jhb171achill

That's exactly what it is, BSGSV. Regarding the silver tablet catchers, I wonder if several of those are silve at all. I certainly don't remember any being routinely silver - they weren't. It's possible there was the odd unpainted one, like oddball coloured wagon (or locomotive!) bogies you see nowadays. On that train with two silver ones newly painted, yes, both locos silver but most certainly this was not the norm at that time. The one on the B'n'T 121 is, I suspect, faded, unpainted or possibly worn.

They will remain there for examination and assessment for planning what needs to be done to them for long term preservation.

The new thing is a ghastly developer's monstrosity, just like Wood Quay years ago. Nothing's changed.

For authenticity, yes, three is good - you'd only occasionally get more!

Things like the odd-shaped MGWR, or stone pillar GSWR, mileposts might be good to have, though obviously a very limited market...

Interesting, folks, thanks.

A question regarding the longer coach at Stradbally. Apart from the bogies, is any of it actually ex-CVR? Possibly a much-cut-down chassis?

That's really taking shape well...

And Mrs Merkel has us all speaking German. Maybe they'll reopen the West Clare with Harz narrow gauge stuff!

I thought immediately of this layout when looking over some papers tonight and finding a small handwritten note of my father's from a long-ago-forgotten grice in the south east.... "Loco B135, 2 x 4W vans + 2 coaches 9.20 ex Rosslare Harbour, Macmine Junction." The vans were silver "tin vans". A clue to modellers, all that time ago, of what a typical passenger train was in those times - early 1960s. he mentions that one of the coaches was numbered 2101 - a laminate, I think? On the same bit of paper he has written details of train times between Newry and Dundalk. This puzzles me, as he doesn't mention Goraghwood - what we NOW know as "Newry" was then Bessbrook station - and it was closed.

I hope so. It's even possible that greater hassle will affect roads, not the railway. Possibly regulatory matters might diverge, with the north potentially following a British ruling or operating standard that wasn't applied in Europe, or vice versa.

On a single track......??? Wonder what happened. Being a commuter line it could have been worse!

News bulletin: Upon Brexiting, NIR have announced changes to their future operation. At the exact point of the border, and all areas north of this, all railway tracks including those of the DCDR and Giant's Causeway Railway will be relaid to 1435mm gauge. All rolling stock will be repainted in either BR blue or GNER whatever livery, and all trains will carry the double-arrow logo and stale BR sandwiches from henceforth. New signage will be applied to all stations with double-sausage totems. NIR will become the Northern Region of British Rail and will start operating merry-go-round coal trains from Poyntzpass to Cullybackey. Meanwhile, the DCDR will receive a major boost in becoming the permanent home for 60103 "Tornado" and the "Flying Scostman". Whitehead has begun drawing up plans to re-gauge locomotives No. 4, 85, 131, 171 and 461 to 4ft 8 1/2 inch gauge. No 4 will be turned out in GWR green, 85 and 461 in BR green and black respectively, 131 in LMS maroon and 171 will be turned out in LBSCR loco yellow. At the Giant's Causeway, elderly Tube stock will replace the current recent stock which was converted from biscuit tins and runs on organic soup. The whitehead carriage set will be all repainted in BR blue and grey, complete with stale sandwiches. The Portrush branch will be operated by single-unit railcars with those chimneys up the ends. On the "Enterprise", as it is cross border and now international, every coach will have one bogie of 1435mm gauge and one of 1600. This is believed to be a unique arrangement. Remember where yiz heard it first.

Let's hope so, Noel.

With a new British PM closer now, I noticed that she has said in the past that "Brexit" will "inevitably" lead to border tariffs or controls. Apart from the utterly retrograde aspect of this generally, how will this affect the "Enterprise"? In the past, the dining cars (pre-1957 or so) for some years had separate tills north and south because of varying taxes either side of the border - despite the currency all being the one until 1979. Will we have officials getting on and walking down the train at Dundalk and Newry? Or Connolly and Central?

I would like to think, Old Blarney, that they couldn't afford it! Truly a serious masterpiece.

Indeed, Dive - the current 071 is a livery of its own!

Wayne Sleep? Did he?

That is absolutely astounding!

Just mulling over all the liveries carried by 071s....... NIR original light blue, later darker blue with either small or large yellow patches, original Illinois browny orange and black, supertrain, tippex with set-of-points, same with three-pin-plug, silver and black, all-grey..... have I missed any?

Conjures up (pleasant) visions of a "Woolwich" and 45 loose-coupled four wheelers........

Years ago when he was on that Friday thing, I always thought he was quite exceptionally conceited and irritating; what my late aunt would have called a "notice box"! He's never changed. I wouldn't even listen to him on radio, or I'd end up crashing the car. Good riddance.

Couldn't agree more, Wrenn. I've no time these days to be even retired!

Is Liver Fluke what you get if you drink scotch instead of Jamesons? Or Murphys instead of Guinness? Or if you listen to "Wagon Wheel" or "Wonderwall" instead of music?

That is absolutely outstanding! Customer's wife may have a very, very long wait....... understandable!