jhb171achill

I don't believe that there was - if so, my grandfather, who would have been very familiar with such things, never mentioned anything about it.... my late father did mention something, though, about fellas with stop watches on trial runs of 800 to Portlaoise in 1939, on which he hitched a lift....

One observation - it seems that within the terminal there are no run round facilities, and the only means of crossing from one platform to another is via the green crossover at the top. This would mean that a train entering the terminus would have to leave the same platform (whichever it is) running "wrong line"; thus reversing. Would it not be better to have a connectiuon between one platform road and the other within the station for operational purposes?

“Knockloughrim” means “the hill of the stony ridge”. Possible fodder for a Patrick-pun-based back story? We will listen, stony-faced….

Outstanding, as always.

By an extremely long way, these and tin vans are by far the biggest gaps. Imagine trying to model anywhere west of the Shannon - or several other places too - without an ICR. Not possible. Many today simply don’t realise how the AEC cars absolutely monopolised many main line services for some fifteen years or more - and not just on main lines. Cork-Bantry, latterly, had a virtually 100% diet of such things, as had Tramore, of all places, and even Belfast - Clones. As for tin vans, equally essential and over an even longer period.

Correct. In reality, they’re utterly unlike anything which CIE or any of its constituent companies ever possessed - they’re an exact equivalent of a BR “Blue Pullman” masquerading as a Donegal railcar, by slapping red and cream paint on it. They are indeed standard LMS designs. The dark green isn’t quite right, and the lining is far too wide. BUT: the positives. 1. Cheap way of a representation of steam era coaches, acceptable to many as a reasonable compromise, and alternative to complex scratch building. 2. Part of a “train set” with a “Woolwich” K class. 3. Biggest advantage of the lot; while I said the green isn’t quite right for CIE (though it’s not a million miles off), it actually IS a reasonable approximation to UTA Green - and being a successor to the LMS NCC, the UTA (and early NIR) did indeed have vehicles this design, brought over here when the AfD’s grandfathers bombed Belfast’s NCC carriage sidings in the 1940s. I travelled in them, with their musty-smelling upholstery, in the 1960s. (Provincial Leslie will recall them too, operating out of Londonwaterside station!). So scrape the CIE stuff off, add UTA stuff, and stick a “Jeep” up front (rtr, anyone?) and say ye go. Better still, buy the LMS ones, alter the lettering to NCC version, and model that MOST neglected Irish railway, the NCC! As an aside, the Derry Central, along with the Dungiven, Draperstown and Ballyclare branches, are perfect layout fodder….. As a further aside, I believe the last steam-era coach in passenger service was an ex-NCC 1926-built open third, latterly used as an intermediate, complete with old varnished wooden seat frames, in an MED railcar set as late as about 1981/2. I travelled in that a number of times, the last being in a state of pleasant inebriation after some sort of music festival…

I doubt very much if a C would have caused problems.

August 1965, and they were used for unloading boats. They were rail-borne, I believe on their own track. Dunno what gauge they were.

1000%

And there was me thinking the turf burner looked odd!

If I was an East German Bunker, I'd be perturbed at being compared to that ugly edifice, which to this day disgraces the area.........

"Promptly demolished" THAT? What narrow-minded buffoons. Not just Cavan, but Ireland in general, has no proper official interest in built heritage. Who remembers Wood Quay!

The signals there are presumably controlled by a Portacabin?

As a long-standing and happy owner of many Provincial kits, I’d be the first to say that Leslie’s contribution to Irish 00 scale models is every bit as huge as that of IRM. Years ago we had to be content with anything from a British Mk 1 coach painted black & tan, or a British or French diesel painted orange. Then along came St Patrick of Murphy, and others. No matter how finescale a rake of Cravens, Park Royals or anything else, seeing them swishing round a layout behind an orange-painted British Rail class 33 just doesn’t cut it. Similarly, an IRM “A” class wouldn’t look right hauling old BR Mk 1s, be they green or black & tan. Yet, less attention has been paid to wagons, by modellers and manufacturers alike (IRM in recent times being a very notable exception). As recent posts by Mol will starkly illustrate, Irish wagons were in almost all cases thoroughly unlike anything across the water, especially the smaller systems like the NCC, BCDR, DSER & CBSCR. THEIR designs were unlike anything else in Ireland, never mind the Neighbouring Island. Yet many a highly developed, accurate exhibition layout has perfect scenery, well-researched highly (historically) accurate locos, coaches and station layouts - then the goods comes through with LMS long-wheelbase cattle wagons (unlike anything which ever ran on a solitary railway here), GWR parcel vans, BR steel mineral wagons, and a standard BR brake van. Maybe some bright yellow private owners from Northamptonshire Spa-on-the-Wold to add colour. Illusion burst! But there was nothing else for those without the time to scratch build! So it was very refreshing when Provincial’s “proper” CIE cattle trucks appeared, as well as Bullied opens, and the standard types of goods vans used - with only detail variations - but the GNR, MGWR, GSWR and later GSR and CIE. Leslie also produced authentic brake vans, which while only two in number, were carefully chosen to represent the vast majority of Ireland’s railway mileage; covering (as they do), GSWR, GNR, plus successors GSR, CIE, UTA, and in the case of just two tatty, battered oul GNR examples, even early NIR ballast trains. If I thought you were truly “retiring”, Leslie, I’d wish you a very happy retirement - but I suspect you’ll still be tippin’ away at something for many moons to come! Keep ‘er lit!

A very valid point, which many - if not most - preservation bodies would do well to take on board.

Standard dark CIE green and pale green diagonal.

Yes. All or almost all navy blue at first. Petunia infiltrates quite soon, but remains minority. White much later, but never replaced the other colours, thus an all-white-roofed train as in unlikely though not impossible.

Interesting re the Bell containers. While available models all (I think?) have white roofs, these appeared later on. Originally, they were mostly the dark blue. I don’t remember seeing a “petunia” roof myself, but quite possible.

Yes, there was nothing much after 1931! The line spent over half its life with little or no traffic of any sort, and even less regular!

I’ve working timetables for the line more or less fully from 1926 to closure, if that’s any use. Until early 30s, two mixed trains a day. Consist would have been a J15, a brake third and a 1st / 3rd composite, both six wheelers, plus maybe half a dozen goods vans or wagons.

Fenit, a few of the pics from from Rails Through North Kerry… showing the pier, cranes and a few beet trains, more or less the sole traffic in later years. Note a highly unusual livery variation in pic 4 - number on wagon end!

I'm afraid it's long out of print, and I only have my own copy! Might be worth contacting Colourpoint Creative (the publisher) in Newtownards just in case they find any in their warehouse! It sold out in a flash, which pleasantly surprised Barry and myself. (We've No. 5 in the series in preparation, but it's a long way away geographically, and a long way of time-wise as both of us are up to our eyes with a million other things!) I'll put up pics later. Exactly - that's what Dugort Harbour is based on, though set in West Kerry.

A perfect potential location is a place called Inishlyre in Co Mayo, just north of Westport. There was a serious proposal in the 1890s to construct a small branch off the Achill line to serve a proposed new harbour there (which never materialised). Had the line been built - and it nearly was - it would have ended in nothing more than a run-round loop and a single adjacent siding, which would have continued onto a new pier. Pulling together references to this proposal, plus an on-site survey by me last year, it would appear that it would have ended up something like this - if anything, the perfect small-space shunting layout. Add another siding for the craic and away ye go. There is nor reference in MGWR papers to any proposed buildings at all, but it's likely there might have been some sort of small rudimentary shed.

There are a few pics of Fenit in my (and Barry Carse’s) book “Rails Through North Kerry”, which show the cranes too. What is below is based on a planned branch off the Achill line to a place called Inishlyre in Co. Mayo.

Usually the interior had a mid brown from floor to waist level, and cream above that. I don’t recall any variants, but there could well have been. The inside of the end verandas on ALL brake vans on all lines was the exterior body colour. Before anyone cites the fact that Whitehead's “Ivan” van has cream inside its balconies, that is wrong…..!