jhb171achill

So there’s more downhill heading west?

“Well, I always call it Maryborough. When I joined the Great Southern twenty years ago, it was always Maryborough….” “Nine passengers on, don’t know why they’ve put a second coach on today….”

That's one line that CIE couldn't wait to close; on the day the last train went in there, one account has it that once the loco had run round, but before the train left, PW men working in the station lifting a siding started banging the keys out of the run-round loop just after the loco had passed over it! To be fair to CIE, that's one branch line that never would have survived anyway.

I'm glad to hear that, Skinner. Apart from that time I did those runs I mentioned, which was about 15 years ago, I haven't sat on a bicycle since I was about 15. And the Waterford line is longer than the Achill line. I only got as far as Kilmacthomas by train, so it's one to do. Then there's the North Kerry Greenway, or whatever it's called. (G S Trail). That's maybe a step too far for one of my worn-out and decrepit state.

Thank you for your comments, Mike. The flyaway cabs must have been an absolute punishment for crews - absolutely, totally and utterly useless as crew protection - especially in horizontal Connemara winter wind and rain!

A superb collection - pity he didn’t do colour, though! I spent much of January going through the entire collection (again!), making copious notes…..

“Will yez get off your backsides! I’m not unloading this van on my own…..”

“I’m tellin’ ya - THIS size it was. But the poaching man was about so I had to throw it back into the river…..” ”OK, a minute to go, c’mon. Yer man will give out if we’re late at the junction….”

Many thanks, airfixfan!

Then it's maybe 2661. Hard to make out, and I think that the number has got worn off a bit anyway.......

The non-stop one goes to infinity and beyond......

Folks - I forgot to mention that in order to comply with covid regulations regarding numbers attending, can I ask anyone planning to go if they can just fire off a RSVP to info@railtoursireland.ie. Many thanks, and see you there.

Superb articles!

Correct. Ghastly looking things, rivalled only in their ugliness by NIR 450-class things! I think the railcar is 2641?

The railcar is one of Bullied’s monstrosities. But is the location not the Ardnacrusha siding?

Hattons have “new” Murphy stuff on pre-order!

VERY nice. Thats quite like one 1890s design. Was planning to do that myself eventually. Regarding six-wheelers getting the black’n’tan livery, no passenger-carrying ones ever did. Six full vans did, though, the last two withdrawn in 1968 & 1970. All six were 1880s design GSWR vans - nothing midland survived. The last passenger-carrying 6-wheelers, a mix of GSWR & Midland types, were withdrawn and scrapped in Cork in early 1963, all green, as the BnT livery was still only on a very small handful of main line carriages, plus one GSWR full van on the Ballaghaderreen branch. BnT had only first appeared less than a year before.

It's parked in my drive, at a secret address. I set a red signal against it. Once I've unloaded a few "A"s, and some GSWR bogies and six-wheelers, I'll let it go again. No need to thank me. The crew have been unharmed.

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!