jhb171achill

Personally, as many here would know, I would have a list of steam engines I'd like that would almost fit around trump's waist - but practicalities must hold sway. The ideal locomotive to do is one that was - (a) long lived, and can thus be possibly provided in several liveries, although some GSR types entered traffic in grey and were still that way when withdrawn! Included in the "long-lived" category would be engines which even if not that OLD, wereto be seen at the very end of steam, such as a J15 on CIE, but also an NCC "Jeep" for NIR. (b) operated over as wide an area as possible, e.g. a J15 or J18 (c) was used on as many types of traffic as possible - e.g. a mixed traffic type. (d) was reasonably well-known, like a "Bandon Tank". (e) "celebrity" status, such as an 800 or apreserved engine - the latter being usable in a modern setting too, e.g. any RPSI loco I stand to be corrected, but I understand that a variety of liveries assists in selling models, or in some way makes production more economically worthwhile, so I've suggested a few below. A manufacturer will never get it all right, but strictly adhering to as many as possible of the above criteria, it would seem that a reasonable selection of potential projects would be: - Yes, "Maedb". Limited run? GSR green, CIE green, and for 802, the experimental lighter shade of 1952. - A Midland J26 tank. Seen in Tramore (box cab add-on?), "Wisht Caaark" and Kerry, Tralee and environs as well as the MGWR. Shunting and branch line. MGWR lined green, MGWR lined black GSR / CIE grey. - Some sort of GSWR 4.4.0. GSWR lined black, GSR / CIE grey. Also the solitary green one, of a 60 class (I think?) - NCC "Jeep" with LMS lining and NCC lettering; UTA rounded, UTA crest and NIR logo - A J15's been done, otherwise it would be top of the list. Since it as good as sold out, surely that amplifies the case for RTR steam? Also the RPSI's 171, 85 or 461.

The late Marcus Bailie-Gage of Dundalk Works was familiar with this project. He told me that Bullied's designs in Brexitland were received critically with very mixed reviews, as was CC1. Crews complained of very intense heat in the cab, and firing the thing correctly was a bit of a knack, though to be fair to Oliver Bullied, familarity with the best technique would have come with experience, had they been mass-produced. Marcus recounted a tale in which during a trial run, Bullied was becoming increasingly frustrated with the genuine concerns of certain Inchicore "suits" and the loco crew; eventually, when asked about a new issue that tests were showing up as lacking, he "lost the head" and told them, "WELL, FIX IT!!!" before stamping off...! I love these old railwaymen's stories - they all just show up that we're all human throughout the ages! Given these plus other issues referred to in other posts above, it's probable it would have remained a one-off. While the dieselisation process was going on, there were still some in Inchicore who believed that steam could be satisfactorily continued in front-line use until the 1970s. The idea was to eliminate all the old and non-standard engines and standardise as much as possible what was left. It is likely that the three 800s would have been retained, plus the Woolwiches and enough J15s for lighter duties...... So, in "00"; a black 800 with a CIE "roundel" on its tender, anyone? No, I wouldn't dare either.

And a few without preservation with sufficient drawings! One may now officially drool! In a last gasp, as the youngest of the IRM guys retires in 70 years time, the final Irish loco class will be produced RTR...........?? But first, gawd knows - there's so much choice, they could do any one of the six D16 "Achill Bogies"............!

1. All grey until 1945/6, then most lined green. Some remained grey till their demise mid-50s. One lasted to 1960 and that was the end - it was black, as several others were after 1956. 2. Last in 1960. 3. The good news is - everything. These engines were ordered by the MGWR initially, though later ones were really GSR locos, not MGWR. The history of the class is complex and well covered in McMahon & Clements "Big Green Bible". They were originally intended for the Galway and Sligo mail trains, and did run on these and other trains on these lines. I saw some pics recently (very poor ones in a private collection!) of one approaching Sligo in the 1940s with a goods train, though one would have expected them to more often be on passenger trains. Before they were even all delivered, it seems that Cork and Waterford sheds had taken a liking to them, as they spent much of their lives bumbling up and down the main line to Dublin on all sorts of traffic - goods and passenger. They also displaced earlier engines on the scenic Mallow - Waterford line, en route with the "Rosslare Express" between Cork and Rosslare. Again, they could be found on goods trains on this line too, and regularly. No. 388 was specially repainted in its own unique black livery in 1956 for the Rosslare Express; this would be short-lived, with B101 class diesels taking this over very shortly. The stopping passenger train over the Cork - Rosslare route was also "Woolwich" haulage before diesels took over. They could also be seen regularly on beet between Waterford and Limerick Junction, and from there to Thurles. I'm sure I've come across some record of one on a ballast somewhere, but I don't remember the details. This is not exhaustive; the late Billy Lohan regularly had one on the up Galway Day Mail in the late 1940s / early 50s before the AEC sets took over. He reported them as being excellent engines - and Billy didn't dish out such compliments unless well deserved! Given that this is a family forum, I will refrain from quoting him on a number of ex-MGWR types, though other drivers were happy enough with these beasts! They never went north (GNR area), and I have no record of them appearing on the DSER. With a grey, green and black one, you're well set up for a 1956-60 period. Mind you, all still then in traffic were so filthy that they could have been bright purple, lime green, day-glo fluorescent pink and tartan underneath, for all anyone could see! So what type of carriages? ANYTHING then in use. Six-wheelers, wooden bogies (given their operational area, almost entirely of ex-GSW types), Bredins, Laminates, 1952/3 CIE stock, and Park Royals at the end, and in later years tin vans were inevitably present too. No Cravens, obviously, as the first of these entered service almost three years after the last "Woolwich" was withdrawn. That's all i have on that for the moment; hope its helpful. Now; me drinking choc beckons. No pints these days......

Livery note re CIE engines: Three main points: 1. Bar the trio of 800 class, EVERYTHING grey until late 1945. "Flying snails" started appearing on most tenders (not all) from the late 40s, but by the end of steam in '63, many of the still-grey majority of engines had plain tenders. During the early fifties, cast number plates (grey with pale yellow number) had been replaced by light yellow painted numbers. Snails always light green, not yellow. 2. From late 1945, but mostly 1946, main line passenger express engines, Dublin suburban tank engines, and but a VERY few other locos were repainted lined green. Most kept this; but given the number of "Woolwiches" noted in grey or black in the fifties, some were possibly repainted from green - though more likely were never painted green at all. 3. Black - After approximately 1955/6 - exact date not known - many of the locos which were lucky enough to see a paintbrush became black, with or without snails and always with painted numbers. A SOLITARY "Woolwich", 388, gained red lining to0, for use on the "Rosslare Express". The only narrow gauge locos ever painted black appear to be 6T - but only after it went to Ballinamore - and one of the Passage tanks there - I think 12L but I'd need to check. No tank engines of any sort ever carried a "flying snail", bar one CHALKED on a Tralee engine on the C & L by enthusiasts participating in an enthusiast's tour just before the line closed! This green isn't anything like anything CIE used, unfortunately.....! However - in traffic these engines were DISGRACEFULLY dirty all the time, for some reason - certainly never getting the TLC that the 800 class got. Thus, if you were to SERIOUSLY weather the thing - as prototypically - it might look passable! It's your railway, of course, so your rules. But strictly technically, it's the wrong colour.

Some were grey; if you want a grey one, unlined - eau-de-nil "snail", and pale yellow cabside number. Let's see your grey model so we can tell what shade it is...... In Britain, "N" class. Here, they were K1 class!

OK, essay time, having completed siesta! Once upon a time..... That green on the model looks just right, as do the “snail” and number in terms of size and shape etc. The “snail” is indeed the right way round; with extremely few exceptions they were always that way round, with upper bit left, and lower bit right. One of the few exceptions was the OTHER side of tenders, where the upper but was to the right, i.e. pointing forward; the other such exception was the driver’s side of buses and trucks. I can’t tell from the photo above whether the logo on the tender is a yellowy or light green colour. It should be light green; it's worth pointing out here that some model K1 class 2.6.0s (the black ones) and an old Lima 0.6.0 were made with yellow or white flying snails; these are ENTIRELY wrong in all instances. The "snail" logos were a transfer, same as used on buses, and were applied to tenders of green, grey or black variety - thus the flying snail should always be light green, as in this case the number also. Numbers were the same light green on GREEN engines, but pale yellow on grey or black engines!

Indeed - especially in Africa and Asia, and at the behest of a tiny minority of irresponsible British, American and German enthusiast tour leaders! Some crews would accept a little “consideration” in cash, while others refused point blank!

Just seeing this - the carriages were the “test train” - a set of long-withdrawn passenger stock kept simply for doing load tests. They were elderly GSWR relics, and were still in the pre-1955 darker green, but so very badly faded that they were by now just a dirty nondescript greeny-dirt colour in appearance!

FIFTEEN YEARS! That long.......... I followed the antics the previous year with Barry Carse - we went down a couple of times. Happy days. A future book will cover this in considerable detail - perhaps!

Hod, remember "Rule 1", which states "it's YOUR layout"! You can run what you want........ Many here will be sticklers for as much accuracy as possible, while others like to just play trains! A past layout of mine had a narrow-gauge (009) line of the MGWR; not a thing like this ever existed! Had the trial of this contraption been successful, it is likely that it would have operated on the Dublin - Cork line, so laminates would indeed be the order of the day. I did a double-take at your model - I didn't realise it was LEGO! Now, that's a SUPERB job if ever I saw one. Incidentally, for anyone interested, I found a large amount of material relating to Bullied's sidekick John Click in the NRM in York when I was over there delving into something else entirely, some years ago. Had it survived into the 1960s, it would have ended up black and hauling Cravens!

And - it's not remotely like ANYTHING that ever ran here, either in design, livery or otherwise overall appearance............... There was a Murphy loco a while back somewhere for well over 400 sterling on fleabay.....

Date will be late 1980s / early 1990s.

Indeed; sadly, sentiments within certain corridors of power have not changed one bit........... At the time the article was written, the same threat was being talked about with regard to the whole MGWR - not just Sligo, but Mayo and Galway included. The DSER south of Gorey, and needless to say the Nenagh branch and LJ - Waterford were also in line. Had any proposals in this type of arena been seriously brought forward, the railway system would have been reduced to Belfast - Dublin - Cork - Cobh / Midleton; Gorey - Howth / Dundalk; the Navan branch only until the mines closed; LJ - Limerick and possibly Ennis; Connolly - Maynooth; and POSSIBLY the Waterford and Kerry roads, though I do not recollect whether they were mentioned or not.

Sadly, very much so. You'll be aware, ttc, of the same sources that I refer to above and previously - 1950s Stormont would be proud of them. They need to get the west properly up and running, and a Dublin Underground. But no - instead they prefer paying the shareholders of foreign private companies to drive big new blue buses all round Dublin.

A few years ago I was advised by a member of the NTA that severe threats to the rail network were possible. Then whatever the perceived problem was, ended up being averted. The harsh reality is that the railway has few friends in high places, as discussed before, and even within the company many at top level (not all) are way less enthusiastic about the future of the system than they should be. One NTA member told me some years ago of being "shocked" at the degree of hostility to spending a red cent on the railway; "it's all about roads", he said.

Excellent photos, Neil, thanks! Re. that box sitting on top of the old station in Cork - "The Dean"; rarely have I seen a piece of "architecture" so utterly hideous, that it actually vandalises the old buildings....... did the architect have something against Cork?

I’ve solved the issue! To “chop” one would be pure vandalism, obviously, hence my request for spares. However, an acknowledged expert in the field simply suggested I maybe look for bits from an old MIR kit - I hadn’t even thought of that....!

Yes, maybe IRM could hire him to do the brexit paperwork in England!

The tender sides and smokebox doors had large white circles painted on them. No tank engines were treated thus as far as I am aware.

Couldn’t agree more on ALL your points.

Well done!!

Would anyone have a spare “hood” / “bonnet” and cab for one of those old MIR 121 class locos?

Hmmmm - you’ve got me thinking!

James Boyd’s photographic collection is in the hands of a private owner in Wales. I’ve been trying to get permission to browse it ever since I became aware of its owner! The owner told me that it was intended to start sorting it “soon”, though that was several years ago!! I remain cautiously hopeful!!