jhb171achill

As you can see, these ones aren't stepped, as (a) it's the main 2nd class saloon and (b) as such, you wouldn't be able to see ahead anyway. That type of upholstery shown was, as far as I remember, some sort of red and grey mostly. That's GNR original.

I remember looking through those windows! Yes, there was a door between the 1st class and the driver, and yes, there was a seat on both sides. The car above is in an "in-between" livery - a one off. Despite still being in GNR navy and cream 9the blue was a lot darker in real life than that pic suggests), a UTA yellow panel has been added, but as yet no black "wasp" stripes. The GNR lettering and crest have been painted over in (GNR navy blue!) and UTA numerals added instead. Interesting. With regard to the grilles, as can be seen above, by the time the UTA and later NIR inherited their share of these railcars, the bare engine was generally exposed with the entire panels off, grilles and all. I never remember seeing one with a grille (or side panel), and for a time I travelled on them regularly. The front partition between driver and 1st class was indeed all glass (waist up) but more often that not the driver kept blinds down - don't know why. As children we thought it was because the driver was a killjoy! In terms of the tiered seats, I could be entirely wrong on this, but I have a theory: I have seen definite photographic evidence of tiering, but from recollection I suspect this may not have been the case in ALL of the 1st class sections, as I never remember seeing it, or sensing that some seats were higher. Maybe someone out there might know for certain? Where the tiering did exist, as may be seen in at least one photo, it didn't amount to much and wouldn't have made much difference. We're not talking about cinema or Croke Park tiering here, and these railcars had high enough seat backs, so only the front two pairs of seats had any meaningful forward view. The others didn't. The seats in those cars were extremely comfortable, although the engines were noisy and in later years the window openings rattled (though not even remotely as badly as in the power cars of 70 and 80 class railcars). My recollection of AECs is also that they seem to be the only railcars, apart from the 70 class, ever to run anywhere in Ireland where the temperatures setting were comfortable! Well ventilated in summer, cosy in winter. Now we have the NIR CAFs as probably the best temperature wise, and the ICRs set at stuffily tropical extreme heat almost all the time. I am assured by an extremely reliable source that this is not, as I first wondered, a design fault, but a conscious decision to keep the blue-rinsers happy! (I would tell them to buy a jumper, but that's for another day!). For interiors of GNR AECs, the walls were covered in a sort of vinyl-like stuff, painted cream in UTA days - probably also in GNR days. At least a couple in their very late NIR days were a light grey. not unlike the upper panels exterior above the NIR maroon. The first class upholstery was a flowery pattern on a mid green background, and the standard class was the standard dark green UTA upholstery as may today be seen on several preserved UTA buses. The UTA used this on main line stock too. The GNR sets which went south ended up with CIE upholstery which was a mid to light brown plastic stuff, same as in many buses. And as push-pulls, of course, the dreaded bright orange plastic seats!!!

Normally it's entirely 100% the road vehicle driver's fault. Not here!!

Interesting, Mike - was it working then? I think the reason they laid it aside was that they needed a more powerful loco for whatever trains they were operating. In retrospect I wonder might it have been working over there with a reduced boiler pressure or something, as it could haul a serious amount of coal between Derreenavoggy and Dromod, via (on the branch) some savage gradients and twists and turns.

I can reassure you, Roxyguy. I'm just back from the pub, and nothing happened beyond a conversation about passenger train make-ups in the 1970s with a partner-in-crime, known to those here. Thursday night; now that's different; that'll be a longer session.

Never mind the diesel, Roxy; (a) it's yours and your call, (b) it's a light hearted and fictitious thing, and © it looks great! Fun is what this hobby should all be about. Keep 'er lit! :-)

To answer a few points above, the RPSI is indeed registered as a charity and has been in the south for some 20 years, and in the north about 30. So, incidentally, is the DCDR, though that's another matter. The RPSI is also registered in the south (only) as a train operating company and thus, bona fide railway operator. The C & L coaches at Dromod are sides and ends only and would require as big a rebuild as a new-build, if you know what I mean. The derelict operation at Blennerville is subject to attention by a new group, who assure enquirers that they are making great strides, though nothing has happened, Local stories - which I have no way of verifying one way or another - seem to suggest that vested interests in the local authority may be making it difficult for what's really needed - a skilled enthusiast group - to take over. A carbon copy situation exists with the badly managed and equally defunct Foyle Valley operation in Derry. 18T and the C & L loco are indeed still in the USA, and the loco at any rate requires very substantial work, including a brand new boiler. The one member of their operation who took a great interest in it, having been involved in its move from here, has now passed away. The remains of the SLNCR coach - one half if it - have now almost totally decomposed back to nature, along with the last remaining cattle truck, which fell apart about 15 years ago. Based on the RPSI's and DCDR's experience, extremely few fare paying passengers are enthusiasts. Thus, exact accuracy isn't a big deal; if it was, who would travel behind a CIE diesel or CSET steam loco in a 70 class trailer on a part of the BCDR, or in a BR Mk.2 coach behind an NCC tank engine on the MGWR! Studies have shown that a Severn Valley style operation, with a seven-train-a-day timetable with maybe three main line steam locos out, would be utterly unrealistic for Ireland. Economically, for 5ft 3, as well as 3ft gauge steam, the optimum length of line here is 2-5 miles. Shorter, and you won't get as many people as you might, and you'll have to pitch the fare quite low. Beyond 5, and you'll find the public won't pay a fare sufficient to deal with track maintenance costs for a longer line, and more coal per journey. You also need a good population centre. Moyasta survives because Co. Clare is quite busy tourist wise. Tralee was a mess because it was run by a county council and was thus almost doomed to failure. Finntown has wobbled financially because, again, wages have to be paid; this is utterly unsustainable in a set-up like that. Downpatrick is sufficiently close to Belfast, just as Suir Valley is to Waterford plus a good tourist area. Suir Valley manages a longer run because of much lower operating costs; a turf or ESB diesel will run thrice round the world on the amount of diesel that would take A39 to Inch Abbey and back. An Alan Keef loco of that size will run for three years on a bottle of PC correct, eco-friendly, no-emission, low sugar, non-sectarian vegetable juice. May contain traces of nuts; do not try this at home. And there we have it. Now; to old coach bodies - DCDR has numerous ones, but until and unless $$£$$£$£$£€€€€€€€€€€ appears, a laminate and 70 class trailer will operate public services. Accurate? No. Popular with the paying public? Yes.

No, they're correct, believe it or not! "Back to front" ones, i.e. facing the other way, were used on the driver's side of lorries and buses, and that side of steam loco tenders, but never on trams, carriages, wagons or diesel locos. If you look at the other side of the tender, provided they've done it correctly, it should face the other way, i.e. the "normal" way with upper bit pointing left. Actually, to be strictly accurate, the snail should also be lined in gold....

I'll shtand on me head to watch it.

Definitely. It's all Trump's and Putin's fault! :-)

That's a serious looking beast. Pub it is. (Snails are back to front, though..) ;-) ;-)

I recall someone telling me, back in the day, that they had just seen one struggle into Westland Row, ages and ages late as the locomotive (A7 I think) was very ill indeed; there was so much heavy black oily smoke that people on the platform thought it was a steam engine and you actually couldn't see the loco. Think what it would have been like under that roof breathing all that in! Needless to say, the loco was absolutely filthy as well.

I could not agree more.

Maybe it was only me, but when I first saw them new I thought they looked a bit like a "sawn-off" or shortened 52...... Think of that in NIR maroon!

Might be as easy making them out of very thin plastic. What I used to do, moon ago, is jab what would become the back of the strapping, i.e. the side next to the wood, with a sharp point (like a maths divider instrument), so that when the other way up it showed a small "bump" for the rivet. The divider thing had to be blunt or it would go through it. Worked adequately, though I am afraiod I've no photo to show what it looked like, as I sold off the wagons 25 years ago...

Haha! Excellent! A class 52 as a Hunslet?

Looks great!

Then that's it! Sound chip for black 1960s, or green or silver 1950s "A" class models! It would be interesting to hear a layout based about 1970 with a GM version alongside a non-rebuilt Crossley (suitably weathered with spilt oil!)

W O W !!!!!!!!! Fantastic!

My contact over there is unfortunately now no longer with us, but as recently as 3 years ago told me that the owners of Lady Edith and it's carriage would have been amenable to disposal back to Ireland. The combined shipping bill and rstoration costs would be truly, staggeringly, astronomical and only possible with massive state asistance, I would think.

Very interesting stuff, especially the letter from Egan to Henry Casserley!

Black'n'tan could be interesting too.... maybe take a photo and put it on a photoshop thing and try different variations without actually painting.... "White flashes"? - CIE green (either variety) wouldn't have had anything white......pale green would fit as EDN.

While it's a very long time since any of us heard a Crossley "A" class, from DIM memory that Ossie thing sounds about right.

I had wondered about that - ingenious!

VERY realistic!! The weathered pick up truck is also a realistic touch - vehicles on layouts can often look unrealistic due to being in glossy "showroom" condition, especially vans and lorries. the windscreen of that truck even has marks of wipers in the "dirt". That series he has of other scenic stuff is also inspirational. Good find, Broithe.