jhb171achill

Absolutely top class.

While the long term future cannot be foretold, as of now, zero plans to anything with Mk 4's beyond the main line and occasionally Killarney.

What would the oul monks on Skellig in the 5th century have made of it!

The return tickets, Tony, were longer than the others and white. Singles were pink and child tickets were a dull yellow colour. I think I have a few somewhere, if you want them.

I remember those tickets well, Divecontroller, and in the north at that time the UTA bus men carried a little machine with a handle at the side, and a supply of the tickets of different types strapped to the front of it. I used to wonder why he always gave me one the same colour, and didn't vary it....reason, of course, we did the same journey each day!

Wow factor doesn't even begin to describe this layout...

The 00n3 is more in scale. An Isle of Man 2.4.0T could be painted NCC maroon and there are various coach kits which would approximate to original (straight sided) Ballymena & Larne stock, if a layout based on the NCC was planned. If you go for 009, there are a number of locos which, if painted grey, would look broadly CIE-ish.

With the modern motorway network, particularly Dublin - Wexford, Dublin - Cork, Dublin - Galway and Dublin - Belfast, the railways have permanently lost the time advantage. If they upped their comfort game instead, they might be back in the running. That said, passenger numbers are rising post-recession, and with the population of Dublin set to exceed that of Northern Ireland within 20 years, more people will mean more road congestion and therefore more business for the railway.

Any UTA half-cabs there? :-)

So the last No. 2 was identical to the one in Cultra. There doesn't seem to be exact information on when each last worked, or was officially withdrawn, nor whether the Derry dockside railway was perhaps operated y road vehicles after they went? Does anyone know, for example, definitive information about the last rail=borne movements on this network (narrow or broad gauge?)...

Only 364, Josef; so we can certainly be sober for half a dozen of them.

You'll note in the photo the unique (to this class) form of the black'n'tan livery carried by several of these engines for a time. When CIE painted locos plain black, the white bit was limited to the tops of cab ends; it didn't go all around and along the sides, unless tan was present too. Several of the B101 class, for a short time, carried the end-only white flashes, but tan the whole way, and full height at that. There was no CIE roundel included, as far as I remember, and I can't see one above. Many of you will have noted the absolutely superb job recently carried out by the ITG at Downpatrick, in repainting A39 in black'n'tan. This raises an interesting, but small detail, with regard to CIE diesel liveries. As restored now, A39 has a "roundel" on the side. Generally, when an A or C class loco carried full-height tan, there was no roundel. And very few of them carried full height tan at all, especially in later days (post-re-engining). But A39 was one of those which did! Normally, the tan band would be the lower one for a re-engine A. So, great congratulations are due to the ITG and its members for an accurate research job well carried out. If only so many other preserved items were restored with this degree of attention to external appearance - which is what people see first. Back to the B101 - it can be all black, like the one at Carrick (though with proper font numerals, not the very thick numbers on it). In this guise, there would be a "roundel". Secondly, it can be same with yellow end patches. Third, it can be as above, a variation not carried by any other loco class, and fourth as above but with roundel and with lower tan strip instead of full height band. Fifth, of course, for some (not all) members of the class, "supertrain" livery.

If you want to be THAT detailed, Tony (and it would look amazing), take photos of individual ones, as the markings on them vary subtly quite a lot, particularly on the back. Probably best to team up markings of your choice with an individual registration number, if you really wanted absolute perfection.

I meant A39. I'd have to confess to being amongst those who might see 458 as "the ugly duckling"! (....running for cover in case Tony throws a railcar at me....)

You did. It was Scahalane. He's putting finishing touches to the inside of the building......

Will the new beauty be on duty? And - I'm presuming it's the standard timetable, perhaps without the 1700 departure?

Beautiful looking beast in original condition. Must have been some sight.

Depends. If there's chocolate, or a Heritage Railway magazine in it, "right now" is always the answer. The rest await the aunts, uncles and turkey.

Is there a bar in it, murrayec?

I remember years ago at Whitehead (and some readers of this will have current experience both there and at Downpatrick), the convoluted puzzles which arose in order to get something at the far end of a siding out, and shunted somewhere else, with inadequate headshunt room. Nightmare. It's not always as simple as it looks, though practice makes perfect.....

Dear Santa....... .....!

w o w !!!!!!

I might do, J'mad. It would take somewhat lionger to get photos of all variations, but we'll see. Initially, drawings. Virtually all liveries were applied to more than one type of vehicle, so a decsription of the livery, rather than all the vehicles, would be a start.

I gorged myself on those the other evening at a family get-together when the younger folk had "cooked".... Who's for a gingerbread De Dietrich set?

Brilliant, Glenderg. PM me your email address and I'll ping you in a few days with whatever ideas I put together.