jhb171achill

Some northern stuff today. First, Clogher Valley. The dark maroon carriage paint is not just authentic; it may be actual original paint. The CVR maroon was, in Senior’s opinion, slightly darker than the “standard” sort of maroon used by the NCC, BCDR & GSR. He was invited to tour the railway and works in 1940 when he had just joined the GSR, and a coach was in the middle of being painted in Aughnacloy Works, so he saw it fresh. . For our budding NCC narrow gauge modellers….. . Wagons - GNR. Buy yours now from Provincial McAllister!

Indeed - very probably, I’d guess! You’re spot on. There is something in the back of my mind, right enough, about the UTA (or newly formed Ulsterbus) selling some of those buses to various operators in the south. School buses were certainly one of these uses. Around the time of the UTA / Ulsterbus changeover, they bought in a load of second-hand buses from Ribble, Crosville (North Wales) and somewhere else, and these were used to replace “half-cab” single-drivers, now redundant due to one man operation. As an aside, few if any of those old standard UTA single-deck half-cabs ever got the bright new blue and cream Ulsterbus livery. A few of the MGWR’s J26 / “E” class saw 67 years in actual use…..

I think J15 No. 130 was among the very last - there were only 3 or 4. The Irish Railfans’ News has chapter and verse. Must look them up…. But it was limited and short-lived too. Actual steam working on CIE finished completely at the end of February / start of March 1963. After that, the only steam was UTA / NIR until 1970.

I think about 1965.

The sort of thing you've so expertly depicted could, if it really existed, have had just about any of those locos. Doubltess some sort of off-the-shelf Simplex would be high on the list. If steam, a little Peckett like the Larne Aluminium Works one.

This is interesting; why, I wonder, are there several UTA buses parked up there? Possibly the UTA had sold them off to a local school bus or other type of private operator?

Barry Carse's Metrovick book has C234 becoming B234 in December 1965, so I'd go for 1966. J15 130 was one of the last steam locos on CIE's books, only OFFICIALLY withdrawn in 1965, though no steam locos at all operated* after March 1963, including 130. (*Other than as stationary boilers).

Autumn 1964, and a Knock pilgrimage special pulls away from Dugort Harbour at 7 a.m. No dining car, so it’ll be hang sangwidges in brown paper and flasks of tea all the way up to Claremorris.

That’ll save him Lodging a complaint.

I knew that CIE got rid of 3rd class and re-designated it 2nd in the 1950s - but I hadn't realised that any vehicles in the lighter green livery ever had a "3" on the doors, let alone an AEC railcar! Every day's a school day..............

That's what they get for putting a 00 gauge model on an N gauge layout.............

I met Mr Weaver tonight in the gospel hall and he says it’s impossible to get a good electrician these days…… plus, a four shilling call-out fee!

I know Sean of old; it WILL be a good one!

Indeed!

Yes, indeed. Given that it has a B Lowke pressure gauge, I'm going to contact them. All of the "leading lights" in the model engineering world here - which is so small it makes us modellers look like the population of China - are unfamiliar with it so far, though I await word from a couple of people I've got in contact with.

Basset Lowke pressure gauge - but presumably that doesn't mean they built it?

Had another look at this today. Here are a few more pics. I measured it - it's 3.5 inch gauge, not 5 inch as I had assumed. Any information welcome, though I'm not holding out much hope, as even the DSMEE aren't sure what it is. And….. it’s been steamed. 30-year old soot in the smokebox.

Indeed - always thought those "fisher price" interiors spoiled the appearance of an otherwise excellent coach. The upholstery in those was for most of their lives a sort of very dark grey or black. Floors and table edges were mid grey, and interior walls were either a "mock wood" brown finish, or a small checked design of light grey and white.

An appeal here for information. Amongst the material gathered over the years at Malahide Castle is a large-scale (probably 5" gauge - I need to measure it) 0.6.2T locomotive. It has a name "Sentul" which is the name of a place in Malaysia, but I'm pretty sure it's a "standard" generic design of loco, perhaps built from some of those sets of plans that would be published in model engineering magazines, designed specifically for outdoor ralways by the likes of Martin Evans. I'm pretty certain that it is not even remotely like anything that ever ran either in Malaysia, or even here. It is painted an olive green colour. It is not part of Cyril Fry's material, but appeared at some stage in Malahide Castle, when there was the large layout in there. It was probably donated by someone - but we don't know if, or when, or by who. Its registered owner, Fingal Co Council, is keen to establish more information about it. It was placed (by me) on display in the upstairs window of the Model Railway Museum during last week, pending the provision of a better display cabinet. I have been in touch with the model engineers at Marlay Park, and they suggest that it might at one stage have operated in Herbert Park, but certainly never did at Marlay Park (I spoke to a highly knowledgeable gentleman who has been a member of that society for 72 years!). I will post a few images of it, but I had to take them aganist a background of bright sunlight, so they're not good images - but I'll get better views during the week.

I have emailed many sellers of this sort of fake stuff to point out that they need to advertise them as "replica". To be fair, a few of them have done, but most ignore. n

I've read the above posts with interest. Me too; in terms of scam texts, delayed delivfery, catastrophic mistakes, inefficiency and so on with An Post....etc. What I do now is buy locally when I can - in person (Mark's Models). Not everyone can do that, of course, but they can post within Ireland. Odds and ends from mainland Europe, despite all being in the EU, seem to be subject to longer delivery times than before. Much, of course, of what we all buy is in Brexitstan, so I have them delivered to an esteemed friend who lives within UK borders.

A bit more of the railcar: … I’ve also a particular liking for this loco:

Took these yesterday….. It’s also of interest to show the GSR livery.

Ok - though - first, the one I’m primarily thinking of (Baldoyle - Malahide) is parallel to the road, therefore ultra-safe; and (second) straighter, quicker and (albeit marginally) shorter, WAY safer ……. When I see the Lycra Taliban on THAT road………..hmmmm Daughter-the-middle had a row with some of them one evening. They accused her of “taking over the road”. I WISH I had been with her. My comments would not have been best reported here……….. Thankfully, she suggested various private places where they might park their bikes …….. permanently; irrespective of potential physical lack of comfort…… AND their Lycra shorts, helmets - and - ye get the idea. Rant over (for the moment) and goodnight.