jhb171achill

Dare we ask if a 400 class is likely to follow?

In reality, all WTTs are confidential to this day. Since many train movements are not public passenger trains, it was always considered unhelpful to allow public access to such things. The public issues list passenger services only, not goods or light engine movements, or empty stock. At various times in the past, security was deemed to be another reason to keep train movements other than passenger-carrying ones as confidential.

A fifth "Rails Through...." is currently in progress. It will be somewhat more detailed in the historical aspect, but will contain some 190 illustrations, in this case covering Wexford to Harcourt St & Amiens St. The rough draft is done, and most of the pictures selected. It will include several photos of the Shillelagh branch, often quite camera-shy, but these are older, and black & white, as the very last section of it (to Aughrim Mill) closed finally in 1953. As for the North Kerry and West titles, one is now out of print and the other only very low numbers with the publisher, but Tipperary and Wexford are still available from the publisher. Glad you liked them!

That would be an ecumenical matter.

Well, arguably, a bit of it did……!

That Baltimore view is classic. A smoky old Crossley, an ex-MGWR six wheel third a LONG way from home (at that time, there were quite a few of these based in Cork, both at Albert Quayand glanmire), another six-wheel third of indeterminate parentage but probably also Midland, a brand new tin van (essential on ALL diesel trains if they wanted heat or light!) and a 1920s-era GSWR main line composite....

Wow - this will be a MOST impressive project! Will it be set in pre-NCC days?

Very nice collection indeed. I remember that 1967 diagrammatic one coming out. Even then I thought it was weird. Some of what you have are very rare beasts indeed, especially the Macroom one and the Parknasilla booklet.

Bring back a Vs and some old bogies....

Blue 216 has been kickin' around at Connolly shed several days this week. Dunno what's in Belfast.

This is precisely it, in a nutshell. Culturally, we’re just not that much interested, as a whole!

Forgot to mention, the reason there were never any narrow gauge wagons is that with the possible exception of Strabane to Stranorlar, no narrow gauge line had a sufficiently high and wide loading gauge to take standard gauge rolling stock.

Indeed, it was the other way round. Zero narrow gauge transporter wagons, but a few standard gauge ones, used to bring narrow gauge stock to Inchicore, Dundalk, Limerick or York Road for repair.

Many lines all over this island had trains going through them almost 24 hours a day. Even places like Omagh had signal cabins manned 22 hours a day. Even West Cork, with its sparse services overall, had goods trains in the wee hours leaving Cork for Bantry.

I'll try to have a look for you. I might have one or two duplicates.

Like that, with no train behind it, yes!

So sez the seagull........... just thinking, had that branch existed, it's very probable that the service would have been a single BUT car in and out from Drogheda maybe 3 times each day....

Yes, I have two of those. They're near enough to what you'd have seen in the mid 1950s to mid 60s. My background is that at Dugort Harbour the local twice-a-day bus to the back'o'beyond was stabled at the station, a la Westport Quay, so every week or two a tank of diesel is attached to the goods to be dropped off there, and the empty one taken away....... it makes for an interesting extra light engine movement for the Castletown West pilot engine.

Looks like you'll need to insert a chip well and truly into that seagull..............

Very nice indeed! I take it this is the Drogheda shuttle which follows the Entetprise, but runs ahead of the Ardee goods?

Quite simply because nobody - either private or state-funded - is prepared to put up the cash to build it, and pay to maintain it thereafter…… sadly!

Very certainly seems that way!

The question was asked above about livery in Ernie's book. Those are maker's photos, where they painted wagons (or carriages or locomotives) in varying shades of black, grey and white, with ironwork usually black, to emphasise detail in official (black and white) photos. This would not have been the livery they entered service in - manufacturers photographed them like this, and then painted them in the actualy livery of the customer's railway. In the case of the WLWR this was medium dark grey all over with white lettering. I THINK - but can't remember where to call up any hard evidence - that the grey used by the WLWR was probably not unlike the (later) LMS wagon grey in England, with roofs a very slightly lighter shade. This was a maker's photo livery. Grey in traffic.

And a populous, busy, local market is essential.

Indeed; I share that concern. Despite good noises being made, freight facilities in Dublin have again been reduced, Taras have gone, and there’s even less left now. And still not a syllable about Foynes.