BSGSV

Adavoyle was replaced by a new "cabin" (a hut) at Meigh. Adavoyle was apparently inconvenient if a northbound freight was stopped at it, as it was not handy restarting on the rising gradient. Meigh was easier in that regard and also covered the level crossing.

The Up Home at Adavoyle does seem to have been been for sighting, as there's a farmer's overbridge not far north of the station. The station appears to have been built c1892, which would explain the integration of the signal cabin in the structure. Quite why the station was built at all, and not just an intermediate cabin, has always puzzled me.

Finally, a decent photo of one of the ten suburban compos, with the 3+3 second class seating, that became brake standards later. Many thanks.

Great photo, particularly nice for me in showing the EMD Worksplate was the blue/red version, rather than the grey I had thought was in use by the time they appeared. As for the train, from Irish Railfans' News:

The semaphore signalling on the ex-DSE side of Amiens Street was replaced in 1934 (commissioned 28/10/34), so the loco is probably less than a year old, given there is no sign of any replacement colour lights, which would have been installed before October.

I'm pretty sure that's Claremorris, with the two old cabin tops on the Goods Yard side of the station.

I thought the leading carriage looked to be a Harty GSR-built corridor third (flat sides), but I enlarged the photo and don't see any truss rods, so more probably a 1339 series CIE built corridor third (second by 1971). On a separate note, the Suburban Park Royals only seem to have got TL cabling c1980/1 or so.

And given Attymon - Athenry only got double-tracked c1905, it only lasted, such as it was, for 20-odd years.

Not having a dig at you or Mr. Hajducki. Given we all make mistakes, it's no surprise that books have them too!

I'm not aware of there ever being a cabin at Lavistown, I think it was always only two single lines running in from Carlow and Waterford to Kilkenny, together. Navan Junction to Kingscourt Junction was, for a short time, a proper double-track line, with a cabin at Kingscourt Junction. Like a lot of cabins probably over-provided during the installation of block working and interlocking, (post-Regulation of Railways Act 1889), Kingscourt Junction had a short life. Harpers block was installed Newry King Street to Bridge Street c1907, so the double-track was from Newry North to Bridge Street. The Belfast Central was double from Central cabin to East Bridge too.

On the MGWR, Collooney MGW station to Sligo was double-tracked, except for a short stretch from Collooney Junction to Carrignagat Junction. On the GNRI, Portadown - Trew & Moy was double, the section from there to Dungannon had a tunnel, so stayed single, so far as I know. Dungannon to Donaghmore also got doubled I think. Newry North to King Street was also double.

Do you know if this a bad sign for the coach or is this just the normal state?

The point rodding run doesn't seem to correspond with Athlone East. It does look like the west end of the layout at Mullingar West, see this photo only you're facing the other way: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1405587800190989&set=gm.2486712704815406&idorvanity=171953576291342

The Mk.2d was vacuum braked, and the Galway trains had a vacuum braked TPO included for mails. The other Mk.2 stock was air braked, as well as having windows with ventilators, and wasn't in service in 1990, only appearing later. The Up train from Galway might have had problems, and not arrived in time to form the down Cork service, so a scratch set may have been sent instead, formed of whatever was to hand that wouldn't mess up the following day's diagrams.

From the sounds of the above, unless you were on the 05:20 Cork-Heuston (which does not seem likely for someone on honeymoon), then Cork to Dublin should have been Mk3's. The Dublin-Cork train at 20:40 or so, should have had the Mk.2's which came up from Cork at 05:20 (and went to Galway and back during the middle of the day). It does sound like something was wrong if you had Cravens, which would be the bet for a backup, and the only carriages with the windows you describe allowed down the Dublin to Cork mainline in 1990.

Removed

Sorry to be a pain, but the Alphagraphix's kit is for the type of cabin put up by the GNRI in the 1890's, 1900's. The cabin design changed in the early 1910's to a new, (similar) design. Dublin Amien's St. was built in c1923 to replace Dublin Central , which was destroyed in the Civil War, to the later design. The interior photo was taken in 1959, and shows a lot of empty space at the far end of the operating room. Originally the locking frame was much longer, as the cabin also controlled the GSR lines, from the GSR Loop line platforms, towards North Strand Junction. However, when the GSR took over control themselves (on West Road opening), the GNRI frame was shortened.

At the time Cyril Fry got those, 1442 would have been without the heaters, as they only came in the 1970's. 2651 is an AEC Railcar, one of the last of the "main line" ones.

1968 is about when the Free School Transport scheme came in. CIE did not get much (if any) warning, and were left scrambling to get vehicles together to meet the demand. This included both postponing withdrawals and buying some secondhand/withdrawn half-cab single decks from the UTA, to tide them over until the Bedford SS class could be produced. Perhaps the buses in the background are some of those?

I think they are electric wires going to the signal lamps, instead of having oil. That looks like B234 in the background. If so, it's late-60's rather than early?

A lot of country lads at Dublin sheds too! Others have commented on the traversing jacks, but the fishplates look like items designed for the spiked track in the photo. There's no soleplates, just the track flange spiked to the sleeper. The fishplates appear to have a dual function in bolting the two rails together, and having a hole, either end, to either bolt or spike down the track on to the sleeper, just at the joint where a bit more support would be useful.

The City Basin site seems to have an army of builders at it currently. I do hope they don't destroy the lovely warehouses.

CAWS was not fitted coincidentally with the original Mainline CTC section. It only started appearing with the DART resignalling on the Dublin Suburban. The diesel locos used the track codes for CAWS, the DART units for ATP. CAWS was retrofitted to the Mainline CTC in the early 1980's. So no locos with "S" in 1975!

I don't see any "Limit of Shunt" boards on the diagram (to stop moves in the wrong direction proceeding too far), but then, there's no Facing Point Locks shown either. So I would say that, judging by the closeness of the two crossovers on the branch (to main line and run-round), there looks like there may have been one FPL locking both facing points, but there might have been one for each, if they were too far from each other. The discs on the main line crossovers and down refuge crossover would probably have only shown green with the crossover reversed. The discs either end of the crossover from Up Main to Branch probably/possibly showed green for either lie of the crossover - from Up Main platform either along the Up Main to the northern main line crossover, or onto the branch. From the branch either into the Branch platform or out to the Up Main. The disc on the branch run-round would be green for moves onto the branch proper, but yellow normal, as trains could shunt along the run-round without fouling other lines. If starting from scratch more "properly", a single semaphore would cater for moves from the Up Main platform to the branch and a bracket would only be needed if you also intended to start passenger trains from the Up Main platform to the Down Main, in which case the northern mains crossover would need an FPL at the station end, the far end being trailing. Sorry if it's a bit complicated sounding, I only hope I've got my ducks in a row in the first place! I haven't seen a signal cabin diagram which would explain much.