jhb171achill

Yes, I would agree. It's even worse, of course, on the whole island of Ireland, where the level of interest never approaches even a fraction of that in Britain - or, specifically, England and Wales. For decades i did the seating plan for the annual RPSI May Tour, for a very long time the very biggest railway enthusiast event in Ireland, probably still so, covid-permitting. The number of participants from the WHOLE of Ireland would never, on a single occasion, have filled even one carriage. Virtually all the regulars, bar RPSI personnel and one or two notables, were English. And fair play to them; as i told many of them, many times, without them the tour would NEVER have made it even into the 1970s. Downpatrick carries in a year what the Severn Valley would in a weekend. OK, I hear all say, Ireland as a whole has less than 7 million people, whereas England alone has ten times that. Fair point - however - on a typical train on a British preserved railway, you might get 10-15% who are enthusiasts. Not here. Here, it's mummy, daddy and the kids going on the big chuff-chuff train for a day out. At Downpatrick, or on a Portrush Flyer, actual railway enthusiasts, particularly ones who have travelled a distance, are a rarity, except again for a TINY few regulars. And they're STINGY! (the few REGULARS excluded!) BOY, are Irish railway enthusiasts STINGY!!! Raffles, buying souvenirs, supporting donation tins - and I make no apology for the rant, as treasurer of both the DCDR and RPSI for some 25 years, and Commerical Officer before that - so-called "supporters" of these organisations scuttle down holes, often awkwardly counting out coins in their pockets, at the mere mention of buying a raffle ticket. But look in the bar AFTER the trip - they're all there. OK, back to Steve's point - the cultural lack of interest here, north and south, results in TV programmes with either lightweight, or carelessly inaccurate or superficial "history". The recent RTE series with Enda is par for the course, with the "narrow-gauge" Achill line illustrated by a CDR train.......and so on. I've calmed down now. I had my covid jab today. Maybe this is the side effect.......

Shades of the loss-making HEI at Whitehead!

In your second last pic, on the right there are a couple of coaches. Are those the SECR models? If so, they bear a "two-foot-rule" resemblance to the post-1903 MGWR designs. At least one ex-Midland coach did, in fact, operated briefly on the CBSCR main line immediately before the railcars came.

121 with white lines - thus post '87.....

Sad. Travelled on it a few years ago - an amazing line. If they're up for grabs, we'd need to know if they are DC or DCC.

Mallow, late 1980s, maybe early 90s. Tralee branch train on left.

Absolutely inspiring again, David! You mention the Dublin & Meath brake vans taken over by the Midland. If these are strictly passenger vans, then brown as you say - but if they are goods or mixed train vehicles, grey or possibly a dark green colour, though I am uncertain when the MGWR abandoned green for brake vans in favour of brown. If you use the green, there's a model of Fry's in Malahide with this colour. I've to call in there soon, so I'll take a pic of it. And yes, wagons inevitably got mixed up. I've seen pics of a GSWR van in Derry (Foyle Road), a DSER and a GSWR one in Achill, and a GNR one in West Cork!

Might be worth getting the IRRS on board for one of their "outings"? Would make a nice day out, if social distancing permits - Dublin - Central - Derry & back by train. What are the current regulations regarding travel in the north?

The very last of them were withdrawn in 1974, I believe.

Terrible shame. The platform and roof supports are still there too, aren’t they? A building like that should be listed....

Slightly related question - where's the best place round Dublin to get 6mm MDF board?

Or Doooostin d'tooorkey..........

Superb! The picture comes alive!

If that stuff was indeed available commercially, I would get some for a mini-layout. At this stage I am too far committed to 00 gauge track and models, with some 20 locos steam and diesel, once my "A"s appear, and maybe 40 - 50 wagons and a dozen carriages. However, I would get one 141 converted and a dozen wagons to do a shunting layout with. If I was starting from scratch, I might sell the car and go full 21mm. So I suppose the answer to the original question, for me, is yes - if within my budget.

I detest “unboxing videos” just about as much as watching tennis, golf or grass growing....... ”Take the damn thing out of the box, throw away all the plasticky bits, put it on the track, and let’s see it go!”

They were! The particular ones you mention were all built in the 1902-1915 period....they had long lives! I've a notion there was at least one old relic from the late 1890s still kicking about then.

Superb memories, Ironroad. Those pics in carriages would have been old GSWR bogies, and the pics were actually originally from the Lawrence collection. I, too, recall a Kildare signalman commenting to my father in disgust, as we watched a train pass from the cabin, and the last coach of which was in the new livery "Ye'd think we'd seen the last of the $%^& black'n'tans...."

You should “interview” him about everything pre-1965 that he remembers and write it down. I only realise now the things I DIDNT ask jhbSenior, who recalled the DSER, GSWR and formation of the GSR, as well as having travelled over virtually every railway line in the country; plus on the occasions I spoke to them over the years, the late Billy Lohan of Tuam, and of course Bob Clements.

I was delving through old issues of "Irish Ralfans News" this afternoon, and found this "snapshot" of the CIE motive power situation as at December 1972, which may be of interest: 1. In December 1972, the last "C" class was re-engine as B220 (thus still black and tan livery, as opposed to recently introduced "supertrain" livery, which was introduced during summer 1972. Was this the last engine ever painted black'n'tan? 2. In traffic: 60 x A 15 x B121 37 x B141 12 x B181 32 x C (now B201) with GM engines 2 x C (now B233 / 234) with Maybach engines 12 x B101 (goods and PW almost totally) The "E" and "G" class locos are not mentioned, though at that stage while all of the former were technically in traffic, theG601s hadn't been used in years, nor ever would be again, and it is not certain that all sever G611s were usable. It may also be presumed that the D class, even if "on the books" were defunct. All of the above locos were officially in traffic, but the following were out of use: B101 class 111/3/4, and B234 and K801. So only nine B101s were available for use, mostly way "down south", and only one of the Maybach "C"s was in use - though it is noted that its use was restricted. The first main line locos had been repainted into "Supertrain" livery. These were 001, 158 and three of the B181s; 183, 187 and 188. Among the last GNR coaches in service - five of them - had been withdrawn from traffic for scrapping, along with some of the last wooden-panelled GSWR stock, eight of them. Meanwhile, in the north, the last BCDR thing on wheels in use, the diesel loco No. 28, was withdrawn and (disgracefully) scrapped in Belfast, as were among the last ex-GNR AEC railcars.

Indeed - very good points all round. Yes, my own personal memories of the CIE green era are actually more bus than rail related; in particular the old no. 10 route! However, I do have some memories of green vehicles on rails, a horsebox being one, and a row of green laminates behind a brand-new 141 being another - but as you suggest not remotely close to being of any use whatsoever to answer this above issue. As it happens, I'll be on the phone tonight to Barry (for a LONG time) in connection with our next joint project and I will ask him where he got HIS info from; he tends to often consult not just his own extremely copious and detailed notes, but his father's, the late Sam Carse. Sam himself took a lot of pics too, though not on the scale of Barry, and all black and white - and with a heavy emphasis of his beloved CDRJC. But that's another story. Of the IRN team, I suspect that the idea of a long list of dark green "A"s might have originated with the late David Seymour, a keen observer of that TYPE of thing. Brendan Pender was another. The only person now alive of these folks is the ever-youthful Clifton Flewitt. I might give him a buzz and see what he has to say. But - Barry's diesel book and the info in it certainly concurs with what my own understanding would have been. As an aside: who, here, would also still have memories of the green livery on trains, or of CIE steam? I can think of two regulars here, but no more........

I would very much echo that statement. In support of the idea is the fact that those who wrote the IRN were very thorough in their research, and any errors I have ever been made aware of are trivial indeed. Moreover, the writers have mentioned specific locos; not generally the stuff of those who haven't done their homework. However, other sources have stated that only one "A" (and one "C") were ever darker green, though I have ALSO heard in the past "A46 and possibly another". I can be sure, though, that no photographs I have ever seen, other than A46, show any loco of the class in dark green - certainly one in five of them seem questionable. Again, I would suggest that Garfield's idea - above - that the writers may have been relying too much on black and white photos might be closer to the point. As for the statement of a late member in silver - while obviously one cannot state categorically that it was not true - at the very least surprises me; I would have thought that painting one like that just as the black was starting would be well known and documented. As Garfield suggests, further information to confirm or deny this report would be of great interest. While I'd be sceptical, at least to a point, it would not be the first time that a livery quirk had gone largely unrecorded, like the C & L tank which just before the GSR took over, was painted lined black by the C & L, only to be covered in grey shortly afterwards.

Never noticed that before! Were they fitted only to the Sealink set?

The first green-liveried diesels seem to be about 1958, having been silver earlier*. Carriages were obviously already lighter green from 1955, darker shade from 1945-55. They started repainting into black’n’tan in late 1962, but it would be maybe 18 months before green was in the minority. Last examples of locos STILL green, that I’m aware of, is about 1966, and carriages 1967.

Yes, absolutely: as well as - C classes in black, black with yellow ends, black and full tan, and green both with and without lighter green waistlines B101 in black, green with and without waistlines, black and full tan, and a livery unique to the class of black and tan but white bits only on the ends G class black and black’n’tan E class black and black’n’tan B141 both with and without CIE roundels on them. Carriages were still a mix, with perhaps a fifth still in green. So, altogether a considerable mixture.

As far as I know, only A46 got the dark green, but one "C" (231) had it too for a short while. No B101 ever did - they were all silver, then light green, then black or black'n'tan. A great time for variety. In, say, 1965, it was possible to see all of the following, alongside each other. A46 in dark green (if it still had it!) Light green with waistline Light green without waistline Black Black and tan (full height tan) Black with yellow panels. - five liveries plus the A46 one.