jhb171achill

And it’s off to town in 1966…..only two passengers this morning, and they’re in the van sharing a flask of tea with Johnny the guard, while they discuss the great issues of the day, like whether Ed will get his car fixed by Tuesday, and what is to be done about Michael’s cow shed roof. Meanwhile, Tom, alone in the cab, contemplates a job offer driving a post office van in Manchester, where his daughter lives…..

A shot taken from a moving car of the last train of the day passing Carrowmore Bog, in 1946, with a newly-outshopped 170 and a train of six-wheelers….

“Ye wouldn’t think of gettin’ up here and giving me a hand?” ”I looked in the shed - the other shovels are away with the PW lot…”

This is what I’m thinking! I would take some myself.

Question to our learned friends here: Hattons report very healthy interest in the CIE-livery coaches. Doubtless many here (meself included) have pre-ordered some. Would anyone be interested in a GSR-liveried range? Obviously, when CIE took over not everything had green paint slapped over it that very second. As we’ve seen with the 29 class railcars, it took over ten years for the last of them to become “green goddesses”. There was one C & L coach still in GSR maroon (albeit badly faded) as late as 1956. Thus, any early CIE layout could have a mix of newly-CIE’d coaches, and others still maroon….. So, for a layout of 1933-45 + a bit after…..? Thoughts?

Yes, it would; but not necessarily in the exact same building, perhaps? I’ve a notion that cabin was at the least very substantially modernised from its original form more recently.

That is just stunning!

I don't think it was original GSWR - more like 1960s CIE rebuild...?

Ghastly news. Commiserations - hope things get sorted out as well as they can, as soon as.

Not Dugort, but a steamy scene st a friend’s layout today. It’s 1959, and a UTA Jeep is visiting Dublin, seen here among three “Woolwich” types…

There’s worse disruption to services nowadays than the very worst periods of the Troubles!

"Installation of a locomotive"? Looks like recovery of a wreck!

No worse than a J15, but with limited distance ability due to smaller coal space, useless for long RPSI journeys, unfortunately.

I’m thinking a useful, common 0.6.0 maybe, but not the J15. Many possibilities.

Surely the 5 wheeled ones might be better?

She’s probably be too heavy on coal to make her economic to run there. It’s just 2 miles or so to Inch Abbey but to just light up a loco like that is £100+ of coal. If a typical loading was five packed bogies you’d recoup that but not with normal passenger numbers.

And only (likely to be) operational branch loco! The GNR one would require, I am told by reliable sources, a rebuild of such massive proportions that it would be (like 90!) virtually a replica engine - and thus holessly uneconomic fo9r an outfit like the DCDR to contemplate. All three surviving GSWR locos which would suit preservation - 90, 184 & 186 - were substantially altered over the course of their careers. 186 for one, and also 90, lost most of their original components in the 1910s - probably 184 too.

In the 11 or 12 years I volunteered there I never saw anything remotely like that

Indeed! GNR 93 is actually the only other potential alternative. "Lough Erne" is a shell, and BCDR 30 in Cultra is little better.

Excellent news; a point of order, though, if I may: the GNR 2.4.2T in Cultra is another surviving br4anch line loco...it and its type worked on the Belturbet branch regularly.....

Few of them had snails - only the first lot…. I can produce a suitable photo from Fry’s stuff - will try to find it. Most spent most of their lives with no logos, so your kits are 100% fine!

Correct. No Bullied wagon ever carried any logo on the side. Some of the first had a small snail stencil on the (grey) CHASSIS, but that didn’t last long.

That looks absolutely amazing. You can smell the sea air and chipper van….

Yes, those pics are indeed the junction. I didn’t explain well - I meant he got to Rathkenny…..

Yes