jhb171achill

Now that's something I haven't heard of in years. Senior did that with the vast "0" gauge tinplate layout he had in the 1920s. The clock was doctored by HIS father (of Inchicore), and it survived until his old house was cleared before he went into his final nursing home a few years ago. Unfortunately it had been in an old loft and was destroyed by rust and general battering about to an extent that would have rendered it well beyond restoration. I think the house clearers would have put it in a skip........... I tried to fix it when I was in my teens - no joy, although in my teenage years everything was black and white, the TV was clockwork, the Kenwood food mixer was steam-operated, and the motorway was cobbled.

I would agree. While for most, myself included, available space precludes an accurate portrayal of an actual location, when it is possible the exact working practices can be reproduced, with shunting, engine changes, and so on. Some years ago, for nothing more than curiosity, I examined the working timetable of the West Cork system immediately prior to anything non-steam ever having gone near the area, and 1960, its last summer. I "followed" the activities of each departure to establish how many locos were needed, how many crews, where locos swopped or were alternated with another for servicing, and so on. Such a thing makes a fascinating study, and really opens ones eyes to how the railway actually worked. Needless to say, it was inevitably very, very different to today. If that system were functioning today, it is likely that one 2-car railcar would do two return trips to Bantry, and another would do two connections to Skibbereen. And that would be it. Kilkenny likewise. Now, a few ICRs potter in and out and nothing else happens. In the period you are modelling, there will be a wealth of operations, with their own rosters and even possible operational peculiarities, as often happened as a "legacy" of the earliest days when more than one company might have used the station. As late as the 1990s there was still a surprising amount of freight and interesting workings at numerous places. All the more fodder for an interesting model. I should add that for the majority (?) of us with less room than would be needed for an accurate prototypical location, study of a real scenario such as that outlined above will inform a ralistic way to operate even a smaller, fictitious location. The fictitious nature of a location can be more than compensated for by high quality scenery, models of high quality with the correct locos and carriages / wagons matching for the era or company, and realistic operational practices BASED on those observed in a real place.

I've actually just emailed them to see what postage costs are now post-Brexit.

The "Dutch" van - what model was this?

I am ABSOLUTELY with you there, Lambeg Man! And I am one with an "underlying condition".............

Cream was a standard sort of interior colour used by - at least - the MGWR, GSWR, DSER, GSR and CIE. The DSER, from Senior's memory, had its carriage insides mid-brown to waist level, and cream above that. I think CIE might have done that too on some 6-wheelers, but I've no proper info.

Maybe, Gerry - but they ARE needed! Silverfox, of course, do green laminates. I am sure their "tin vans" can be done in green or silver too.

In terms of carriages, ANYTHING green and anything pre-Craven types, and the “tin vans” are a must for all early diesels. With no steam heating, a diesel-hauled 1955 - 69 passenger train needs one (or more) as much as it does a loco!

Very true, indeed. And as for a Dublin underground or sensible additions to the Luas.................................................!!!! I reckon another 112 years.

Trouble is, that makes sense. Our elected representatives "don't do "sense"".

Yes, there were several instances of them at different places between Claremorris and Limerick.

Barry's and my next book will show one WAAAY off its beaten track, and on a most interesting working.............

Done. How could anyone NOT vote for those fertiliser wagons!

Very much so. Like a whitish roof on a carriages, a pristine-painted black chassis on a coach will be "weathered" almost on its first journey out of the paint shop. Also why it was sometimes hard to tell whether a very workstained locomotive was originally black or grey, especially in a black and white photo....!

Indeed. While far-fetched, I know, given population increases, one could almost make a case for ensuring that no obstructions are ever placed in the way of a potential Midleton - Youghal - Dungarvan - Waterford - Rosslare route! Now THERE’S a stamping ground for a “Woolwich”, a grey 121, or an “A” class on a suitable layout!

Yes, MikeO, black and white photos can completely deceive without separate background info! Almost without exception, CIE painted carriage ends black, like the chassis (and often the roof). But this Midland beauty had the green round the ends. I think that in CIE days the roof was black or very dark (loco?) grey. But in Midland livery it had the lighter roof.

All MGWR coach chassis were black; in fact, as far as I know, with the exception of a few CIE new-builds in 1955/6, all Irish passenger-carrying vehicles, “full-stop”, had fully black chassis. When the MGWR’s dark lake (very dark maroon) came into being in 1918, I have no clear information about roofs, but they were probably painted in the white lead, which darkened almost immediately and then got blackened with smoke. Carriage ends were maroon, just as carriage ends had also been brown when that livery was the norm. So, yes, a dull grey would suit carriage roofs well. That actually raises an issue; when general carriage roofs in the 1890-1920 era are described as “white”, e.g. with the GNR, it was actually actually white lead paint, for waterproofing. That was in fact a very pale grey rather than pure white. We see white roofs on model WAGONS all the time (thanks to Hornby!) but this is inaccurate for Ireland anyway. The state coach did indeed follow the norm. It skipped GSR livery and remained in MGWR maroon until it got its first and only cost of green in the late 50s, just a couple of years before it was inexplicably scrapped! There’s a photo of it in MGWR livery on P96 of Ernie Shepherd’s book on the Midland. The late Des Coakham described it as being by that stage “a dullish red”. The roof is clearly a darkened grey.

Indeed - we can look back on stories of old, but I don’t think anyone would seriously advocate going back to those days. Public safety was taken less seriously, and workers’ safety likewise. It’s frustrating to oul wans like me who remember happily wandering all round goods yards with shunting in progress and main line trains going past, with nary a steel-capped boot, hi-viz clothing, or PTS in tow, but obviously it’s better the way it is today.

They put them back - and they remain unused almost 30 years later......

It's a historical throwback to when CIE inherited a share of the Fishguard & Rosslare Railways and Harbours Company, which owned the South Wexford line and the Rosslare port (plus other stuff).

And neither of the drivers were even there when they weren't watching what they were doing..........

Had the thing lasted, it's most likely it WOULD have ended up like that! If the very last steam engine ever repainted (late 1962) had lasted only a year and a bit more, it would have ended up with a CIE "roundel" on its tender, probably (though I think the tan would be a step too far) and been plain black instead of dark grey.......

So it was for a model of the "Flying" Scotsman?

Superb stuff, Sean, very well done!

Some of them have different types of bogies, I think. Do you know what type it is?