jhb171achill

Until the 1970s, pigeon societies used to transport racing pigeons by rail to furthest-away points, to see which got home first. Latterly, they could be seen being loaded into “tin vans”. Here, in summer 1964, the Dugort local is augmented by two extra vans which were sent from Omagh by the Newtownstewart & District Homing Pigeon Society for release there on this morning. The vans, with empty pigeon baskets, are leaving here. The baskets will travel back to Amiens St., from where they’ll be attached to tomorrow’s newspaper train as far as Portadown. Here, they’ll be put in a goods van attached to the down Foyle Road goods, while the vans will go back to Dublin with mailbags in them.

They’ve lots of them in Porteedown, Sandy Row, Korrikfergus and Bollameena, if you’re running short…..

I blame Elon.

Callum, you had asked me in recent days about where the drawings might be - they've been posted on another thread here in the last 24 hours. Hoping you saw them. It seems CIE have them now. To others here; I've seen the frames for 800 which Callum has made already. Ooooh boy, this locomotive when finished will be a real BEAST!! Can't wait!

Wouldn’t surprise me in this day and age!!

Gawwwwwd I hope not!!!! (reaches for smelling salts.....) Well, he's bought it. And Kerry is paying for it.

Thankfully not! But he might buy it and build a wall round it, and make Kerry pay........

But there’s a shipping fee of £$€200 per item to any address in the Rebel County….

Are you looking to purchase, or donated ietms? Folks here would possibly like to know.....

And somewhere to tell lies......

Was thinking that very thing! It's actually the only other one I can think of. Wasn't that yoke a contractor's loco rather than the actual property of the SLNCR? I've a notion some contractor's loco somewher down south, maybe on the DWWR, had an Irish name - but it was possibly that same one. Not sure - I'd have to look it up.

One of the exceptionally rare instances of the Irish language being used on any Irish railway pre-GSR times.

BRILLIANT!!

MOST interesting what’s behind the engine - the tin van will be newspaper traffic between Connolly and Portadown / Belfast - but behind that - an NCC “brown van”!! These were regular enough carrying newspapers and mailbags between Great Victoria Street and Portadown (I think the picture is near Moira, where the main line crosses the Lagan Navigation Canal), but far more often on the back of railcars, rarely in a goods train. As an aside, I’m unaware of any reports, let alone evidence, of any brown vans ever seen south of Portadown. While Warrenpoint was still operating, it was all GNR (and CIE) vans to be seen in those parts.

Looking forward to it!

About to be published, events to be held in Derry & Donegal. Book launch Sunday 23rd February in Donegal Railway Heritage Centre.

The potential link between the Muskerry and Passage lines was (in concept) primarily to swop goods wagons, and there were no actual concrete proposals to have through running. However, those who dreamed up the idea were aware that such potential would exist, provided the gauges were suitable.

They did try to buy the locomotives, but I never heard any story about the railcars. CIE wanted ridiculous money for the three locomotives which the IOMR wasn't going to pay. So they sat at Inchicore. A few years later, rather than climb down and even sell them for scrap value to give something back to the public purse, they were scrapped at Inchicore. I often think a layout based on a CIE system in the 60s, with the West Clare stuf having been joined by Donegal 19 & 20 might have been a nice idea too! Indeed; to all above; my amnesia dictates.....

It’s 64 years to the day since the West Clare closed. Last public narrow gauge railway in the country and the only one ever to be completely dieselised. An absolutely perfect subject for a detailed layout, but authentic Irish narrow gauge layout lines seem very scarce!

Got my stuff yesterday in record time; thanks again, IRM! I'll keep these wagons quite clean, as they would have been new in the era I deal with.....

The livery changed before the logo did, which is why you’ll see read and cream or navy and cream buses with snails. So they went on applying snails to everything until about very late 63 / early 64, when the roundels took over with immediate effect. It was almost never you’d see anything without either - those vans above apparently with no logo could possibly have a very badly faded, barely discernible snail…

Suppose so. Should further interest arise at any stage I will do an "ask-around" again, and if enough commit I would go back to Worsley. Pity, but we can't have everything, and theyt were few in number and very limited in where they went.

Just an update on this; minimum six needed to proceed. Only 4 absolute definites, so unless more appear I don't think I'd be going ahead with this.

Correct. Never turned a wheel in green.

Correct. The only smaller diesels ever to be green were the original trio of G601 class (lighter green only) and the D class (lined dark green when new, lighter green later). The G611s and E421s were black / black’n’tan from new.