jhb171achill

Random pics from the 1970s. 1. One of my first railway pics, and certainly not one of my better ones. Anyone like to guess where? 2. My first RPSI trip, 1970, just after I joined the Society. It’s at the NCC Waterside Station in Derry. 3. The Guinness engine, Whitehead, 1972. 4. Ex-GSWR coach 1287 at Claremorris, 1970. Used as crew coach. Now it is the “tarry” at Downpatrick. 5. B109, Inchicore, 1977, withdrawn. 6. The last Midland bogie coach in existence at North Wall Goods Yard, 1976. 7 & 8. The last Midland wagon in use, a PW rail wagon. North Wall, 1976. 9. Bagenalstown Cabin, 1977.

AHHH! That explains my disquiet about the curve and the wall..... good spot indeed! Another way of telling which tour it was, was the fact that the locomotive was spruced up and buffers painted white or silver, and smokebox door hinges likewise. As can be seen, it was also cleaned and polished within an inch of its life. By 1966, steam engines were NEVER that clean! I stand to be corrected on this, but I think that the cleaning etc. was done by, or assisted by, the youthful members of the fledgling RPSI (ex-RBAI school railway society, or Drew Donaldson Society!).

I thought Drogheda too at first, and it remains my best guess, though the platform wall didn't look quite right. The bus on the left would certainly fit the bill, though. The curve doesn't look sharp enough, yet at that stage of the game, with no Enniskillen or Clones any more, the three tracks between the platforms could hardly be anywhere else.

You can - there's a train from Killarney to Tralee & back every 2 hours or so....

It got to Warp 10.7 near the North Junction...... it was being filmed from the air by the Concorde, but it left the aeroplane behind..... that's why there are no pics of it with its 18-bogie load.

For the Derry to Londonmagherafelt service?

No. 8118, "Shergar" was scrapped many years earlier, after an unfortunate incident somewhere along the INW line......

When I was involved with the Downs of Patrick, one 1st April we put the word about that a fish had been found in the water tower, blocking the outlet, and this had been noticed by the fireman who noticed a much reduced flow when he was watering No. 3 prior to a day's shunting or something. Investigation found the fish, which it was reckoned had been dropped by a heron flying overhead which had dropped it, having caught it in the River Quoile moments earlier....! The number of people who believed it would astound you....... Then there was the new livery for E421.....

“Forgotten fields”! Along the Westport Quay line, 1978; lifting slowly in progress. And Tralee’s Rock Street goods yard in 1977. It just occurs to me now - WHY didn’t I put that in “Rails Through North Kerry”!

The 2 on the right and one at the back didn’t put hands up.....

It’s...... Wednesday!!!

More from my pile of comics..... This will be of interest to those of us who are IRRS members. I’ve always been amused at the somewhat quaint descriptions of IRRS tours or trips as “outings”, as if we’re being let out for the day!

I'll take 9 3/4 of them please! Can I pay in loo rolls?

For me, it was early-age indoctrination due to family on both sides. Both grandfather and father started life on the GSR, the latter moving to the LMS in England, then NCC, then GNR and ending up with the UTA. (No doubt they stencilled "U T" on him somewhere....!). My mother worked in GNR dining cars and then the GNR's Bundoran hotel...... other relatives emigrated and worked for railway administrations in the Gold Coast, as it was called, South Africa and Argentina! And closer to home, the timetabling department of the Dublin United Tramways Co........ So I hadn't a hope of doing anything else as a hobby!

Bushmills station, 1947 This was taken by Snr., while perched on the back of a leprechaun, who had no day-glo vest. Ahhhh, I’m only joking. It’s 1st April. The leprechaun DID have a day-glo vest.

More nameboards. Mallow is a PAINTED GSR one, like that still existing in very recent years on the cabin at Cherryville Junction. As such, and on account of the word “Mallow” being a short word, it’s in a more “stretched-out” style of writing. Clonsilla is interesting. On the face of it, it’s a Midland sign - BUT - the Mudland usually didn’t have just the station or location name. They typically had “CLONSILLA STATION SIGNAL CABIN”. So - is this MGWR or very early GSR! The one of Gorey shows the station nameboard, as standard CIE practice, in the 1980s - plus, in this case, a PW train.

The few left, yes, plus the BUTs! Forgot to mention them - and then a bit later some of the MED centre cars became parcels vans for a short time.

Finally, (7) - No 99, above, mid 1980s. I recall standing with another RPSI person in Belfast non-Central around then, and I was introducing him to Sir Myles. Our RPSI colleague had a great wit, which he still retains; let us call him Tarquin*. The conversation went like this: Me: ”Myles, this is one of our regular travellers and a long-standing member, Tarquin”. MH: “Hello, Tarquin, good to meet you” (They shake hands, ignoring social distancing). Tarquin: “nice to meet you too! I think I’ve seen your name on a railcar somewhere!” Sir Myles nearly burst laughing......! (* Not his real name. Do not try this at home. May contain traces of nuts. This call is being recorded for etc etc)

NIR - Some railcars: The one showing the “Enterprise” is 1985. Not often is the driving trailer end seen.... 1. A 70 newly painted at York Road, c.1979. 2. 80 No. 87 in ORIGINAL style of end white marking. They had no end logo. This is about 1974, the first year that the first batch entered traffic, and remaining AEC cars were set aside to be de-engined for a very short career as loco-hauled stock. 3. After their first repainting, they got the “diamond” white patch, with NIR symbol included. This is 86 on an unknown date. 4. 69 newly painted with “citytrack” stickers, c.1979. These were put on MEDs too. I don’t recall seeing them on 70s, but I might be wrong on that. 5. I think this is 68 - the mid 1980s livery. The sets hired by CIE were in this livery. 6. We don't often see the business end of an “Enterprise” push pull driving trailer. Not the most beautiful things on the planet. 1985.

Wowwww!!!!!! I think I had sold it to a guy in England at the time but I really can’t remember who, as I sold a large amount of “railwayana” at the same time.... He must have sold it on....

Yes, the T & D is a curious one. Roadside halts, yes, but not so much stations! And the North Kerry, as you say. Collooney (South) had the navy blue enamel English-only WLWR one to the end, and it lay there long past closure. The whole Collooney - Limerick line had very few. Attymon & Woodlawn still had small MGWR enamels on platform seats until c.1980 at least.

Bagenalstown, yes, and I paid CIE £3 for it in 1977, when I found it lying in the muck inside the former loco shed. CIE put it on a goods train to Dublin, and it went by NIR parcels to Lisburn, where I collected it. Regrettably, I had to sell it in the 1990s. I’d love to know where it is now! Incidentally, the Belmullet area today would be bilingual rather than a true Gaeltacht area. The South Wexford didn’t have GSR enamels, I think. That had to await CIE days. Maybe some of the stations did....? The Achill & Clifden lines never had GSR enamels anywhere.

It matches it, to be fair, and in fact I think it’s the only thing that did - but they never seemed to keep them clean, either....

BEET, 2005. The second last season, and the last I personally saw of them. A recent post elsewhere referred to the fact that the cabs of the 121s were considerably higher than the 141s. Here we can see this. Plus, a 201 at Cherryville with Mk 2s in that ghastly orange, yellow and black livery......

Could be. I wonder did the railwaymen ever call it the “quarry”...... it actually wasn’t a proper loco depot or shed at all - more just a set of loco sidings.