Mol_PMB

Next, drill out the buffer holes to 1.5mm, then stick the buffer bodies back in place, making sure they are straight and square. Add a pair of 21mm gauge wheelsets to assist in positioning the brakes. Then, you can re-instate the brake hangers, into their new holes. I didn't stick them in place just yet. As you can see, the regauging has left a gap in the middle of each brake cross-stretcher. I chose to cut some 20mm lengths of wire and glue them across this gap - it's not a perfect solution but I don't think anyone's going to be looking too closely when the wagon is in service. Whilst gluing these, if necessary you can tweak the position of the brake hangers so that they don't touch the wheels. A dab of glue on the tops of the brake hangers will secure them in the right place. Make sure the wheels spin freely. (pic) I decided not to reinstate the links across the axles - they're almost invisible from normal viewing angles and they prevent the wheels being removed. Now to the buffer heads. The buffer shanks may have become partly blocked by glue. If so, use a 0.7mm drill (exactly) drill to clear them out. Then push the buffers (with springs) firmly back into place. Now check the fit of the body corner stanchions over the repositioned buffers. It may necessary to file a little material off them to achieve a good fit. Then re-fit the body, which is harder than you might think and the guitar pick will help. If any other small bits have fallen off, stick them back on. There's a little bit of paintwork to touch up, otherwise it's done.

Here's a step-by-step guide to regauging a fitted H van; having done a few now I've learnt what needs to be done and what can be avoided. Firstly remove the chassis from the body - a guitar pick inserted just inside one of the bodysides will do this quite easily. You can leave the chassis attached to the metal floor. Now use some sharp side cutters to cut through the brake cross-stretchers on both sides of the longitudinal link between them. You can now remove the wheelsets. Upper chassis = before, lower = after. Next, use fine pliers to grasp the block at the top of a brake hanger. Twist it, rotating gently side-to-side until you hear the glue give way. Repeat for the others. Now, carefully use a scalpel as a gentle lever to lift the brake hanger out of its hole. You're not trying to cut through the peg, the brake hanger should come out intact: Now you should have something like this: For the outer brake hangers, you need to make new mounting holes to suit the 21mm gauge wheels. This is tricky - start with a tiny drill in a pin vice and work up to the right size for the pegs. The inner brake hangers don't need new holes, they can be pushed into the gap between the old hole and the diagonal frame member. The next step is to deal with the buffer spacing (sigh...). Firmly pull the buffers and they will come out, try not to lose the springs: Using a length of 2mm metal rod, insert this into the buffer surround and wiggle it side to side until the buffer comes off: Usuallt the plastic shears off almost flush, but if the glue is a bit weak then the square shank comes out with the buffer. Now your bufferbeam will look like one of these: If you have a square hole, fill it with some plastic strip. Otherwise it will be very difficult to drill the new holes in the right place. Then, use some microstrip to fill each end of the bufferbeam channel outboard of the former buffers. Once the glue has set, sand it all down flat, flush with the front face of the bufferbeam channel: Mark new buffer holes at the correct spacing (25mm) and drill out to about 1mm diameter. Now you need some new buffer bases, which could be bits of microstrip but I made some etched ones in a spare corner of my E410 body etch: more to follow in the next post...

I would strongly recommend seeking out a copy of this little book: It is an illustrated stocklist of locos, carriages and wagons published in 1979. A great help in understanding the types of rolling stock in use in the 1970s. There were also 1981 and 1987 editions, perhaps not so ideal for your chosen period, though not much changed between the 1979 and 1981 editions.

Sorry for my incorrect answer - now I look more closely, I agree that Andy is right.

Wonderful - many thanks!

Yes. Before attaching to the floor, I'd solder a bolt in place pointing downward through the hole.

I note a couple of Irish nameplates in the next GWRA auction: https://www.gwra.co.uk/nextauction.html W 'The Foyle' and S 'Slieve Donard'

They'll be mounts for the bogies.

A couple of extra snippets on the MGWR vans. From the NLI archive and a photo dated 1960, this is very likely to be 1751M although the suffix is hidden by the corner stanchion. The roof has been modified and this may be a former 'convertible'. https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000304956 And from @Westcorkrailway on the railwayana thread, this plate is off one of the IRCH vans:

Great contrasts of new and old in the first shot. The train has a brand-new coach but ancient 6-wheel brake and vac-fitted ventilated van behind the loco (meat/fish/fruit van?). The loco is probably older still! The brand-new H vans in the sidings also contrast with GSWR vans dating back to the early 1900s.

Fortunately they’re not following in 5T’s footsteps to the USA. The next hurdle would be this week’s steel tariff percentage! Great work by all involved.

Is that what adorns most of the 071s?

One interesting thing that happened in the mid 1970s was an increase in services on many routes. With the completion of the A and C class re-engining projects and the delivery of the air-con Mk2 trains and the BR heating vans, there were more resources available and a new timetable with considerably more, faster trains was introduced. It turned out to be a over-optimistic and was dialled back a bit until the 071s turned up. But there was a big increase in passengers travelling, and in the late 70s and early 80s there was a very critical shortage of coaching stock, until the DART and Mk3 stock arrived. Short branch line trains were a consequence of this!

The second vehicle in that train appears to be a brake second, converted from a composite built in the 1950s. That should provide some more seats, a toilet and a the guard’s facilities. It does not appear to have a steam-heat boiler or generator but it’s April so perhaps warm enough to do without. Some of these brake second conversions did have boilers, but the lack of hatches and exhausts on the roof suggests this one did not. Here’s another shot of the same train from Jonathan: https://flic.kr/p/2nmq55N

I'd say a Park Royal would be quite plausible rolling stock for a branchline in that area in the mid-late 1970s (and indeed the 1980s), and the suburban ones weren't limited to Dublin. At that time, it wouldn't be solo: there would have to be a heating/guards van of some sort, and probably another passenger coach or two almost certainly of a different type (hopefully with a toilet!). As a starting point for your rake, the Park Royal is a wise purchase, and it looks like they will be super models. Services of that nature would be Limerick to Junction, Ballybrophy and Waterford/Rosslare, also Cork to Tralee and Cork-Cobh. Jonathan Allen has some superb photos on Flickr from this era. https://www.flickr.com/photos/152343870@N07/albums/

Ok, Sorry, I had looked at the content rather than the identity of the person posting. As someone who has given close to a thousand man days and tens of thousands of pounds/euros to railway preservation projects I get particularly wound up by people saying ‘someone’ should do ‘something’! I confess my involvement in Irish preservation is limited to a weekend working on 226 with Aidan Brosnan at Carrick, and spending a chunk of money on railtours and entrance fees at various sites.

If you want to make a difference, donate some money or put in some time on the restoration projects. What will writing letters achieve?

It's photos like this one in the NLI archive that make me want a variety of goods vans, rather than a whole train of the IRM H vans (which are, admittedly, superb models). https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000305732 We're at Tullamore in 1961. On the left, the nearest van is an H, followed by a former GNR 1950s 12-ton cement van, then some opens and another H at the end. On the right, a GNR 9-ton van, then a GNR ventilated vac fitted van, then a GSWR 'Big Boy'. A gap, then another GSWR 'Big Boy' and an H van. Another gap, three cattle wagons and then in the distance is a GSR bulk grain van. There are at least 3 different types of open wagon as well, with 6-plank opens on both wooden and steel underframes, and a Bulleid corrugated too. What a variety! It's not like this is a massive marshalling yard, it's a mediocre main-line station and we're only looking at the contents of 2 sidings.

That sounds very feasible to me. If it's single track then they can avoid the need for lifts, bridges etc and simply have a ramped access to the back of the platform. Platforms can be built quickly these days with some innovative techniques (e.g. giant polystyrene blocks) or for a temporary facility a gang of scaffolders could do it in a weekend. Would the railway need planning approval for operational infrastructure on its own land? It wouldn't in GB but maybe the laws are different in Ireland.

My research on goods vans is out of step with my modelling of goods vans. However, I have done a nice little Friday project to re-chassis one of my IRM fitted H vans. This was the starting point, along with a few odds and sods from the bits box: The chassis uses the Parkside solebars, W irons and floor, modified to suit the H van dimensions and 21mm gauge. Buffers and brakes are from other sources. The body has had some minor detail modifications but is largely unchanged: This now represents one of the 200 vans built by CIE in 1946, numbers 17012 to 17211. The body was very similar to the later H van, but the underframe was a conventional steel one rather than the Bulleid triangulated type. From a distance, the most obvious difference is the long brake lever. This close, the camera is a bit cruel, but I think some of the imperfections will disappear under a coat of paint and some weathering. This IRRS photo shows a real one, 17043, when brand new: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53507783407 The livery was dark grey with eau-de-nil snails, low down on the left panel of the side (an unusual position). Twelve years later, those which hadn't been repainted were looking a bit tatty - here's a nice photo of 17080 from Ernie: In the mid-1960s they were repainted in pale grey with roundel, as shown in this photo of 17198 by linked to Jonathan Allen's flickr image dated 1971: From 1970 they received the red-brown livery, as shown in this 1976 photo from Ernie. This is 17194: I've finished the build and will give it a wash while I decide what livery to apply. It will probably end up with snails. I do have enough parts to convert another one.

Same issue for me - the wrong gauge! So are these Genesis coaches from the same seller - but may interest the majority: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/135866523346 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/135866491713 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/135866535723

John, Very many thanks for providing that valuable information - from a source I didn't have access to. It's interesting to hear about the Guinness vans that were predecessors to the IRCH standard ones, and I'll keep an eye out for photos of these, I'm sure I've seen one or two though they may have been GNR examples. Regarding the MGWR IRCH vans, it's great to know that there were 150 'convertible' and another 150 with continuous roofs. I suspect that the small height difference you quote was a result of the longitudinal rib across the middle of the roof opening (visible in two of the photos in my previous post). The number lists are very useful. It's interesting that all the numbers I had identified from photos are in the 3200-3350 range of the 1923 batch. I think there are 289 numbers listed so almost all of them. 18 built in 1922, 188 in 1923 and 83 in 1924. I wouldn't have guessed at all the random numbers of the other vans (no doubt replacing withdrawn older vehicles with those numbers). There's another NLI archive image of a rake of freshly-overhauled wagons at Limerick in 1964, which includes several IRCH-type vans. One of them is 1726, seen below. The number has a suffix but I couldn't read it, and potentially it could be N or M. https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000307038 We now know from the number listing you quoted that the MGWR had a van of this type numbered 1726 (in the 1924-built batch). So I think it's likely that this image does show 1726M rather than a former GNR van. It has a continuous roof, which may be an original feature or a later modification. The livery here is pale grey with white roundel and lettering. Thie IRRS photo dated 1955 shows an IRCH van in CIE snail livery, with a suffixed number - again the suffix is illegible. There's also a very similar photo in Ernie's collection on Flickr, also linked below. https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53501264990 Since 1955 was before the GNR split, I think this must also be an MGWR example. The visible part of the number is 370 but there may be another digit hiding in the shadow. Thanks for the summary of the models - the whitemetal kit would appeal to me if it were still available but it sounds like they're long-vanished. The construction style of these vans is very different from most GB goods vans, particularly the side planking flush with the solebar, and the vertical timbers. I haven't found anything similar to use as a basis. Here's a link to the image of the GNR 10-ton van on Leslie's website. I asked whether he still has many (any) in stock, but he's on holiday at present and not in a position to check. Given Leslie's impending retirement, I think these IRCH vans could be a good subject for a 3D printed kit. They would be prototypical for a 50-year period (1920s to 1970s) across the whole island, and could be lettered for MGWR, GSR, GNR, CIE, or UTA. The drawings are available (see link in the first post of this thread) so it should be possible to make them dimensionally accurate without any guesswork. In due course I'll write about the GNR vans and the GSR double-skinned variant. I need to do some more research on both of those first! This nice photo from Brian Flannigan on Flickr shows one of each, in 1971:

A few more images of the system on the IRRS archive: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53570708153/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54418647342/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54418647332/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53510358297/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511251981/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511570284/ What I had not realised until just now is that this is the same place! My own photo:

See also...

Tomgue in cheek there were 94 CrossLeys on CIE... The slide is in the Mason Photographic Collection in the NLI archive. The glass plates are described as follows: In Collection: Mason Photographic Collection Description: Lantern slides are organised under box numbers M1-52. M1- M10 Irish Industries; M11- M13 Ireland At Work; M14- M15 Dublin City and County; M16 Box A; M17 Box B; M18 Box 3; M19 Box D; M20 Box E; M21 Box F; M22 Box G; M23 Box H; M24 Box I; M25 Box J; M26 Dublin Scenes; M27 Christchurch; M28 The Normans (includes handlist); M29 St Patrick's; M30 St Patrick's (includes handlist); M31 St Patrick's; M32 Irish Manuscripts and Their Cases; M33 Irish Croziers and Shrines; M34- M37 Antrim; M38 Carlow/Cavan; M39- M40 Clare; M41 (Mason T.) Boyne and Tara (includes handlist); M42- M48 Irish History; M49- M50 Isle of Man; M51- M52 Foreign/ Unidentified and unnumbered. Also in his collection, this image shows a Dublin-registered canal barge laden with turf: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000519034 There is also this image of turf stacks in the Bog of Allen: https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000519037 Given that part of his collection is categorised 'Irish Industries' I wouldn't completely discount the railway being in Ireland. The arrangement of the trolleypole matches that on the electric locos illustrated on the Annaghmore Turf Railway, in the little book mentioned by @Galteemore. I bought a copy last week following that recommendation! The bodywork of the loco is different, but the book says that was built locally so it may post-date the NLI photo.