jhb171achill

Unfortunately, it was exactly the same fifty and sixty years ago. I watched a crowd of village idiots smashing windows in a derelict house nearby. Go back earlier, and it wasn’t quite so bad, and there was zero graffiti either.

Raymurph The BnT 6w brake will be authentic with the following vehicles: in green OR original-version BnT, Bredins, all types of laminates, Park Royals; even the odd ex-GNR K15 still in GNR livery - brown or blue and cream. Or, original BnT version only, Cravens. Locos - A, C, B101 classes in silver, green, black or black'n'tan. B121s in grey or bralck'n'tan. B141s, and at a stretch B181s in BnT. Anything in Supertrain livery or the later IE / IR liveries would not be authentic. Any fitted wagons on the back of a train would only be grey, as the brown wagon livery wasn't introduced until 1970 by which time the last of these vans had been withdrawn. In operational terms, with vacuum braked / fitted rolling stock, it didn't matter where the brake vehicle was situated, but in the case of loose-coupled stock it had to be at the end. So, if your layout has a goods train coming in (pre-1970, loose-coupled grey 4 wheled wagons), you have to shunt the van to the end before departing again. With your passenger set, it does not need to be shunted. If you're operating a mixed train, like Loughrea, Kenmare, Ballinrobe and Foynes had in their final days, the fitted stock, namely the coach / coaches will be behind the locomotive, thus ensuring continuity of vac brake, with loose coupled wagons and a guard's van behid that. Hope that helps!

Correct. Six wheeled coaching stock by 1963 were confined to spare stock in Cork, and one or two branch lines. The very last of the passenger-carrying ones were withdrawn in March 1963 from traffic. While the black'n'tan livery had just been introduced months earlier, only a handful of newer stock, like Park Royals and laminates, were in BnT. Not one single six wheeld passenger vehicle was ever thus painted, which is why only the full van is offered in this livery. Even at that, only three six-wheeled full passenger vans that are known of, received this livery. They were numbers 69, 79 and 10xx (xx = I forget). All three were ex-GSWR. This trio and two or three others survived the extinction of all other six-wheelers in 1963, although the three others, being withdrawn by 1965, may actually no longer have been in use. So CIE knew there would never have been any point in repainting anything at all on six wheels bar the three vans, the last of which was only withdrawn in 1970. The last record I can find of any of these three being actually used is 1968, by which time they appear to have spent their time on the Galway mail trains, alongside a motley collection of tin vans, GSWR full brakes, Bredins and Laminates. All in BnT. The van on the 1964 tour was 10xx. No. 79 was scrapped about 1970. 69 is at Downpatrick being rebuilt as a brake first. When the six-wheel vans received BnT, all other six-wheelers were withdrawn, so no BnT ones ever went with any green six wheelers at all. The solitary instance, lasting only a few months, of a BnT six-wheel van working with steam, was on the Ballinrobe branch in its last months, when one of these three ran with a green BOGIE coach (a 1920s GSWR composite). If we model a Galway line mail train, it is at least hypothetically possible that between 1964 and 1968 a BnT 6W van coukld have ruin with Cravens, only in their original livery; alongside laminates, bredins and Park Royals, and even the occasional old wooden (GSWR) bogie.

The turf wagons, to be fair, were functional and hastily assembled in a time of exceptional austerity. I agree with you about the railbus; odd though it might look to some, there were a sufficient number of them in Ireland to warrant a degree of normality in Ireland. To my eyes, the only "ridiculous" looking things that ever ran on rails here were the Achill railbus and the unwieldy garden shed contraption on wheels that the Castlederg & Victoria Bridge line used as a "railcar"!

Very true; and that very fact blows right out of the water any claim the perpetrators might have as to boredom as motivation. The fact that they put diesel all over the floor of a carriage, and also tried to break into the building, I’d exceptionally worrying too. Again, my thoughts as to suitable punishment are far too extreme to put into print.

My grandson has the kitchen floor covered with that stuff on an almost daily basis!

That’s exactly what happens in the north too. ”Poor fella came from a broken home” ”He didn’t realise that bricks break glass” ”He’s studying hard at college” Verdict: Guilty! Fined €10, if he has it; if not, sure lookit, never worry….

I’ll refrain from commenting, as I’d be banned from the internet if I was to suggest what I would like to see happening to the perpetrators. Suffice to say, it would make exceptionally bloodthirsty reading. They’ve apprehended one, aged 16. Let us hope they don’t just give him a slap on the wrist due to his youth. Great sympathies to the DCDR folks in facing yet ANOTHER disaster.

They were separate and could thus be articulated... I had one of those kits for years (never got around to making it up, though, and I sold it a long time ago).

I’ve an idea for a bus shelter. It can hold 4-5 bikes, and I can organise the whole thing delivered, no questions asked, for a specially discounted price for IRM readers. Tarmac included, thanks to an irresistible cash offer from my colleague in Co Limerick. I can do this for you good folks (but keep it quiet; not the general public), for let’s say €650k. Cash preferable. My colleagues, Ahern Drumcondra Agencies can supply cash envelopes (brown only) for €50 each. 3D printed using best materials available. PM me with orders, and I can do this in Z, N or 00 gauge. EM, 0, 1 or G gauge €12.40 extra. 3.5 inch gauge €16 extra.

Can’t see the same EU money tree growing these days, especially with Ireland’s currently good financial position…

We seem to have a “quorum”; I will contact Allen and report back here when I get an answer.

Ah sure them yokes from Dunleer and Laytown tore ‘em all down.

In all reality, that’s a nonsensical idea via the M1……. I very much hope to be proved utterly wrong on this, but the more I see of this “review”, the more rooted I believe it is in Cloud Cuckoo Land - or most of it.

As long as the ends aren’t curved in, like British MR or many GWR types. While this was common in Britain, only the WLWR had that feature here, and they only had about half a dozen bogie coaches which in other terms were unlike these. So, for Irish layouts, flat ends.

True, and the elliptical-roofed ones are vaguely DSER like. The clerestorey ones are as close as makes no odds to GSWR designs. The panelling on the LNWR ones is inappropriate to anything Irish bar the DNGR. None of the Hattons ones or these, unfortunately, are remotely like the BCDR or GNR, but the ncccis well enough catered for by repaints of quite a number of standard British LMS (not so much MR) designs.

Bredins, Laminates or Park Royals You’re still being asked for £29 per coach? They’re asking £34 on my invoice!

VERY much a retrograde step - downright ridiculous, as are the lack of glider* and bus connections in the city. Very bad planning indeed. Have they learned nothing since 1976? (* “Glider” = wannabe luas)

Methinks they speak tag-along…..!

I ordered one but they’ve lost it! It’s not in my order.

Now, here goes... The following is a telephonic exchange between maybe you as a hotel guest and room-service in China ...... Room Service : "Morrin. Roon sirbees." Guest : "Sorry, I thought I dialed room-service." Room Service: " Rye . Roon sirbees...morrin! Joowish to oddor sunteen???" Guest: "Uh..... Yes, I'd like to order bacon and eggs." Room Service: "Ow ulai den?" Guest: ".....What??" Room Service: "Ow ulai den?!?... Pryed, boyud, pochd?" Guest: "Oh, the eggs! How do I like them? Sorry.. Scrambled, please." Room Service: "Ow ulai dee bayken ? Creepse?" Guest: "Crisp will be fine." Room Service: "Hokay. An sahn toes?" Guest: "What?" Room Service: "An toes. ulai sahn toes?" Guest: "I.... Don't think so.." RoomService: "No? Udo wan sahn toes???" Guest: "I feel really bad about this, but I don't know what 'udo wan sahn toes' means." RoomService: "Toes! Toes!...Why Uoo don wan toes? Ow bow Anglish moppin we botter?" Guest: "Oh, English muffin! !! I've got it! You were saying 'toast'...Fine...Yes, an English muffin will be fine." RoomService: "We botter?" Guest: "No, just put the botter on the side." RoomService: "Wad?!?" Guest: "I mean butter... Just put the butter on the side." RoomService: "Copy?" Guest: "Excuse me?" RoomService: "Copy...tea..meel?" Guest: "Yes. Coffee, please... And that's everything." RoomService: "One Minnie. Scramah egg, creepse bayken , Anglish moppin, we botter on sigh and copy ... Rye ??" Guest: "Whatever you say." RoomService: "Tanjooberrymutts." Guest: "You're welcome" Remember I said "By the time you read through this YOU WILL UNDERSTAND 'TANJOOBERRYMUTTS' ... Clearly the same call centre as Eircom and the Bank of Ireland…..

If anyone else weighs in and we get a tentative six, I will approach Allen and see what the craic is. I wonder what wheels / motor etc would be involved..... I think if I was starting all over again, I'd forget about diesels and just model an accurate part of the Achill loine, and get all six D16s, 530-5!

I had ordered a BnT one too - but it doesn't appear within my order.

They would have just done a run of their existing body shapes in Irish liveries…

Lough Neagh would be green now, with heavy agricultural pollution!