jhb171achill

Yes - in all reality, a 1960s CIE passenger train without one is as unrealistic as one without a locomotive - or a goods train without a brake van. I've 4 but I need another 4......

Yip - at THAT time there was that one, another in West Cork, and another in Tralee, from what I can gather. It’s more than possible they weren’t the only ones. Once the standard CIE 20T and 30T ones multiplied in number, CIE withdrew all non standard ones (most of which were either too small, or clapped out anyway) as quickly as they could. A handful of GNR vans went into CIE use but only for 2 or 3 years - I’m only aware of 1 or 2 even being repainted with a “flying snail” - but Leslie has a model of that TOO!

Yes - they got very scruffy in that livery. It was too light to be remotely practical - and when the 121s were new they were still surrounded by steam engines when on shed.... As our good American friends might say, “go figure”! La Grange, Illinois, had almost totally done away with all steam when the 121s were being painted pale grey and yellow!

Note the rolling stock. In the first pic, the second wagon is an old GSWR low-roofed “soft-top” of 1890s origin. A handful of these were still to be seen up to just about into the 1960s. In the above (colour) pic, looks like a GNR coach now in CIE green. In the final pic, we’ve one of Leslie’s GSWR guards vans. At least one of these appears to have been use well into the 1960s.

Leave it with me - I'll post here when I get something. With the lockdown I can't nip round to his house right now, but I'm on the phone every few days.

I will ask Barry if he has other views of this shed if you like?

Lovely little item, and superb weathering on both it and the loco and tanker!

Excellent idea for a small-space layout, or shunting layout. One "G" and half a dozen goods vans and a brake van, and ye're away! For anyone interested, check J P O'Dea's pics of the line under the nli.ie website. I think I've posted one here somewhere before - can't recall if it was Fry's or jhb171Senior's...

Anthony isn't, evidently - pity, as his work is absolutely outstandingly good, as many here will have seen.

Indeed, John - you alluded to this matter of radius. It would have to be accepted by a modeller who is tight for space, that the minimum radius would have to be slightly larger. A agree with all points raised above - it seems fair to say that there seems to be a broad consensus that for people starting out its an option, but not to convert. I have ten Murphy diesels and two Silverfox. I know the former are easy to convert - not sure about the SF ones - anyone know? Rolling stock - I've quite a mixture, and while I know for a fact that some are convertible, that's by no means any guarantee that the rest (majority) of them are. So as far as I would be concerned, personally, things stay as they are - albeit there is absolutely no doubt that 21mm looks WAAY better. The point made above about someone maybe making a fuss about a missing bolt on a Murphy loco, while it's running on unrealistically "narrow gauge" track not raising anyone's eyebrow - is a very valid one indeed. Regarding Brazil, I have a sometime interest in the railways of there, plus Argentina and the very fascinating Paraguayan system. It had occurred to me at times to toy with the idea of a generic Brazilian or South American shunting layout, either broad gauge or metre (I like the erstwhile Mogiana Railway). From my observations in a number of locations in all three countries, the only difference I see is that sleepers tend to be more closely spaced - certainly, it looks that way on the ground. I did a thorough exploration of two stations in Argentina the last time I was there, and that's what it looked like. Having said that, the commercial success of selling broad gauge track to those markets, or Oz, or India, would depend on RTR stuff in those countries to run on it! As others note above, THEY tend to use H0 track too, and for India, with a 5'6" gauge, that looks even LESS realistic. I considered buying a static model handmade BBCIR 4.6.0 one time, but though built to 00 scale, it just looked plain ridiculous "narrow-gauged" to American H0 track. I know for a fact that many modellers in Brazil (OK, both of them!) tend to favour the metre gauge lines there (including the Mogiana system), because there is one Brazilian manufacturer who do RTR stuff, and at least two of their models are as close as makes little difference to 3'6" gauge locos running in South Africa (34 class), Indonesia (CC201) and metre-gauge India. Interesting thread!

Makes me start wondering what a 5’3” gauge “Black 5” would look like! Dare I suggest, quite elegant!

Regarding the "Sutton & Baldoyle" station nameboard, I was told some years ago that one is in private ownership somewhere....... One number and nameplate off the DNGR No. 6 was acquired by Cyril Fry, and now adorns the wall of the Malahide Model Railway museum, along with other things of beauty that he also acquired!

Not railway, too small. Probably an old wall lamp of some sort from outside a house? Senior had one in a shed years and years ago and it wasn't a million miles unlike that yoke. That's what HE thought about that one, anyway.

I certainly would, as the extra realism is a real enhancement. Now, everything I personally own is 00 gauge, but almost all is convertible to 21mm. Thus, if 21mm RTR track was available, I could be persuaded to change - cost permitting. If I was starting out, however, I would not think twice about it. Dare we dream that IRM is pondering the issue over a bowl of soup?

Jim Smellie, of Caley Coaches in Scotland, mentioned to me that he has ten sets of etches which he is open to offers for. Jim says "You might not know but a lot of my artwork was done by Alistair Wright who is notorious for filling up wee corners on tools with all sorts of bits and pieces. One such is described as “Irish W irons” per photos. If you or anyone you know can use these I am open of offers on 10 sets as shown...." Contact Jim directly at jim@caley.com.

No, totally new book.

Outstandingly superb!

You beat me to it, Seagoe! The publisher will post it directly, which beats the small inconvenience of normal retailers possibly being close down or otherwise short-staffed......

Folks Just had this delivered and even first glance prompts me to put pen to paper - or finger to keyboard. As one might expect, given the previous works of the authors, this is a masterpiece and will become a major reference work for ANYONE interested in Irish railways. The “green Bible”, covering all GSR locos is now well known and one of the most thumbed-through in my collection. Same with this new one: it is exceptionally and painstaking well-researched, using as many prime original reference sources as possible. The GSWR was, of course, Ireland’s biggest railway company, so it is only to be expected that its locomotive history would be complex. Undaunted, the authors have unearthed much detail which was hitherto little-known; the entire subject matter being of great interest to me, personally, given my grandfather’s entire working life in the Drawing Office at Inchicore, going back to the last quarter of the GSWR’s life. Since many GSWR locos lasted until the end of steam in CIE days in the early 1960s, it is of interest (indeed, essential) to anyone modelling Irish railways prior to 1963; a growing band of people, indeed - and not before time, given all the potential material available. This book will encourage more people to do so, hopefully (cue a RTR 400 class, D17 or “Maedb”, somewhere??). A truly excellent publication, which I’ll be spending quite a good few of the forthcoming days poring over! To the authors and publishers (Collon Press), very well done. An absolutely superb piece of work.

Tobin, I had a reasonable list many years ago. I was on the phone to the late Bob Clements and I asked him many questions, amongst which were a good few about liveries. I hastily scribbled down things like a number of what Bob said was the only loco of some class to be black, or he might say about another class “oh, there a good few of that class...” (or none.) Thus, the list was a good guide rather than a precise list, number by number. I have since mislaid the list, but not before identifying several small errors, for example, he insisted that no narrow gauge engines were ever black, but it seems that 6T was in its last years on the C & L, and one of the Passage tanks was at the very least an almost-black shade of grey from about 1956/7. What I’ve posted over the years is based partly on my recollections of what I was told by him, plus what I remember writing on that list, plus what two other individuals told me, who in their adolescent years had free reign to wander round Inchicore and Broadstone. My list, though, I appear to have mislaid, and two extremely thorough searches of my “stuff” in the last few years (one a few months ago) have regrettably failed to produce it. Was there anything in particular you had in mind?

I’ve yet to see this one, Edo, but I am aware through the networks of railway authors and publishers that just as IRM and the like are bringing more superb models into being, there are quite a few book projects in hand among a number of writers - some well known, some new to that game. Tis a great era in which to be interested in Irish railways.

A truly SUPERB job, Dhu Varren. Naturally, for anyone wanting to scratchbuild that unique vehicle, it can be seen in person at Downpatrick. Excellent attention to detail. It always struck me that panting that yoke in then-“Enterprise” livery was a 1980s incarnation of the GNR painting the Fintona tram in its most modern railcar livery, as then used on the “Enterprise” when it was first dieselised!

The first went north from Limerick The second went west from Limerick The third goes....? And the fourth.........?? There’s THAT one too! Should be the two out this year, though Covid has played havoc with the production of one of them.

Fascinating stuff, and very interesting research. Looking forward to seeing this develop! Happy Christmas!

Colin The three principal ones were built - Buncrana - Carndonagh, Letterkenny - Burtonport and Donegal - Killybegs. A little further south, several were proposed but not built: Ballyshannon - Sligo (several proposals), Ballina - Crossmolina - Belmullet, Owenduff between Mallaranny & Achill - Ballycroy - Belmullet, and probably more. Right across Ireland there were many, many railways which were proposed but never built, both in the 1830s-1860s initial phase, and the post-Famine late 1880s-90s following the establishment of the Congested Districts Board. I believe that there were several alternatives to the Letterkenny-Strabane and Letterkenny-Derry routes considered too, before the eventual routes were actually built.