jhb171achill

Best I did behind steam was a 70 mile stretch on the footplate of a 5ft 6in gauge "WP" class streamlined 4.6.2 west of Lucknow, at a steady 88 miles per hour in India in 1979. The power of those things was supernatural - he had TWENTY ONE heavily loaded bogies behind him, though it was all level...... And the famous 84 mph with No. 4 from Attymon to Ballinasloe some time in the early 1990s. As our youthful colleagues here might say, "hellfire"; but not a wretched diesel in sight!

Leslie - I'll discuss with Norman when I see him!!!!! Maybe you, he and I might meet soon, in a carriage behind her.....

Likewise! And add in the Cork City line. A weekly crossing of the resident AEC set for servicing, transfers of cattle, beet and goods traffic daily or twice daily. Shunting on both Penrose Quay and the West Cork Side too. I forgot to mention earlier that the beet season brought ex-MGWR "E" (J16) class 0.6.0Ts in, and these worked the Courtmacsherry and Clonakilty lines, where the beet was loaded. 560 was a regular and was also to be found doing occasional trips between Tralee and Fenit at the time. I used to have her numberplate, still in grey with raised pale yellow numerals. I sold it many, many years ago during a period of financial impecunity, only to find out afterwards that 560 was originally MGWR No. 115 "Achill"; a loco which was regular on that line at its opening! As the great philisopher Homer might have said, "D'Oh"!!!!

Wooooo!!!!!! Visit to Britain needed!!!

A 1950s feel would involve all steam pre-1954, with GSWR 2.4.2 tank locos, one or two MGWR "E" 9560) class 0.6.0 tanks, and above all the "Bandon Tanks" on the main line. On the main line alone, there would be work for at least six Bandon Tanks. 1954 - 1958 means steam on branches and goods, with AEC railcars on the main line passenger; two return trips a day to Bantry, usually with a three coach set. The centre car was normally a Park Royal, and old Bredin or a laminate, though initially a wooden bogie either as a centre car or being towed. This was most likely to be a former GSWR main line corridor coach if used as a centre car. 1955 brings laminates and Park Royals, the usual centre car material until the end. 1958 brings a big revolution, with steam almost eliminated overnight with the introduction of the "C" class. No other diesel class was ever used in West Cork, except for one or two trial run experiments of light engines. I think an "A" might have got as far as Ballinhassig at least on a trial ruin, possibly Bandon. The "C"s were used on the Baltimore - Drimoleague section, now downgraded from main line to branch, on the Clonakilty / Courtmacsherry section, and on main line goods. If we examine the 1960 Working Timetable, we see that in order to operate the full service, on any one day one railcar set and five "C"'s are needed. When the railcar was away for servicing, steam sometimes deputised, with a Bandon Tank or a GSWR 2.4.2T on the passenger train, though more normally a "C" or a different railcar set. Excursions brought 90 & 100 to Ballinascarthy. A "C" or steam would bring the train to there, but the two smaller locos took over because of the light track. Only non-corridor bogie carriages of short length could be used on this line due to severe curvatures of track here and there. To that end, several elderly ex-GSWR coaches and at least one ex-CBSCR one were retained for this purpose. Former MGWR six-wheelers made appearances on the main line from time to time, as well as on the Drimoleague - Skibbereen - Baltimore line; the sight of one of these behind a brand new "C" with a brand new tin van at the other end was, to say the least, bizarre; even more so when a heavily loaded three-coach AEC railcar set had such an elderly six-wheeler tagged on behind. All in all, an absolutely fascinating period and location for any layout. Such steam as remained was a combination of:

Photos suggest that West Cork - and Glanmire Road - locos were kept fairly well. Maybe the lack of a shed actually helped, as locos could get very dirty with swirling soot and smoke inside a shed. Cleaners usually kept them in reasonable - if not pristine - order.

The beauty about subject matter like Bantry is that from opening day to closure the station barely varied. With station buildings like that, you could well do 1950s; but also any period prior to that. Early CIE, GSR, CBSCR....

That United Airlines thing was an absolute disgrace. I hope Americans boycott them for a long time - hit them very hard indeed in the pocket.

Totally agree. I had a large narrow gauge one in my first house - it got damaged by damp but the trusses were an awful impediment anyway. Second house - gigantic open attic but money tight; in some 18 years I never even started a layout, but it would have been more than ideal. Current house: trusses. Layout in garage or nothing.

I suppose the final arbiter is what's on the RPSIs "Jeep" No. 4, which is correct. Technically, "straw" is a very pale yellow brown; beige even. Cream or whitish cream is way too light.

Looks stunning!

Yes, pity about the lining but looks a superb model otherwise. Glad its injuries are better!

Superb job, absolutely brilliant. Jobs like this show that a modeller on an extremely restricted budget can still follow this type of example and produce something totally convincing. Top class job.

I must check but I think that one Bandon tank may have been painted actual black very late in the day, possibly 464. That would have been about 1958-60. If you prefer 1950s specifically, the grey needed would be a good deal lighter than something "nearly black" if accuracy is required. If you look at 186 at Whitehead today, you've got it. Beware though. Whitehead deliberately allowed the grey smokebox and chimney to get dirtier, as they didn't like grey! - so I was told. Whole loco should be the same grey. A bit darker, but not much, than English LMS wagon grey. Another interesting livery matter is that Albert Quay painted several coaches in the pre-1955 darker green but with no lining at all, and that after 1955. As far as I can gather the AEC railcars were about the only things to run in West Cork in the "modern" (lighter) green, at any rate with any regularity.

It's that "narrow gauge" look which is very much what would have put me off trying to do anything Irish in "N". For American layouts in smallish space it is of course ideal.

I had often considered Irish "N" gauge, Dropshort, but like you I would find it too small.... With space an issue for many nowadays, I wonder is there, however, a future in it?

Brilliant stuff, iarnrod, thanks!

That's a different kettle'o'fish! Yes, 140 existed.... as above..... And yet, amongst horse boxes in the 1923 list, there's no 160 either! Inclusion in earlier or later lists must prove existence, of course, so one wonders where it was hiding in 1923....

Just delving a bit... For NCC / UTA modellers, the following are fine, but you'd have to add gangways to them: DAPOL Ref. nos. 4P 010 002,3,4 & 6. Not the brake-ended ones. Just add gangways! If NCC-ing, just get rid of the crests and replace LMS with LMS NCC. If GSR, get rid of crests and lettering, and put numerals for class on door. Otherwise, CIE green of either type pre or post 1955. Bredins - DAPOL REf. 4P 010 007 and 011. RATIO reference nos. 610 and 612, which are kits of GWR long wheelbase four wheelers. Just about long enough to look 6-wheel-ish with appropriate chassis. West Cork and early GSWR had some six wheelers as short as 24ft, which must have been a severe knee-knocking exercise with whoever was opoosite you - unless you were both midgets. The BCDR thirds were like this too - very uncomfortable for long journeys indeed. In the wagon arena, Dundas' PC08A is a reasonable approximation of a GNR 1954-build cement van (used as general goods vans by CIE right until mid 70s, with an "N" after the number, e.g. one I saw at Templemore in 1976, 66N. Their PC 87 is an LMS cattle truck. Not at all the design of CIE (we await this in kit form, hopefully!) but as close as anything proprietary is. It must be remembered that any pre-1963 Irish railway layout will need cattle trucks, and often cattle specials! No fertiliser or cement (other than in sacks in normal goods vans), acrylonitrile, dolomite, shale, andydrous ammonia, magnesite, Taras or the like back then.....!

I had a look in the GSWR diagram book of 1923 which I have and there's no mention of a vehicle of that number at all, let alone a TPO! So the plot thickens; was this thing a conversion, and if so, when and why?

I wondered about that!

The very best of luck, Tony. These things can indeed take time and experimentation. I'm sure something great will emerge!

Does the Silver Fox one have the small window option too? I thought theirs were all larger window....even though some are numbered for the earlier series...? I always had a soft spot for these locos - though many railwaymen didn't!

It's the colour of new ballast, Tony, which I suspect would not have been in abundance in Omagh goods yard within your period! I would mix with other types perhaps, and weather it when all put in place. Oil and coal dust, general wear and tear, and (within the yard) a good degree of a trampling effect, i.e. not crisp and pristine, flattened down a lot, would be evident too. Add a few small weeds at the ends of the sidings and in corners and there ye go!

Many thanks, folks. Barl - if technical accuracy is the main thing, obviously the brass kits are the best. I tried gluing one together once, but it was a 009 gauge 4-wheeler, a much smaller thing. If technical accuracy is not paramount, and as you say the "look" is what you want to go for (and possibly financial economy too) I would think in terms of cutting up second hand old Hornby chassis to use with bought coach sides as mention d above. This covers bogies too. For a straightforward repainting, any model of the LMS Stanier coaches is a reasonable approximation to some Bredins. Beware of brake seconds of British origin, though. In Ireland it was always more common to have a separate van, and in the grey / green era this tended to be an old wooden six wheel brake 3rd or full brake, or in the later part of that period a tin van. There were SOME brake 2nds and brake 3rds (very few brake 1sts) but these would be wooden, not Bredin or Laminate style. The British non-corridor suburban stock can sometimes vaguely resemble one type of GSWR third, but would need gangways. While the 1333 series Bredins were built as suburban for the DSER, they were very quickly given corridors within GSR days. Thus, no "modern" coaches ever ran without gangways in CIE times. As I mentioned initially, a fairly reasonably priced 6-wheel chassis would be a great help too.