jhb171achill

Hen's teeth, those!

Outstanding stuff, excellent!

That map, two posts back…. Waterford - Fiddown? Wasn’t aware of that. Plus, the map omits the Cork, Blackrock & Passage line, which was still open in 1930 (though singled).

Wow!! That looks great! Will it be possible to purchase a complete one?

ICR in early 1950s fully lined CIE dark green, plus ICR or DART in 1960s black'n'tan! De Deitrich Enterprise in black'n'tan!

1. When built, the loco parts carried the then GSWR standard of very dark lined olive green, same livery as on Downpatrick's No. 90 these days (and which was colour-matched with an actual example of this paint). Coach part basically the colour of Guinness! An exceptionally dark browny-red, as seen on the Fry models of the GSWR railmotors which Mol_PB posted yesterday. If you are ever anywhere near Malahide, ping me in advance and I will show you both colours and get the models out for you to photograph. After 1915 or so, standard plain dark grey would have been on the loco part. If they had ever been repainted between about 1900 and 1915, then probably unlined black. But I'm not sure whether they were or not. 2. Any other name would be mythical too - so let your imagination run wild! "Leprechaun" would be no odder than "Fairy", or the MGWR's "Gnat", "Fly" or "Bee".....!

Possibly the light on a computer screen but to be honest that doesn't real;ly look quite right. It's not far off, though.

Absolutely TOP class stuff!

Note the level of detail of the number plate on No. 1; all hand-made, even that minute lettering! Good to meet again today, Mol-PB!

And NO tartan. If I had a euro for every American who I’ve met who witters on about “his” eh, “Jenn You Waan” Irish TARTAN…… I’d make Elon Muskstein look like a pauper….

Sounds SOO like the pre-bust banking world, which I inhabited; led by senior staff more interested in good brandy piss-ups with their golfing buddies, yet with the intellect of a snobbish dung-beetle who had failed all his exams at 14….. and middle management with tongues longer than the width of their brains….. I just got on with things, and spent 16 years as a union rep, mostly to annoy them! Yes, fellow IRM-heads, most of us have been there!

There's one in every packet, isn't there! If I could wax lyrical on the ineptitude of various bosses I had over the years in the bank, I'd be here all night............. a few good, most adequate, a few woefully, catastrophically disastrous....

It absolutely is. Membership cannot be highly enough recommended. A generation who knew the railways in their later heyday is now dying out, and much historical information will be lost without wider participation. We can always look at pictures and make models, but it's vitally important we know what we are actually looking at. I strongly recommend joining - I've been a member for over 50 years and every Journal is still eagerly awaited, a are visits (all too imnfrequen) into the archives.

No “snail” yet - I’ve seen at least 2 pics in the past showing lined green tenders without a logo. Bring transfers, of course, It’s possible that one applied on a not-properly-cleaned surface had worn off. The grey loco seen on the left seems newly painted too.

Actually, you’re 100% right on that. My mistake! I THINK, but am not certain, these later ones had the LMS shade quite early on, which should make them appear that way maybe 1933, when I believe the LMS shade was first seen.

Yes, the earlier ones arrived in the dark purple lake. Fry’s model of one appears to carry that actual paint. The 1927 ones, though, shown above, were likely “LMS”-shade maroon from new, although the GSR did use the darker shade for a while after the amalgamation.

I agree it would be a great model to have! Withdrawal dates - 354 & 357 in 1941; 355 &356 in 1942. It is possible, though, that while out of traffic, one or two hung about covered in brambles in Inchicore for some years afterwards! As for liveries, they only ever carried GSR (= LMS) maroon. I don't think they had any lining. They had two GSR crests on each side latterly, though only one (as would be more to be expected) originally.

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!