jhb171achill

No, unfortunately not! Though he will certainly have been familiar with it, as it was sitting about within Inchicore when he worked there.

There were a number of these, several adapted for 3ft gauge. The Achill one was a different design and a “unique”-looking one-off! It survived out of use well into the 1930s, gradually falling to bits....

Yes, there's a chimney, thus a stove. I'd say it must be in use as a brake van still, otherwise I would have thought they block both ends and out double doors in the middle - or use the chassis for a rebuild maybe.

GSR Inspection Car No. 4, c.1940. And a free pass, “access all areas”!

Yes, indeed - I always thought that at the very least, Cork - Bandon should have been retained as a commuter line....or Cork - Clonakilty.... And then there's the light grey roofs......

Folks, I was perusing two photos of the fascinating but little-known Polloxfens Mill siding at Ballysodare. The track layout there was extremely compact, and as can be seen from the attached rough doodle, achieved but means of one of Ireland’s few three-way sets of points. With seven adjacent, but short tracks, as a shunting layout exercise you could play about with about a dozen “H” vans at a time, with an oul J18, a “C” class or a 141, depending on what era you were interested in. This sort of thing would fit nicely into any tight layout corner.

Main line services, West Cork, summer 1935.

This is the timetable mentioned above Regarding West Cork. This is September 1960 onwards, the last timetable issued for the section before closure six months later. It was much the same as for many previous years. The two return passenger trains to Bantry were AEC sets, normally three-car. By this stage, the branches and goods trains were all “C” class diesels.

Hopefully there will be some day a model of one.... they are a completely essential item on any GNR, GN-area of UTA / NIR or CIE layout of the 1950-70 period.

I like the cloud of coal smoke hanging over the loco shed area in the distance! There could have been a dozen locos in steam in there at any time.....

The AEC 2600 cars were very comfortable seating wise and very solid and steady. Like all older railcars they were noisier, though, especially in later years. They did all the routes you mentioned above, plus others. The GNR used them in Belfast - Clones and Belfast - Portadown - Derry as well as Dublin - Belfast. CIE used them to Kerry, both the Mallow route and the North Kerry Line, also Waterford - Limerick and Limerick - Sligo. They appeared on Dublin - Wexford too and, of course, Cork to Bantry. (They only did that one route in West Cork). Indeed, immediately before the “A” and “B101” classes were introduced in 1955/6, they were the principal main-line power.

In the mid 1930s there was MUCH less traffic on the roads compared to today. Or - is the coronavirus in full swing?!! This is Glanmire Road, exact date unknown but likely to be 1936-8. The station, of course, is on the right. The two carriages were across the river at Albert Quay station. Such were the necessities of “austerity” in those days, that rolling stock could often be just “touched up” instead of completely repainted. These two will be in the maroon GSR livery, though mostly faded and dulled - no lining, as befits much of the secondary stock.

Indeed, right enough..... I wonder why? New one to me!

There was some sort of half-hearted local idea some years ago (maybe in the 1990s) when ACE funding was obtained to build a replica of the luggage truck for display at Fintona. The lower deck of an old Belfast tramcar was also found in a field somewhere and brought to Fintona to be rebuilt as a sort of "Fintona Tram". It would actually have been a very nice attraction, if a "Dick" could be found! The tram was vandalised, but has later been restored and is now on display at the former Clogher Valley Railway's Maguiresbridge station not far away. Had anything some of it, the station site is now a Tesco car park, but a bit like the reincarnation of the station at Downpatrick, a replica building of sorts could have been provided at the "throat" end of what had been Fintona station, and the track relaid on the original route of the 1.5km line to the junction. It would seem that the junction platform remains, buried under sixty years growth of bushes and trees, and a run to there and back wouldn't take people anywhere - just a "spin". I was tempted to think that it would have made (and possibly still could make) a nice little low-cost (and very unique) "preserved railway". If anyone knows who owns the land, I'll assist them with the grant application!

Yes, nothing more than that - local traditions!

As Wrenneire has said, "if it looks to good to be true, it probably is". In my previous life as a collector of Austrian 009, I got stung a couple of times, in one case buying a locomotive whose motor was banjaxed, and beyond repair...... Less than €50 for an 071 or 201 looks - - - strange.

Can anyone throw any light on what this is? The picture is taken at Newcastle West, apparently c.1953 and is on page 46 of “Chasing the Flying Snail” by Anthony Burges. Appears to have van doors (?) at the far end?

This was 1947, obviously. The article does not make clear whether the ones seen were in traffic or not, or if so, how many were. I think that at least a few were kicking about probably for loco coal until Broadstone said goodbye to its last steam engine about 1962.

I love those scenes, Ernie - very "atmospheric"! At this time of year, I have been since teens, and always will be, conditioned to thinking that it is "May Tour Time", as for most of my life I've been preparing for whatever role I would be volunteering for (nowadays very peripheral!). Obviously not this year, but scenes like this always make me think of what I would see about me as I wandered across sidings where the train was parked overnight, after cleaning out the dining car or something....

News in 1947 from the fledgling IRRS, and one of their early “outings”; what one wouldn’t give to repeat it today, almost three quarters of a century later.

Revisiting the Fintona tram A 1947 Cuisle article, when it still had a decade to go, and another photo of it getting ready to be hitched up to a steam engine to leave a Fintona for the last time, to go to Belfast to the museum. Staff had pushed it to this position from under the canopy. Senior travelled with it as far as Omagh. Its small luggage wagon can be seen bottom right.

Must have been a one-off, then, that's fair enough. Your pic above shows it in blue and cream, with black ends, and it's 1956....so back to blue and cream, then UTA green, presumably, rather than back to brown? An interesting one.

That's exactly what it is, Lambegman. The GNR had started painting a FEW main line carriages in dark blue and cream, and the ends were indeed black. The 1953 "Royal Train" was a mix of NCC and GNR coaches, but all were painted in the then-newish GNR railcar (and Fintona Tram!) livery. Do we know for certain that it was painted CIE green? The GNR stock working through generally remained in GNR livery - I've seen pics of a full GNR brown train sitting in Cork on this service. While I cannot be certain, I had never heard of a GNR coach being painted in CIE livery until, obviously, after 1958 when the GNR was dissolved. I can't help feeling that it's more likely that once repainted dark blue / cream for the Royal train, it remained in that livery until UTA green made itself known. I have seen a pic somewhere of a two-coach local Lisburn - Antrim loco-hauled local in the very early 60s, in which one coach is dark blue and cream, the other either UTA green or brown (it's a black & white pic).

Sorry, Galteemore, missed that. Once I get back in, whenever that is, I'll get those for you.

Most Donegal coaches were, over buffers, about 32ft. No. 1, the surviving 6-wheeler, was shorter, and obviously the NCC ones were longer. For 11 coaches you could be looking at very approximately 115 yards platform length.