bufferstop

No, auctioneers are cute enough. They wouldn't proclaim something as original unless they're certain, but at the same time most won't state the likes of the above as a replica/fake, they'll just list it. This is especially the case when you're selling them on a near weekly basis... There's obviously a mini industry pumping out fake signs and posters , not just in railways, you see them all the time. If someone is happy to pay 20 or 30 euros for a replica, more power to them, but when someone is paying over €300, then it becomes a problem.

Some poor bollix paid €320 for this classic last week in an auction in Cork. When you add in auctioneers fees and delivery, you're talking well over €400. This is the twentieth example of this sign that I've seen auctioned, someone is pumping them out, mind you it's a masterpiece, compared to this one that's regularly appearing................

https://www.easyliveauction.com/catalogue/lot/9504cc0f42cbc6cb202406c9e0cbbe23/0af8d24542e81eb9357e7ef448a6646f/july-advertising-pub-memorabilia-and-collectibles-sale-lot-542/ Most peculiar sign here from Inny Junction which closed to passengers in 1931. if this is original it's MGWR, but I was flummoxed by Juadereeen? It looks like two halves of two separate signs, the first from Inny Junction and the second from Kilfree Junction, so that its Ballaghadereen. (But there should only be one be r in the name) There's a comma after Cavan, but not after Clones, so it probably reads Clones Junction. The finger direction on the second part is ambiguous. And why or how would two matching signs from two remote stations end up together? There's a story there somewhere.

One more, Back in 1982, I was going into secondary school, so for some unknown, bonding reason, my dad decided that myself and himself should do a few days away in Dublin. We had a great time. (Now my dad was a loco driver, and had spent some time in Broadstone, as a fireman, he absolutely loved the place, spent a lot of his time running goods from Liffey Junction down to the yards, and horseboxes to the RDS, he also worked the Meath branches. He always said that on his first day in Broadstone, a Dub said to him, "we don't work here, so don't you start") I lived in a railway house, eight foot from the rail, I'm third generation railway so I had started to get a serious interest in railways. Anyway we had done the museums and gallery's, but we ended up chasing trains and eventually we landed in Greystones. A couple of trains went by, both whose drivers saluted my dad, one was an fert, I cant remember the other. By this stage I was hopping from leg to leg, I was realising I was a track hound. " Did you know those guys, dad" "Yeah, sure I used to work with them" The hopping increased. The stationmaster/checker came out "railway" was the answer, no bother, a family. Next thing, the down Rosslare arrives in, a big welcome for Dad, we hop into the cab of an A Class, we went down to Wicklow, I think, the checker tried to look for our tickets whilst we were crossing over into another A class, our driver took serious insult at this and declared to my dad that If I'd hadn't been present that he'd have told him exactly what he thought of him. Anyway, we went back through the tunnels, and through Bray, and back into Dublin, our driver showed Dad how CTC worked and he rang them as a test. He dropped us in Connolly and I'll never forgot his kindness, he was real old school railway. (Many years later, my Dad and myself were watching the evening news, and they had a piece on the new Lord Mayor of Dublin, Dermot Lacey, my dad turned to me and said "do you remember the trip up from Wicklow well, that was his father, Tommy") We wandered down to North Wall via Newcomen Junction, there were at least three A class hauled liners about to head out, dad knew the first driver, had a great chat, all I remember is that that that the light was on over the fuel tank, we wandered into the yard, a security guy in a van stopped us, "railway" kept him happy, dad had a chat with him, off he buzzed, about half a hour later, we were completely lost, dad had driven wagons into the point depot itself but he was befuddled with the new layout. The security lad in the van reappeared, we hopped in and he brought us to the gate, he told us some great yarns on the way. Now remember, my dad never wore a hi vis in his life, I wear one now going for a walk, changed times I miss the old railway.

I was flicking through the most recent uploads on the IRRS Flickr, mostly 70's and 80's stuff. Some incredible photos, but utterly depressing, in terms of what's been lost. The network has never been more rationalised in terms of actual points and rails. It's no longer the "old" railway So, I thought, that it's maybe time to tell the stories that have been locked under the "30 year, or maybe 40 year rule" Here's one I was coming out of Connolly on a Sligo, a 071 , the driver was one of the Connolly Specials, (I'll explain that if this topic ever gets further) Anyway, we were coming into Enfield, when, he casually mentioned " You ok taking the staff" now I'd done it in Maynooth, so I was looking at him a bit strange, and I'd been swapping staffs since I was a kid, so of course I nodded ok. "Sound so, I won't bother braking", I thought he was taking the piss, but he wasn't, we swept into Enfield at 70mph, I was looking at the signalman, he was looking at me, and all I was thinking was that If I miss this, it's a long walk of shame back. Anyway I nailed it, we were approaching Killucan and our hero decided he wasn't going to brake here either, wasn't my problem this time, so he tore through the platform, dropped the staff and I heard the clatter of the staff hitting the window, followed by an absolute volley of fucks. " He pulled it back, the bastard" He had grabbed it by the skin of his fingers, the signalman had had enough and taught him a lesson. You don't get this level of entertainment anymore on an ICR.........

Thanks for that Leslie, I would have forgotten otherwise, your IRRS show about Lance's photos was incredible.

This is an old post from the old IRN from about 10 years ago, hgricer had posted a photo of the cabin in Tuam, (he might be good enough to post it again, if he still has it). My grandad and dad both worked the cabin, my dad was working the morning after it burned down, in 1962, the cabin was destroyed, but he knew how to count the levers to work the yard Anyway, I wanted to repost this in case it got lost in the internet haze, the men involved deserved to be remembered, and who knows maybe somebody related to them will someday find it. That picture marks the scene of two tragic accidents At the base of the signal post in the picture is attached a small metal cross. This marks the spot where in 1942 a shunter was killed. He was shunting a train in the yard when he stepped back onto the loop. he was hit by a loco coming back tender first from the beet factory. His son, Bobby Healy, later became a loco driver in Galway. The upright of the cross on the signal post is still there today. A few years later, Tom Murray, a signalman left the cabin one night to fetch some water from the dormitory which was located past the turntable. There was no light in the yard and passing the turntable, he must have slipped, hit his head on the handrail and was knocked unconscious into the pit. He landed face down in into a small pool of water in the well of the pit and drowned. As you can see from the picture, the cabin itself is not the original, that burned down overnight in 1962, The chimney of the stove going through the wooden roof was a bad combination which had nearly burned the structure on a previous occasion.. There are still initials and dates of former railwaymen visible on the brickwork of the cabin. Quote Share

Thanks for that mfjoc and jhb, very interesting

That's actually Claremorris, not Castlebar, but the interesting part is what is a bubble doing parked in Claremorris in 1976? I've never seen one parked there before, and I thought itcould only handle bagged cement? Was it common to discharge straight to a truck/mixer so that a customer could order cement in bulk via single wagon loads? I know the occasional one worked through on the Burma Road goods.

That's because the crossing id's were only introduced 15-20 years ago. They're a pointless source of information anyway because along with level crossings they include every accommodation/black gate crossing, many of which weren't used in decades and have since been closed off permanently.

Biggest omission in Irish railway preservation. You simply cant tell the story of Irish railways without cattle. Maybe we could cut a few holes in that poxy railbus in Downpatrick and load a few bullocks on it as an interpretative display......

No 2 is the loco fuel point in Westport. Now demolished. It was serviced by a weekly oil car sent down from Claremorris. In latter years at least, it was only the loco of the evening train that was fuelled, before being parked for the night. The long hose is for refuelling 201's. You could lock it onto the fuel tank, turn on the pump and it would knock off when it reached capacity. The tank was out of use due to a leak before the end of the Mk 3's so the loco was fuelled by road tanker over the fence at the end of the platform.

The first 121 to be fitted for multiple working was 121 in Sept 1973, it took nearly another two years before the entire class was converted. The handrails on the 121 catwalks were fitted from 1971 onwards

Found these in a folder a few weeks ago, Not great photos by any means but I thought I'd throw them up because of the date. I' think the last two are the time of the railtour to Rosslare with 124.

ttc0169 I'll be dropping by to make sure that the tail piece on that Guinness liner is firmly attached. we don't want No1 driver getting stuck in midsection with supplies running low, do we ? PS You'd better stick the converted Ammonia/Bombay wagon to the rake as well. Hope it's been cleared for Guirys loading bank.......