jhb171achill

The Tool Vans (I think there were two) were or were not “tin vans” depending on what way you look at it! Under what is now understood as a generic heading, there were four variants of “tin vans”; the four-wheeled luggage van and heating vans making up the vast majority. There were four (maybe 6; I’d have to check) 4w TPOs, two of which were eventually converted to passenger brake vans; plus, in 1965, a small number of six-wheeled heating vans. HOWEVER, the railway staff only referred to the luggage vans as tin vans. The others were never called that at all - they were called heating vans or “hot water bottles”. The yellow yoke in your pic is one of two TPO vans converted as such, the final survivor of which is now at Downpatrick. You can tell the TPO ones as they’ve windows on one side only.

Several possibilities, all right. To me, a micro-layout (while it can be successfully operated with one engine and four trucks) is at its best with a modest array of stock to give variations in operations. In GN times, one of the 00 Works GN locos bumbles in and out; it's the Antrim branch engine, and it does a local trip working to the mill, let's say it's about three miles from the station. A railcar can do a run in there in the morning with mill workers; and goes back to collect them later; once a week due to diesel maintanance a steam loco with one brake third does this. In UTA days the same sort of thing. By NIR days, it's a "Jeep", or maybe an NIR "1" class diesel shunter which lifts a wagon off the CIE goods and shoves it in and out - or - the CIE loco does. he leaves the main goods train in Lisburn and shuffles a wagon (container on a "Lancashire Flat"?) or a couple of CIE "H" vans in.... You could even have the MPD car which started the re-opened Antrim branch service in 1976 appearing with an NCC "Brown Van" or a CIE van dropped off the Derry goods...........

Even closer to reality. In the early 1970s, there were still QUITE a few linen mills going - Barbours in Lisburn, one of the biggest, went in into the 1980s at least. And - the RPSI DID make a serious attempt to resurrect the GNR Banbridge - Scarva branch line. They were eventually put off by the cost, estimated to be £250,000..........

Mid 90s and four liveries, yes. While not my era, would be ideal for a “micro-layout” for those with limited space. A thirty year period also helps. They have been used on branch, commuter and even in main line settings (Cork-Mallow currently).

Excellent list regarding what goes with what; I think that for any scale model (as opposed to “toy” train set) it will encourage both manufacturers Tierra and buyers to produce a model if (a) there is widespread knowledge of what ran with it, and (b) there are models available of suitable stock. The list above is very informative for the later liveries, from the late “black’n’tan” era onwards. For the “grey’n’green” era, we have the silver liveried “A” class examples, the green ones and the black ones. A suitable list for them would be as follows: SILVER A (& C & B101) All coaching stock green except any brand-new laminates and (briefly) Park Royals; mostly lighter shade but some older vehicles still darker shade. 1. Wooden bogies (almost all GSWR) by this stage 2. Bredins 3. 1951-3 CIE stock 4. Cork - Youghal excursions: old six-wheelers of GSWR & MGWR origin. 5. New (silver) “laminates”, especially for silver locos. As the silver locos were repainted green, so were the silver carriages. 6. Like the above, Park Royals. First ones silver when new and quickly repainted green, but later ones green (with silver bogies) when new. GREEN locos All of the above, but in the last few years of this livery, a minority of coaches now starting to appear in black’n’tan. Once the locos started appearing in black or black’n’tan (the two overlapped to an extent), green carriages are about 40/60 green/BnT. By c.1967/8, all green gone. Six-wheelers (apart from 3 or 4 full brakes) vanish in early 1963, just as the black’n’tan livery has started to spread. In the black or black’n’tan liveries of the 1960s, the “A” class are used mainly on goods trains, with AEC railcars and the 121 / 141 / 181 classes dealing with passengers. WAGONS In all of the above, all wagons are grey. All guards vans are grey, with extremely few exceptions; red Ranks grain wagons or black tank wagons being the only exceptions I can think of. There were no brown wagons or vans at all, until 1970.

It's time for your medicine, DJ!

Eh, wow....... enjoy them.....! Not sure where this little grey machine was pictured - found it in Senior's stuff, but no record of it. With several Wisht Caark, boy, and Midland fans on here, thought it might be of interest.

Saw this large green tube or pipe in Malahide station today. It was making bus noises and there were people in it. I’m old enough to remember seeing trains in the same place years ago.

Love the Dublin bunting in the street! Superb model.....

If there are no bits on them that a small animal could swallow, I will offer €5 for the lot for the dog to chew. He's chewed all four limbs off his toy rabbit.

Senior would have been involved in maintaining that track in the mid 1940s. It's a wonder he didn't end up in a padded cell in the Home for the Bewildered.............

I very sincerely hope that did not sell. I know that something is worth whatever someone wants to pay, but someone taking even a third of that amount for a crude, broken old toy like that is just plain obscene.

For reasons of security, the movements of this vehicle were never included in the weekly circulars; they were arranged ad hoc at the last minute. I am unaware of any "heists" ever having taken place! The bank counter - yes! And all those branches are shut now...........! And yes, staff walked up one side of the carriage end steps, got their money, and down the other side.

The W & L was made up of a multiplicity of different companies, so by the time it became the WL&WR it is probable that there were barely two vans alike. Personally I am unaware of the survival of details of any of them. If I was undertaking your project, I would probably use an early GSWR one, as these would been interchanged with their own after 1901 anyway. Sorry, that's the best I can do!

A neat looking thing, indeed, with a distinctly "Irish" look. While the grey is too light for GSR, it gives an idea of what a GSR derivative would look like. I am not sure of the dimensions, but a cursory look makes me wonder if, given a bit of jiggery-pokery and a "two-foot rule", it might be possible to make it resemble a WLWR D15, a GSWR D2 or D3, or a MGWR D5, D6, or D7? Apart from the splashers, actual length of loco would be the biggest of a number of issues with many of these.

Must be the colour scheme!!

In my far-off 009 days, there was a Japanese manufacturer of brass kits called Jo Works. I got a kit of a tank wagon which I was assured would run on 009 track. It did, but I suspect that the prototype was 3mm scale, as the Japs had some 3ft gauge lines. Looked too small among 4mm scale stuff running on 009 track, so I sold it......couldn't get the couplings to stay on it either.....

I'll pay more attention!

Interesting! They could do with them on many train services, and buses and the Luas (different company or not), and in stations, to deal with the scumbags that hang about certain railways stations and cause trouble on trains. And give them EXTENSIVE powers to make these people absolutely terrifed of the consequences of messing about.........

New one to me!

On another model website, when you open up "Irish" railway threads, subjects which have been updated but you have not yet read are in bold print, with ones that you're up to date with in ordinary print............ so it's easy to see where new posts or new updates to existing posts are..... I was interested in the map, too. I must persuade maah ole school buddy in Tennessee, y'all, to add himself (and start an Irish layout, instead of footering about with narrow gauge Mallards and Flying Scotsmen....) Yee-ha.... Come to think of it, I know a guy in Perth, WA, who may also have an interest....

Interesting - wasn’t sure about No.1.

Yes, I think I mentioned that somewhere - I wonder if Harold H had a hand in that too.... Regarding Mayner’s comments, agree entirely.

I remember that. There were RUCTIONS over it in England!

They did. The late, great Harold Houston had a part in ensuring that BOTH 30 and 74 were preserved. jhbSenior and he were great friends, from when Senior worked on the NCC in the 1940s. Upon asking Harold one time, when he visited him after retirement in Whitehead, why 30 was that colour instead of the extremely dark green (the "green" equivalent of "navy" blue, I suppose), Harold's honest answer was "I don't know!" The GNR tank in there is also correct, and some CDR items are in actual CDR paint. The Dargan Saloon has been repainted; the colour is more than close enough though. I think it had been grey in its later CIE ownership, but I'd have to check. The C & L locomotive is OK - the company had engines in two shades of green and also one in black when the GSR took over and dropped them all into a pint glass filled with grey paint! The Derry shunter, No. 1, is still in its original paintwork, and I think the DNGR coach may also be. The GNR railbus was repainted, as it was fully rebuilt; the paint scheme appears to be accurate enough - AND - it's in FULL working order! An interesting thing about this is that when it was restored in the mid 1990s, the then RPSI policy was to have accurate liveries on everything, and coaches 9 (K15) and 114 were painted also in GNR blue and cream. As treasurer, it fell to me to pay the bills; the supplier we used was Jamison & Green in Belfast. Long before things like RAL codes were ever heard of, this company had a man who was about to retire, and had mixed paints for the company all his life. This company hed previously supplied dark blue and cream paint to the GNR itself, and this oul boy had the mix in his head, and written down somewhere; both colours, plus UTA green, were STILL on their books. I passed this info on to UFTM, one of whose leading lights was also on the RPSI Council at the time, so we could be sure that this railbus got the right colour. If anyone in the preservation world is reading this, it might be worth investigating (for future reference) if this company still hold these records. I believe the man who knew was called George something, but I digress.... The CDR "Phoenix" is repainted, and accurate apart from the lettering which should be pale yellow, not white. The Donegal tank engine is a mess. What may well be original cab and side tank paint, but the boiler and dome painted black. While many looked like this in use, they were actually painted red! Sadly, this has been perpetrated with another restored CDR tank up in Donegal - black dome is wrong. Looks like a pimple on its face...... Mind you, red is a most impractical colour for a working steam loco - GNR blue locos also ended up with black-looking domes, which were blue! Enough - time for my tea. Relax, everyone; that's tonight's boring post done with........! Just to show I'm not totally fixated, I actually like BOTH of those - even the blue tank engine. But I am also almost the only person on the planet who actually liked the 1980s "Desert Sand" Dublin bus livery, which has been described as the "vomit" livery by some..... (so what would I know, with taste like that!).