Jawfin

Hello all

Does anyone have a list of GSR (or CIÉ anyway) suffixes and their meanings? I know that M is for MGWR, B for CBSCR, T for T&D, W for W&T, D for DSE, N for GNR, and A for departamental, but there many others?

I recently saw a picture of MGWR coach No. 84 in Clifden with its GSR livery showing - the number was 84MS: any idea what the S means?

The maps on the MK IVs don't go any further than Dublin-Cork, remember!

Don't forget the poor auld 401s in silver as well!

Those are great pics - do the bogies on that appear to be painted silver as opposed to the actual body being bare metal?

Red numerals?

Hello all

Quite an unfortunate subject here (but it could have gone worse), but does anyone know any info on the Knockcgrogery derailment, particularly on which loco was involved?

Will we ever see a double headed train of 201s?

It's happened before - the brand new 208 and 209 double headed on the ITG, "Yankee Explorer," railtour in 1996

Fantastic Nelson, well done

Another similar mystery is why some GSWR locos had two whistles as well - I think they were mainly larger mainline ones, but there's a pic of 90 with them as well.

Never thought that there'd be a four-wheeler around as late as 1950, that's a great find

Is there any particular reason why four-wheelers weren't seen often here compared to in Britain?

Ah, not any old IÉ coach, but a Cu na Mara coach too!

10 of these MK III-like coaches were released from BREL in 1986, with a view of railways of the continent buying into the idea. They went around on press things, and two of them went to Germany on some exhibit thing, but nothing resulted.

The ten were bought by IÉ in 1994 - one was to be made into a DVT, but this never happened. They then were withdrawn in 2009 I think, the rest bar this one and another. I think this is either 6203 or 6205 - the other one isn't far away from there I understand, but is in a lot worse condition.

This may be of some use - a friend and I wrote it some time ago. I think the info we got for it was pretty much out of one source, the plaque on the side of 36!

No. 36 was built by Bury, Curtis, and Kennedy of Liverpool in 1848 for the Great Southern and Western Railway of Ireland, at a cost of £1995. Weighing what was at the time a relatively hefty 22t and 29cwt, and capable of 4,250lbs at 85% working pressure, it was regularly used on main line trains until its withdrawl in 1874, by which time it had accumulated 487,918 miles in service. It lost its small, four-wheel tender at this time. In Inchicore, enough foresight was used to see that, eventually, such an interesting and archaic lomocitve would be of interest in preservation for future generations - thusly, it was put into storage. In 1901, it was sent to the Cork Exhibition, after which, in 1925, it went to the Stockton and Darlington Centenary celebrations along with surviving coaches of a similar age - Dublin and Kingston 38, built in 1834, and D&K 48, built in 1838, and survives in the UFTM at Cultra. It was exhibited in Dublin for the bi-centenary of the RDS, before the three were put into storage in Inchicore dump. In 1950, the locomotive was restored to its former glory in a light green livery and was put on display in Cork station concourse. While coach No. 48 survived, unfortunately No. 38 was deemed too far gone to be saved and was thusly cut up.

In 2007, Cork station was refurbished - No. 36 was lifted into the new waiting area of the station, resplendant in GSWR pre-1875 dark green livery. It currently sits on the same type of bull-head rails it would have ran on in service.

I think there's only two four-wheelers preserved, on that note... DKR 48 and possibly (Probably? It's only 25' long) UR 33, the former at Cultra and the latter at Downpatrick. Not including the Tin Van TPO at Heuston, of course!

36 has the double doors too - interestingly, it appears to have had the small dart during its later life

It was indeed, GSR 800. It shunted both Glanmire and Albert Quay, mostly the latter. During the beet season, or when summer excursions were running, it was to be seen with the one other remaining of its class, No. 100, on the Clonakilty Jct - Ballinascarthy - Courtmacsherry branch.

 

It survived 100 by a year or two, only being withdrawn on the closure of the West Cork system in 1961.

Was 90 not withdrawn in 1959?

Speaking of which, wonder what mileage it's done... I should hope the frames are original?

Ah, thanks, I thought it would have been a good bit earlier

Hello all

At what point did the J15s start getting their McDonnell smokeboxes (like 90 has) replaced with the conventional ones currently seen on 184 and 186? I recall that 184 was the last one to recieve the treatment in the 1940s or something like that

Now if you're interested in that sort of thing, you'll have to go to Downpatrick Steam Railway next time you're in Ireland!

Thanks all - I'd been skeptical of its origin as I had imagined it as being slightly longer than that photo depicts it to be

Wonderful looking

Out of interest, is the yellow van in Heuston sidings a Tin Van TPO?

Maybe a goods shed, like the one at Downpatrick? For a larger station, a set of sheer legs or a hand crane? (there's one of the former at Whitehead, one of the latter at Downpatrick)

God, the side-vent things on the DDs are disgusting - from a passenger perspective, I'd probably rather have a 22 despite the lack of atmposhere

4.5t would be very small for a proper crane... Maybe GNR 31, the Hawthorn Leslie Crane Tank from Dundalk?

I imagine it would have looked pretty much the same as this:

http://www.steamindex.com/media/celtic.jpg

Speaking of MGWR blue, I was reading a book a while ago that said that MGWR blue/white on coaches was not only introduced for the Tourist Express to Clifden, but something called the Limited Mail as well?

Very helpful info

Thanks very much, all! Very interesting indeed

Hello all

I was looking at some nice railway company crests the other day and couldn't help to wonder why a lot of them - GSWR, MGWR, GNR, DSER, WLWR, D&BT, DNGR, CBSCR, etc., etc. - have belts wrapped round them. Any thoughts?