jhb171achill

Absolutely superb stuff.

The “self heating coaches” as you mention are described in 1960, when some are still being converted as such, but even then it’s clear the writing is on the wall. More tin vans are being built.

1960 I'm reading forward from January 1960. First thing of interest is that in 1959/60, ten "C"'s were fitted with electric heating equipment. Clearly, it was not to prove successful, as subsequently tin vans were used. It seems that lining was first added to green-repainted As and Cs once they were repainted from silver, but new paint jobs (green, obviously) were seen by April 1960 with no lining. In spring 1960, we see the first instance of an ex-GNR dining car on a CIE line - Westland Row to Galway; plus a CIE diner (No. 2400) appearing on the Enterprise. Meanwhile, branch closures abound. Some lines are in an advanced stage of having track lifted, others are just closed, and announcements are being made that others are either under threat, or rumoured to be, or notices have been published. Interestingly, the West Clare, now Ireland's last narrow gauge system, is thriving and traffic is heavy. CIE appear to be making positive noises about its future (ten months before closure!) - so that's all right, then! By summer 1960, CIE have 140 steam engines nominally on their books. Many, however, are long out of use. 800, 801 and "Sambo" are among them. Almost half of the surviving steam engines are J15s. The UTA have started putting their full coat of arms on rolling stock, and repainting ex-GNR locos. It is thus certain that no GNR loco in UTA livery ever bore the older "Red Hand" emblem. On CIE, the first repaint of a GNR dining car into green has taken place, at the same time that the UTA paint an ex-GNR diner (88) in their dark green. By summer 1960, the UTA is starting to put the "wasp" stripes on railcars, and the first ex-GN BUT car has received UTA green. Closures abound again: now the West Cork, West Clare and Tramore lines are scheduled for closure. All are reporting record traffic! Thank you, Todd Andrews; you're responsible for both this AND Tubridy. Ghastly. The IRN mentions that the obviously planned closure of the West Clare is doubtless the reason that CIE didn't seek an stock off the Donegal. One would have thought railcars 19 and 20 would have come in handy, plus some carriages. Elsewhere, the IRN expresses incredulity that CIE would propose closing four Dublin suburban halts, and raises eyebrows at some closure policies. This is the difference between this periodical and the IRRS journal: we have here a refreshing look at the railway through open, measured eyes. The IRRS Journal has, inexplicably, throughout its 60+ year life, never, ever criticised the railway, even when clearly warranted. We'll finish 1960 and I'll come back to this in a while. I'm off on holiday for two weeks so expect radio silence for a while after this post!

Believe it or not, I meant to write 15p sterling, or about 17 cents! So there’s two free extra cents!

This is not meant to be an exhaustive deluge of stuff from this source, but I was prompted to delve in regard to the (justifiably) growing interest in the earlier history of A class diesels, in particular their appearance. Over time, I’ll throw in whatever other details strike me as being of possible interest to modellers. A subscription cost the equivalent of 15c in 1960......!

001 wasn't the only one to get this early shaded style. Several 141/181 class did too, as well as other As. It didn't last long. I'm unaware of any 121s ever having it, though I could be wrong, and most certainly no 101 did. The lighter green had variously lining and no lining; two varieties, not counting the rarer dark green. There's something niggling the back of my mind regarding the dark green. It is easy, given lighting and dirt and different camera film, to occasionally mistake the darker bus green for the post-55 railway green. I'm pretty sure there was nothing like as much dark green on "A"s as seems to be assumed; I will search for concrete information if I get a chance today.

Nor here! A load of children's bikes pilfered recently!

That is (yet another) masterpiece, David!

It's just a great shame that you can't photograph anything in a glass case because of the glare.....

I did a double take there as one of them looked like one of my dad’s! On comparing, his is of the same class of loco and a similar angle! My dad’s NCC photos were taken between (from memory) 1944 and 1947.

I'm sure Boris could tell us that leaving the EU will give the UK enough to buy 62 new buses every day for every bus route from Lands End to John O'Groats!

That's the beast for me, then!

Wow! This will be one to watch!

One could look real, the other far away................ (I'll just get me coat......)

You almost think it WAS painted brown!! Yellow is a very impractical colour for railways......

Likewise, I don’t see it as much of interest.

Wow! ......"proper" cranes from the days before just about everything maintenance-wise was sheep-dipped in garish yellow! If they're for sale.....?

It must contain nuts!

You need to speak sharply to your car and discipline it.

Sorry to hear that, Andy. RIP. It was good to meet you at Cultra, and I thought Castlederg was easily the best layout on show that day.

Me too, Tony! I only decided to go on the spur of the moment late the night before! And I had to be gone by 12!

Interesting shot! Charles has made a masterpiece of research into this little known subject.

The Castlederg one was truly a work of genius. So incredibly realistic, despite the smallish scale. For this type of layout, Andy has very much set the standard. I hadn't met him before either, so that was a privilege in itself. Great to see you and family again too, Patrick.

Superb!

Great to meet so many of our small community at Cultra this morning. I had to meet my cousins in the afternoon (non-negotiable family event!), so I left Dublin at 8 a.m., drove to Cultra (hardly any traffic!), and spent the best part of two hours there. The drive back, punctuated by a 20 minute catnap in a layby and coffee in Applegreen, had me home by 3. Great venue, except that the 12ins - 1ft exhibits are far too close together; photography is quite impossible. Equally, all the things in glass cases like the GSWR dining car model, or Drew Donaldson's locomotives, are also impossible to photography because of the glare on the glass. You can't even see them properly. The model of the 500 class (was that one of Montgomery's?) is hidden in a corner, impossible to view properly. The curved pathway makes a journey to the loo into a major expeditionary voyage. But the layouts were great! And some of the static models were truly outstanding. Looking forward to the next one!