucks and tractors - definitely. I have a strong recollection of red numberplates, but I think they were a 1970s thing and may be too late for my period (certainly on older vehicles).

Many thanks, great stuff!

Interesting. It was 6208 at one stage, but that 7173 looks like the same vehicle. I suspect the bogie maintenance intervals may have influenced the usage?

The CIE ones seem hard to find, but there’s actually a fairly good range of 1950s and 1960s AEC trucks from EFE and Oxford, as well as Base Toys. A bit of paint and some CiE transfers and they could be quite convincing I think. There are a few trucks available in Ranks livery but I think they are GB prototypes and probably too big for 1960s Ireland.

An added snippet that may be of interest - 6208 was unique because it had the BT10-derived bogies from a Mk3 rather than the T4-derived bogies of the International stock. Although branded for the Cu na Mara, it was often marshalled in Mk3 rakes. Some pics in this thread: https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/17397-brel-designs-for-ireland-that-didnt-turn-out-like-this/#findComment-249237

Interesting! There were some special rules for hauling railcars, also in the 1953 WTT. When I'm home I'll check them. Because the railcars used a twin-pipe high vacuum brake system I think that the brakes were supposed to be drained down and isolated before a conventional loco was coupled up to the railcar vac hoses. But perhaps in this case, the railcar engines are still running and keeping the brakes off, and No.90 doesn't have the vac hoses connected - effectively shunting them as swingers.

That’s really useful info, many thanks! And a great photo too.

That looks superb!

I’m wondering about a couple of lorries for my layout, as there are road loading bays as well as rail. In the 1950s/1960s, which marques would have been seen in south-west Ireland? I think I’ve read somewhere that there were tariffs on imported complete vehicles and so some firms did final assembly in Ireland, so those would be more common. Looking at a few CIE vehicles of the period, a lot of them seem to be AEC, and later Leyland, badged. https://www.kennellyarchive.com/media/f9ca4dec-d916-4807-ac6f-f3922db8b86d-liebherr-cranes-at-fenit But there are also some Fords, not obviously CIE in this case: https://www.kennellyarchive.com/media/6a85dd4e-67e4-4138-a03a-b5a1cd5c7f7a-unloading-grain-in-fenit For this sort of size truck, is my choice basically AEC / Leyland or Ford? And were there particular models more common in Ireland? What other options would there be? I think in the 1940s, GSR/CIE had a dominant position in the road transport business and the role of independent firms was quite limited. I expect that had changed a bit by 1960. Would independent hauliers and/or industries have been more significant than CIE by this time, or was CIE still dominant?

Thanks. I do want to tweak a few dimensions and I'll need to improve their structural strength with more bracing inside. But a big benefit of drawing them on CAD and then laser-cutting them is that I can make another set with minimal effort. I'm also still finalising a few ideas about both ends of the layout, with the option to slightly shorten one building and add some more trees in half-relief at both ends. I'm away from home for a couple of days so I'll mull it over and make a decision when I'm home.

I think the ex-MGWR 'hearse' van used for pram traffic on the W&T survived in use into diesel days, so that would be the most likely tail traffic there. I haven't seen a photo of it hauled by a railcar, but if there is one it would fit nicely in this thread.

I probably have a suitable WTT to answer your question, but I’m now away from home for a couple of days. Someone else might get there first. The van is looking excellent.

Looking superb - an inspiring build and some useful tips too.

A bit more progress with the backscene and the building mock-ups. I'm getting close to what I want now. Broadside view: Main mill buildings; I've shortened the nearer one by one bay: The loading bay near the exit to the fiddle yard: And a gricer's eye view: Which can be compared to this view of the real thing:

The trees look very effective. Hopefully I can achieve something similar with mine.

I don't need these, but I will say they are the perfect points for a small O gauge layout and at a good price. The geometry of the Peco Setrack O gauge points is too sharp radius and doesn't make good crossovers, while the normal Peco points are way too long for a small layout. The 48" radius of these Marcway points is fine for most things, unless you want to run express stock. I've used these Marcway 48" points on my MSC 'Inglenook plus' layout.

Superb!

Correct, as is your maths.

Using a couple of your other photos, here's a view looking the other way: The lines diverged after the bridge, as shown in this IRRS photo taken from the bridge: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53813452669/