jhb171achill

Depends on their budget! Yes, the Fry stuff will be mostly in glass cases. The new layout will be 00 scale, thus the Fry stuff of a larger scale wouldn’t be able to operate on it anyway. Careful wording in marketing materials will therefore be of great importance!

It’s as good as certain that 186 was the first of the class in Portadown. Any visit of a southern engine to the GNR was never going to be likely. The BCDR managed to have a GSR (ex DSER) loco on loan at one stage, and the NCC and GNR swooped 4.4.0s at another time. I think that in that short window at the end of the 1950s, the GNR and steam, a J15 may have got to Drogheda or even Dundalk, but Portadown would have to be a stage too far in CIE times, let alone GNR days like 1956. However, poetic licence....... “something” has broken down, at the very time that a J has unusually got to Dundalk; there’s the excuse!

I think I recall seeing 018 about the time of my 18th birthday in newish supertrain livery.... Drogheda, I think....!

The loose coupled trains largely disappeared in 1975, though a few operations continued a little longer. Loco livery would be “supertrain” with an occasional black’n’tan still about. Wagon livery for 1973-5: Goods vans: about two thirds of them were brown all over, rest grey all over. A handful of the grey ones still with snails. Open wagons: no wooden sided ones left in traffic. Bullied opens all grey (and dirt!) all over. Brake vans: all brown. No grey ones left in traffic. Fitted container flats: all brown. Carriages: all black’n’tan except new Mk 2. Don’t forget: nothing ever had a black chassis or roof. Brown wagon - brown chassis. Grey wagon - grey chassis. If you go for 1971-3, fewer brown wagons, fewer supertrain liveried locos. Prior to 1972, all locos black’n’tan. Prior to 1970, no brown wagons, but a few wooden opens still about. Hope that’s helpful.

Gauge 1 would be easier to model simply because fiddly details are larger and more manageable! The smaller the gauge, the more unforgiving it is for anything but the finest high quality engineering, straight lines and clumsy painting! But of course it needs space.

Colours are absolutely SPOT on. Those curtains looked darker when clean.

What a beast!

Well, I believe he wasn't even there when he didn't do it.

"Tesco Special Horse Meat Van Box"! Three for 79p stg...... every little helps! Made out of genuine British Horse! 1.00% natural! (product of Zyxclistan) Contains: E342, E309, Cylohitsafgh Substitute, 190g genetically modified American sugar corn syrup, 890g salt, E443, monosodiumate glucosamine-glycol, petrol, desiccated rat proteins, horse extract, rabbit dropping, arsenic (tesco special recipe), horse meat, E1098, clarified granite extract, Trump extract, Brexit juice, Artificially inseminated jihobi seeds, extremist Islamic texts, MGWR modified ballast extract, paraquat, strawberry jam.

Post Brexit, Tesco will have their cheque book out......

Ah! It’ll have to be another time - I’m in Thailand.....

Repaint? Green or grey? Nice either way - the above green is too light. Nice model. Love to see an 0 gauge loco like this in action.

Interesting, Tony - that would have been during my dad’s time as District Engineer in Enniskillen.

Excellent news, Leslie! (awaits 803 and 804 being built!)

He'd be overqualified. I'd like to see one o'those Inchicore types produce finescale kits like he does!

I've a vague notion it was a dark bluish or grey colour at first, but (filthy!) brown at the end.

Norman Foster has some good logs of them - must ask when I see him.

It was an experimental beet container, and only the one was made. It only got about 2 or 3 seasons before beet finished.

Talking of which, J15s could dis turn at times. Senior wasn't a “timer” as such, but like me did it a small number of times just for the experience. He was out and about one day, and found himself at Port Laoise. The normal train he was due to get back to Dublin had a 400 class on it - he had been hoping for an 800. The signalman told him there was an extra following it. He decided to await the extra just to see what it had. The main train arrived, heavily laden, and departed. Then came the extra. It was a J15 with (I think) about six old maroon wooden bogies and maybe a six wheeler. “Wish I’d gone with the 400”, he thought. Up he hopped onto the footplate (as he often did; his solitary trip to Burtonport had been aboard a 4.8.0!), and off went the loco - reaching speeds of well over 60, and with very smart acceleration, as he recalled..... the crew seemed determined to flog it! It was probably between 1940 and 1943. Even then, the GSR could pull more than a few rabbits out of hats. Bob Clements also recalled some very smart performances from J15s on passenger trains.

If you look at the pics of my grandfather's model, from which the actual GSWR paint was matched, you'll notice that I deliberately took pictures of it in sunshine, natural light shade, and artificial light. In photos, the variation is remarkable. This also explains the variation in recollections of the real thing. If anything, the real thing looks slightly darker even than the above pic. Good to see the correct coloured "snail"; none were ever white, yellow or anything else. Cabside numbers pale yellow - I'm presuming that's what's on here. Eye witnesses said that when newly painted, the grey had "bluish" tint. This was evident when 186 was correctly painted grey by the RPSI about ten years ago (she still has it in Whitehead museum), and on the above model. In traffic, especially in CIE days, they got very dirty very quickly, and tended to stay that way. Thus, a heavy dose of weathering is a good thing to have! Wheels grey too, by the way, and buffer stocks. Easy to organise!

It is, Irishrail201. It’s an exact copy from actual Inchicore grey paint. I now have a problem! I am DROOLING so much, I’m having trouble sending the payment for my two of these beautiful beasts!!!!!

The late Billy Lohan of Tuam, who I interviewed in detail many years ago, told me that in his time at Tuam shed, the allocation was always 6 or 7 J15s. He recalled being told, when he joined the GSWR as a cleaner in 1919 that he had to “polish the locomotive till the lining shone”. It is likely that many engines of the class served this route over the years - the above plus 171 (which, of course, would stick in my own mind) and others. When I get home I’ll look for the list.

The The grey first appeared according to some reports in 1918, but others suggest 1925. Prior to that it was shiny black, very nicely lined in red, or earlier still in red and white. In GSR days, all grey without exception. In CIE days, everything was grey until about 1957-ish. In the very last few years of steam, very few locomotives were repainted at all, thus many ended their days in a coating of oil, rust, soot and filth. Of the few engines that WERE repainted, some were repainted black. One Bandon Tank got it, No. 90 seems to have been black only for its last eighteen months in traffic, for example. Bob Clements passed a list on to me at one stage of what engines became black. However I have been unable to locate it; I have obviously misfiled it at some stage. From recollection, he either implied - or stated as fact - that no J15 was ever painted black. Several photos of J15s during the 1958-62 period appear to show them in black - but dirt on grey, and the limitations of photographic film back then, plus frequent poor light, can easily give this impression. The old GSWR lines black would look amazing! No. 171 is one J15 (no, Leslie, not the blue one!) that was known to work the “Burma Road” in the late 1910s / early 20s.

The pre-1915 black would have to be lined if authentic......! (Runs and hides!) I must look up my notes and see when they changed from red and white to red only lining.... Cast number plates were always black-background with the various pre-1895 green liveries. They seem to have been red background in lines black days. Once grey came in - ALL grey! Any CIE engines which survived to get black paint after 1957 had painted numbers, no plates. One, or possibly two of the CBPR 2.4.2Ts which went to the C & L ended up - once there - with red-backed numberplates, as did 801 and 802 after about 1953 anyway. J15s corresponded to the above, of course. Incidentally, many models of grey locos have bought numberplates on them with shiny numerals and black backgrounds. If accuracy is wanted, they would be grey background in all cases. Raised numerals painted light yellow. These numberplates weren't brass, they were gunmetal or cast iron or something, usually. So they were painted.

The grey first appeared according to some reports in 1918, but others suggest 1925. Prior to that it was shiny black, very nicely lined in red, or earlier still in red and white. In GSR days, all grey without exception. In CIE days, everything was grey until about 1957-ish. In the very last few years of steam, very few locomotives were repainted at all, thus many ended their days in a coating of oil, rust, soot and filth. Of the few engines that WERE repainted, some were repainted black. One Bandon Tank got it, No. 90 seems to have been black only for its last eighteen months in traffic, for example. Bob Clements passed a list on to me at one stage of what engines became black. However I have been unable to locate it; I have obviously misfiled it at some stage. From recollection, he either implied - or stated as fact - that no J15 was ever painted black. Several photos of J15s during the 1958-62 period appear to show them in black - but dirt on grey, and the limitations of photographic film back then, plus frequent poor light, can easily give this impression. The old GSWR lines black would look amazing! No. 171 is one J15 (no, Leslie, not the blue one!) that was known to work the “Burma Road” in the late 1910s / early 20s.