jhb171achill

Steam's grand finale at Dugort, early 1963. G2 No. 650 takes a breather on the mixed train and 195 is in with a goods train. Three steam locomotives at Dugort Harbour, a sight only seen on Fair Day in summer. It's August 1958, and things are still quite busy - for the time being. (Well, it WOULD be August 1958 if I had moved B165 and black'n'tan stock in the background)....

I think I've more stuffed away, Leslie - I've a H van and two of your older whitemetal vans half-built at the moment...... Do you have any more, incidentally, of the shorter wheelbase wooden-planked GNR vans? If so, I'll take another - ping me if so! Following a very pleasant evening with several of the North Dublin Sunday Club (you know who you are), I had a loan of a J15. I've two of these 00 Works ones myself but they have yet to turn a wheel as they're not DCC'd yet. Therefore, I had not actually seen an 00 Works one running yet. They're every bit as sensitive at low speeds and realistic as Murphy locos - very impressed indeed. So, jumping into the time machine (steam-powered, of course), we head back to West Kerry in 1963...... 195 shunts wagons at Dugort Harbour for the last time; in ten days' time she'll be withdrawn for good, one of the very last steam locos in use.

Some of the smaller ones, like either Muskerry or Skibbereen 4.4.0Ts......probably best. Larger stuff like Donegal, Clare or even Dingle look a bit odd. I tried converting a T & D R 2.6.0T kit to 9mm gauge back in the day when my eyesight permitted such things (30 years ago!). Didn't like the result, though the chassis ran nicely, so I sold all the bits..... I tried the same with an Anbrico Donegal railcar - odder again. Then again you could go for an imaginary one.....(as I did eventually!)

Interesting - love the older wooden carriages in that set!

Didn’t know there were five, josefstadf; I stand corrected. However, at least one was described at the time as being laid out internally as I mentioned…. any internal pics?

Right, for that one only. One was briefly “converted” to a first, simply by throwing antimacassars over the seat backs and painting “1”s on the doors! But it was standard as built and reverted to that after a short time.

Interesting, as 70 were never built! Regarding railcar use, only a couple were ever used as such - I’ve a note of the numbers somewhere - but as far as I know only on a trial run or two, never in routine, normal, regular traffic. All black’n’tan carriages old and new had a “1” or “2” when new, though the “2”’s weren’t continued. All Cravens were second only, soon to be standard only, when new.

PM sent Thats Germany….. I got a package here, the contents of which had cost me about €500 or €600. I had to pay €130-odd to the post office…..

amdaley, yes - exactly!! A retrograde step. Thank you, Brexit…..! Well, at least the Rails and Hattons staff (not their fault!) have bloooo passports…… Serious point; some of us are fortunate enough to have relatives or friends in the north or Britain. We would do well to research costs depending on where we’re ordering stuff, or the policy of the supplier. I will be tormenting Relative In Wales, who can bring things over when visiting.

That's a British one, I think. The Bell container, I guess, is a visitor; the pic is in Brexitland. The track looks (British) standard gauge, as does the (blue!) wagon. That is a standard design of Wickham car seen all over the world, but I am unaware of any here at any time, other than a slightly longer one the GNR had at some stage. If the seller is trying to pass it off as Irish, I'd be pretty certain they're mistaken. Plus the pylons in the background - doesn't look very North Wallish!

A room with a view! I'll take the one overlooking the station....... must remember that, actually, as I'm planning a visit within the next year.

Re. No. 7 - a MGWR Woolwich, narrow-gauge version! Yes, 14 is Devil's Bridge. Found a note....

Very nice! Works well with the backscene too.

Some varied stuff here from Brexitstan. First we've LMS, then we go south. The IOWR is in there too. The Mersey Railway gets a look in, as does the Festiniog, which he visited pre- and post-preservation, the last time in the 1970s. An interesting aside is that Senior's father paid a semi-official visit to the Liverpool Overhead while the Drumm trains were in design stage. I am unaware of whether Dr. Drumm was with him, but since Seniorx2's job was the bodywork design of these things, the electrical aspect of it had nothing to do with him. Could it be that the GSR was actively considering a system similar to the Liverpool Overhead trains for the Bray - Amiens St., and Bray - Harcourt St. lines? THAT would have been interesting; had such a system been put in place, it would have been running into the 1960s, thus the Harcourt St. line would likely have avoided its 40-year closure. Senior's first visit to the Festiniog was, I believe, in the late 1930s. In 1942/3 he was working for the LMS, based in the Civil Engineer's HQ in Blackburn (where he saw "the new engines" (Black 5s) passing along). While in England, he did a number of side trips, and on frequent returns home to Dublin would have passed through North Wales frequently. The visit to the Vale of Rheidol was at some stage in the early 1950s - I do not know the circumstances as by then he was on the GNR, based in Enniskillen. The several bridges here are of interest; doubtless someone can identify them. Modellers of things British will be interested to look at the wagons to be seen in these pictures. The picture of the Southern Railway 2.6.0 shunting wagons appears to be at the side of a canal wharf about to overflow! Any ideas where that is? The miniature railway - could that be Ravenglass?

Much appreciated, Ernie! Your superior knowledge will come in handy once I post some of the British stuff too.......

Leslie - thanks for that! Given Senior's meanderings at the time, Vienna is a very good bet - I don't think he was ever in Dresden.

Could be. Much of this stuff I'm posting has few if any notes. I want to find some sort of appropriate historical body to give it to - my sister lives in Switzerland so I'll ask her to poke about.

Funny you say that; the Island of Wight appears in tomorrow's stuff, which will be from the People's (well, Boris's) Republic of Brexit! Good spot. Any ideas about the miniature one? Romney?

Continuing the alpine theme, plus a miniature railway (in Britain?). No idea where the first pic, a harbour view, is - any takers? That big 4.4.2 is a tasty looking thing!

So it is - my error.

I have. Its marginally bright, but I’ve seen worse, and decent weathering sorts it out.

The six-wheeler.

It normally DOES have 6 or 9 of them - dunno what happened today! IMG_8747.MOV

"....I normally put my sandwiches in here, but one o'them damn cheapskate tourists has taken them...." "Ah, y'see, you should have brought them up here. I keep mine in a little fridge here with my beer".

So from the Isle of Man to the "mainland"; Switzerland and possibly Austria in several cases - some of you folks will have a better knowledge of things continental than I have. I think this lot must all be 1956, though it's possible some is earlier. I notice my late aunt sitting facing us in the first picture - this one will be about 1951/2.