jhb171achill

Indeed you are, as it is - the one on the left is most certainly “silver”. The right-hand one is green. The “proof” of these things in green is to be seen on the two examples preserved. While I can’t right now (being out of the country) put me hands to any pic of a green one, I’m sure I’ve seen it - but - even if I was totally mistaken, the paint traces on the preserved ones stand. Anything older than 1955-built obviously went from pre-‘55 dark lines green to the lighter green to BnT; obviously never being “silver”. There was one oul crate of a (6-wheel) TPO thing built in 1877 - STILL in use until about 1960! I’ll see what else I can dig up.

VERY realistic scenery!

Yes. In one of O’Dea’s pics above, one is green, the other silver. I've seen pics elsewhere but can’t put me finger to them right now - however, in terms of evidence, more importantly, of the two preserved ones at least one showed green paint under the BnT. As mentioned, beasts like these often had long waits to meet paintbrushes, so as can be seen, a disproportionate number skipped the ”green era”, going straight from filth (“silver”!!) to black’n’tan. Well into BnT days, I saw one so dirty that you could barely see the white line above window level.....

Those 2 pics - both very definitely “silver”. A point for modellers - anything at all in “silver” - be it a coach, Tom van or A or C class loco - the roofs were too. In photos they often look darker (and they were!), but this is pure dirt, not grey or black paint. A bit like the domes on GNR (blue) and CDR locos - often taken as black, but actually blue / red! ”Silver” CIE locos and rolling stick also had chassis the same - not a paintbrush went near them! Ghastly appearance....though one at least in my layout is going to have to happen at some stage......

Basically, any TPO built before 1955 was green from the outset, BnT after 1963. Anything built 1955-57 was turned out in silver (roof / ends / bogies included; dark colour is dirt), but repainted green 1958-62, BnT after 1963. This applies to 4 or 6 wheeled, or bogies equally. Since TPOs tended not to be a bother to painters too often, the very odd vehicle skipped the green and went from unpainted, through nondescript dirt, to BnT without seeing green. Jimmy O’Dea’s stuff shows filthy-silver alongside green in many types of passenger stock in the 1955-62 period.

I can’t speak for numbers but some of these did become green, obviously not for long once BnT came in. TPOs certainly didn’t get the TLC given to passenger-carrying vehicles. Either the DCDR or the An Post / RPSI one (can’t remember which, maybe both) showed green paint under the black’n’tan. That one’s green, anyway.

Me too; neither fingers nor eyes are what they were!

Yes, me too - badly faded green! I strongly suspect they never repainted those boards after original painting!

O U C H!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope they’re not damaged.....

Good point, DiveController.... fading does some strange things! I’ve watched the way some paints have faded over the years, out of interest. Some greens, for example, fade to a yellowy colour, while some others - despite being the same green when fresh, fade to a bluish-grey shade. That yoke at Downpatrick has Indeed faded to a form that might reasonably be deduced to be something like red (or orange?) and cream, but I would have to say that it’s (albeit misleadingly!) originally a lightish green and a “p & t” browny-Green colour.

I remember those vans SO well!!

St Fert, St Bubble, St Ballast and the Saint of the Forty-Two Feet.

Is that a Wrenn tank engine on the passenger train? I had one of those - big solid things. Wish I still had it. Out of idle curiosity, if anyone else had one of those (4MT, I think the number was 80054), did you find that if you ran it chimney first, the 4-wheel bogie just wouldn’t stay on the track - it kept derailing? I always had to run mine bunker-first. Also, would it be possible in this day and age to DCC-chip a thing like that?

It is indeed the goods yard crane. My earlier remarks, btw, referred to steam cranes. The CDR, LLSR, T & D, C & L, and most main line companies had “hand cranes” as well, dotted all over the place.

Ah. OK. Relating to the various posts above, and in a spirit of helpfulness: 1. Dunno where IFM got red and white. They were never that, in any livery. They were as shown in the pics. 2. The upper pic shows a newly painted one - post office green with lettering in a pale creamy-greenish colour. The lower pic shows the same thing, badly faded as they usually were.

Do the “p & t” logos come from the manufacturer?

V E R Y well deserved, congratulations. That water tower is pure Midland Magic.

interesting! So, the following locations for them, one each: NCC - York Road WLWR - Limerick (to GSWR) GSWR - Inchicore GSWR - Cork MGWR - Broadstone DWWR/DSER - Grand Canal St GNR - Dundalk (I wonder if the GNR has had more earlier due to pre-1876 amalgamations?) None on narrow gauge, but I wonder about West Cork. There was some sort of a thing at Albert Quay but I’m not sure if it was steam.

Indeed! I found that out some years ago when I narrowly missed some railway artefacts that i wanted!

Fair comment; consider Magowan included. It's probably best to say "Tighe and others", or just state "non-Fry".... there are also a number of off-the-shelf "bought" models in there, whose provenance is uncertain. Some of the old "0" gauge Hornby stuff were, according to Fry's daughter, "definitely" not in their house, and there's even some 00 gauge 1960s stuff. In hours, I'm off to Tenerfire - when i come back, meetings will take place about what on earth is to happen to all of the non-Fry stuff, including Magowans.

That's not a bad price at all......! Well done....

The grass isn't too bad, but a bit overscale.

It's entirely the wrong gauge, and hasn't got enough rivets......

Very much so, and in theory still would. Once the RPSI has finally vacated the loco shed, and the fact that it's now on a greenway, and has the turntable, there's certainly still potential there to re-use the listed loco shed. Of course, maybe CIE have other uses for it, like watching it fall down..... the whole Galway side of the station has been preserved in aspic for years - a perfect use for it.

Wow! I never knew about it blowing up then! (CIE grey, yes...)