jhb171achill

That really is some achievement. Compare the lengthy closures of the Nenagh branch for relaying seven metres of track, and cutting a hedge!

Excellent!!!!!! I heard that driver has made a formal complaint to the PHBTU (Peco, Hornby and Bachmann Trade Union). You may be getting a solicitors letter! :-)

Two photos up, same type of railcar. No other type of railcar ever ran on the line, toy than an occasional foray of the ugly Bullied design which ran with them, and of which there were mercifully few. This makes accurate modelling simple, as from their introduction (1953 to this line, I think) they formed virtually 100% of passenger trains into Bantry, the goods being "Bandon Tanks". On an occasional day off for maintenance, the railcar was substituted by (usually) an ex-GSWR 2.4.2T tank loco. A "Bandon Tank" might have deputised the odd time. While I've no evidence of it happening, I'm sure it probably did. Coaching stock is important for accuracy, and presents the biggest challenge, in the form of elderly GSWR and CBSCR stock. Bredins and Park Royals made occasional visits, but really only in later years, with PRs appearing sometimes as railcar intermediates. The oft-shown pics of the famous IRRS St Patrick's Day special has a steam-hauled train of then brand new laminates posing on the viaduct, but such carriage stock on steam train was certainly not typical - if it ever happened at all in normal service. Thus, if accuracy is to prevail, a three car AEC set (a Bredin being suitable as an intermediate) or a steam hauled train of a bogie third, maybe a six-wheel first, and a six-wheel brake third would be right. Most bogies in the period modelled were GSWR in origin, with at least two old, and very basic, Bandon coaches which were short wheelbase bogies. Most six - wheelers by that stage were actually ex MGWR, though I think I'm right in saying there remained at least one CBSCR one. None of these carriages are much like anything convertible or repaintable from British prototypes, and the railcars, while pure Southhall mechanically, were also unlikely British railcars. Thus, for passenger trains, either serious kit and scratch building, or serious compromise, is necessary.

Totally agree, Popeye!

Superb programme. It always beats me why railway enthusiasts - especially if interested in modelling - are seen by some as nerds who have never grown up, yet it's acceptable to watch overpaid, bottle-tanned spoilt brats spending ninety minutes running round after a ball, at the end of which the score is either 0-0 or 1.0. Or, those who like cars, motor bikes, ships or planes: all forms of transport, so what's wrong with us! Excellent programme, "caring" as Weshty says.

Anyone having problems? Top right log-in button won't work, whether I try to store it or not. In order to log in, I have to find a thread that I know I've posted in, then click on a post I made in the past, then look up "previous posts" for myself, and THEN the login screen appears, already populated with jhb171etc and password!

Ghastly. Poor fella. He needs to analyse very carefully who could have known what's there! It's certainly someone "in the know". Years ago, something of mine (not that valuable) was pinched by a colleague in one of the preservation bodies. I know who took it, and while it was only worth about €15, I was surprised in the extreme that someone I thought could be 100% trusted turned out not to be.

There's a vid clip somewhere of ballast dropping and ploughing on the DCDR's Inch Abbey line. If I recall correctly, it was being side-dropped by their ex-NIR bogie, and centre-dropped by their GSWR 4-wheeled ballast wagon. The GSWR plough did that end of it.

The prize is 1000 bubble wagons!

I'm with ye... ugly and not only that, rarely clean in traffic! I remember seeing a very filthy one in Heuston - contrasting with a pristine "tippex" one next to it!

A R-T-R "A" and "C" at the very least, along with a good kit or RTR fertiliser and cattle wagon would go a huge, huge way in the hobby. We're seeing the modern era, tipped era, supertrsin era and black'n'tan era very impressively covered now. A good set of green'n'silver and steam eras would give some great choices. We are about to get a RTR GSWR / GSR / CIE J15. This is the single most essential loco of all of the steam era, along with Des' excellent SSM J15 kit. A Midland 6-wheeler and a decent GSWR or MGWR six-wheel passenger brake would conclude the basics.

In "them there days", locos were prepared for a photo by painting in light grey, black and white, to emphasise features in the days of black and white photography. They were then painted in their "actual" livery. Above, we see wheels and motion picked out in white, a huge ornamental number, and a black smokebox. In traffic, from the start, the number (in light yellow / cream) was smaller and plainer, and the grey was very slightly darker, encompassing also the white bits and smokebox. On the CVR, the cab of the "Unit" and the railcar were interchangeable, though I am unaware of any evidence of this ever happening. The railcar and its cab unit were mid brown with white roof, while the goods unit above was a very dark grey with white roof; much darker than the goods stock.

Beware the colours on both of the Downpatrick vans shown. 1. Brown is faded now 2. Even newly painted, slightly too reddish. 3. They should have brown chassis, not black ever.

The number could either be on its own, or prefixed by "No." if the spaces round the vacuum pipes permitted it. The buffer beams were red, in GSR days very thinly lined in black, with the number as you say shaded. The red buffer beams were the only reluef to the grey! If you want to see the exact style of shading used, look at 461 and 186 as they are today. There were several colours used in it. The only other colour detail is the numberplate. Painted over in grey, with rim and numerals picked out in pale yellow. Numberplate backgrounds on grey locos were always grey themselves.

It's a steam-powered clockwork iPhone, made by Apple & Co. Engineering Works in Manchester in 1912, so it's ok...... Seriously, an absolutely amazing, top class job. Looks sublime in every way.

It's an absolute scandal that not one atom of that still exists - or has done, thanks to Stormont, for half a century.

A bendy-bus.

Haha!!!!!! :-)

Beware the Bantry Boys!

David, I've thought that your skills with Leitrim-world and Clogher Valley would lend themselves well to a quirky off-the-beaten-track CIE branch about 1959. That loco, and / or something like No. 90, plus an obligatory appearance of a dirty green "C", would make a fine sight tentatively bumbling through weed-grown track which hadn't seen too many PW gangs since about 1938! A six wheel passenger brake and about half a dozen wagons would be all you'd need - with one GN one, maybe, borrowed from "Arigna Road"! A grimy 299 fits that scene perfectly.

Interesting stuff. Gives me ideas for the next colour book.......! (That said, I'm an oul black'n'tan fogey.....too old to hear new chimes, etc etc.....!)

I'm absolutely with you on that, Noel! Was just curious though...... It's a pity when there's so very little of interest on the railways that a yellow machine is notable......

That's very true, Leslie - I had omitted that because it was a "half-enthusiast" thing. As an approximation of GSWR livery, it was utterly wrong in every way, but looked well! Grey livery on locos did tend to darken largely due to oily rags and coal smoke. It would have looked almost (but not quite) dirty black when, well, dirty and weathered, but on a newly painted loco was said to have a "bluish sheen".

And again, speaking of yellow things: Can someone assist with a gap in my extensive notes of livery stuff? When I was a mere nipper, back in the days when Jesus was learning his spellings, the M1 was cobbled and pussy was a kitten, and wifi signals were poor in the round tower at Clonmacnoise, all PW stuff was standard wagon grey, across the GNR, NCC, UTA and CIE. Then one day about 1971 or so, such things began to appear, on the rare occasions they saw a paintbrush, in the standard goods wagon brown (which nowadays has morphed into a horrible reddish garish brown!). My question is when did PW plough vans (not those funny yellow machines - proper vans) start appearing in yellow? Does anyone know? Would it have been about 1985 or so?

LIVERY OF GSWR 101 (J15) CLASS LOCOMOTIVES Initial building or earliest examples – approx. 1880/5 Lined olive green, as (accurately) depicted on No. 90 at Downpatrick, or the model of the 2.4.0 in the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in London. Lining: light green, red and black. Numberplate background – black, polished numerals. 1880/5 until approx. 1895 Same olive green with lining simplified to cream and black. Numberplate background remained black, polished numerals. Approx. 1895 – 1915 Glossy black with red lining (some evidence suggests that at least initially, the lining was red and white in places). The numberplate appears to have been red-background, polished numerals. 1915 - end GSWR era (1925), and on right through GSR days (1925-45) and into CIE days until approx. 1949 Plain battleship grey, including wheels, connecting rods, all motion, inside frames, smokebox and chimney. In most cases, cab interior too, though it would appear that some locos had a mid-brown cab interior on the loco, but not the tender. Numberplates were sometimes painted over completely in grey, sometimes with polished numerals*, but mostly the same grey background with numerals picked out in pale yellow or dark cream. (* loco numberplates were almost always cast iron or steel, so polished numerals may have been a short lived idea! Few GSR locos ever had brass numberplates. A few of some classes did have, but I am as good as certain that none were J15s!). Tenders were entirely grey in every area and detail, with no relieving features or markings at all. Any small tender end numberplates were just painted over. Wheels, brakes, the lot. One very excellent publication tells us that numberplates were black-backed with red numerals. This is incorrect, as is an assertion that smokeboxes were black. 1949 – end of steam operation (1963) CIE came into existence in 1945, but was nationalised in 1950. About 1949, “flying snails”, already being applied to publicity, carriages and buses, began to appear on locomotives. As we know, some passenger locos were to be painted green – these got them straight away – and soon, they began to appear on the tenders of the standard grey steam engines. At the same time, CIE started removing cabside numberplates and substituting these with larger painted numbers in the same pale yellow, sometimes a slightly darker shade. Thus, for some years, a mix is appropriate in the model world of plated / painted cabside numbers, paired with tenders with or without snails. It is important to remember here that in no cases were the snails yellow on any steam loco. They used the same standard transfer used on buses and carriages; thus all snails on all locos without exception were pale green with gold lining. The modern myth of the yellow snail is as accurate as a pink roundel on a 141, or a bright blue and tartan roof on a Mk 3 coach! It appears to have arisen due to the unfortunate turning out of both 184 and 461 in black with yellow snails in the 1990s. So, throughout the entire 1915-63 period, as far as J15s are concerned, if one wants accuracy it’s plain grey only. With a numberplate and no snail, the loco will fit any year within this time. With a snail and / or a painted number, post 1950 or so only. It’s worth pointing out that not every tender repainted in the 50s received a snail. Some remained plain grey. Of course, there’s an exception to ever rule. One solitary CIE loco received a repaint as late as 1962 – probably the last CIE steam loco ever to be completely repainted. It carried a unique variation (well, it WAS done in Cork, boy!). And – it was a J15! In spring 1962, J15 No. 193 received a repaint in the standard grey livery, but with a BLACK smokebox and chimney (and NO snail, incidentally). It was withdrawn from use months later. A final word about the black and green liveries. The lined green, as seen on 461 (though the shade is wrong) was a very attractive livery which was applied after about 1946 or so to some main line passenger locos and some suburban tanks, but nothing else with the exception of one old GSWR 4.4.0 (No. 60, perhaps, I forget). One 400 class loco appears to have had it unlined. Numberplates were red-backed on green locos with polished letters on 801/2, dark blue backed on 800, and painted in eau-de-nil (not yellow) on others. From about 1957, some locos which were repainted received all over black. From Clement’s recollections, there were no more than a couple of dozen thus treated, therefore grey remained the standard until the end. For the record, no J15s ever were painted black, even this late. No. 90, one Bandon Tank, at least two Woolwichs and possibly a 400 were thus treated. I have a list somewhere but have never been able to find it. I hope that this lengthy tome assists; in summary, therefore: All over grey with plates (picked out yellow, grey-backed) and plain tenders: appropriate 1915-63 Any tender with a snail, or painted number: 1949-63. All other colours or decorations: the modeller’s prerogative, of course, but incorrect historically, like our yellow, light blue and brown ICR…….!