jhb171achill

Eagerly awaited, Bumble Bee, by many here! It's a huge topic.

Probably every single book ever published about Irish railways? Hundreds............ plus the railways of South Africa, India, Indonesia, Malta, Cyprus, Mallorca, the Isle of Man................and some non-railway stuff.

These railcars, like the AECs, were delivered in the dark green then the norm. On the West Clare, they never had any lining at all, let alone "flying snails". However, several (not all) were repainted the lighter green; this photo admirably shows the two shades, albeit in a heavily weathered state, The reason it's a light green cab and a dark green passenger portion is that towards the end, one of the four power cars was usually out of use. I have a note somewhere of which one it was, but not to hand. As a result, the four passenger portions got swopped about at times. Another anomaly appears to be that some power units had green roofs, some black. Yes, and comparing it with the "H" van, you can see the older one has a green flying snail on it. CIE used eau-de-nil for numbers and "snails" at FIRST, but used white from the early 50s onwards. Anyone modelling late 1940s or very early 50s would therefore have some vans still with a white "G S" on them with white number, or a "new" CIE logo and number in light green. There were still a couple of VERY shabby goods vehicles with light green snails in West Cork at the time of closure.

Shades of Monty Python....... "I doff my hat in your general direction"! (I'll get me coat....) That is absolutely brilliant. It's got me discussing an 00 gauge one with various folks here............. How did you do the crest?

I'd say the weathering will dumb it down a bit. many Silverfox models in that livery DO seem a tad bright, and in reality the colour on the locomotive is closest to reality. The LVs and HVs tended to look duller than everything else, as they seemed not be cleaned as much - certainly by 1970 many were looking much more weathered than their accompanying passenger-carrying stock. Someone asked me the difference; the "LV" or "Luggage Van" carried guard plus luggage space and did not have a generator in it. A "Heating Van" had the boiler in it too, but not so much luggage space; obviously, these carried a guard as well. It was common to see one of each on many trains. Obviously there had to be at least one or the other, as the guard and handbrake were needed on all trains. The six-wheeled version, which being introduced in 1964/5 were only ever black'n'tan and never ran with steam, allowed guard + generator + space for parcels / luggage. They were main line vans, rarely if ever seen on branches. All three were to be seen on the main lines, with just the four wheel types on lesser lines, until 1969 when the "Dutch" vans started to appear; while by 1972 they plus the "BR" vans had displaced 4 and 6 wheelers from main routes. I am not sure when I last saw a six-wheeler in traffic - they were only in operation maybe 10 years - but there were still four wheelers about the place on the Rosslare - Limerick line, and Limerick - Ballina, until 1975/6 anyway. I think the 4-wheeled types were in use on Dublin outer suburban services until not quite 1980. I travelled in a 4-wheel LV chatting to the guard between, I think, Limerick and Athenry about 1975. It was like travelling in a Quality Street tin, with marbles in it, and no springs, bouncing down an aluminium fire escape, on a helter skelter, in an echo chamber, with the sound turned up. I dread to think what one of the mail van versions must have been like for a postal worker on the Sligo line at that time!

Built in either Inchicore (I think) or possibly Limerick.

That was a one-off experimental wagon which only ran - I THINK - in the last couple of seasons.

Doesn't that just look the business! Very like the set I travelled in over the line in 1975.... I do remember the "tin van" (LV) was down a bit on the springs on one side, giving it a somewhat lop-sided appearance. Today, that would result in a six-month bus substitution, but back then they just got on with it! The carriage I was in was an aging but spotlessly clean laminate.

Superb!!!!!!

Question: It's pretty obvious to anyone here that my personal interests go back to pre-1970, and the late steam era in particular, so this might seem like a silly question, as "modern image" is not at all my area of expertise; Why is it that in Ireland we have to have tiny little goods trains of only 18 wagons? I know they did tests with more, but decades ago they were well able to operate trains of twice that length and weight. So it can't be weight, it's can't be station size, it certainly isn't lack of power from a 201 or 071? Other countries seem to be able to operate interminably long goods trains............. I see the Taras passing my window daily. Three laden trips to Dublin port. Great for us enthusiasts, but with as little as 6 or 8 wagons, and usually 10, 11 or 12. An 071 should be able to lift almost all in one go, I would have thought? I hope there's a practical reason; I would hate to think that some anti-rail jobsworth has decreed that it's "unsafe", or that operating anything longer contravenes section 34.860/2a of some obscure and restrictive set of rules that don't seem to bother any other EU country!

In a livery as old as that, who actually owns it now? Is it routine for container companies to repaint containers they buy second hand or inherit?

Sadly, yes! I've an idea that it wasn't the only one to have an old livery door.....

And there's Galteemore Senior, the man who would written the cheque! 1980, though - surely it was earlier than that?

It's OK - I always pick out the "mings" before I eat it.

You'll notice the average speed on the line was an hour and a quarter for 19 3/4 miles - or 15.8 miles per hour. With the stops taken into account, that rises to about 19 mph. Allow for slowing down and "accelerating" away from the several stations, and you've a top speed of 25mph.......

These are the sectional running times in minutes. Goods trains and mixed trains were given the same timings on lines like this. When it was a line with nothing but mixed trains (or cattle specials) in the normal course of things, they would still include passenger timings in case of, say, a GAA special or a Knock special, which would be passenger only. On some branch lines, the service was one mixed and one or two passenger trains.

What is WRONG with these utter morons!!!!

I had a yang ming tonight, but with chips and chilli sauce rather than baby powder..........

May 1948 timetable for the Kenmare branch trains, quite typical of branches then. Morning and evening mixed train, nothing on Sundays.

It was my first camera! Not one of the very highest quality by any means......... You've enhanced it about as well as it can be.......

Did it even have a trolley service?

I would just like to add that if any re-run of the Cravens is ever done, they have dark coloured seats, not bright blue. They were never bright blue, and in original livery generally a dark grey, almost black..... Anyone here ever put themselves through this ordeal?

The one time I ever travelled in one of these tubular pressure cookers it was a three car set on the Limerick - LJ shuttle, with a 121 at the Limerick end. As far as I know, it wasn't long before the railcars took over.

That is correct. Within a week, she was to be steamed for her boiler test. She was lit up, and after many hours couldn't raise enough steam to complete the test. Thus, she failed it and that was that. She is evidently so far beyond restoration that a total rebuild would be necessary - and THAT verdict was made thirty years ago! So it's now almost half a century since she was steamed - and then only as described above.

It's the wrong shade of grey, though.