jhb171achill

Correct, indeed! An Irish Rail one, the whole way through? I had thought it was NIR ones.... Interesting, Ernie, many thanks!

Many thanks for that recommendation, Noel, much appreciated. Barry and I have several vague ideas about a third volume in the series, and as it happens I’m off to call with him this evening! A goods volume may indeed be interesting, and one project we had (albeit only vaguely) considered would include quite a bit of fertiliser and beet. As always, as a schoolteacher of mine used to say at exam time, “time is of the essence”!

Until 1965, steam engines and loose-coupled trucks (generally looking extremely dishevelled / neglected). After the UTA abolished all internal goods traffic and the Derry Road closed, MPD cars (2 or 3 together) were used generally, but as the 1970s progressed, these were gradually replaced by 70 class cars. Waterside station in Derry usually had a single MPD car as a shunter in the late sixties and early seventies. The CIE engine would bring the Derry goods as far as Lisburn, where it would be left in the back platform for the UTA / NIR railcars to pick up. CIE locos worked the Belfast goods first to Grosvenor Road, later to Adelaide. The CIE engine shunted Belfast after 1972; the ex BCDR diesel plus the CIE loco before that, and steam up to about 1968/9, usually Jeeps. The CIE motive power was usually pairs of 121/141/181s. As mentioned, very short lived timber traffic operated in the 1990s. I am not sure of the exact dates. This traffic, plus fertiliser traffic was also operated between Dundalk and Lisburn by CIE / IE, but as the 70 class cars were withdrawn in the early 1980s, NIR diesels took over. The three Hunslets had a turn, especially 102 but rarely 103; later the three 071s (111/2 especially; 113 less often). The second hand C class locos were occasionally used in the mid 1990s. By the time the Adelaide goods traffic ended (was that, I think, about ten years ago?), motive power was still inevitably “pairs” - variously 121, 141 and 181 classes. I recall 133 & 135 on it quite often, but I’m sure they all had a go. I never once saw a CIE / IE 071 on goods in the north. I can’t say with certainty that not one ever did, but I think it unlikely. If an 071 ever DID deal with goods to the north, it would have been an extremely rare one-off. Perhaps others might be able to clarify this.

Yes, neither an A nor anything else had the “tanner” and the “more orange” shades together - it was one or the other.

Aaaaarrrrggghhhh what did yiz post those pictures of all the different liveries for! Now I’m going to have to buy at least one and maybe two or three more!! Incidentally, has 027 got an 071-style white roundel, or is it just the illustration?

The wagon in the photo looks new, yet the “TARA” isn’t green. I wonder if it is s hastily-arranged paper one for a photo-shoot? I saw a whole rake brand-new and they all had lime green writing.

Yes, that was one of the 2 (or 3?) rakes of old wooden coaches kept for excursion use. They were all, as far as I know, ofswr origin - mostly corridor but a few non-corridor. Several survive - the DCDR's 837, now restored and in use; 1287, which is the staff room on the DCDR but not operational, and I think 1142 and 1097 may have come from that source too. I never travelled in them, but I certainly remember the black noisy diesels, and the noisy exhausts of the AEC, BUT and MED railcars!

That’s 207, and UTA AEC railcar sets, no doubt! Mine are of UG class locos, Jeeps and wooden carriages with a strong smell of damp in them (Lisburn, Portadown and Great Victoria Street), and big black diesels and AEC cars in Westland Row....

I now have two of Jim’s buses and they are excellent kits and easy to assemble. I had the great pleasure of meeting him at the regent show some weeks ago. He is very knowledgable about the bus world in general. I’ll eventually be going back to him for another bus. I've seen a model of his UTA double decker - a friend of mine has one - and it too is an excellent model, especially when it’s as expertly painted as my friend has it. For a layout based in the fifties, one of those P class half-cabs looks well. When I’m operating in the grey, green & J15 era, it’s parked in front of the station. When it’s black’n’tan time, it’s replaced by s red and cream E class, as seen all over rural Ireland in the mid sixties.

They had a fleet of low bridge double deckers. I remember seeing several at Ballymena about 1964.

I had an idea that the writing was in a lime green colour on a white background initially, certainly when I first saw them. However, the above (superb) photo shows a brand new one, and the writing could hardly have faded to the above colour in that short time - or is the writing not complete, ie what’s showing above is an undercoat orcrcperimental colour? Discuss......!

Saw that, warbonnet! My error..... But I'm wondering now - what DID have blue wheels or bogies! I know the Asahi ones were the same dark green as the chassis.....

Were they? I’m sure I saw blue....? Maybe I’m thinking of the wheel sets on the 4-wheeled “curtain” cement wagons..... There’s my next research project!

Excellent! I'll check these out. Thanks!

In recent years, all remaining wagons tend to exit Limerick with black bogies and multi-coloured bits, as shown on the models. For those modelling, say, the 1990s, it's worth pointing out (given the excellent level of accuracy in all details on these wagons) that bogies plus all their assorted gubbins were all-brown. In their original blue state, bogies and buffers were blue too.

In reality, while obviously not intended in the model, it was not unusual to find locos with things like that in real life! Especially older locos that had been around a lot for a long time...... I saw some incredibly lopsided engines in normal service in India and Indonesia in the 1970/80s!

1965 The former GNR diesel, now CIE’s K801 (another “800” class!) had done little work since CIE got it. One wonders what the UTA might have used it for, had they got it in in 1958? Probably shunting at Great Victoria Street….. However, towards the end of 1964 it had been in use on the Cork suburban services before it was sent to Inchicore for repairs. Lengthy delays in getting the right spares from Germany resulted in a long layover there, but in the New Year it was ready to go back. However it failed while running light back to Cork, having only made it as far as Sallins, so it was back to Inchicore. The thing rarely turned a wheel again, despite being repainted from CIE green to the all-black CIE livery it bore on the only occasion when I ever saw it. By the spring, there was a clear distinction in the diesel fleet. Passenger services were still AEC railcars in some cases, especially on Greystones to Dublin, and Dublin – Howth and Dundalk; but Waterford used them on main line trains too. Elsewhere, virtually all passenger work, including Cork suburban, was loco-hauled, absolutely dominated by the 121 and 141 class. On the other hand, most goods was A class. A pair of “yanks” was a rarity on goods, but in the early part of the year, when so many As were in use on the beet, the 20:10 Kingsbridge – Cork goods regularly had a B141 class “pair”. Location of a new fertiliser siding at New Ross was identified by the nearest milepost, in accordance with normal practice – but it was noted that this indicated that it was 102 miles from Harcourt Street; as a former DSER line, despite now being unconnected with Macmine Junction and the rest of the DSER, the original DSER mileages were still in use, measured from the erstwhile DWWR terminus, now closed for almost 7 years. Goods traffic was reported to be buoyant on the CIE system in general, with much talk of new traffic to Foynes, New Ross and other places. In great contrast, the Derry Road goods had breathed its final; despite being equally buoyant, thanks to Stormont’s inexcusable closure of this route for malevolent political reasons. Meanwhile, on the GNR main line – about all that was left – the unique former GSR “Bredin” all-first 1144 was noted in the CIE “Enterprise” consist. It was living out its elder years in style – it was noted a few days later on a Cork express! On 4th January, a new “Enterprise” service was added, consisting usually of a B121 with the following make-up: “Laminate” all-first, a matching dining car of the 24xx series, and three or four Cravens – the first use of these on this service. Various parcel and tin vans took up the rear. Just after Christmas 1964, and into January 1965, a little-reported and highly unusual visitor to Great Victoria Street was the former SLNCR railcar “B”, now CIE 2509. The previous year it had been in use on the Nenagh branch, but was now being used for a short time in crew training. It set sail from Amiens Street in this capacity, using goods timings to reach Belfast. Has anyone got a photo of this unique vehicle passing through Goraghwood, Portadown, Lisburn, or in G V Street? It is noted that this continued until 1st January 1965, at which time the “Enterprise” is noted as an AEC set – this must have been the UTA one. Now – get this; the MOST peculiar operation EVER, I am sure without chance of contradiction – was that on 1st January a goods train ran out of diesel on Kellystown Bank near Dundalk. The resultant disruptions to the Enterprise and Dundalk-Dublin local trains, meant that the SLNCR railcar was pressed into use on its crew-training return, and it took a connection out of the Enterprise of ten passengers at Drogheda, for Dublin. After that it entered another period of storage, and would see little more use, apart from a spell in Waterford in 1966/7. It was noted too that the heating inside it was working too well – the thing was like a microwave, whereas the passengers had just got off a poorly heated train! 3rd January saw the final closure of all internal UTA goods trains, the Derry and Warrenpoint lines, and the Dungannon – Coalisland branch line, as well as all stations between Portadown and Dundalk. The modern “Newry” station (actually the old GNR Bessbrook one) had already closed, so Newry would have no rail service at all for several decades until NIR would reopen Bessbrook, rebranding it as Newry. York Road had given heavy overhauls in recent times to no less than nine WTs, or half the fleet of them. Other than that, ex-GNR 0.6.0 No. 49, and the SLNCR “Lough Erne” (used as York Road shunter only) were the only other locomotives serviced. Little else was needed now. British Rail’s Swindon and Derby works were reconditioning several “Jeep” boilers too. With the ex-GNR locomotives on the Derry Road having been deliberately run down, four Jeeps (1, 7, 8 & 9) which were normally on the NCC had been transferred into the GN section to assist, particularly with heave cement traffic coming from Dundalk (originating in Drogheda). A six-coach AEC set formed the last passenger train to leave Newry (Edward Street), while three ex-GN coaches hauled by 0.6.0 No. 40 made up Warrenpoint’s last train. On the NCC, Courtaulds coal traffic to Carrickfergus continued for a while longer, as did fitted van trains to Larne Harbour. The coal trains were worked by Jeeps, and the fitted goods by pairs of MPD cars. Fitted goods trains to and from Derry (Waterside) were also hauled by MPD cars – usually two, but sometimes three. An MPD car was usually used to shunt in Derry. With Goraghwood gone now, steam working south of Portadown ceased. The Enterprise services were now CIE loco hauled, with two return trips formed of the UTA’s ex-GNR AEC railcars. No locomotive swops therefore took place at Dundalk any more – the practice had been for a few years to have some services hauled by 121s as far as Dundalk, and UTA steam locos north of there. Now, goods was CIE diesel-worked to Belfast, but the Derry goods was taken by CIE diesel to Lisburn where MPD cars hooked on to take it onwards up the otherwise abandoned Antrim branch onto the NCC. The UTA temporarily closed the Belfast Central, due to the removal of a bridge to facilitate a road construction. However, the UTA being the UTA, it would not re-open until NIR days (1976). Four coaches were upgraded by the UTA, all of NCC origin. Steel-bodied coaches were absent on the UTA, and would not appear until NIR introduced them in 1970, so everything they had was steam-era wooden. But they tended to introduce modern formica internally, and new upholstery – I remember some looking quite smart and feeling confortable – others, I have to say, smelled strongly of damp, being stored outside and seeing little use over winter. Another 12 were to be done – the entire lot of side-corridor stock, and all of NCC parentage. While steam passenger trains had disappeared from regular service entirely, peak-hour extras and excursions still required a stock of loco-hauled stock. However, new stock was on the cards. What would become known as the 70 class railcars were to be ordered for delivery in 1966. These would consist of two six-car sets for the NCC main line, another 3-car set for the Larne line, and two spare power cars. The ex-GNR railcars used by the UTA on the Enterprise were showing their age and high mileage now, and the BUT cars were seen as noisy and less comfortable. My own recollections of AEC and BUT cars were that they were comfortable seating-wise, but undeniably noisy at times, especially when accelerating, and they could be poorly heated in winter. Thus, of the four sets used to provide the serice, only one was a UTA set. CIE provided the others, though one of theirs used a UTA dining car due to a complex series of manoeuvres. These were 121 or 141 class locomotives with a mix of ex-GNR stock (now in black’n’tan), laminates and Cravens, with sundry tin vans. Following the UTA closures, extensive timetable amendments were made on the former GNR, but south of Dublin the use of new stock had resulted in speeding up of many services, and major timetable expansion and alteration was also done there. The railway seemed to be facing into a new era. Yet, it was noted more than once, despite the UTA’s history of anti-rail, pro-bus policies, its publicity machine for its remaining rail services was light years ahead of an apparently indifferent CIE publicity department! However, just as today, the neglect by CIE (and IE!) of cross country routes was as wilful as Stormont. The Rosslare – Mallow and Waterford – Limerick lines had poor and infrequent services – one each way per day, and a second in summer months only. As a train service, that was (and is, sixty years later) little better than useless. In 1965, AEC sets were still employed on some main line trains on the Waterford and Sligo lines. May saw the closure of the Guinness brewery rail system. Within the last month, 0.4.0ST No. 2 had still been in use when a car collided with it on St. John’s Road! This month saw a CIE AEC set form the Enterprise on one occasion, as a result of a breakdown elsewhere. And the bubbles were in traffic – between Castlemungret and Cabra. The older cement hoppers were being used between Limerick and Athy. Castlemungret was loading 180 wagons per day. Sunday 14th February saw the last trains on the Derry Road. These were: A five coach BUT set, a six coach one with two vans, Jeep No. 8 with the goods. The down 20:05 was a three coach AEC set. The last down train of an eight car BUT set broke down just as soon as it had cleared the platform in Great Victoria Street, but the leading car was replaced and on it went; enthusiasts present had hoped that steam engine might have been substituted! Following the closure, pilot engines remained at Foyle Road, Strabane. Omagh and Dungannon. The last railcar into Derry had left at 00:21 to go back empty to Belfast. Three days after closure, the pilot engines had been steamed to clear all remaining wagons and stock held in sidings. The three stations in Co. Donegal (Porthall, St. Johnston and Carrigans) had been closed by CIE too, but a day earlier as they had no Sunday trains. Thus, their last service was the last Strabane - Derry local on the Saturday, consisting of “S” class 4.4.0 No. 60, two carriages and a van. This resulted in major changes in the workings of the UTA railway, as it had been just about halved. Moreover, the need for steam traction had been greater in the GNR area than the remaining NCC, as goods traffic was much heavier – indeed, the Derry Road carried the bulk of the UTA’s goods, and right until closure, goods trains over the route were heavily laden. Following the closures alluded to above, but a single engine (a “Jeep”) was kept as a pilot / spare engine at Portadown. The large roundhouse there would soon be redundant. Great Victoria Street had “S” class 4.4.0 No. 66 as pilot – and as far as the GN was concerned, that was that steam wise. On the NCC, just the Courtaulds coal traffic was left, worked also by Jeeps – the “spoil trains” were not yet running! Another Jeep shunted York Road. I remember it…. No scheduled passenger trains anywhere were now steam, though a few surprises could still be thrown up with excursions or extra workings. The last of the large GNR express locos, Vs 4.4.0 No. 207 “Boyne” remained in traffic, though in an increasingly dishevelled state – the UTA never repainted it in their livery, and it bore the now unsightly, faded and filthy GN blue. As an added indignity, its nameplates had been removed and replaced by wooden ones with the name painted on. The Lansdowne Road rugby specials saw it in action in April on specials from Belfast. Jeeps 4, 10 and 52 were all in action on various sports-related specials into the summer, both on the GN and the NCC. Six ex-GN 0.6.0s, three ex-GN 4.4.0s were now stored, withdrawn, at Portadown Shed, in the company of Jeeps. However, one of the two remaining W class had new cylinders, and ex-SLNCR “Lough Erne” had received attention at York Road. Steam was not dead yet! Two unusual ballast workings were noted during the summer. One was a routine one operating south of Portadown, but what was unusual was the motive power – No. 207! More bizarrely, a ballast train was seen on the closed Portadown – Annaghmore stretch of the “Derry Road”. Why would a ballast train be wanted on a closed line, and one with well maintained track? Answer: to bring stone to several locations where accommodation crossings across the track were to be upgraded to proper roads once the track had been lifted. A strange one! A visitor to the south west in the spring found B169 in charge of the North Kerry goods, with 21 wagons plus van. G617 was working coal trains in from Fenit to Tralee. By this stage, for modellers, open wagons in use were about 40% old wooden ones, and 60% corrugated “Provincial Wagons” opens. Beet traffic would have been similar. By 1970 or so, the wooden ones were rare, if not disappeared. B152 was working in the other direction, the two crossing at Listowel. The northbound train was 40 minutes arriving in Limerick, almost all of this due to a tar tanker which was detached at Lixnaw. These tankers were elderly, and subjected to a speed limit. In addition, the shunting procedure at Lixnaw was complex due to the restricted track layout. At the same time, the trains to Wexford and Rosslare (DSER) were reported to be a mix of 121 class and AEC / BUT railcar sets. The Mallow – Tralee line was still mostly AEC cars too, as were Tralee – Dublin expresses. Mid May saw the final closure of the Guinness tramway in Dublin, as previously mentioned. No. 3 worked the last train, as the broad gauge diesel, No. 4 was out of use. A few days later, No. 3 was steamed to take 2 and 4, dead, across the road to Kingsbridge. No. 4, of course, ended up in Whitehead where it remains today, in fine form. Note for modellers: it currently carries a shade of blue much lighter than it would have had in Guinness’ days. In its original state as first built, it was dark olive green with some of the motion in red, as per the 1’10” gauge Guinness loco in the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. During the summer, the steam engines abandoned at various locations mentioned earlier were being brought to Mullingar (B151 having been noted towing two old Midland 0.6.0s there) and Inchicore. That would be an interesting working on a layout – a shiny 141 hauling a dead and shabby steam loco away to the scrappers…. tissues, please! Two Bredin compos (2116/7) were seen in the summer of 1965 working as railcar intermediates in ex-GNR AEC railcar sets on the Dublin – Dundalk route. While the UTA tended to include old steam carriages in MPD consists and occasionally MED ones on the NCC, their share of GNR cars tended to use whatever stock the GNR had used with them. CIE, like the NCC section, had all manner of things as AEC intermediates. Old wooden bogies had been used, and there was a short lived experiment with (I think) two Cravens used as such. The last of 500 palletised wagons were being turned out of Inchicore meanwhile. On 29th May, an unusual IRRS trip took place. C206, later to be an occasional visitor to the Loughrea branch, took a train across to Albert Quay and back. An old wooden brake second was used, but with it, despite being withdrawn – six-wheeler 39M; this was the last time a six wheeled coach was ever used to carry passengers. 39M was one of the last clutch of these things which had been retained for excursions in Cork. Most of the rest had been sent to Mullingar to be scrapped, as mentioned earlier, and a few survived into departmental use. Five years after closure, lifting of the West Cork was completed in the summer. Lifting trains were still active elsewhere in the sections from Clonsilla – Navan and Ballylinan, with lifting due to start between Streamstown and Clara (abandoned for many, many years, but not formally abandoned until quite recently), the North Wexford line, and the short Ardnacrusha branch. On 26th July, with G614 in attendance as shunter, the first trainloads of fertiliser left Shelton Abbey. Further north, the UTA sold 24 locomotives of a number of classes for scrap, almost all of GNR types, and thus making GNR locos a rarer species now. By the autumn of 1965, the UTA’s locomotive stock was as follows: GNR Vs 4.4.0 No. 207 (still in blue-(ish!) livery) GNR S 4.4.0 Nos. 170, 171, 174 (all still in old blue livery) GNR UG 0.6.0 Nos. 48 & 49 (Retained for the summer to work excursions across the Belfast Central line to Bangor) GNR SG3 0.6.0 No. 37 (Thought to be retained to work lifting trains on the “Derry Road”. Many of the scrapped locos were other ex-GNR 0.6.0s) SLNCR 0.6.4Ts Nos. 26 and 27 (26 was seeing little use) Shunting at York Road only. NCC W 2.6.0 No. 97 (not in use; retained for spares for Jeeps) NCC WT “Jeep” Nos. 1-10 and 51-57 (all but one whole fleet of them; 50 was stored out of use at Portadown, and when this survey was done, 9 was with it; out of use, but operable. 7 was partly cannibalised at York Road.) Thus, in mainstream use, we now see seventeen Jeeps, and four GNR 4.4.0s. Even at this, the thinking was that by the end of the summer, many of the above would also not be needed and would be scrapped. This isn’t long before their saviour, the spoil contract, had been announced. Had this never happened, it is probable that over the winter all but three or four Jeeps would have been scrapped. From mid-April to mid-June, the Enterprise reverted to steam working between Dundalk and Belfast, a 121 usually having it south of Dundalk. 207 was also in use on Belfast – Dublin excursions again. In July, new “sectional” liveries were introduced by the UTA. It is worth noting that when the UTA was dissolved two years later, these had still not permeated the whole fleet, and as I recall very well, much if not most was still in the dark green livery. However: Bangor line MED sets acquired a new light olive green and cream livery, while on the GN section a mid blue (similar to GN loco blue, but much lighter than GN coach / railcar blue, was used. Cream upper panels, with blue above that, and silver-grey roofs completed the picture, Short lived it might have been, but it looked very smart as I recall. AEC / BUT cars meant for local services had a thinner cream band at window level, with “main line” ones having the cream extending to just below, and just above, window level. The blue was dipped at the front, in the same way as tan on CIE “A” class locos. NCC section railcars had maroon and light grey; this would later become the new NIR livery with few alterations. I could be wrong on this, but recollection suggests that the maroon was marginally lighter than that eventually adopted by NIR in 1968. As mentioned before, a certain number of steam-era carriages had been retained and refurbished. These were classed as “Class A” carriages, and were to be plain maroon. (NIR would later add a 3” light grey line below window level). Other carriages remained in the old UTA green. An indicator of the still-varied traffic carried by the railway was given by the record of a northbound train on the DSE section in the charge of B122. As well as the seven coaches, a loaded fish van took up the rear. Its counterpart in the down direction was a three-coach AEC set. In 1965 almost 600,000 tons of cement was carried by CIE, or 25% of ALL rail freight. We now had the bubbles, but also much was carried in “H” and “Palvans” – standard covered vans, a good few old wooden ones also included. It was noted that this traffic “just exceeds the total of the two next heaviest traffics – beet and artificial manure”. Amidst the destruction of the Derry Road, with two old GNR Gardner railcars in use on the lifting train, as well as a Jeep, the temporary saviour of steam was announced. Seventy side-tipping “spoil wagons” were to be ordered for delivery in 1966. Elsewhere, construction had commenced of the new diesel-electric railcars, which would come to be known as the “70 class”. The tide was now turning for what was left of the railway, and the UTA was belatedly following CIE in a modernisation programme, Unfortunately for much of its route mileage, it was too late. One wonders how the Derry Road, Dundalk – Enniskillen – Omagh, and Belfast – Downpatrick – Newcastle would have fared with modern fast diesel trains. The Inchicore trial train still had a workshop coach in its midst – 662A. This had formerly been dining car 74D – probably the very last ex-DSER vehicle in use. A late survey of the Mallow-Waterford line found the following in use – B152 (with a train of laminates, but a GSWR 12-wheel diner 353 included, plus two tin vans and two fitted “H” vans. The dining car had been tastefully adorned with Christmas decorations. A25 was crossed at Lismore with a beet special. It was noted that up and down main line trains at Mallow had both been double headed 141s. Black and Tan sheer heaven! The year ended with severe floods – the worst in living memory, with sections of Mallow-Waterford, Limerick – Ennis, and near Longford all blocked. Floods and downed power lines all added to the chaos. The Rosslare Express had to operate via Limerick Junction, but the Sligo line was worst disrupted, with widespread bustitutions. An AEC set took four hours to get from Longford to Dublin; it was too late to form its return train, so B173 replaced it with a set of 5 laminates, two tin vans, and a GNR-origin dining car. One unusual working was B152 hauling a dead 6-car AEC set from Dublin-Sligo. The same set was hauled another day by an A class. B125, B130 and B123 were also noted, in each case with trains of 3 or 4 laminates and tin vans. The 121 class were to be regulars on the Sligo line for some 15 years. The Westport line was similar with AEC sets on some mainline services, but 141s primarily on loco-hauled ones. One train was reported as a three-car AEC hauling a goods van and a tin van. In the coming days, the area between Bray and Greystones, and the notorious Ballygannon, suffered severe delays due to extreme weather. Without delving into every delay and special working, it’s worth noting the make-up of trains. One set was a four coach ex-GNR AEC set with two tin vans. B133 and B160 were on up and down goods trains. One set on one day was a 121 hauling a BUT railcar set. For nine days there was chaos….. I hope that the foregoing has given a flavour of the world into which the IRM “A” class locos lived. They entered a railway full of variety, with many routes still open that are long history. They worked traffic that many today would be almost unaware of. “A” class locos worked the North Kerry, Mallow – Waterford and other places…Ardee… One went on a test run down the West Cork, though they never worked there; another got as far as Monaghan via Cavan, and yet another got into Carrickmacross, I think, with a goods train about 1958. Their more recent history is better known, thanks to the increasing presence of prolific photographers and the internet. The above articles have related to the period from 1960 to January 1966. When I get time I’ll go back in time, and do 1955, the arrival of the “A” class, to 1960. If anyone is still awake, I’ll eventually do 1947-55. Goodnight!

I was thinking that too, Noel. Maybe a fictitious Dublin & Blessington halt at a roadside - simple type of thing. A tram loco, a 4-wheel railcar, a tram or two to pull and a couple of goods vans would do. Would anyone have any advice on a suitable four wheeled power bogie which could be easily amended to 21mm gauge, I wonder?

Looking good!

Unfortunately, Minister, that's exactly what it is going to be. I've seen bits of the plans and have spoken to several,of the design team, and thus I regretfully concur with all murrayec's comments. It will give a little history of the town, the castle estate (who once owned the. Casino house), Fry himself, a minimalistic bit of railway history, and the models. And it'll have a train set! Woohoo! For the likes of us here, worth looking at, but that's about it. For the kiddies wanting to see Thomas, an afternoon out. Long term financial viability.........dunno?

I’m not filled with confidence on that!

1964 completed above.... 1965 to follow.

Tenders were routinely swapped between locomotives of the same class. It’s important to note that when deciding what number to put on your locomotive, things like cab style, original or later smokebox, chimney type, wheel type and so on, and above all boiler type - will be the things that decide whether you have No. 124, 175, 133 or 200. Preserved 186 has a tender off something else entirely, and 184 was, I think, given an old style one for a film contract, having in more recent times had a bigger one. With the J15s being such a big class, the loco shown above, 119, could be represented by the new model, as you could say it was temporarily running with an older tender. Subject, of course, to minor modification to the smoke box door if one was persistent enough! The above photo would be in the 1950s rather than forties as the locomotive has lost its cast numberplates. The guards van is a GSWR one of a type very similar to the one recently released by Provincial Wagons. This, and the J15, indicates that it’s the down (northbound) Limerick goods entering Sligo, as neither southern guards vans nor, even more so, J15s, would be seen on the MGWR. The train will have taken some seven hours from Limerick, stopping at just about every halt and hole in the hedge along the way.

Exactly - that's precisely the reason why.

1964 Over the winter of 1963/4, despite rumours that a few CIE steam engines might be taken out of retirement (as some remained in working order), this did not materialise, and for the first time all beet was diesel. Steam engines were now mostly scrapped, but a few were sporadically parked up around the system. Thirty five locos were variously set aside, in some cases intended for preservation, in others as a sort of "strategic reserve" (to be disbanded a couple of years later), and in the case of a few, used as stationary boilers to supply steam in Inchicore Works. These were as follows: Amiens Street: J15 151, J15 132 and GNR 4.4.0 197. All three to be retained. Cork: J15s 118 & 251, to be scrapped. Limerick Jct.: 106, 125*, 130*, 164, 186* (all J15) & 351. * to be retained, others scrapped. Thurles: 104, 124, 195, 262 - all to be retained. Rosslare Harbour: 249, 461 - the latter to be retained. Dundalk: 255, 132N, 204N - all for scrap. Mullingar: 131N, 172, 599 - all for scrap, though 131 would live to be plinthed at Dundalk, and then operate again via the RPSI. Anything that went to Mullingar rarely emerged again! Sutton Tram Shed: 198, 261 - both to be retained. Mallow: 109, 116 - both for scrap. Sligo: 574, to be scrapped. Athlone: 159N, 593, 603 - latter two to be kept, 159N scrapped. Waterford: J15s 179 & 183, both to be retained. Inchicore: 80N, 111, 187, and the last Bandon Tank 463 - all to be scrapped. Why didn't they keep 463! What saved 131N was the plan to use it on the RCTS / SLS / IRRS grand last finale steam tour of Ireland the following spring! Of the above fleet, seventeen locomotives were in working order. Of the others, while officially in stock, theyw were also officially withdrawn from duty, and they varied from not operable to almost operable. Over the winter, 251 would be used in Cork to heat carriages in the early mornings before they set out, while 132, 151 and 197 were used for static steam generation in Inchicore. Thurles still saw a little steam over the winter, though, as the Sugar Company's No. 3, now preserved at Downpatrick, occasionally replaced the CSET's diesel. Elsewhere, even the CSET's nine Orenstein & Koppel locomotives were silent during the beet season. Instead, "A" and B101 classes dominated the beet traffic. By degrees, over the coming years, the 121 and 141 classes would also be involved. AEC sets were now gradually making their way to Dublin, but the Waterford line still featured them on the main line on some services. But the future of main line trains was now "A" and "Yanks". This would remain the general pattern into the 21st century, with the later additions of the 181s and 071s. December 1963 had still seen Dublin turn out a entirely wooden 7-coach set for a special to Waterford haled by B163.Just as Cork had retained a good stock of the old six-wheelers, last used in early 1963 on the Youghal line, both Dublin and Cork still had quite a few old wooden coaches, some still non-corridor. These would gain the black'n'tan livery and remain in traffic round Dublin at peak summer times for another ten years. Trains of bewildering composition still cropped up in the capital. Christmas Eve 1963 saw the following trains leave Kingsbridge, as well as normal trains both of AEC railcars and 141-hauled stock: 20:00 Night Mail: B150, 3 x Laminate, 4w tin van, 6w tin van, horsebox, 5 fitted wagons. Plus its auxiliary - B158, two PO Sorting Vans, TPO, tin van, 2 x bogie vans (for mail), 6-wheel TPO No. 1M - a REAL relic! - 2 tin vans, another bogie van, one wagon, and yet another tin van! The 17:45 to Limerick was a major test for a single GM, as B168 had to cope with no less than ten bogies and a tin van, so crammed that over 100 passengers were standing. I wouldn't like to see B168's armpits after that.... And the "Flying Snail" was to be history! First introduced by the Dublin United Tramways Company in 1941, adopted by CIE in 1945, and retained after CIE's nationalisation in 1950, this venerable symbol would be henceforth replaced by - a broken wheel! The classic station colour scheme of green and cream would also be replaced by a new and very clean looking station livery of black, white and two shades of grey. As the new year of 1964 saw these bold new moves on CIE, north in UTA land it was all doom and gloom. William Craig, Stormont's Todd Andrews, remarked that railways would soon be as out of date as the stage coach, as the clouds gathered; rumours abounded that the Derry Road was about to go. Yet York Road still kept its steam fleet going - one each of classes W and WT (NCC) and S and UG (GNR) received attention. A cameo: we now have: UTA: Goods: Steam. WT on NCC< old GNR types plus NCC W class on the GN. Passenger: MED sets on the Bangor line, AEC & BUT sets on the GNR main line, with some steam on the Derry line augmenting AEC cars. MPD sets on the ex-NCC sections. CIE: 121 & 141 classes absolutely monopolising passenger services everywhere, but AEC sets still to be seen on the Midland, DSER and Waterford lines. C class pilot / short goods, A class on most goods, though "yanks" would share this. B101 on almost totally goods, "down south", but also on all traffic on the Cork - Rosslare, a line which didn't seem to see much A, and no C action. This route seemed to be almost entirely the preserve of 121 and B101 locos, with an occasional 141. CIE Suburban: Cork area: Anything. Dublin: AEC cars, some C hauled. CIE Branches: Ballina: C class common enough here. Also A, 121, 141. Loughrea: G or occasionally C, especially when the G was away shunting Tuam during the beet season! By the early months of 1964, the 07:00 Ballymena - Antrim local was changed from steam operation (from Ballymena shed) to a single unit MPD car, which was now based at Ballymena as a "pilot engine" - remember, the UTA had no diesel locos apart from a couple of shunters in Belfast. This brought to an end the last REGULAR steam train on the NCC in its winter timetables. From now on, NCC steam would be either / or irregular, or summer only. A rare visitor to the Larne line was a CIE covered van spotted en route to Larne from Drogheda. This was 1211M, an ex-Midland Great Western van. Even in Midland days, vans from the NCC and MGWR would rarely have visited each other's territories. At this stage, goods on the NCC could be steam operated, or worked by MPD cars, giving an appearance of a mixed train, though the cars were empty of passengers. Three of them equated to a small diesel loco in power terms. A single unit railcar was also reported working on the Bangor line at this time. By now, the "Enterprise" was a mixed bag. AEC railcar sets were being used by the UTA, and loco hauled stick when heavier. In early 1964 this was often in the hands of NCC 2.6.0 W class locos. These are, by the way, often referred to as "moguls", a are other 2.6.0s. It's worth pointing out that like in America, where a 2.10.0 is a "Consolidation", this term relates to our narrow gauge neighbouring island. No Irish railway company ever referred to 2.6.0s as "moguls", or to 2.6.2Ts as "prairies", etc. In fact, I am unaware of any nickname for a wheel arrangement on any line anywhere in Ireland - can anyone enlighten me if there were? "Jeep" doesn't count, as the nickname was not directed at the wheels, and moreover no other 2.6.4Ts in Ireland were ever called "Jeeps". Little did readers know in the early months of 1964 that the writing was very much on the wall for the Derry Road. IRN published a "Station Survey" article about Omagh in January. This gave a potted history of the station, which I know will be of interest to some here! The goods yard was reported to remain busy, but at Omagh it was on a cramped site, and thus the old Market Branch had remained in use, and would do until closure. Several transfers of freight took place between the two at different times of the day. These would propel in one direction, haul in the other. In January, the new Shelton Abbey factory was rail connected. For students of "black'n'tan" era liveries, it is worth noting that it was in January 1964 that the "all-black" variation appeared. Up to now, all locos were black and full-waist-height tan. It was quickly applied to locos of A, B101, C and E class locos - though both liveries were to be seen for most of the 1960s, the black version later in some cases getting yellow patches (A & C class only). The only relief to the all-black was the white flash above end cab windows. Buffer beams were red - though several unspecified examples were seen with orange buffer beams - short lived. A17 was among the first to be seen in the all-black. Of the steam engines lying about, Dundalk's allocation had now all been scrapped. In February, the IRRS had an excursion (or as they quaintly say, an "outing"; a somewhat creepy term in this day and age!) to Warrenpoint. Brand new kitchen car 2403 was part of the consist, the rest of which was an AEC railcar set. A note on carriage interiors is included for a number of types. Sevearl brand new (the last laminate) first class coaches were mentioned as having sage green carpets. The new Cravens finally emerged on test runs, and they were described as having either blue upholstery in some, and grey in others. Floors were grey linoleum. I well remember this! Four more tin vans - among the last - were under construction. These were of the 4 wheeled type, and had both boilers and guard's compartments. And the Bubbles were on the way! No, not from IRM Towers, but from Inchicore. They were the normal all-grey, but with the new CIE "broken wheel" on the side, in tan with white letters. Since cement traffic was busy, and the Croom branch was playing host to specials from Limerick to the Cork direction, one wonders if any bubbles ever traversed this little known line... February saw B1a 4.6.0 No. 800 heading north to Witham Street Museum in Belfast, where she would remain until her new home in Cultra was completed several decades later. With growing clouds over the GNR lines in the north, despite eight ex-GN locomotives having received attention at York Road, it was surmised that with fewer locomotives needed in future, heavy overhauls would cease on all but the WT class 2.6.4Ts. While some GN 0.6.0s would receive minor attention, this became the case over a short time. Several locos of various types were sold by the UTA for scrap, and two W class 2.6.0s, now unused, had their boilers and other spare parts removed as spares for the WT class. The old NCC Railcar No. 1, dating from 1934, received a full service and refurbishment. This car was being used for off-peak services to Antrim and Carrickfergus. In April, a special train took CIE officials up the NCC to Derry (Waterside). This was in preparation for the re-routing of Dublin - Donegal goods off the "Derry Road", in preparation for its closure. By Easter, the Warrenpoint line had strong excursion traffic, all steam, hauled for what the IRM correctly concluded would be its last fling. Finally, on 13th February, the UTA announced that it would close, along with the Derry Road; one of the greatest acts of official government vandalism in Irish railway history. The Stormont MP, William Craig, and some of his cohorts, with a delusional pro-road bias, and not the first clue about public transport administration, let alone how to serve the rural people who had voted for them, must bear responsibility for this. Today, the Derry Road at least would be busy, and the rail connection into Newry, rather than Bessbrook-at-the-top-of-the-hill, would be a boon. All night freight services were also to be stopped, and local internal UTA goods trains wouldn't be far behind. Craig was questioned in Stormont about providing an airport link at Aldergrove. He said he had investigated it, and it was unrealistic. Quite; when I was at school I recall an expression being used, "What do you expect from a pig, but a grunt!". The 03:15 Portadown - Omagh goods train had been officially cancelled for some months, but still operated as a special four days a week usually! Further south, an intrepid traveller found the usual Limerick - Ballina set to be a luggage van, two laminates and heating van. B133 was at the head one day, and the set also included a horse box. It might be worth pointing out that no horse box was ever painted in any variation of a black'n'tan livery. They seemed to have all died out, still in faded green. Goods trains on the Limerick - Claremorris line was variously B141s and "A"s. A typical Westport makeup was recorded as a B121, a dining car, a compo, a second, two tin vans (one luggage, one heating) and another standard ath the end - all of laminate type. A scathing article in IRN - again, in contrast with virtual silence from the IRRS Journal - pointed the finger firmly at the UTA, the Transport Tribunal, Craig and above all the Stormont Government with regard to the Derry Road closure, and their absolute refusal to listen to any economic or social argument. The article states that the decision to close was "purely political...which identifies itself with the Stormont policy of isolating the North from the South". And these people had never heard of Brexit, and the positions taken over this by some elected representatives today! Plus ca change...........! Glanmire Road station in Cork was refurbished with the new now-familiar city terminus white and black platform tiles. However, what would become the standard CIE station name board - black letters on a white background - was also unveiled there for the first time. These signs were virtually everywhere when I did a lot of my earlier CIE travels during 1975-80. At Inchicore, C234 was to receive a Maybach engine instead of the unreliable Crossley one; two "C"s would be thus treated. Against this modernisation, redundant steam engines were still kicking about - four rusting J15s were shoved into a siding near the goods shed at Thurles. By now, 25 of the 40 Cravens were in traffic, all so far on the Cork main line. The "wasp stripes" were now appearing on guard's vans lookout duckets. They were black and yellow, not black and white as in Cultra! On 24th September, a melancholy procession set sail from Cork to that point of no return, Mullingar scrap sidings. To A8, the funereal duty was entrusted; with a Crossley engine, it's a miracle it made it. In the train were 41 old wagons, the erstwhile Mallow breakdown van, and the very last eleven six-wheel carriages to have been withdrawn from service about a year earlier. All were of MGWR origin. Within weeks, the entire lot had been burned and the resultant scrap sold off. Growing road traffic could sometimes benefit the railway. Increasing ownership of cars was rendering parking difficult in Loughrea, so the normal one coach and G formation of the train was replaced by a C and two laminates for the summer of 1964. As a result of the closure of the Derry Road, goods into Sligo for Donegal was showing a marked increase. The former one goods train a day was now increased to three, with different destinations en route being served by each. The All Ireland final between Kerry and Galway provided the usual flurry of activity, but this year, six specials were double headed by 141s, with another special headed by one 141. The day didn't stop there; there were three specials heading the other way too, to Knock! One has B133, while the other two had pairs of 141s. One of the GAA trains was a set of nine ex-GNR coaches. Normal trains tried to fit in around all this lot - 141s and (in the case of Waterford) AEC railcars sets dealt with this. Meanwhile, A and B101s spluttered about with goods. Among UTA coaches now withdrawn and set aside for scrapping were the company's oldest coaches - four old non-corridor bogies built by the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway in 1896. Many NCC and GNR coaches of those remaining in service were being done up internally, with new formica panelling replacing the old wood panels. New standard UTA green upholstery - same as in the buses - was being used, and repainting externally completed a smart appearance. Three hundred of the Authority's old, dishevelled and clapped out wagons were being rebuilt and repainted in Belfast - with the impending end of goods transport, one might wonder why! By now, "Jeeps" were the only locos receiving anything but the most basic attention, and it is hardly surprising that in the line's final months, they were appearing on the Derry Road. They were also making appearances in Dubloj, along with the now-shabby ex-GNR 207 "Boyne", which continued on Belfast - Dublin specials. On the NCC, all the orangemens' trains were Jeep hauled, while on the GNR, the same traffic was managed by two W class 2.6.0s, two Jeeps, and one GNR 4.4.0 - all of which ended up in Foyle Road, leaving the Strabane pilot as the only other operational W class! Thirteen specials and 95 carriages operated throughtout the UTA that day. But GAA, Knock and Orangemen weren't the only customers for special trains. AEC railcars were seen operating over the Belfast Central into Bangor on a number of occasions, as did GNR 0.6.0s on some specials. Football (soccer), seaside, and Sunday School groups were the customers. On 6th August, CIE operated excursions to Belfast. One contained a GSWR 12-wheeler! A UTA excursion in the other direction was so packed that it was stopped at Lisburn to have the station waiting room seats put into the guard's van! But nothing could top one excursion on 6th September, when an auxiliary Waterford - Dublin trains was hastily put together. This consisted of B160 hauling a three coach AEC set (in use as coaches) and four wooden ex-GSWR seconds of 1907 vintage! They would have seen a G class, currently in use as pilot in Kilkenny en route. On the NCC, a Ballymena local was regularly a Jeep hauling two (dead) single-unit MPD railcars... A number of MED and MPD railcars sets were swopped between the Bangor and NCC sections. The latter were for use on the Larne line. By the autumn, the beet campaign loomed; but this year, Carlow would have none by rail. By the end of the year, all but eight of the new Craven carriages were in service, all being described as setting new standards of smartness. Well maintained, this is true still, half a century later, on RPSI or Railtours Ireland specials. As the Cravens appeared, a pogrom took place on older wooden carriages. The last of the six wheelers have been mentioned, but one other inexcusable act of vandalism by CIE was the destruction of the old GSWR Director's Saloon, No. 351, and with it probably the single most luxurious railway carriage ever to run on Irish rails - the 12 wheeled MGWR Director's Saloon, No. 346. Reduced to ashes by having petrol thrown through them, and a match struck. Two steam engines remained at the end of the year providing steam for heat: J15 118 in Cork for steam heating trains early in the morning before use, and J15 130 in Inchicore to provide heat in the diesel maintenance shops. A bizarre development was that some whistles from scrapped locomotives were being refurbished at Inchicore as consideration was being given to fitting them to A class diesels on an experimental basis! And 1964 came to a close; the "swinging sixties", this fascinating blend of old and new, were half way through.