jhb171achill

Yes, the UTA repainted all the stations but in a red, green and light grey scheme which they didn’t necessarily use in many other places. The several CIE-owned stations between Strabane and Derry remained in GNR colours, I think until closure.

I have details somewhere, yes!

Even into the 1980s, NIR railcars on certain services could have a converted MED railcar, now an unpowered parcel van, or some old NCC “brown vans” behind it. I saw a set one time in the mid-70s with no less than six brown vans behind it. I think that was fairly unusual though.

Also, seek out WRENNEIRE of this parish. He can help you with just about any model under the sun. A bit more than that - grey far too light, and black roof and number on tender need to go too. Easy, though - simply repaint the entire thing, bar the red buffer beams, in a dark grey and put cabside number PLATES on, and hey presto - GSR.

Wheelslip - that bottom loco (the upside-down one!) if repainted plain dark grey would do you well!

I'm a bit late to this party, but here goes: 1. I agree there is no model remotely like "Sambo", but I actually doubt it did go to the mills - I think it was confined to Inchicore Works. I'd be interested to know if it definitely did ever go anywhere else. 2. 00 Works J15, yes. LNER 0.6.0, yes. In the latter case, repainted grey. If you are in GSR times, no black locos and no green ones - every single loco they posessed was plain grey all over, no flying snails either - they only came with CIE in 1945. Cast cabside numberplates, no painted numbers (apart from a handful of suburban passenger tanks). 3. Small industrial-type loco, certainly - I had thought of that too. There were an extremely small number of things like that in reality - Allmans Distillery, Bandon, for one. The little engine of that line ended up being bought by the GSR who slapped a standard numberplate on it, but never repainted it, so it ended its days in barely recognisable badly faded delivery-colour manufacturer's green. (An exception to the grey rule!). 4. Wagons - yes, leslie's are the best option. CIE "H" vans, nice as they are, far too late for GSR era. I have three of the SSM ones - they would be fine, in reality. Overall, I think your era is an excellent one and a great way to start.

Much as I'd love to find a pro-rail flaw in that argument, I'm afraid you have it 100% spot on, unfortunately. I think goods in general is doomed, unless there is a very radical re-think from central government, but this would involve long-term planning, something our successive governments of all parties do not do. It also recalls to mind what, again regrettably, I am increasingly seeing as a vanity project for the last government - Foynes. Still zero potential business for it, and seemingly zero interest.

What they called “tail traffic” in Brexitland was actually very common behind railcars here. Donegal is very obvious, of course, from railcar-day-one, but all over the UTA and CIE, and into NIR days in the north, it was very common, even the norm in certain services. Vans carrying mail, parcels or newspapers - or all - in particular. On CIE, extra coaches, including the 1890s MGWR six-wheelers above, tin vans, goods wagons, horse boxes, the lot.

I would presume so - that was his impression. So much for the green agenda!

And he will blame Bill Clinton.............. Most interesting article, Mr. Rechtsanwalt; very thought-provoking. We are indeed living in dangerous times, with so much pointing to the 1930s. I often feel lucky I'll probably be dribbling tepid soup down my cardigan in a nursing home by the time it fully hits us all.

Always my view, yes. No. 4 was always to me the least attractive preserved engine, but there's no doubt that they were a truly excellent design in most ways (though the injectors often had a preference to water the ballast rather than inject water into the boilere!). Fair to say No. 4 saved the society's bacon several times.

Can you imagine what Mr. Elfin Safety would have to say about that today!

That's some serious traffic at Tara Junction! Maybe a Luas extension is needed there!

Indeed, and while I prefer accuracy myslef, I have a full range of the Hattons yokes, and would be getting any Rapido / IRM ones too - as you say, they give the "feel" of it.

The Genesis coaches were, even within Britain, an "approximation" to many designs of a number of British companies. As mentioned before frequently, British coach design - on any line - was totally unlike anything on ANY Irish line, with very very few exceptions - the most notable of which was an obvious family resemblance between many NCC designs and LMS ones. The Bachmann "CIE" coaches sold with the "Woolwich" loco, for example, are no more like anything that CIE or its constituents ever had, than an ICR is lime Stephenson's Rocket. However, like early Lima BR class 33s sold in orantge and black as a "supertrain", livery decieves the eye, and in the absence of anything else, these thnigs have had to do. However, when the Genesis 6-wheelers came out, by lucky coincidence, this GENERIC British design happened to closely resemble several batches of GSWR stock built largely in the 1890s, but with examples stil;l in traffic into the 1960s. This was when I suggested to them they do a run in Irish colours and supplied them with all the details. I was already supplying them with details for GSR liveries when Hattons shut down. Two of the three GSR liveries would have been appropriate. But that's by the by. The Rapido stuff that's coming out is all non-corridor, thus branch line use. Having examined each model in detail, none are close to anything Irish, but several types give a reasonable family similarity to some Irish coaches, particularly ex-GSWR, and again in the absence of exact scale models, will suit as a convincingly LOOKING Irish vehicle if in suitable livery. One or two even are reminiscent of some of the few wooden-bodied coaches which survived into the black'n'tan era, and by 1972 or so when the last were withdrawn, were largely confined to Youghal summer excursions, Dublin suburban peak hours, Dun Laoghaire boat trains, and northern suburban summer excursions (Donabate, etc). So, one might expect to see both green liveries (1945-55 and 1955-62) plus orange and black. Possibly some in GSR livery? The release of the model of 800 "Maedb" would be well accompanied by some stock - while Maedb is unlikely to ever have hauled anything six-wheeled or non-corridor, given a three-foot rule a train of these Rapido yokes behind one might look nice, especially if interspersed with SSM brass kit "Bredins" or at the very least LMS corridor stock of the 1930s with livery slightly amended to GSR era. Either way, any of these in Irish liveries are certainly likely to be seen at Dugort Harbour! And if Rapido, IRM, or anyone else bring out something like this, all credit to them. I will be certainly supporting the venture.

When I was about 8, Senior gave me all his OWN Meccanno, which was actual original stuff from the late 1920s. Original wooden box too. Wish I’d kept it - probably with a fortune now!

It’s the modern era now on my friend’s layout. An 071 with modern yellow things; note the excellent Sperry wagon at the end! IMG_3364.mov

It’s 1972. Most wagons are still grey but the new brown livery is beginning to appear, and a good quarter of the loco fleet now stand out among the grubby black’n’tan ones with their new “supertrain” livery…. IMG_3365.mov Now it’s 1966, and A55 awaits the road to go and rescue failed Crossley sister A9……

From a 1947 Meccano magazine. The first of these useful engines had entered traffic the year before, and the last of them in 1950, well into UTA times. The last few would become Ireland’s last operational company-service steam engines in 1970, with the very last one not officially withdrawn until 1971.

An excellent sect to belong to!

Dare I throw in also the fact that many, many vehicles were rebuilt throughout their MGWR career - before the GSR was even conceived - and in some cases to a completely different specification with a new number! And - in some cases more than once.... And - once the GSR took over, this continued! One old 6-wheeled full brake that I know of was rebuilt by the MGWR with its "birdcage" removed, then in GSR days rebuilt again as some sort of unique looking yoke, the bodywork looking vaguely more GSWR-ish than Midland. There was also a six-wheeled passenger brake on the Loughrea line in the 1930s of a design I've never seen anything like. It appears in two old photos, very unclear in both. I'll try to find a pic of it, but it will be in my forthcoming book on the line and I may have already sent the original to the publisher. Not just the MGWR stuff - the GSWR stock was also subject to such vagaries. Couldn't agree more!

“Bet ya two shillings he’ll be late in. Never tries to make up time! And he’s got twenty with the “C” class…” ”Well, we’re stuck here till he does….”

Of use??? It’s a MASTERPIECE! Very well done!

A perfect analogy! I think they were Midland (of Englsnd) rather than LNWR - all the ones at Whitehead were, anyway. Your spreadsheet is a great deal more than most of us could manage, so very great comntratulations - a highly useful historical resource. Park Royals were steel. As far as i know, only the UTA extensively used aluminium to re-panel some old wooden stock in the late 1950s. As for the early 60s coaches, as far as I am aware, and I am relying here on memory rather than documentary evidence. The last two dining cars they built were timber framed and the rest were laminate. Can't remember my source for that info, could have ben Marcus Bailie-Gage (former Dundalk Works Manager), or Bob Clements, though its 25 years or more since I last spoke to him!

Following up, I can't find any pics yet, but I can now recall what I did see. The green one at Downpatrick has a small snail and small number on cabside, and a black chassis frame. This is incorrect, and an unfortunate example of how incorrect liveries in preservation can be copied as if they had been accurate. The photo I saw, some sonsiderable time ago, and possibly in Jim O'Dea's photos, shows one with green frames, and a large number, but no snail, on cabside. It cannot have worn this for long. I think we can eliminate G602 from this, referring to above.