jhb171achill

I like the point rodding. It adds a really realistic touch, as does the backscene blending into a low bank at the back. The wagons look great too - such vehicles were almost never pristine! It would be a pity to "dirty up" that locomotive, but perhaps you've considered it?

I don't know what happened to Senior's survey of the line - I don't think it survived the UTA's purges of paperwork in the early 1960s. I saw a one-page carbon copy of a summary of it, though I don't know where this is now - I certainly haven't got it. Also, he told me about it. Basically, about 1947 - I think - the NCC wondered if it would be worth converting and just sent a civil engineer over it. Senior's report said it was perfectly feasible, with a few tweaks to bridges. Despite the narrowish loading gauge of the original Ballycastle stock, the bridge dimensions were quite generous, allowing the (by Irish standards, huge!) ex-Ballymena & Larne corridor coaches to go to the line later on. (I'd love to have seen those carriages!). The last paragraph gave a summary of costs. These were deemed by the pen-pushers to be too much, given the likely traffic. Had the conversion been completed, the UTA would have closed it anyway. It might have bought the line a few more years, say until 1955, but that would have been that. Station nameboards were black with white letters in earlier NCC times. I think, but am not sure, that station paintwork was green and a lighter colour at one stage, and a buff colour with maroon later. In that case, it is possible that station nameboards changed to buff with maroon edging and writing. If I can dig up more on this I will post it, as I'm unaware of an NCC-era layout.

A vital beast for IRM to measure!

Interesting.... without seeing the full width of the van it's hard to tell which gauge it was. Some of the camping coaches at Ballycastle were old (broad gauge) Belfast & Northen Counties six-wheelers.

Let's see how the grant application goes before writing it off. The success, or lack of it, of this application (which I have seen) will either make or break the whole thing. Lack of volunteers in such a remote location is the major problem for this particular operation.

If there's another run, and correct UTA lining I would take one.

Do we know the origin of the van body - was it a Ballycastle van or a broad gauge one?

It's surprising just how many unusual sets of points were to be found in the past, as well as, of course, square crossings at Dundalk and Limerick junction. There were curved points at several locations, and diamond crossings, slips, and three-way points to be seen here and there. None were common, though, certainly compared with England.

Wow! Amazing looking beast. £285, though.... and in British Rail lining, if the white shown in the picture is accurate in real life..... UTA lining was red and a straw colour. Didn't look a bit like that (maybe it's just the photo).

Quite a few livery options for AEC railcars.... 1. GNR navy & cream 2. CIE light green (post 1955) 3. CIE dark green (with option of top-of-front-roof stripes, as in one example in Wisht Caaark) 4. Black’n’tan 5. Short-lived UTA plain green 6. UTA green with front wasp stripes 7. UTA riviera blue & thin cream window band 8. As above with wide cream band (Both the blue & cream options were very short-lived and only applied to some vehicles) 9. NIR maroon & light grey.

You're thinking of Tralee, where sadly this is the case, and it doesn't look as if it'll change any time soon.

It was operating the other week when I was there and they are submitting a grant application for a number of improvements.

Brake wheels were never red on anything until comparatively recently, nor were bogies multi-coloured until even more recently. Until about 1970, when all normal wagons were grey, brake wheels, bogies, ordinary wheels and running gear were too. Once wagons started being painted brown, all these bits were brown too, including in the fertiliser wagons. I can't recall if any ferts got red brake wheels before they were scrapped. I could be wrong but I very much doubt it. Certainly, no ferts ever had the current style of black bogies with green and blue details. Always brown bogies.

It was the West Clare.

I’m unaware of any land rovers on CIE.....

All of the above, Leslie! Serious point: it is simply not possible to accurately model the 1950-70s period without several staples. Cravens, A & 141 classes, 42ft flats, H vans and corrugated opens, and AEC railcars. Thanks to Messrs. Murphy & IRM we now have all of these bar the AEC. As a reminder to perhaps some of us here who have had fewer birthdays than I, the AEC cars were as integral as an 80 class in a north-based 1970/90s layout. CIE and the GNR has large numbers of them, initially used on the sort of duties ICRs have today, but also commuter traffic. The GNR ones would be divided between CIE and the UTA, later NIR. They were everywhere on the present system (except the NCC, where visits were extremely few). But they also got to Clones and Enniskillen, the Derry Road, Wisht Caaark boy, and Tralee - Limerick - Sligo.

The letters “AEC” just came into my head for some reason.....

I wish I could say otherwise, PorkyP, but a well-meaning fledgling volunteer group was usurped a couple of years ago by a couple of local councillors. Despite great promises made, nothing whatsoever was done. The whole thing is now in ruins.

It’s in bits, well out of use and criminally neglected by Tralee council.

That trackwork looks amazing!

I think the rationale was that even refurbished, they would cost more annually to maintain, while eventually living on a shorter time than the ICRs anyway.

Much as I hate to say it, given traffic requirements on Irish railways, railcars are unfortunately the most efficient way of doing things. If IE were starting this again, push pulls as on the Belfast and Cork routes would be another way of doing things.

A 400 would be amazing! Anything passenger-carrying, 6-wheeled and RTR would have my vote.

I've developed a bit of a soft spot for the little 26's in Cork - the only trains left in which you can open the windows and get fresh air, thus the only trains in Ireland that aren't fixed at sweat-boiling temperatures inside! And the noise of them going up the tunnel..... I liked the 27s for that reason too.

Now THAT is something I’d love to have - 532 was a D16 4.4.0 “Achill Bogie”! And still in GSR grey!