Niles

There's a nice bit of vidjo of the NIR MV on the ITG tour to Athlone here:

There seems to have been a plethora of 184s on eBay lately, could be that so many at once is effecting the price.

I was beginning to question if I'd imagined it myself... thankfully the Wanderer has recorded it, if something modern-ish isn't recorded on that site it didn't happen! https://thewandererphotos.smugmug.com/2006-photos/Speno-Track-Recording-Car/ For the carriage nerds like me, it's also notable that in renumbering to 11XX they (partly) regained their original numbers from their pre-mk2 steam heating days... 1162 née 4601 née 3162 etc...

4601, 4602 and 4603 were the three conversions - they were retained a little while after the mk2as were scrapped for use on airbrake transfers, pretty sure I remember seeing them at Heuston for this purpose. Two of them ended up on the 'Speno' train around 2006(?) - I think this was a track recording vehicle rented prior to the Sperry but my memory's foggy there. I think it may have only been for one season. I think they were also renumbered in the 11XX series by this stage, as were a couple of the unconverted vac vans, principally for transfers in the Dublin area.

IIRC 3187 sustained fire damage in Cork towards the end of the Cravens era, fo llowing which it was refurbished for the spray train. Would make sense if the genny etc was replaced at this point.

I think I paid around a fiver or so for a new one back in the day... bargain so!

never copped that myself until you pointed it out!

176 passing Malahide with 14:00 Dundalk-North Wall liner, 21st April 2006, consisting of just two flats. Afternoons on the northern line were busy then, up and down Taras, the Drogheda cement bubbles and the aforementioned liner, the latter two usually guaranteed to be Bo-Bo worked.

There's been a plethora of Craven 1509s up at quite high prices considering they're still available in Marks Models at the original RRP. Can (almost) understand it with the stuff long out of production but...

Worth noting that journals like the ITG's The Irish Mail and the IRRS Journal effectively provide a rolling update to these books for stock changes, stoppages, entries to traffic, withdrawl dates, re-numberings etc.

I remembering getting the Doyle & Hirsch volumes relatively cheap on Amazon about 10 years ago (and they were well out of print then) - mad how they've suddenly rocketed in value. As a carriage-nerd I find them quite useful. The ITG's Traction & Travel volumes are also quite good for listing mileage tables and the like for routes open at the time of publication, along with loco stopped & withdrawn dates. The ITG had another title issued circa 1997, Irish Locomotives & Rolling Stock, a neat little pocket book which listed preserved locos and carriages as well as those of IÉ/NIR (including some obscure narrow gauge locations).

Another one - this time an example of a ballast train with just one plough van. 168 has charge at Kildare, 24th June 2006.

Wasn't there a mk2/3 set in this livery back in the mid 2000s or so? Class 47 hauled. Gotta love the sight of a freshly painted carriage, looks smashing.

These were taken on a disposable so excuse the quality. Gorey, 5th February 2005. 186 in charge of a ballast train being loaded there, and then departing for Enniscorthy. Over 15 years ago but I still remember the rumble of the GM engine accelerating away and the clatter of the wagons dancing across the points. Awaiting my order so I can recreate!

I was in touch with the person producing this on FB (very nice guy), last I heard it should be suitable for the older type Terrier chassis. I think it needs be shortened slightly but appears to be quite doable.

A fish story if you ask me.

I don't think it's mentioned here, but the 'Irish Freight' set Hornby released in 1999, was there any particular story behind that? Found the box off it the other day and got me thinking. I don't think it was listed in the catalogue from memory, my one came from the Killarney Model Railway shop. Content wise it was a re-liverying of a UK soft drink themed 'Industrial Freight' set out at the same time.

Actually, re IR livery - anyone know how late the plough vans ran in this? The model has late enough markings - I more remember the 'plain IÉ' ones by then but got the IR set anyway 'cause I like it' and that's reason No.1 for anything!

Excellent. I was 'asleep' from the model rail scene for a few years so nice to be able to get a second chance.

The short train at 1:18-ish in, the two Cravens must be brand new or newly in service based on the timeline. Wonder was it a test run?

My favourite part from last week's news piece on IÉ fitting sensors before some of the more stricken bridges was when the haulier rep called for them to be placed before ALL bridges - more or less suggesting that his own members are incompetent.

The fitted North Wall-Connolly fuel train used a brakevan until it ended in 2000s, I think it was down to the reverse move at East Wall Junction.

The brake coach is of GSWR origin, quite possibly 69 herself which is undergoing restoration at Downpatrick: https://www.downrail.co.uk/rolling-stock/gswr-69/ I think the others are GSWR as well; at least they don't have that distinctive MGWR Attock window shape with curved edges at the top. While the Hattons ones don't really have the 'look' of MGWR coaches, for GSWR types they can't be any less accurate than the Bachmann/MM LMS vehicles masquerading as GSWR and GSR built stock (which looked fantastic all the same).

Wasn't there a plethora of brake vans stored at Gort until the early 2000s-ish? There was a 30t one on the wash roads in Inchicore until the late 2000s, I think it went bye bye around the same time 123 met her maker I could be misremembering. The Limerick was actually only overhauled in the last decade or so, its most notable role being in the transport of a giant granny puppet... now there's a modelling project.

And throw in some mkIIIs on an IRRS Executive Train special for good measure.