jhb171achill

Is this now the normal 071 grey? When the 26 class railcars first appeared they also had pale grey bogies - I thought they looked odd, but like a “silver” tin van forty years before, got very dirty very quickly. This seems an improvement to the 201 livery.

That’s where I pick up a HUGE amount of info - examining details on old photos. Very often it’s a case of “never mind the “what a great photo!” stuff", but examining nooks, crannies and details within that photograph. In terms of wagon plates, many old BNCR and MRNCC plates would be replaced with LMSNCC ones. A wagon with the latter on it might well have been built by the LMS NCC, but equally either of its predecessors. And there were two styles of NCC lettering on those purely within LMS days, too. Without seeing the whole wagon, my money would be on it being of BNCR origin and the low number would suggest that as almost a certainty. PS: see if you can enlarge the axle box cover - I suspect it may say “BNCR” on it. Like the BCDR, CBSCR and DSER, the NCC wagon designs were for the most part entirely unlike anything else, and nothing like the “big” companies.

Indeed it is; a Provincial favourite - I've kits for several more. Many of these graduated onto CIE in 1958 and were to be seen in traffic as late as circa 1970, along with the very last of the GSR wooden equivalents. Given the lower priority given to the cosmetic aspects of wagons as opposed to carriages or locos, quite a few were still to be seen with "G N" on them into the early 60s, as per the two currently running on the layout. Of the same type of kit which I've still to make up, I think I'll do two with "snails" and one looking a lot more newly painted with a "roundel", as they'd have got after 1963. Plus I've more cattle trucks to make up!

Was thinking Carrickbrack, Carrickmines and Camolin Railway............

Only one sleep to go…

Once the reincarnation thing is sorted out, and in the next life each week has nine days, each year 17 months, and each day 32 hours, I will place my name forward to volunteer on trawling such material!

I think you may know the maker, Leslie…. While I’ve two (see above) myself, I say to the wider modelling world, “highly recommended”!

Some of the growing family of wagons at Dugort Harbour….

Any idea what "C C C" means - presumably something "coal company"?

Indeed - the more photos, the better, and scanned and improved where necessary too. Covid has of course meant that visits to the IRRS to browse anything at all, let alone conduct detailed research, are not currently possible. Let's look forward to the times when all can reopen safely!

Midland six-wheelers

Many of the “notes” made by folks like this need to be written up in the form of articles, sometimes even with the most eminent and highly respected authors, having errors or potentially misleading information corrected. This all takes a lot of time, and like preservation schemes, there’s only so many volunteers….. Anyone ever trying to make sense of much of my own notes over the years would end up with a Herculean task!!! I have “stuff” among my own “stuff” which was the work of a couple of long-departed, but very knowledgable persons. One lot is neat little index cards, the rest is random material which makes little obvious sense!

Ahhh!!! Excellent - wasn’t aware of that!

A12 is a perfect “crossover” between the end of steam and the re-engining programme, itself finishing the same year the “supertrains” started. A black “A” with or without yellow ends will be happily accurate with “snail”-clad loose coupled wagons, and a 50/50 mix of green and black’n’tan carriages, passing along beside a loco shed with rusty withdrawn steam engines in it; but also it will be happy alongside a class sister now hauling squeaky clean new Cravens, with its new GM engine, tan lower band, and “R” after its number. Place it on the GNR main line, sitting in Drogheda, and the new Hunslet-hauled Mk 2 “Enterprise” can swing by, taking this comparison to its ultimate extent. The 1960s saw the biggest changes in Irish railways in their history, and the black “A” - with AND without the yellow patch - was at the centre of it.

In which case, I wonder what became of Russell Currie’s notes or research material…..? All too often, valuable research material gathered by a railway historian, researcher or author gets chucked in the bin when he passes on….

Beasts of Beauty!

What appears in that pic is very much in line with what my own impression is, from snippets I've picked up over the years. The challenge, of course, is scratchbuilding models of their very unique coaches! While I do not have definitive details - they haven't survived according to Ernie Shepherd - I do know that at various stages before 1925, CBSCR passenger stock was all-green, and other times green with cream or white upper panels. And yes, 467 was what I was thinking for CIE green!

Addendum to the above; some broad gauge wagons were close to those numbers too, so another possibility is a 5'3" goods van. If so, probably scrapped in the 1960s.

Probably one of these: These were narrow-gauge wagons built by the Ballymena & Larne Railway, eventually taken over by the MR(NCC), then LMS(NCC), finally (Ballyclare-Larne only) UTA. Some of them ended up on turf railways with BnM. There's one at the C & L in Dromod which followed such a route. They lasted until the last bit of that line closed in 1950. I don't think any of that type were transferred to the Ballycastle line. Derelict ones were to be seen lying about at Larne during the fifties after the B & L line closed entirely. NCC wagon records do not seem to have survived, possibly as a result of York Road station being bombed in the 1940s, possibly due to Inchicore-style clearouts of old papers in the 1950s, so the above may not be gospel - but the number series suggests it.

The green shade used by the CBSCR initially is not known, but by 1925 when the dreaded grey paint enveloped everything, the livery used on both coaches and locomotives was supposed to have been similar to one of the shades used by the English SR - and consequently unlike anything used elsewhere in Ireland. Then, of course, CIE green which was lined black and white. Beware of Alphagrafix liveries - most are incorrect, some seriously so! I don't think it was 466 which went to the Big Smoke, though I do have a note somewhere of which one it was. That model appears to have a yellow number - on the green livery it should be light green, with yellow numbers only on the grey or black liveries.

464 is perfect for you, Westcork, as it's the only one which got black! Excellent build job. Interesting you mentioned the three green liveries - initially the CBSCR, then one of the class (I think just the one) got the CIE green in the fifties. Dunno if you like that livery, but a CIE green one would look nice, though I'm not sure where you'd get the correct light green numerals.

I've two of these in LMS livery. They are indeed a good "2-ft rule" approximation for Bredins or CIE 1951-3 series, or even some sort of broadly generic "laminate", but by simply repainting the silver roof dark grey and deleting the letters "LMS" from the sides, you've actually exact GSR livery they had as new, correct lining and all; at that time the GSR, LMS and NCC used the same maroon and even had identical lining (NCC latterly less or no lining). So I'm holding the two I have for eventual use as weathered "Bredins" still in GSR livery, once I've enough six wheelers in the older green to surround them with, for a late 1940s or early-1950s version of operating. (Need more ancient-design wagons and two more steam locos as well).

There was indeed a BnM layout featured somewhere in the past - I think on IRM? Looked very well too.

For your period of operation, Noel, a green one would fit, so would a black one with and without the yellow patch, PLUS both the "high band" and "low band" black'n'tan liveries! (Please don't let your wallet hear me saying that, it'll have Multiple Conniptions, screaming fits and the heeby-jeebies........!)

That’s actually interesting you saying that, Jason. I had been bumbling about with different types of backscenes, but I want to look like some flat boggy and sparsely inhabited stretch in the west, where the sky is usually not predicting that any planned picnic is likely to be a pleasant experience! One of the earliest pics I posted of it looked just like that, and by sheer coincidence, I might add, rather than any artistic genius on my part. Those recent pics with a backscene from one of the modelling “comics” look ok if it was meant to be in, say, Co Wicklow - but look far too “verdant” for a remote west Cork or Kerry location. But you’ve got me thinking!!