jhb171achill

That looks really well! Models, anyone?

Probably the best is indeed something like that. In a completely ideal world, a terminus for all Dublin would be under St Stephens Green, with underground connections to the DSER, MGWR, GNR and GSWR lines. Had the Luas Green / Harcourt St Line not have been (re)opened, they could even have used that very well to start going down underground while also providing a commuter service. In such a scenario, with an underground "Dublin Central" (layout possibility?), the question would air as to whether the "Enterprise" and other main line trains would use Connolly / Howth Junction, or go under. Putting commuters unground would be an option just as much as the other way round. To go to the thread title, Brexit will put any solution to the cross-border line back, in all likelihood.

As recently as the 1970s, a single 121 could be seen taking empty cattle wagons from Dublin to Mullingar after a fair, and after being washed out. This regularly loaded to 70 four wheelers and two brake vans. Is IE's much-publicised long train as long as this, or longer? By USA standards, incidentally, it's about a fifth the size of some "normal" trains!

That's the problem, Noel..... !

Maybe they'll write "Panda" on the sides of them....!

Nothing's been the same since black'n'tan, in my humble opinion. We've had some utterly ghastly ones, as bad as weekly liveries across the pond on the Great East & Northern west wales pennine train company. Lime green and navy, insipid shades of green and grey..... Drogheda green giant, and the nondescript half-painted selection of 201s which have been bumbling about. I never liked the yellow ended silk and black of the 071s either - in fact, for me, the one and only live I've liked at all since 1990 is the new Enterprise version. (It's Enterprise predecessors were duller than a wet February Tuesday morning in Dundalk....)

Nice - captures Kerry's rich countryside very effectively.

"Raccoons"; an excellent name for them! So what's the green Belmond one? The "Seasick"?

Top of the morning to ye.

Scottish accents included..... Like that awful caricature TV show some years ago "The Irish RM".......

Cue a bid from the ITG for one.....????

Didn't know there was a film about Captain Boycott? He had a house (Corrymore) on Achill Island.

Looks fantastic! Noticing the cover picture on the SSM brake van kit. It shows a van in normal "in-service" condition obviously, but a livery detail is worth taking note of. In the photo of the van, the yellow stripes have faded, worn off or are dirty. While I never saw a van with that degree of invisibility of the stripes, it was obviously the case the day that photograph was taken. Thus, for accuracy, it's important to realise where they were. As will be seen, the black goes from roof level down to the bottom of the bodyside. But while this is right for the top and bottom bits, the bit that's actually raised had the stripes, the flat bit above, and at the very bottom were plain black.

Four tracking is indeed needed, but at both ends would cause massive, massive disruption and compulsory purchase of many residential houses. I completely agree it ought to be done, but given those circumstances one wonders how long it will take politicians to grasp the nettle. After all, it took 40 years to re-open the Harcourt Street line - and the formation was there! I completely agree with Leslie that voters have possibly stuffed the future of the young, and certainly 9unfortunately) where Nelson lives - but as initially stated, if we concentrate on the railway, and go back to my point above, it's likely that any drive to "four-track" the northern end of the line has to be further away from ever now. On a related matter, I see NIR have tendered for new trains. I wonder was it the intention to have Europe cough up for some of the funding? If so, NIR can kiss goodbye to that. Maybe they could dig the old MPD cars up from the bottom of Crosshill Quarry!

Future funding for the GNR main line will at best be dogged with endless paperwork from both sides.....

Yes, Pat, I'm aware of (and agree 100% with) the non-political policy here. I couched my original post in railway terms and although I maybe should have mentioned it, it was my intention to stick to railway-related stuff. The Belfast - Dublin line, in particular, will be the most likely to be affected, plus possible changes to funding flows for NIR.

Two ways of looking at it: 1. Cross border traffic plummets as people stay their own side and the tourist trail from the south to the north evaporates. 2. With long queues of lorries at a reinstated border, passengers flock to the train. I wonder. Then there's NIR; who will fund it? There will be no more EU grants. With Cameron in no mood to fund any of his "regions" any more, if he gives the north more money to make up what it loses in EU funds, Scotland and wales will also want their slice, as will England, so he's not going to be able to do that, as sterling will almost certainly devalue anyway! Will EU-wide railway operating regulations be followed by NIR any more? If not, does that mean that IE and NIR will have different sets of rules after a while? If so, will NIR and IE crews have to have totally separate PTS passes?

Prompts me to think of jhb171-senior's epic journey on the footplate of one of those 4.8.0s to Burtonport back in the day - and his photo of sheep ahead on the line!

That's really turning into a first class layout. Well done.

Driver hours.

Excellent clip

Great to see these kits - congratulations to Mayner for them.

I commented (favourably!) on it, but possibly on another post! Point is, it's very nice!

It actually does replicate very accurately the way that shade of green DID weather! Thus, it's spot on!

Wow!! Fair enough...!!!! Excellent performance. (Ireland 6.23 to Co. Africa 1.08....) :-)