jhb171achill

When built, the "Turf Burner" was initially in standard CIE locomotive grey. Latterly, it was repainted in the (then) standard CIE post-1955 green, complete with waistband line. Here it is about 1962, after withdrawal, at Inchicore.

Wow! He got about more than I thought. I did know that he’d been in Scotland, though.

From Senior's travels in the land of Narrow-gauge Brexit-locomotives..... I do not know locations, but I think they're all 1964-6. Not a blue 4.4.0 to be seen, but still nice stuff!

What's that 6-wheel first? Looks very nice - just needs footboards. Regarding carriage design and comparisons with the UK, it depends what you're comparing. Some GSWR designs were very "British" looking, as was MRNCC & LMSNCC stuff. But the BCDR, GNR(I), DSER and MGWR designs were quite unlike anything in Britain. The Hattons "Genesis" stuff bears a good resemblance to a generic GSWR type, though, of mid-1880s to 1910 or so. So does the Hornby stuff, though the latter needs a second footboard. Almost all Irish coaches had double footboards due to lower platforms on many lines, as built. A feature which is common on many Midland (of England) designs, and many of the Great Western Railway on the Big Island, is of bowed-in ends. These were commonplace on both those railways, even going back to the GWR's broad gauge era. However, in Ireland, this feature was virtually unknown, only the WLWR using it. This rules out the Ratio kits without major end surgery. LNER and LNWR designs, and BR Mk. 1s, are of designs completely alien to any Irish company, bar, in the case of LNWR-style upper body panelling, the DNGR. There's a design of South Eastern & Chatham body profile which bears something of a resemblance in side profile and roof profile to post-1905 MGWR Cusack-era designs. Window spacings aren't anything like the MGWR thing, though, but one of these SECR 50-footers in CIE green would certainly pass the two foot rule (well, maybe a three-foot rule); while IRM are finalising their range of MGWR six-wheelers (pray!) I might get one of these things. For modellers of the DSER, whose roof profile was quite unique, the BCDR, whose window dimensions were quite unique, or the MGWR - with both roof profiles, beading on the body, and window shapes and structures* ALL quite unique, the Hattons / Hornby stuff is not even remotely close. (* The classic "tell-tale" MGWR design had windows with curved corners at the top and square at the bottom. There is a kit somewhere of a coach from the North Eastern Railway in Brexitland which has windows like this, and while beading isn't quite right, would look good enough on a GSR / CIE layout. The NER is the only British company which seems to have made much use of this feature). Just looking again at your model - is that made from Hornby 4-wheel "Thomas" coaches? It's a superb job - and very DSER-esque!

One of Senior’s quirks was to keep a copy of all rubber stamps he came across. This was one…..

I had one eye on modellers when picking illustrations and drawings!

The one on the passenger platform is simply a random cardboard kit-built thing from years ago - it is temporary and will be replaced by a small stone building like the one at Westport Quay - or a corrugated one, a la West Cork, or Valentia or Kenmare branch. I haven’t quite decided yet. The corrugated one on the goods platform is a part-built goods store.

165 arrives with empty stock to take the Cork fans to the final. Two Cravens appear at Dugort Harbour for the first time, joining a laminate, two Park Royals, and a heating van. . Meanwhile, 141 awaits departure with the 11:40 goods…. Very foggy place, Dugort Harbour. That’s why there are few people getting on and off the trains….

An earlier era, I suppose! I wanted to show just how squeaky clean and modern these locos were when new, with a design so totally unlike anything ever seen in Ireland, as well as a bright livery which, even if it would get dirty quickly (and it did!) it would have made such a massive impact, especially when it made its first forays into places still with a lot of steam, like Cork and Waterford. I need to get backscenes up behind these pics, but the legs of the layout are the wrong length, so I need to await the replacement ones before thinking about affixing anything like that to the wall behind. And when these locos were new, ALL coaches were green! (Except the few dirty silver ones remaining). Black'n'tan was still almost two years away, and more than that before more than a handful of coaches got that new livery.

Barry C & I were going through his pics to select for the next book, and amongst what we were looking at were a selection taken in the 1980s and 90s in Thurles station. One of the days featured had a number of GAA specials; I know Cork was one of the sides playing, and I presume Laois was the other - however, the number of carriages stuffed into sidings in every corner of the station was incredible, despite the necessity to keep the up and down line open for passing traffic too. I don't have the picture in front of me now, and it'll be in the next book anyway, but there must be some five or six specials parked up which are VISIBLE, plus one or two others that were there that day. And we're not talking about a couple of 3-coach ICRs, or some other such creature, but 071s and GMs with ten- and twelve-coach trains of Mk 2s, Cravens, and probably laminates & Park Royals. I'll fish it out and post it at some stage. Just as well it wasn't during the beet season!

I'm drooooling, and it's all yer fault.............

A "range" of high-quality RTR laminates of several types is surely the next thing needed.

Excellent! Glad that this matter has been resolved. It is good, though, that you posted it, as it highlights the general principle of issues related to online buying.

Very true........ Senior did this. The SLNCR and CDRJC couldn't afford a resident civil engineer, so he did one inspection of the Barnesmore Gap in his own time on one occasion, resulting in a fairly damning verdict on the track, and he supervised several small engineering jobs on the SLNCR in the same way - he said that due to the cheapness of construction of that line, and the penny-pinching land acquisition, cutting and embankment sides were far too steep in many places. Add Leitrim weather to that and you can see why they were plagued with embankment subsidence from opening to closure. He attended several quite serious embankment slips and on one occasion managed to get a large load of stone from Goraghwood Quarry delivered to Enniskillen and handed over to the SLNCR; it is my impression that the accountants of neither the GNR nor SLNCR were aware of any of it.... he would have been in a position to "hide" it in his PW maintenance budget, which covered the whole Irish North, plus Armagh - Cavan, Bundoran, and branches. Suffice to say that the SLNCR never received a bill on this occasion, nor for his permanent way or Weir's Bridge inspections, as they had nothing to pay it with!

I'll guarantee yiz all wan thing. In forty years' time, many will hark back to the 2020s as the golden age of rail travel, as you could still go to Galway, Westport, Nenagh, Tralee, Sligo and Rosslare by train, before the ICRs had armed security guards on them to keep the druggies off, and when you could watch nice ICRs go past without being robbed by casual passers by...........!

That's an interesting take on it, with which again I agree. I wonder about one aspect, though, which without delving too deep into psychology might be another background to it. When we are young, or "fledgling" enthusiasts, we know we are drawn to the railways, but we don't fully understand what they do and why. We might wonder at the more deadpan attitude taken by those we see actually working ON the railway and IN the trains; there's no "wonder" to them, they've seen it all before. THEY know that when we get to Ballygobackwards, we cross the up goods, and they also know that the 141 normally allocated to it broke down in Cork yesterday morning on the Bantry goods. So they know it'll be something different, and they've a good idea that it will be the pilot engine from Drumnagortihacket, which happens to be the pair of 185+134. And since that means that a crew will end up where they're not normally ending their shift, the 18:05 up will be delayed in departing for seventeen minutes in order to allow them to travel back "on the cushions". And that will result in the "A" on the ballast train taking it back instead of the 071, because of blah blah blah! But to us, it's all exotic. WE don't know what we'll see, but there actually is a pattern to it; we just haven't found that out yet. I like this description: ".....the inherent tension between a fixed system and the world of chance...." - though, to the men behind the scenes, maybe less chance and (to them!) more logic?

Mind you, while I agree 100%, Senior said exactly the same thing about the demise of steam in the 1960s, after the Stormont government did away with much of the GNR, and Andrews killed off the Wisht Caaark system and most branchlines…..!!

I took the train to Belfast & back yesterday. It was a case of “bring your own kitkat”…..

The Aussie "A"'s are 3'6" gauge, and they were green too, so between all of that I'm sure they'll manage........

“What ye make of it! Only ten days in traffic and they send it down here!” ”It’ll not stay that clean for long, I’ll guarantee you….. and sure 650 will be back when she’s had those firebars replaced. That yoke’s only on trial….” ”Nine passengers on today. Away and get the kettle on - there’s two wagons of timber to unload on the goods when he comes in”.

It’s 1962, and a new “yank” makes its first appearance at Dugort Harbour with the daily mixed train.

For sheer variety - which is what I am assuming you mean - the 1950-65 period had many times the amount of variety the 1990s did, plus twice the mileage and then some...... That said, today pales in comparison to the 1990s, indeed!

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I'd say so. It's the least scenic stretch, but also the most "interfered with" by development. I guess that no more than 50 / 60% of it is on (or even near) the old railway line. I did Mulrany to Newport & back with Barry when it opened, and we also did Mulrany to Achill and back, then I did that bit again with Madam another time. Both highly scenic. My favourite bit would have to be west of Mulrany for the first 2 miles, above Bellacragher Bay. Stunning.

Firstly, many thanks for your comments, folks - very much appreciated. To answer the questions above in no particular order, funds for the Connemara railway project can be donated as Jim has set up a "gofundme" link on the Connemara railway website. Regarding books, great to see Leslie's long-standing "The Syndicate" raising funds for this project by donating a part of the proceeds of his sales. During a quarter century of being both RPSI & DCDR Treasurer at different times, both societies (plus others) benefitted from donations made by "The Syndicate", whose sales at IRRS London Area meetings and at other events produced profits to fund these donations. I can say as treasurer at those times that the respective societies appreciated this greatly, and The Syndicate's donations were used to assist with a wide and diverse range of things - everything from locomotive or carriage restoration and maintenance to the bricks and mortar of carriage sheds. The pictures front and rear; the front one was reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder - though it has to be said, it's been widely copied here and there, probably not always with such permission. The rear cover came from a photo of an original poster which jhb171Senior had many years ago, and was sold when he was in a nursing home. Interior pictures - the modern ones were taken mostly by me, with a few others contributed. One of ttc's (of this parish) taken from a drone (or by an exceptionally tall person) and by Jim Deegan, illustrate the Connemara railway project. Of the operational railway, some came from the IRRS years ago (indeed, when I was sourcing illustrations there for "Rails to Achill"!); but most were from Henry Casserley's collection, obtained via his late son Richard. There are a few Lawrence images too, plus a number of others for which after years of trying to find a copyright holder, though seeing the pictures all over the place in the public domain, I simply used them after finding out that information on the copyright owner may no longer be evident. This is as a result of a fire in Galway where some old material was stored, in the 1980s. The late Galway historian Maurice Semple, whose widow was of great assistance to me, published about seven books about Galway history in the 1970s, all copiously illustrated, and without a solitary acknowledgement for any images! I used some of his - and I believe that while he, in his day, COULD have attributed them, the information necessary to do so today went up in smoke forty years ago. Without Casserley, operational images of the line would be few and far between. There were a number of other images which I wanted to include, but were so very poor that no matter what magic Oakwood Press tried to employ, they couldn't possibly be made to make the grade. Several others, including the only two of a track-lifting gang, were so bad that they could only be included as small images. They came from Clifden architect Shane Joyce. Maps are old OS maps, long out of copyright, for which (I think) it was Shane who gave me those. Modelling drawings were from a number of sources. To confuse matters, at one stage I posted a list of acknowledgements for illustrations to the publisher and it never arrived - and I didn't have a copy! As in all books, the disclaimer is always that if I have omitted to thank anyone for anything, please be assured that it's my senility that is to blame and accept my apologies! This day, I have taken delivery of 320 of the things to fulfil a few mail orders and have a stock for the launch. The Irish price will probably be €19.95, though I have yet to have confirmation of this. Should be a good day. Jim has now advertised a special Railtours train leaving Dublin via the 07:35 down day mail to Galway, with a Railtours coach awaiting. A Railtours guide will accompany you via several sites of railway interest en route, arriving at Maam Cross about 1pm. You can get lunch in Peacocke's Hotel, or if you only want a sandwich there's a garage there too. The Maam Cross station site is adjacent to the hotel, and due to social distancing issues the launch will take place there. We're hoping for no rain, no midges, no mosquitoes and no horse flies; on account of me being there, they probably wouldn't bother YOU anyway, as when these airborne terrorists see me they get the best napkins and silver service out, and publicise the feast on social media. At a recent Maam Cross work party, I got 103 bites. Some of the rest of the group got one or two, or none. The launch is at 3pm, and at about 6 (I think) the bus leaves again for Galway station for the 1920 up night mail to Broadstone, sorry, Kingsbridge. It gets back to Dublin at 21:50. I'll be staying over to assist in testing the bar equipment after the lockdown..... Looking forward to seeing many of you in Maam Cross!