Niles

From the RPSI news page: 14th November - Society News: 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS ANNOUNCED As many members will be aware, the RPSI was set up at a meeting in the Presbyterian Hostel in Belfast on 30th September 1964. This means that next year, the Society will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. A small committee was set up earlier this year to draw up proposals to mark this auspicious anniversary. It will be an occasion to celebrate the Society's achievements to date, to take stock of where we are, and to look forward to the next 50 years. It is proposed that all RPSI events and operations during the year will be badged as "RPSI 50" occasions and a special, distinctive logo has being devised to signify this. In addition, Charles Friel will be presenting a talk about the Society's first 50 years to audiences in Belfast, London and Dublin during the year. Two prestigious dinners are also planned - the first in Dublin on Saturday 17th May which is the weekend of the international tour; the dinner will be open to all members, not just railtour participants. The RPSI was founded as an all-Ireland body and hence we are keen that the anniversary should be marked as emphatically in Dublin as in Belfast. We are delighted to be able to announce that the main celebration will be a gala event on Saturday 13th September at Belfast City Hall, the use of which has been generously granted by Belfast City Council. The date has been chosen to coincide with the staging in Belfast of a Heritage Railway Association conference, and because it is so close to the actual date of the first meeting. The City Hall is an ideal venue, being located only a couple of hundred metres from the venue of that first tentative gathering, at which, incidentally, our President the Lord O'Neill kindly consented to be appointed as patron of the RPSI. At present it is hoped to launch the year of celebrations with an event at Whitehead in March, of which more details will emerge shortly. Marking this important anniversary is designed to help to raise the Society's profile throughout Ireland and to acknowledge the assistance of so many people and organisations. But it will also be an opportunity to thank the members for their support and to give all members a chance to celebrate the RPSI's achievements to date. We hope that among the specific outcomes will be: * The recruitment of 50 new members (at least). * The conversion of 50 existing members into working members. Watch this space for more details as the events unfold. With the overhauls of 131 and 171 starting there's a lot to look forward to in the next few years!

By this stage the kegs would have been brought into the Ardee road depot (south west of the platform).

Don't know if this has been posted before, but the RPSI have a range of historical journal material now on their site: http://www.steamtrainsireland.com/contents/#archives This includes all issues of 'Irish Railfans' News' (published 1955-1973) and is also uploading the 1990s publication 'Irish Railway News'. It also includes back issues of its own 'Five Foot Three' magazine, and some of the Irish News pages featured in 'Steam Railway' magazine over the past few years. Worth a look.

There's some LMS NCC stock at Whitehead, some of which is used on train rides within the site. 68 was overhauled not long ago http://www.steamtrainsireland.com/photonews/110608/index.html#68 They also refurbished diner 87 recently. Whitehead has other vehicles of GNR(I) and GSWR origin. The Dublin based Heritage set is a mixture of 2 CIÉ Laminates, 2 CIÉ Park Royals, a CIÉ 24xx series diner, a GNR(I) diner, a GSR Bredin side corridor, a GNR(B) Brake 3rd, a GSWR side corridor and also obviously GSWR State Saloon 351. Last outing of a Heritage vehicle so far was Park Royal 1419 on the 2010 Santas.

Haven't seen Rail Express recently but no it's a temporary storage solution for the RPSI heritage rake. As members will know from RPSI newsletter there is a committee looking towards the goal of establishing a proper base in the Dublin area but obviously easier said than done! So if anybody is looking to give away large a rail accessible site in the Dublin area I'm sure the RPSI would love to hear from you!

I reckon those pics were taken 2007ish, judging by the Cravens awaiting scrapping and A39 being in the midst of its repaint from silver to black. Not a black 071 to be seen.

It's only the Heritage set that's going to Heuston for storage. Cravens will still be based at Inchicore for time being.

I remember when I was about twelve watching what to my eyes seemed to an enormous train arriving in Dundalk from Belfast, a 201 hauling a combination of kegs, cement bubbles and containers, shunting the keg flats off on arrival. Different times indeed.

Sorry meant the regular mk3s with regard to the aircon. As for keeping a rake of coaches just for the two 141s, you wouldn't make enough money to keep it going. The enthusiast market isn't big enough to sustain more than at most 2/3 enthusiast trips a year, I recall that when the ITG went for mainline running with A3r and A39, they found support dwindled after the first tour, and it wasn't sustainable for a second year. Far easier to run the 141s with Cravens/Mk2/Heritage stock which can earn its keep on the steam trips (which the general public will support). There's also the matter of volunteers, the RPSI have barely enough volunteers to keep its existing fleet going, never mind an additional mk3 rake.

I seem to remember the Dundalk liner outlasting the Belfast one, remember it used to get into Dublin circa 16:00. Used to be an interesting afternoon freight procession on the northern line with the up and down Taras, the liner and a cement. Used be a regular 141 turn in it's later days from memory, sometimes only a few wagons.

Would be hard for a volunteer group to maintain though, esp with air-con. I don't who could have taken them either, no good to RPSI as they're airbraked. Would have been nice but at least there's mk3s a plenty in the UK. Thankfully some of the distinct Irish stock, Laminates, Park Royals, Cravens, got preserved. But there's always ones that got away... 6105 is still around (6105 was the last carriage to assembled in Inchicore) so maybe there's a chance for it go to Moyasta. Be nice to see it preserved, but wouldn't be of much mainline use. Imagine trying to run enough enthusiast trips to fill a 6 piece mk3! Demand just wouldn't be there... and half some would just gricer it without contributing to ticket sales.

I don't know, I find the 22000s quite comfortable. Certainly a far more efficient operation than that of old, much as I miss the locos and carriages. But sure that's what preservation is for at the end of the day!

This was one of the first layouts I ever saw, used to be fascinated by it as a kid when it was shown at the Gorey Summer Fair during the late 90s.