jhb171achill

Oxford Diecast had a few items at about £5 sterling.....I have what's supposed to be a garda van, though i don't know enough about policing vehicles to know whether it's authentic or not.......

Hope those gloves are day-glo.......and she has her PTS......... Child protection pass, first aid cert........

And no rationale as to why you shouldn't be making them? I couldn't be 100% certain on all types of vans, but the ones I remember earliest were, I think - Ford? They had a narrow cab and a radiator on the front. I'd say they were of mid-50s vintage onwards. (plus orange Ford transits in the 70s with white doors)

Out of curiosity, upon what perceived basis did they try to tell you this? And, again out of curiosity, and if it does not compromise privacy, were these people also in the same business? I would like to see a typical 1960s post office van. Often seen at stations picking up mail vans.

Oh, INDEED I can! I worked with galteemore-senior for years, and often had the conversation. Initially, we tried selling "enthusiast stuff" on trains, but the few enthusiasts on board would pick over the railway books on offer, reading them cover to cover, then sidle off to eat the sandwiches they'd brought with them. G.Senior and I started selling instant raffles and teddy bears and toy tractors to the kiddies, and the money machine was born........ The only time the RPSI sells many books is on the May tour - and who buys them, to this day? Mostly the Englishmen, who will then tell you to put the £20 change in the "kitty"! Disclaimer: There ARE notable exceptions to both, so please don't take offence if you're one of 'em!

100% right!

Yes, I would agree. It's even worse, of course, on the whole island of Ireland, where the level of interest never approaches even a fraction of that in Britain - or, specifically, England and Wales. For decades i did the seating plan for the annual RPSI May Tour, for a very long time the very biggest railway enthusiast event in Ireland, probably still so, covid-permitting. The number of participants from the WHOLE of Ireland would never, on a single occasion, have filled even one carriage. Virtually all the regulars, bar RPSI personnel and one or two notables, were English. And fair play to them; as i told many of them, many times, without them the tour would NEVER have made it even into the 1970s. Downpatrick carries in a year what the Severn Valley would in a weekend. OK, I hear all say, Ireland as a whole has less than 7 million people, whereas England alone has ten times that. Fair point - however - on a typical train on a British preserved railway, you might get 10-15% who are enthusiasts. Not here. Here, it's mummy, daddy and the kids going on the big chuff-chuff train for a day out. At Downpatrick, or on a Portrush Flyer, actual railway enthusiasts, particularly ones who have travelled a distance, are a rarity, except again for a TINY few regulars. And they're STINGY! (the few REGULARS excluded!) BOY, are Irish railway enthusiasts STINGY!!! Raffles, buying souvenirs, supporting donation tins - and I make no apology for the rant, as treasurer of both the DCDR and RPSI for some 25 years, and Commerical Officer before that - so-called "supporters" of these organisations scuttle down holes, often awkwardly counting out coins in their pockets, at the mere mention of buying a raffle ticket. But look in the bar AFTER the trip - they're all there. OK, back to Steve's point - the cultural lack of interest here, north and south, results in TV programmes with either lightweight, or carelessly inaccurate or superficial "history". The recent RTE series with Enda is par for the course, with the "narrow-gauge" Achill line illustrated by a CDR train.......and so on. I've calmed down now. I had my covid jab today. Maybe this is the side effect.......

Shades of the loss-making HEI at Whitehead!

In your second last pic, on the right there are a couple of coaches. Are those the SECR models? If so, they bear a "two-foot-rule" resemblance to the post-1903 MGWR designs. At least one ex-Midland coach did, in fact, operated briefly on the CBSCR main line immediately before the railcars came.

121 with white lines - thus post '87.....

Sad. Travelled on it a few years ago - an amazing line. If they're up for grabs, we'd need to know if they are DC or DCC.

Mallow, late 1980s, maybe early 90s. Tralee branch train on left.

Absolutely inspiring again, David! You mention the Dublin & Meath brake vans taken over by the Midland. If these are strictly passenger vans, then brown as you say - but if they are goods or mixed train vehicles, grey or possibly a dark green colour, though I am uncertain when the MGWR abandoned green for brake vans in favour of brown. If you use the green, there's a model of Fry's in Malahide with this colour. I've to call in there soon, so I'll take a pic of it. And yes, wagons inevitably got mixed up. I've seen pics of a GSWR van in Derry (Foyle Road), a DSER and a GSWR one in Achill, and a GNR one in West Cork!

Might be worth getting the IRRS on board for one of their "outings"? Would make a nice day out, if social distancing permits - Dublin - Central - Derry & back by train. What are the current regulations regarding travel in the north?

The very last of them were withdrawn in 1974, I believe.

Terrible shame. The platform and roof supports are still there too, aren’t they? A building like that should be listed....

Slightly related question - where's the best place round Dublin to get 6mm MDF board?

Or Doooostin d'tooorkey..........

Superb! The picture comes alive!

If that stuff was indeed available commercially, I would get some for a mini-layout. At this stage I am too far committed to 00 gauge track and models, with some 20 locos steam and diesel, once my "A"s appear, and maybe 40 - 50 wagons and a dozen carriages. However, I would get one 141 converted and a dozen wagons to do a shunting layout with. If I was starting from scratch, I might sell the car and go full 21mm. So I suppose the answer to the original question, for me, is yes - if within my budget.

I detest “unboxing videos” just about as much as watching tennis, golf or grass growing....... ”Take the damn thing out of the box, throw away all the plasticky bits, put it on the track, and let’s see it go!”

They were! The particular ones you mention were all built in the 1902-1915 period....they had long lives! I've a notion there was at least one old relic from the late 1890s still kicking about then.

Superb memories, Ironroad. Those pics in carriages would have been old GSWR bogies, and the pics were actually originally from the Lawrence collection. I, too, recall a Kildare signalman commenting to my father in disgust, as we watched a train pass from the cabin, and the last coach of which was in the new livery "Ye'd think we'd seen the last of the $%^& black'n'tans...."

You should “interview” him about everything pre-1965 that he remembers and write it down. I only realise now the things I DIDNT ask jhbSenior, who recalled the DSER, GSWR and formation of the GSR, as well as having travelled over virtually every railway line in the country; plus on the occasions I spoke to them over the years, the late Billy Lohan of Tuam, and of course Bob Clements.

I was delving through old issues of "Irish Ralfans News" this afternoon, and found this "snapshot" of the CIE motive power situation as at December 1972, which may be of interest: 1. In December 1972, the last "C" class was re-engine as B220 (thus still black and tan livery, as opposed to recently introduced "supertrain" livery, which was introduced during summer 1972. Was this the last engine ever painted black'n'tan? 2. In traffic: 60 x A 15 x B121 37 x B141 12 x B181 32 x C (now B201) with GM engines 2 x C (now B233 / 234) with Maybach engines 12 x B101 (goods and PW almost totally) The "E" and "G" class locos are not mentioned, though at that stage while all of the former were technically in traffic, theG601s hadn't been used in years, nor ever would be again, and it is not certain that all sever G611s were usable. It may also be presumed that the D class, even if "on the books" were defunct. All of the above locos were officially in traffic, but the following were out of use: B101 class 111/3/4, and B234 and K801. So only nine B101s were available for use, mostly way "down south", and only one of the Maybach "C"s was in use - though it is noted that its use was restricted. The first main line locos had been repainted into "Supertrain" livery. These were 001, 158 and three of the B181s; 183, 187 and 188. Among the last GNR coaches in service - five of them - had been withdrawn from traffic for scrapping, along with some of the last wooden-panelled GSWR stock, eight of them. Meanwhile, in the north, the last BCDR thing on wheels in use, the diesel loco No. 28, was withdrawn and (disgracefully) scrapped in Belfast, as were among the last ex-GNR AEC railcars.