josefstadt

Great news Fran! Thanks for the update.

RPSI MkII sets?

DART fleet is: Power / Trailer 8100 / 8300 8101-40 / 8301-40 8200 / 8400 (Withdrawn) 8201-05 / 8401-05 8500 / 8600 8501-08 / 8601-08 8510 / 8610 8511-16 / 8611-16 8520 / 8620 8521-40 / 8621-40

Outstanding workmanship!

Very interesting JHB. Any details what the original designs were? Same as trains A and B maybe?

I'd suggest very early 1980s. As you say the Howth Bay has been filled in but hasn't yet got the final surface. Also, no OHLE into Platform 4.

I'll bow to JHB's (or 'Senior' s) knowledge on the subject of 'hooded vans'. In my 37 years on the railway I never heard the term, though it may have fallen out of use by the time I started.

I am puzzled by the use of the term 'Hooded' when referring to the 4-wheel luggage brake vans (2700 - 2765). The vans were always called ‘Tin Vans’ when they were in service. Perhaps DiveController can elaborate on the origin of the term ‘Hooded’ and what it refers to? According to Pender and Richards in their book 'Irish Railways Today' the original number series of the three types of 4-wheel vans were: Heating Van = 3101-3141 (1955/6); 3142-3147 (1959); 3148-3152 (1960) Luggage Brake Van = 2700-2765 (1957) Post Office Sorting Van = 2962-2971 (1957)

I recently ordered a twin pack of the blue Tara wagons. The order was placed at 01:37 Monday and the package was on the doorstep at 08:10 Tuesday! Outstanding service. Hats off to the crew processing and dispatching the order - you must have Speedy Gonzales working with you.

Spot on Broithe!

No. 2 is the IRRS 50th Anniversary special to Derry. Not sure of exact date, but definitely not 1980 as loco and train in post-1987 IR livery. No. 4 is the PWI Convention special at Portrush. Not sure if it was the actual special which ran from Portrush to Dublin (being attached to the 09:00 ex-Belfast at Lisburn, or the trial train to clear MkIII stock to Portrush sometime earlier. No. 4 is Macmine Junction. Grey 121 on the other side of the platform, presumably on a North Wexford service.

Sorry jhb but that's not correct. There were five Cravens 1st Class carriages, 1147 - 1151. They were fitted with proper 1st class seating, not 'simply by throwing antimacassars over the seat backs'! 1147 - ex Standard 1551 - converted 1969 - 37 seats - reverted to 1551 06/72 1148 - ex Standard 1547 - converted 1970 - 37 seats - reverted to 1547 12/74 1149 - ex Standard 1558 - converted 1970 - 37 seats - increased to 40 seats in 1981 - reverted to 1558 12/84 1150 - ex Standard 1548 - converted 1970 - 37 seats - increased to 40 seats in 1981 - reverted to 1548 10/84 1151 - ex Standard 1547 - converted 1980 - 40 seats - reverted to 1547 03/85

The 4-wheel heating vans were steam heating vans only, no generators. The would therefore suit the early version of the Cravens, i.e. those without the TL suffix.

I presume you mean the 18th. You should be o.k. Edo. The next Bray show is on Sunday 18 July. Get to Bray on Sunday and still have time for the Ma's birthday on the 19th!

The original intention was that the A class numbering would revert to A1 to A60 after all locomotives had been re-engined. The 'r' suffix was only to identify the GM-powered locos in a mixed fleet and once all locos had been done it was no longer needed. As Warbonnet says above, A1 did receive that number with the Supertrain livery, but before it appeared out of Inchicore CIE had decided to adopt the new numbering scheme and it became 001.