jhb171achill

Drogheda. The darker brick common on this line is used in the main building, but a Mills-designed outbuilding is included too. The station interior here was also similar to many elsewhere on the GNR, albeit not always with such a tall ceiling. Note, too, the wooden building in the 2nd last picture. Pure GNR; horizontal board, and typical GNR eaves and windows.

The almost standard GNR platform canopy supports had “GNRI” interwoven in them. These may still be seen at many locations; Lisburn, Dundalk, and a number of places south of Drogheda. But not all did. Malahide - standard Mills architecture and standard GNR columns under the canopy. This iconic architectural style also had curved tops to windows.

More of the above. Many GNR stations had their standard type of wooden structure on the platform opposite the main building. Most are gone now, but a number of northern line Dublin suburban stations still have them. Even the survivors are not always (or at all) in use, thanks to the destructive pond life that frequents unstaffed stations in the evenings. Note the original door on this, and curved ornamental top to the doorway, another common GNR feature. Another at Skerries. Many stations on this line, and the Oldcastle branch, had a dark brick architecture, mixed and mingled with the standard “Mills” designs. Again, curved topped doorway. Note the columns….

Customer trains in Drogheda this evening. Different colours….. The NIR one is the 18:05 Belfast - Connolly.

Can’t argue with that!

Forgot about that, actually - you've the Bandon Tank kit as well as the J26. But yes, you need them properly made up if like me you haven't the skills, eyesight, or both....

In truth, West Cork had an amazing variety of locos - and there's a kit of the MGWR J26 available - three worked regularly in West Cork, especially the Clon & Courtmac branches in the 1950s....

It'll be a big party, Wishtcarrkrailway!

Yup. Steam don't go with Mk 2 tin cans......

Steam, please!

Yes, Senior witnessed that very incident; he was standing on the platform watching! The culprit was an over-enthusiastic driver and a SLNCR wagon that in truth, was unfit for traffic.... ___________________________________________ "Was that you on the goods at Millstreet last week?" "Yeah - yer man opens up - first time I've ever seen a C class so lively, I can tell you....broke the coupling. Couple of hours overtime in it, though...."

Indeed - and I have seen that same "right oul mess" play out in real life. While the intention is always to get the shunting done with as quickly as possible, someone could come up with an idea to take a short cut, but end up with a rake of vans blocking a main line. Even professional railwaymen were not immune. The late Harry Mulholland had a great tale of a "right oul mess" involving shunting manoeuvres going horribly wrong in Lisburn in the 1940s, while jhb171Senior had a similar tale about a station full of half-shunted cattle trucks off the Sligo Leitrim delaying an evening passenger train at Enniskillen back in the day....

I'm off with Barry Carse to do the WDLR greenway in a few weeks........ but I'm afraid it'll be electric bikes this time, not cyclable ones! Even an ICR to Dungarvan would be more preferable, though I would draw the line at a UTA MED...........!

The GWR would be a bit too narrow gauge for anywhere in Ireland!

It’s by far the most scenic line in Ireland. Killiney Bay, Bray Head, beaches for miles past Kilcoole, Vale of Avoca, Slaney River, Enniscorthy, Wexford Harbour front, more beaches down to Rosslare….

That's the trouble.... hence I use a relative in GB who brings things over.

Presumably you mean the Silverfox ones? I've stuff on order from them too, and I think that it will be early next year when it's ready - though I'm unaware of whether that's an estimate due to delivery delays or production delays.

Keep up the good work!

It even occurred to me when setting those pics up that the crew would have been cursing the last lot up and down for leaving that van at the buffers! Such things could happen, of course.... laziness is nothing new!

I've given up modelling Australia, Broithe! ____________________________________________________________________ "One and sevenpence for a pint, I'm telling ye. He's put it up a penny!" "It's one and fivepence in O'Donoghues, and a half pint is still ninepence at yer man's out the harbour road" "OK, let's do the brake test....two minutes to go..."

And we're off! If a mixed comes IN, and also LEAVES as a mixed, it's twice the work - and we're not into the beet season yet, nor is it Cattle Mart Day.

Now to sort out the first three and the open wagon with barrels in it. First, the wagons to go are placed in the cattle loop. Next, the wagons between them and the van have to be put back in the goods platform road. Back they go. Now, the passenger set is drawn forward and backed down onto the wagons which are to go. Routine everyday stuff; today busloads of enthusiasts would descend on the place to witness such manouevres. Passenger set attached to goods wagons, then drawn forward and reversed into the passenger platform having also attached the van. Time to do the brake test and check wagon couplings.

Nowadays, if a train arrives at a terminus, the driver switches off and walks to the cab at the other end, switches on again and awaits the green signal to go back whence he came. Until comparatively recently, all over the world (and possibly in a few places still), there was a great deal more to it than that. On many traditional branch lines here, the daily service was two passenger trains and a mixed. The mixed would usually be the branch passenger set with whatever trucks were necessary tagged onto the back. What follows shows the sequence when a passenger service arrives, and departs as a mixed - only. First, the branch set arrives as a passenger train. The loco detaches to run round. Yes, I still need to add the vacuum bags, etc........ Next, the loco runs round. There are several vans and an open wagon at the goods bank to be added to go back to the junction, but the brake van has to be retrieved from a line of other wagons which are to remain. This will involve pulling the whole rake out, isolating the van, propelling the other wagons back into the siding, and placing the ones to go against the van. The vans are removed.

Superb! How did you do that?

Yes, and typically so for the period - it's probably a Youghal train. The first is a GSWR 3rd (now "upgraded" to 2nd) - one of quite a few of the same type built in (I think) two batches about 1907. The next is interesting - outwardly obviously of the same company and period, but that larger end window is throwing me; possibly a later conversion of something that started out like the first coach. The van is a six-wheeled standard GSWR brake of 1890s origin, or thereabouts. On the right is GSWR side corridor composite of 1915-1925 era. Incidentally, this picture shows very well how the post-1955 lighter carriage green weathered from its pristine state (first coach) and "flatter" hue as on the others. Coal smoke and brake dust accelerated this dulling-down, of course.