Niles

and sounds from the back 'any smokes bud?'.

They should make a Finger too though. I need one for my Fenit Pier diorama.

No idea if a G ever met a plough van in CIE days, but they sure look well together (I suppose it possibly happened when a G was the unofficial Limerick Wagon Works pilot?). The pair have already had a few wanderings together. Plough van 24582 was preserved by the Downpatrick & County Down Railway back in August, along with ballast hoppers 24122, 24145, and 26633.

Pretty certain I've seen a pic of a MV/C and a Hunslet double heading on one of the early ITG tours (I presume two drivers).

At least one DSER 2-4-2T tank seems to have wandered to West Cork in GSR days; a photo of same adorns the cover of Ernie Sheperd's book on the Cork, Bandon & South Coast Railway.

Ah, didn't realise it predated the GSR itself. Interesting background there on the benefits for clerical staff.

Some Sunday afternoon book browsing reveals it was 118.

Lovely. And interesting how the numerals are placed over the 'fold', a tricky modelling proposition with transfers.

Always wondered by the GSR chose I for 0-6-2T when it otherwise followed the LNER convention (which would be N). I think, unless there were other examples. (Or did the LNER follow them?) Edit: it occurs to me that G didn't follow LNER convention either.

The most handsome too.

Interesting, didn't realise non-preserved CIE steam locos lingered on in existence as late as 1966.

Someone will know the exact number, but I'm pretty certain I've read of a J15 being used as a stationary boiler in Cork after steam had officially ended.

We're planning on making a formal announcement on this over the next few weeks once the final batch of badge sales come in and the last few invoices are settled—stay tuned!

It certainly is!

Loving the cat chorus in the background.

Just a quick update, the No.36 and Enterprise 201 badges are now practically sold out. Still some stock of the 800 class and mkIV DVT available, message me for details or email hello@tailtetours.com Or order here: https://www.tailtetours.com/shop

Kinda reminds me of the Campbeltown and Machrihanish Railway locos even if not quite the same.

The September Zoom meeting of Irish Railways Present, Past and Other Interesting Railways features preservationist and Irish industrial railway expert Seán Cain return, this time to give us a talk on the Stradbally Woodland Railway (Ireland's oldest heritage railway). We'll open the (virtual) doors from 19:45, all very welcome. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3040263673 Meeting ID: 304 026 3673 One tap mobile +35361639031,,3040263673# Ireland +35312408941,,3040263673# Ireland Dial by your location +353 6 163 9031 Ireland +353 1 240 8941 Ireland +353 1 536 9320 Ireland +353 1 653 3895 Ireland +353 1 653 3897 Ireland +353 1 653 3898 Ireland Meeting ID: 304 026 3673 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kZF472fpc

Recap of the railtour now on our blog: https://www.tailtetours.com/post/premier-rose-railtour-postscript (Recap of the Sunday tour to follow when get a breather between day jobs ).

Whether it will come to pass or not is quite another thing, but the 2040 Freight Strategy refers to hybrid locos being sought to replace the 071s towards the end of the decade. I'm calling it now, 5'3 gauge Vectrons...

Following the success of our "Premier Rose" railtour, we are now putting on our remaining badge stock on general sale. Prices are €10 for badge or 4 for €30. Postage & Packing to Ireland/Northern Ireland is free and €5 for overseas. To order either message me here or email hello@tailtetours.com and I can send you a payment link. These badges will help cover some of our running costs so that we can release more money towards the various heritage groups we're supporting. The designs are: Iarnród Éireann mkIV Control Car CIE Green 800 Class steam loco GSWR Bury 2-2-2 No.36 (As preserved in Kent Station, Cork) Modern Enterprise livery 201 class loco

Funny, I was only chatting to someone on Saturday about the merits of preserving one of these when the bell does toll (we also decided there and then that it'll be in Arrow livery, we'll worry about little things like storage, cost and logistics later )

A pleasure guys, the support was way beyond what any of us expected. It was heartwarming to see so much cross-cooperation from across the modelling community, the general enthusiast community, the heritage community, and Iarnród Éireann themselves (and I know some of you fall into all those categories!). We'll say more in time but for now all I can say is, the question has changed from 'if' we run a 2nd tour to 'when' we run a second tour. Oh, little model-related tidbit, when I was arranging the headboard with the supplier we used a photo of a Bachmann Woolwich mogul as a reference.

Features on Saturday's tour have been confirmed to include: Irish Railway Record Society stand County Donegal Railway Heritage Centre stand (I believe @airfixfan will have some lovely new books and badges for sale) Clifton Flewitt's renowned railway book stall Raffle (seriously, the prizes to be had will make it worth entering, @mphoey and @jhb171achill have managed to get some fantastic prizes thanks to some generous sponsors who'll be revealed soon... If you haven't got your ticket for the tour you can still do so at: https://www.tailtetours.com/events/the-premier-rose-railtour

'53 looks better than you'd think after the fire a few years ago, would have thought it a goner. Good to see otherwise.