jhb171achill

The top one is Dublin United Tramways - very rare! Only made between 1941 & 1945, then when it became the overall CIE logo, the writing disappeared.

Thank you, Fowler, that explains that bit! Anyone know what gets added on here if posted to Dublin?

Folks, can I ask a few questions, as I’m not getting any joy from Rails of S. I ordered one of everything, including the black’n’tan full brake but excluding the set of 4. Rails sent me invoices for the lot - but included the set of 4, but did not include the BnT one, which I particularly wanted. So I am mightily displeased. I’d be interested to know if anyone else had their orders messed up. But more particularly they want £34.95 per vehicle, which is €42. Not a huge bill for a vehicle of this type, but I’m sure I saw comments on here to the effect that people were paying €29 something (or maybe £29). Can anyone comment on this? An example of one of each results in a total bill of over £500 sterling. It’s not a small amount.

Putin's spying on Meechelle and Jeffrey..........

Ah. I’ve always had a liking for class 31s. Might have consider a temporary renaming of Dugort Harbour, Co Kerry, as Little Wolding on Trent, Suffockshire, Republic of Brexitstan…. cue an invasion of BR 2MT, 4MT, Black 5s, and class 101 railcars…..

Very much so, Leslie!

Yes, very much so. And as an added bonus you’ve the right hand one in oven-ready NCC livery (though they were wooden-panelled into UTA days). Stock like this behind a RTR Jeep would fill a LOT of missing gaps in northern modelling, which like CIE modelling thirty years all too idtdn has to be filling by simple repaints of British stock otherwise unlike anything which ever ran here. When I get a moment I’ll post a list of things suitable for NCC / UTA / early NIR modelling.

Which ones? They’d have the body outline if standard NCC / LMS stock, not anything British Rail related.

For Irish viewers, I have dealt for years with Frank Glennon & Co., now part of some multinational, beside the Charlemont Luas stop. This post has reminded me that my stuff is NOT sinured separately, unless under household contents, but the replacement value of what I have would be significant, so thank you for focussing my mind on this. However, in the PAST, I have had valuable items separately listed. At one stage, following a house clearance of a deceased relative, at one time I had a lot of valuable stuff of hers stored in the house for several years pending distribution to other relatives. At the time, Glennons had no problem including specific separate items. I believe my own normal home policy will cover the layout I have now, but this post has prompted me to check.

Question: where did these typically operate and what locos usually hauled them?

Only two, and they always ran together. And as far as I know they never operated in a normal train formation, only specials and special parties. Very nice, i only ever had one run in them though. And the bar only had Harp(ic) on draught......

Interesting! Any pics of the actual loco? Did they paint it grey and all, or just put a "snail" over whatever BR logo it had?

That has to come about some time. The AECs were as impor5tant to the 1950s and 1960s Irish railway scene as the ICRs are today, to the extent that any layout set anywhere west of the Shannon in particular, but also elsewhere, cannot be completely represented in layout form within that period without them. They were all over CIE, from Tramore to Bantry to (even) Belfast*; from Sligo to Newcastle West to Rosslare. the GNR, of course, had them too - all over the main line, but also the Banbridge and Newcastle branch, the Derry Road, and Portadown - Clones and Enniskillen. (* I once saw a CIE, rather than UTA, AEC set (in orange and black) passing through Lambeg. I do not know whether it was deputising for an Enterprise, or what it was doing there. I'm guessing it was about 1964/5).

I've been derelict in many a place, Galteemore, but only once did I get derelict in Antrim, as I wasn't driving that day................

Derelict at Antrim, late 1960s. Aluminium-repannelled 1920s non-corridor NCC suburban stock, withdrawn mid-60s. Incidentally, note the size of the UTA crest. The bought transfers that are available of both the original 1949-61 "roundel" with the red hand, and the later crest as seen here, are both weel over scale size. I must measure the actual ones some time as I have copies somewhere.... maybe someone can print scale sized ones! (H C A Beaumont collection)

Some re-panelled suburban stock had the line quite close to the bottom of the windows….

Depended on the exact coach design but generally about 3-4 inches below the bottom of the windows, or across the nearest line of beading. Lining was a straw colour, rather than yellow. It was about an inch wide and edged both sides with an extremely thin red line. Coach ends black and roofs mid-grey when fresh, but quickly darkened in use.

Activity at Malahide, from light engines to Taras under a stormy sky, to the 1990s Enterprise….. IMG_1814.mov IMG_1813.mov IMG_1814.mov

“Takin’ photographs o’trains? Lads, ye can’t do it from up THERE!”

“This is only the start of it. Next Tuesday it’s three wagons of crates from North Wall, and every Tuesday after that maybe up to half a dozen of ‘em, for Munster Simms….” ”Jaysus, me back’s killing’ me already! What’s in them?” ”Says machine parts on the papers…”

I believe it will be piles of money.

Precisely the very first thing I thought when I learned of what the overall final plan was to be for this place!

The last Bandon saddle tank was retired in the early 1940s at Albert Quay. But in the parallel universe of Dugort Harbour it was sent to Castletown West, where it eked out an existence as station pilot for another fifteen years. As its final retirement in autumn 1959 approached, the IRRS arranged that it would haul the midday passenger train down to the harbour. The IRRS group got the first Tralee train of the day from Dublin, with the Cork area group joining at Mallow. On arrival at Castletown West, with a specially requested Woolwich up front, they took a bus to the harbour to photograph 472 arriving on what would be its last public train. Over the winter it shunted beet wagons, and was withdrawn the following spring. A few familiar faces in the crowd - do we see Joe St Leger, Beaumont senior, and a youthful Leslie? Well, Beaumont senior will be one of the pair sitting on the guards van roof in the siding…. Note the contrast between the old six-wheeler, its paintwork now badly faded by the west Kerry sea air and mountain winds, and the venerable 1908 GSWR composite, only just out of Inchicore after a major refurbishment and repainting….

A "C" would certainly be logical. They've done so much (as have you, Leslie!) in terms of advancing the 1950s / 60s scene, with "A"s in 1955-72 liveries as well as the more modern ones, that a "C" would fit very obviously into that. As for steam, if 00 Works had not done a J15, I think I'd lay money on that, but a WT might seem an option too, for reasons mentioned elsewhere. Either way, whatever it is, I want one!

Indeed. Well, hopefully it won't be too long; next time I'm due to go to Belfast will be early December. Fingers crossed!