jhb171achill

This was exactly the situation. Even with windows shut they got damp and musty. My abiding memory of UTA and GNR loco-hauled stock is exactly the same. Sitting in carriage sidings in the open month after month, and then hastily put into traffic. Even if they HAD tried to pre-heat them with a steam loco or (later) genny van, half the time the steam just leaked out under them and the heating was negligible to non-existent….. And try telling the young wans that today!

Exactly. You could have a train of seven carriages, no two the same, and another where 3 or 4 were the same but the others weren’t…. whatever was available was the key. The last time I ever travelled in a Bredin was on a day when a Heuston - Tralee service had been strengthened for a summer school party of a couple of hundred teenagers bound for the Kerry Gaeltacht. Mostly Cravens and laminates, but one particular scruffy-looking suburban PR and a Bredin side corridor with a distinct damp, musty smell even in summer stuck on at the front. The Bredin was right behind the loco, which was probably either a pair of 141s or an A. I was that keen to explore what turned out to be the last Bredin I ever saw in use, that I didn’t pay any attention to what was hauling me. Sure ye can see an oul A class on any line any day, can’t ye!

The yellow thing? No, far too long a wheelbase, plus body design in any case is quite unlike anything that ever ran here.

Sorry to hear that. My very best wishes to you.

That's easy. It is 5ft 3ft gauge.

These in the pics are very definitely transfers, not painted on. They are a quite unique font, so would have to be specially made. I think the number on the Blessington tramcar (3) in Cultra is still the original one and might help to measure / scan / photograph it.

By "GN", O'Dea (or the NLI!) presumably meant "GM"; plus, what service is this? Just two bogies and two tin vans (one green, one dirty silver)? Hardly a Cork service?

Suburban sets might typically be about five PRs plus a van, of course. First time I ever travelled on the Cobh line in the early 70s, the train was (I think) two PRs, a laminate and a 4-wheeled tin van. But many photos show 4 or 5, and also in Dublin 5 or even 6 would be commonplace on suburban runs - but - mixed in with laminates. Rarely would a train be ALL PRs. Naturally, no matter what coaches you use, a genny van of some sort needs to be in the consist. The snack cars were not in green, as they were introduced after that livery had been replaced. Only black'n'tan. PRs on intercity trains were a complete mixed bag. I doubt if an intercity train was ever composed of nothing BUT PRs - I certainly never saw one and am unaware of any pictures showing them. Theoretically, of course, it's possible. The various types of laminates outnumbered the PRs, and there were of course Cravens in the mix too, after 1963. Thus, any typical main limne train could have had several Cravens, several PRs, and several laminates - and up to the early 70s, one of the last few Bredins. As to numbers of vehicles (of whatever type) on main line trains, this could vary from maybe 5 or 6 to 10 or 12; again, with genny vans. The longest train I think I ever remember was a Cork departure which I think was about 10:30 out of Heuston. It tended to load well, and I saw it once passing Port Laoise with 10 or 11 bogies (a mixture of this and that, of course) and a van on each end. My friend Barry Carse once saw thirteen bogies and a van on (I think) a GAA special. Loads of nine on Cork and Belfast services was commonplace, but again, of those nine, maybe only two were PRs. Pretty much any type!

I thought they were transfers?

I got mine yesterday. First impressions are that this is a truly excellent volume, as would be expected given the authors and their typically detailed and painstaking researtch, and research sources. I'm actually reading through it this afternoon.

Those truly EXCELLENT carriages are the work of our very own Mol_PB! Was going to post that I saw them at Clon, preparing for the following day's cattle special!

In the same vein, that little blue boat there is on the Holyhead run all summer........!!

There were many lines in the past that had extremely sparse passenger services - one or two a day - but carried heavy and varied goods traffic. Twenty or thirty years ago, ballina hasd heavy goods traffic, but the passenger service was one Park Royal and a van wandering down to Claremorris only a couple of times a day. West Cork and Limerick - Claremorris (the latter in the 1970s) had lots of gopods going up and down - more in the beet season - and little passenger traffic beyond Limerick - Ennis, and a look at that timetable pre-1976 shows but a single daily passenger each way, but lots of goods. So, a prototype for everything! Going back further, the North Kerry and Mallow - Waterford in their later days had one goods and one passenger each way per day. And guess what - the goods was a lot busier than the passenger!

Worth looking into, as if so, they are less likely to have been published where railway enthusiasts might see them - if at all.

4 a.m. I was tired the next day…..

A 29 class bumbles along round Bray Head this afternoon….

Those look outstanding.

IRM told me only fifteen days ago that their model of it (with REAL hair) will be on sale next month. It can be bought on its own, DC or DCC, with extra options - 1. With a Douglas Horse Tram 2. With real hay 3. With a Fintona Horse Tram. Hooves can be supplied to scale 3ft or 5 fut 3 gauges. The accurascale version has 4’8.5” hooves.

I've see those and other CK Print stuff in the flesh. It is truly superb and extremely good value.

Outstanding picture, yes. I think they are all light green. Very few dark green ones were in use by 1957 anyway (except Cork area!). Yes, 655 is one that was painted black, though that does not necessarily mean the tender is, under that dirt! Most day-to-day trains there at that time were AEC railcar sets, as seen on extreme right, so this will certainly be an excursion of some sort, or else empty stock for one. While only a slight ppossibility, it's possible they are being brought up to lend to the SLNCR for one of their pilgrimage trains. Probably more likely, it's extra stock for a GAA or Knock special/

I've said this before, but I am always interested in exploring possibilities for mini layouts with good operational potential, where a lot of interest both in scenic and operational terms can be crammed into very lirttle space. The W & T must be among the best candidates! In the 1950s, the Clayton pairs and about 2 or 3 elderly antique six-wheelers and three locos; but in latter days a single railcar set in use, with an extra power car and intermediate to extend it to a five-car set - the entire stock on the line! If this line had survived, I'd put money on a guess that today it would be operated by a pair of 26 class 2-car sets. Maybe the 27 class bubble cars would have ended up there at some stage! For someone with very limited space and budget for modern railway models, a combination of a 2 or 3-car Silverfox "AEC railcar" and two IRM Park Royals would be a good approximation. Sets of points expensive? Your whole layout would only need a couple!

I'm sure I had a close encounter with 209 itself somewhere other than Loughrea - you've got me wondering now!

It looks very well, with the detailing a highlight too. A grubby little workhorse! I had a cab run in one on a ballast train in the 1970s from then-closed Clonsilla to North Wall..... I think I had 209 on the Loughrea branch too, still in the old livery.

Only latterly! For most of its life it didn’t.

Wow! That is QUITE a project! Yes, the Claytons and the railcar set would indeed look good. You've obviously done your research well!