jhb171achill

Gone are the days when I (and others) could happily “trespass” on running lines to take pictures, with nothing more than a friendly wave from the driver! I remember spending an afternoon about 1976, wandering about the tracks in Heuston Station and goods yard, in and out of E’s shunting loose-coupled wagons, and brand-new 071s with Mk 2s, others with mixed Cravens, laminates and gawd knows what else…. NOT advocating this, of course, but today if I tried that I’d be taken away in the Black Maria to Mountjoy to serve life with hard labour, amongst mountebanks, ne’er-do-wells, and more minor offenders like mass murderers….

Tis always good craic down in Caaark, boy!

I feel your pain! Now, it's time for your meds............

This stuff is just fascinating.

VERY new!

Enterprise day today….. IMG_0211.mov

Saw a set today with 2 x 3-car NIR 3ks, and also 231 on a DD set.......

One of the DD sets today had a zebra on it. Not sure which of the two.

Indeed - a pattern repeated in many areas of the country. Looking through Barry Carse's vast array of photos of beet operations a few years ago while selecting images for our last book, it was amazing to see what could still be witnessed even in the early years of this century - and that was but a tiny fraction of what was hauled in the 1950s and 60s.

Many thanks for that. With an existing mix of Provincial Leslie’s Bullieds, and various wooden-bodied opens, as also seen in beet trains up to about 1971/2, and forthcoming IRM Bullieds, I will need this stuff! At some stage I want to replicate the busiest of days at Dugort Harbour with the place choked with beet wagons, loaders, ramps for trucks, and the one-coach passenger train barely able to get in…. It isn’t so convincing with “laden” trains consisting of trucks as empty as the “empty” ones!

Only seeing this now. Fantastic and highly original detail. It’s things like that which make layouts of any size, big or small, fascinating to study.

Ehh, mister, can I get a single to Dundalk?

Bit like us with England!

VERY nice!

Help! I can access IRM on this iPhone as it’s always logged in. However, my desktop won’t accept a log-in now, and won’t let me change my password. Any ideas?

That's a very good point! My understanding is that we don't have to do anything, but I've an order in for one example of each type of coach and each number, so I certainly don't want to lose it (Dempsey; that'll be another light weathering job!). Plus, on Hattons site, it says (or said) that all in this range are "sold out on pre-order".

I'd say that's right.

The CIE green used was the standard lighter shade used on any coaches painted after 1955, and any green diesels after the D class. The Phoenix Donegal red as shown in that ad is definitely not quite right - it was very slightly darker. Probably it's their advertisement rather than the paint - I hope so!

Seen from the field across the road, on a cold January morning in 1959. With the resident J15 away for a boiler washout, A30 shunts the morning passenger set at Dugort Harbour. The silver loco and tin van will look better once they get a new coat of green paint. They are joined by a Park Royal and an old six-wheeler which is ekeing out its last days on the local.

Let me know by PM. I'm involved with this museum. We are trying to look at ways of having new events this year - and that would be an excellent one. He used tinplate and he used shaped wooden blocks to bend things round. he was an excellent tinsmith. One or two of the wooden blocks have survived - I think there's one on that table. I was in yesterday at one stage - pity I missed you! Bogies, wheels, etc., were a mix of bought ones and ones he cast hyimself. The self-cast ones are generally very brittle nowadays and must be handled with extreme care. Worth pointing out that as of now, while the museum is open today for the bank holiday, on an ongoing basis it is closed Mondays and Tuesdays for maintenance etc. Opening is 10:00 - 17:00 (last admission 16:30), Wednesdays to Sundays inclusive.

Sadly, yes - pity those who set these fires don't forget to leave the premises when they torch them!

I just KNEW it!

Pictured at Lansdowne Rd some years ago. What is it, when was it built, what does it do, and is it still in use, and if so, where - or, was it withdrawn, and when?