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Again, pages come out the wrong way = middle image should be below the lower one.

Look at that SKY in Killybegs!!! Typical Donegal weather......... same as the day Airfixfan and myself shut ourselves in the NCC coach at the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre to sift through thousands of photos for his recent CDR book...... and yes, I DID get a Donegal drowning after I'd left......

Your wish is my command….. Don't ask me why the pages post in the wrong order - anyone know? I took them in the RIGHT order!

If you need access to any IRRS Journals, I have a complete collection going back to 1946. If someone can tell me what date the article referred to above was included, I will fish it out and send it to you. With Mayner's 52 class, perhaps some time between 1900 & 1910 might be a better start? I suspect there may be more stuff released in the not-too-distant future which might also be of use. Also, if there's any chance you can get hold of a 00 Works J15 (all sold out, like hen's teeth), then grab one!

I saw one in Limerick in 1976 or 77.

OK, from my records, W&CIR liveries were as follows: LOCOMOTIVES Several liveries are recorded, but the dates when they were introduced and replaced are not recorded. The W&CI became part of the GSWR in 1896, so GSWR liveries are the norm after that, then GSR, finally CIE. 1. Very dark green, probably a shade darker than Brunswick green, brown frames, black and light green lining. It is possible that it was a dark olive green. This appears to be the earliest recorded, but is so similar to contemporary GSWR loco livery that it might actually BE that; in which case the very first W&CI livery is lost to time. Many, if not most, early locomotives on most lines with most companies were however some sort of green livery, or occasionally dark red or brown. 2. Following GSWR takeover, by 1899 the basic livery was the same but the lining was different. The green parts had black and light green lining with another red line on the cab and on the tender. The brown frames had a black border and red lining. 3. Perhaps concurrently with this, some GSWR locos had, again, the same livery but with cream and black lining. 4. Further lining variations seem to have been tried out, with some locos as late as 1902 having the green livery but with light green and black lining again. 5. After GSWR takeover, from around 1901 the green livery started being replaced by all over black lined in red until around 1915-18, after which plain unlined grey (under GSWR, GSR & CIE) until the line closed. COACHING STOCK It is possible that these were at first a dark blue colour, as this is recorded at an unspecified date. Gold lettering and dark red lining was added. However, at some stage early on the GSWR style of livery was adopted, in the form of an extremely dark maroon-brown colour known as "crimson lake" - which in traffic looked almost black - in reality and joking aside, like the VERY dark red of Guinness! Lining was red and gold. In GSR days this livery continued, albeit with GSR markings instead of GSWR; but in 1933 a much lighter maroon, akin to that of the (British) LMS, and (here) the NCC and BCDR, became the norm, with simplified lining. This would persist to 1945, when any carriages which threaded their way through the weeds into Mountmellick would now be in CIE green. GOODS STOCK Wagons were reported as being a very dark slate grey, much darker than grey shades used on such vehicles a few decades later. Once the GSWR took over, wagons were often painted black in the very early years of the 20th century, but reverted to a dark slate grey with "G S W R" and the number on them later. By 1925 they were "standard" wagon grey, which remained the case until almost the end of the life of the line, though lighter shades appeared by then. Lettering was white. In W&CIR days, wagon ironwork was initially picked out in black, but the GSWR abandoned this and wagons were plain grey soon after they took over. The W&CIR crest which appeared on the sides of the carriages had the company name in a garter surrounding the arms of Waterford & Kilkenny. In terms of Cyril Fry's models, he did not make any from this line. However, he did do models of other early railways, notably the Dublin & Kingstown, Dundalk & Drogheda, Waterford & Tramore, and Ulster. Design-wise, you might like to take a run into Malahide Model Railway Museum and have a poke about there - if you tip me off as to when you're coming I can meet you there and get some of them ready for you to take pictures of.

Flying Snail, you are very welcome here indeed. It is an absolute pleasure to hear of yet another modeller tackling the earlier world of the railways. Yes, the W&CI is a fascinating subject matter. In terms of deciding on Mountmellick or Abbeyleix, both of which are excellent ideas, I suppose the main consideration here is whether you want a terminus station or a through station. The former will mean Mountmellick is better, the latter Abbeyleix. I have timetables going back to 1926 for these places, and a few odd ones from earlier, if that's any use. In terms of rolling stock and wagons, I'm not sure what i might have - probably not very much, though I may be able to dig up some livery details. However, I will do a bit of diggin about and see if I can find anything. Early wagons are likely to be much the same as early GSWR ones. If you are indeed going for a later era, the GSR period before passenger services ended at Mountmellick will give you a much wider amount of fodder.

Only if it's steam powered and 5' 3" gauge...........

Z, N, TT, H0 00, O, gauges 1, 2 & 3; 009, H0m, 10 1/4 inch gauge - all will be options. And I'm still thinking it's the DUTC tow-car or "Dick" of Fintona.

Here's today's contribution: I think I posted the top two somewhere before, but for completeness, they are included here too.

Ireland’s smallest passenger coach, 3ft gauge No. 6, of the Bessbrook & Newry Tramway. The body survived as a summerhouse in a convent, and is now at RPSI Whitehead. Fry caught it too….. Officially a “brake van”, in reality it was a passenger-carrying vehicle with a handbrake.

Very best wishes for recovery, Ken, and we look forward to seeing the further fruits of your labours!

SSM have other kits too, e.g. a Bandon Tank, 800, and some GNR types.

This one is a complete scratchbuild, and a top class one at that.

Having been party to the amazing body of research conducted painstakingly by GNRI1959 in order to produce this book, I will very thoroughly recommend it to all here.

Light engine today……

Talking of shunting locos, spotted at a friend’s house today (“O” gauge):

Very good and detailed account, which certainly corresponds with my own memories - and in every detail!

A 2600 class is marrying a UTA MED, to produce a NIR "Castle" class railcar as a nasty child; scary or what? Well, it IS near Halloween..............

For oul wans like me, it is very encouraging to see the growing interest in things pre-1980 or pre-1970, and steam. We are well catered for with wagons now, thanks to Mayner, Provincial Leslie, Des Sullivan and others (you know who you are). With carriages, SSM and Worsley have some very nice brass kits, though not for the novice. Steam engines too in the latter two cases, and let's not forget 00 Works' GNR, GSWR and CBSCR locos. More of all of the above, and the more RTR the better, would be very welcome.

Good afternoon, all! A busy centre, this....... I suppose someone will say that there's a shopping mall and a cycleway here now! Does it still have the CLC and other railway companies' initials / names on it?

SUPERB info, Hexagon; this is exactly why I'm posting this stuff here!

One more for tonight......

The VoR was a highlight of that particular trip for me. That was in 1975.

Tonight's visit to Brexitstan. Over a period of time I will post all of my father's British stuff here. There's quite a lot. Given the excellent responses to details of locations and the like above, I among others can benefit from this information being offered. I will post some also that I have posted in other places in the past, so that it is all together here. Senior's earliest visits over there were in the late 1930s / early 1940s, but I don't think he took any pictures there until into the 1940s. He recalled seeing an old coach somewhere in badly worn LNWR livery, on a teenaged holiday in - I think - North Wales. They used to get the mail boat from Dún Laoghaire to Holyhead and stay in North Wales. A visit there in 1969 or 70 for me was the first time I had been out of Ireland, and what I now believe were 101 class railcars were on many local trains, some in green, some blue & grey. Main line trains often had 47s, and possibly "Peaks"? About half of them green, the rest blue & yellow. Carriage stock was all Mk 1s as far as I recall - can't swaer to there being no Mk 2s, but I don't recall seeing any. About a quarter were still maroon. Goods trains were loose-coupled, like the picture above, but longer - and locos the same as, or similar to the above were to be seen on the lines from Pwhelli to Barmouth and on to Aberystwyth. Two-car railcars did most of the passenger trains on that line. And of course, THIS was in corporate BR blue!