jhb171achill

Yes, they all did originally. However, they were small and box-like, and none had the "modern" type of coach body style of the 1880s onwards. Most were gone by the early 1890s. A handful survived longer, but usually not in regular traffic. If 4-wheel coaches are desired on a layout that is Irish, think more Stockton & Darlington style than 1880-1920 body style, and definitely not the long-wheelbase fourwheelers seen in Britain. The "Thomas Annie & Clarabel" Hornby 4-wheelers, being roughly wagon-length, are OK length wise, but even then the body style is too "modern" for anything that ran here. If I get a chance tomorrow I will post some photos.

Good thinking, and a logical answer; but try running that past rural Ireland! You'll encounter a cabal of Abominable No Men, the likes of which Arleeen, Wee Sommy, Wee Doddsy and Sir Sanctimonious LondonJeffrey could never even dream of!

Castlederg is one of my all-time favourites. I saw it at Cultra a few years ago.

Very true indeed. There's far too much gombeenism in this type of thing. If a farmer legally purchases a former railway, fine; the government has to buy it back, with or without a CPO, as a national interest must ALWAYS trump that of a solitary landowner, anywhere. But if he illegally occupies a railway, no negotiation - just drive the train through his cow shed and house extension and put the railway back. Better still, put the railway back before driving the train through.

There was talk of making it into - yeah, you've guessed - a greenway............

That's full brake 1077, one of seemingly only three (but possibly 4) which were repainted into this livery. This one didn't last much longer than that tour. When the term "IRM" is mentioned these days in the same sentence as the word "announcement", drooling goes into overdrive. In MY case, the showcase items would be an Indonesian B50 2.4.0, if I could get someone to make one up for me, an Indian metre-gauge YP and YG, and a South African 6J!

Agreed on all points bar one, if I may; Britain was building long wheelbase 4-wheelers of a similar (thus modern) body design well into the 1890s, by which time we had long stopped, and gone from 20-something foot chassis to 30 & 33ft. The four wheelers we had were not only much shorter, but of a much more primitive design. I will post details tomorrow. Thus, in Irish terms, neither the Ratio GWR kits, nor the Hornby or Hattons 4-wheelers, would even approach the 3ft rule…… for Ireland. While SSM (and, I think, Worsley), do DNGR kits, any generic LNWR six-wheeler (not four) would be very credible as a DNGR vehicle. The Hattons Genesis vehicles are actually OK, proportion-wise, for DNGR stock.

Very much so. If they sell out, I am sure it would strengthen the case to at least be the first into the 1930s/40s livery era by doing a run of them in GSR maroon; but it needs to be borne in mind that Ireland is a small market, and but for the fact that their generic six-wheeled stock does, by coincidence, resemble GSWR stock, I doubt they'd set up the tooling and so on to do a special Irish design. No doubt this is why no MGWR six-wheelers have appeared anywhere - these are so utterly unlike anything British, even if heavily kitbashed, that they would have to be a dedicated specific tooling. I imagine that Hattons have done their market research well, though - I can't see any manufacturer releasing something they weren't sure would sell. Here's hoping, overall!

Almost certainly, yes, although as you know the UTA could throw up all sorts of weird "one-offs"; possibly it inherited this ability from its predecessor! I recall seeing the last steam-hauled Enterprise one day in the early 60s - Saloon 50 was on it. But I was a person of small stature in those days and thus could not tell what date it was!

There actually are a surprising amount of matching locos right now, though some are currently "out of print"; 1. Bachmann "Woolwich" in grey, black or green (not the version with red lining) 2. 00 Works J15 - rumour is of another batch? 3. JM Design 2.4.0 and 4.4.0 kits 4. SSM J26 0.6.0T kit 5. Silverfox C and B101 if they are silver or green (just repaint the grey roof they come with!) 6. IRM "A" in silver or either green livery. Of the above, all but (3) and (4) are reday to run; in the case of the Silverfox ones, can be had as a kit OR ready to run. As a wild card, the Foynes branch, now much in the news, had a "G" with an old MGWR six-wheeled brake third for a while just before it closed. Different type of six-wheeler of course, but Rule 1 can apply! A jaunt from Foynes to Limerick behind a trundling G along that line in a rickety old wooden-seated MGWR six-wheeled brake third must have been quite an endurance test to the public.....but wouldn't WE love it, sore posterior quarters an'all?

They're nothing like a GNR design - however, if you ignore different panelling, they're certainly much more appropriate to a DNGR design that GNR! Yes, in the right livery (and in this case, suitably weathered!)......

Thank you, David, much appreciated. yes, each one does have a different number. If they all sell well, who knows - I'd certainly be up for a GSR version!

They're stuck behind a failed empty cattle truck special near Donamon....loco's got two burst tubes.

That colour is perfectly correct, whatever it is.

This promises to be a good one! Looking forward to seeing how it progresses. I've a small pot of GSR grey paint here if you want it in that livery, but being suburban locos, they also carried the lined green (same as Hatton's dark green coaches) livery from 1948 until scrapped.

As far as that chassis is concerned, J-Mo, I reckon it would suit that GSR tank loco more than well enough. If you were able to do a 3D print if you got the drawings, it would be very well worth looking into. I was thinking more along the lines of what would be involved converting the body of that LNER loco.

Yet ANOTHER "plus", which I forgot to mention earlier, is the interiors. optional interior lighting (a few dud bulbs here and there maybe!), plus the fact that they even have the first and third class seat colours right. All too many model coaches have bright red or bright blue setas inside them, which makes them look like toys......

Much appreciated, George, thank you. I look forward to getting my own!

The cab on that yoke is so very distinctly LNER that i doubt it to be honest. I would imagine that to convert it to the nearest equivalent in Ireland would require so much surgery that a new 3D print or scratchbuild would actually be easier.

VERY good point; it is my understanding that they will be supplied WITH them. Yes, you are right - almost all irish six-wheelers had DOUBLE footboards; British ones as often as not had none, or one.

Indeed, though all of those are MGWR types. I did forget to mention that, though; six-wheelers were regular "trail cars" on the Cork - Tralee, Harcourt St - Bray, and Wedst Cork routes. I've an idea I saw a pic of one at the rear of a Dublin - Rosslare railcar service too. Yes, that's the one whose number I had forgotten!

That is a SUPERB film - I've never seen that before. A very great amount of interesting information therein...........

WHAT TO RUN WITH HATTONS CIE COACHES Since the numbers are of vehicles whih did run in the 50s and in most cases early 60s, and given that they cover the pre- and post-1955 shades of green, what to operate with them. Other carriages: On main lines, wooden bogie stock, especially of GSWR origin, laminates, Bredins and Park Royals, the latter especially with the light green ones; not Cravens, as they were just being introduced after the last ones were withdrawn, although if you take the lone black'n'tan full brake, you can authentically operate a train with any of the above coaches PLUS Cravens. The last two black'n'tan full 6 wheel vans were still at work in 1968, possibly both n Galway mail trains. One was officially still on the books until 1970, but photo evidence that year shows it loking as if it hasn't been used for a while. On branch lines, other vehicles the same, possibly a full brake or brake third with a bogie vehicle, or a set of 3 or 4 of them. On excursions, any stock at all - but possibly (especially in Cork area), summer excursions of up to 15 or more of them. Locomotives: ANY steam loco, and diesels of "A", B101, or "C" class in either the silver or green livery. Also, a B121 perhaps in the year of 1962 only, in its original grey and yellow. If operating in a mixed train, the sort of wagons are anything pre-fitted era except the "palvans"; they were introduced the year after the six-wheelers were withdrawn. See Provincial Wagons, JM design wagons, and some SSM kits. All wagons of all types grey; the brown didn't appear till 1970. Typical carriage formations on a branch - All trains had first and third (until mid 50s, then 1st & 2nd). So - a train of six-wheelers would typically be: 1. Composite 1st / 2nd, full 2nd and either full brake or brake 2nd. 2. Full brake or brake third with a bogie composite; by the 1950s almost without exception of GSWR wooden design, though sometimes a Bredin or 1951-3 CIE compo. 3. Full brake or brake 3rd with six-wheel composite and something like a Park Royal. On main lines - Six wheelers, especially full brakes, would take up the rear of main line trains of more modern bogie stock. Two were actually fitted with a gangway corridor at one end - an exceptionally rare thing on Irish six-wheelers. In steam days more so, but when diesels came in, the necessity to have a tin van for heating came in too, thus displacing many old six-wheel brakes - however, they'd still be used for parcels. When DSER-section or Cork commuter trains were busy, just about any varieties of surviving six-wheelers would be intermingled with old wooden non-corridor bogies, mostly of GSWR design, and six wheelers of the very different MGWR design. Six wheelers in the black'n'tan era 1963-70 While ALL passenger-carrying ones disappeared in 1963, thus just missing the new livery, some six full vans survived. Two were withdrawn shortly afterwards, still light green - but would have run with black and tan bogie stock. Another one I suspect also remained light green. The other three (69, now at Downpatrick; 79 and another) definitely were repainted black'n'tan. The one whose number I can't recall was on the Ballaghaderreen branch when it closed, and also on the 1964 all-Ireland steam tour; I don't know what happened to it after that. The other two were to be seen in the mid-1960s on the Galway line with one (I think 79) a regular on the up day mail. Haulgae, of couures for these, would be any black, black and yellow or Crossley-era black'n'tan livery on an "A", or B121 / 141 / 181 types in the original black'n'tan, or a grey 121 too. They could have been hauled by the C class though these were rarely on passenger haulage after the West Cork closed. By the time the AR (GM-engines) appeared, the last of these are gone. Obviously any supertrain or later livery on anything isn't historically accurate - though it IS your railway!

The idea is that if someone buys a set, it can be expanded with other "single" ones - each type of coach has several number options for that purpose. Several number options with each; probably one number for the one in the set, an a separat5e number for other "single" ones of the same type.

Yes, on excursions. Best examples would have been Cork-Youghal summer excursions. Green ones would also have hauled them in this way.