jhb171achill

Trouble is, whatever metal they were made of polished to a silvery colour!

Eoin, yes, normally a light yellow creamy colour but according to jhb171achill Senior, who spent many Saturdays bumbling about Inchicore in the 1930s, the odd one did have polished numerals and rims, like 186 currently.

That truly looks so good. Captures the era perfectly.

"The sin is not the doing; it's the being-found-out" (Most politicians, 1789-present)

Now THAT would be a sight to behold!

When repainting, Eoin, for max effect I would paint the connecting rods and wheel rims great as well as the body. The numberplates look excellent. All over grey like the body, but rims and numerals picked out in light yellow / cream.....

David, I would guess - as standard - that the buffer beams on the "Unit" were red... Absolutely FANTASTIC work, as always. Brilliant. Such an unusual layout...

Last hour before closing time? :-)

I was just thinking - with the curvature on some of the dock lines, it's a wonder that anything six-coupled got around there at all!

If there are seats - better to contact th RPSI to be sure. This is the first year in 20 that I haven't done the seating plan myself so I can't be sure, but based on last 2 years, it was completely booked out.

Under your expert hand, that would be an absolute delight to see, Eoin.

Given lottery wins of some magnitude, if a preserved one in Britain was going begging, it could be brought here and regauged - perfect for the DCDR! But then, the GNR tank loco in Cultra, or No. 30, would be better........

Good to see 8209 and 077 with "proper" numbers on them, rather than irrelevant, unnecessary and unintelligible lengthy computer codes written along them.....!

Kilkenny will see great steam activity over the two days!

One lasted until about 1963. I think the other was long gone by then.

MGWR Broadstone departures, 1st January 1920: a.m. 4.30 Passenger / perishables to North Wall (LNWR) 5.45 Engine & Guard's Van to Amiens St (GNR) 7.25 Down Limited Mail - Galway (from Kingstown Pier 6.5am) Journey time 4 hrs. Connections to Westport, Killala & Achill. 9.00 Cavan passenger 9.25 Kingscourt passenger (connection to Athboy). This originated at the LNWR terminal at North Wall at 8.45. 9.45 Creosote wagons to Liffey junction 10.00 Passenger to North Wall (LNWR) p.m. 1.10 Sligo passenger 1.30 Galway passenger with connections to Achill & Killala 1.50 Kingscourt passenger 2.00 Passenger to North Wall (LNWR) 3.00 Maynooth passenger 5.45 Kingscourt passenger 6.00 Cavan passenger 6.30 Mail train to Amiens St (GNR) & Kingstown Pier 6.40 Passenger to North Wall (LNWR) 7.30 Galway night mail with connection to Westport only It should be noted that departures labelled "Galway" also had connections for the branches to Edenderry, Clara, Loughrea, Clifden, Achill and so on, and also from Athlone to Westport, Achill & Killala. MGWR practice was that one departure would have all sorts of sections to be jettisoned for different connecting lines at major junction stations. In addition, goods trains operated from North Wall (Midland) at: 12.45 am Westport (all stations Athlone - Achill) 2.00 am Athlone (Clara, Mayo Branch) 3.30 am All stations to Mullingar 5.00 am Kingscourt & GNR stations either side of Navan 5.00 PM Most stations to Cavan branch and branches, also beyond to GNR destinations 8.15 pm Ballina, with connections to Killeshandra and Cavan lines 10.15 pm Galway (Clifden & Loughrea branches) Other goods went by mixed trains. Cattle trains could load to 45 wagons LADEN!

What to do on a rainy Sunday....but browse the October 1896 W L W R working timetable, which I came across while sorting some sort of vague order into the chaos that stalks this room forever..... Three through goods trains per day traversed Limerick to Waterford, along with various short workings to the Junction. Passengers were catered for by trains leaving Limerick at 9.00am, 3.10pm and 5.45pm, with a mixed leaving at 11.00pm and arriving (passenger accommodation included) at 3.15 am. All four carried mails as well, apart from the 5.45pm; passenger services took typically three and a half hours, with 13 intermediate stops. Thurles - Clonmel had two passenger trains, a mixed and a goods; journey time was an hour and ten minutes. Limerick to Sligo had numerous short services such as a Tuam - Claremorris short passenger working, but the through trains were interesting. The day started with a goods trains departing for the whole length of the line at 2.30am. It had passenger accommodation as far as Ennis; one wonders how much patronage a train leaving at 2.30am from Limerick and dropping the drowsy passenger at Ennis at 4am might have had; all six intermediate stations were catered for too. Next, the 6.45am through passenger. Then came the down day mail at 10.40, which took until 7.15pm to reach Sligo, having (agonisingly?) called at all 29 intermediate stations, including a stop of an hour and 25 minutes at Athenry! Remember, this was mostly in six-wheelers with neither corridor or toilet. The 3.20pm mixed Limerick - Tuam was last. Reverse workings were much the same. Limerick - Killaloe was a WLWR line - it was only from Birdhill to Ballybrophy that was GSWR. Two passenger trains and one mixed comprised the service on this line, the journey taking fifty minutes. Foynes had one mixed and one passenger train per day. Both were connections from Limerick - Tralee trains. The Fenit line had a similar service, also with connections off the incoming trains from Limerick. The Limerick - Tralee line itself was the least busy of the WLWR's three main routes, with two passenger trains, a mixed and a goods in each direction. The journey took 2 hours and 17 minutes by the best service. On all WLWR lines, all trains stopped at all stations. Just picture those elegant 4.4.0s with their immaculately kept, but even then basic accommodation. For livery nerds (like me), locomotives and coaches were lined burgundy maroon, and goods stock was dark grey with white lettering. After only a few years, the GSWR would take over, though little would change until GSR days, when gradual neglect would see the system reduced to what it is today: ghost lines from Waterford to Limerick Junction, and Limerick - Ballybrophy, with the only bits used to any effect being Junction - Limerick and Limerick - Athenry. Hope that's of interest. (Mods: would a "historical" section on IRM be useful?)

No, never on the GNR lines at all, let alone south of Dundalk. Their only function was round Belfast docks. As far as I am aware, neither of the pair ever even pulled a train on the NCC! The NCC livery was black with single maroon lining and shaded lettering "N C C" on the tank sides, as was the norm then.

Downpatrick is the future for that! By degrees, Park Royal No. 1944 is under restoration, though as always manpower and money is short.....

Never a truer word, Noel. Let's hope that Midland six-wheelers and "D" class 4.4.0s replace the ICRs once the internal temperature melts them entirely...... and that the entire Mk 4 and 29000 fleet disappears into Lecarrow ballast pit, having been "accidentally" shunted by 800 on its trial run after restoration....

Yes, the originals were to the limitis of the loading gauge. A "narrow gauge" version would be a pity. Having said that, great to see anything Irish and r.t.r.

And railcars are supposed to be light!

They cost €1.15 each, John-r. You can show her this post.........!

'Tis true, Snapper. At my vintage, neither an ICR, nor a Mk 3 train nor a container train or yellow machine would pass any interest test, if some sort of 2.4.0 came along in charge of a mixed train of a couple of six-wheelers and a few cattle trucks!