Niles

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.