jhb171achill

Firstly, from the darkest cupboards of the Catacombs, "Galway" liveried Mk 2's at Cherryville. Next, one of the extremely few - possibly the ONLY - Cravens.............which was given IR "set-of-points" logos. They weren't there for long, either. Withdrawn dining car, recently acquired by the RPSI at the time. Next to it is ex-UTA diner No. 87, wearing nicely applied, but totally incorrect NCC livery. The vehicle was built in 1950, a couple of years after the NCC had ceased to exist, and in traffic never wore anything other than UTA green, and latterly NIR maroon and grey. It's often referred to as an NCC vehicle - it isn't. Shows how an incorrect myth can arise even within an organisation devoted to preserving the past - hence my interest in correct liveries.... In case anyone accuses me of criticising those volunteers who painted it thus, I was one of them! And the NCC window guards inside if aren't original, but perpetuate further the idea that it was an NCC vehicle.... I have to accept responsibility for that too. Jhb171senior designed them based on memory of actual NCC equivalents, and at the time they were needed to protect the bar stocks from unwanted attention while stabled overnight as Whitehead or (worse) the old Belfast Central Services Depot... These caravan things were common on the CIE system in the 70s and 80s, but were normally painted, somewhat inexplicably, in the Dublin bus navy and cream scheme. This little beast was maroon. Maybe someone wanted to pass it off as NCC! Unusually, the flat wagon is BLACK. 80 class and Castle class sets were a mixture of colours in 1989 just like 20 years earlier in the dying days of the UTA. Hilden Halt produced this... And finally, correct liveries! Correct blue etc on 85, correct post-1955 green on the carriages. May 1989, Farranfore.

Excellent, GSR, pints accepted!

Few rail-borne vehicles can be uglier and less interesting than 450 class NIR sets, or those navy and green railcars in Drogheda, but here's one; And here it is in its natural habitat. These pictures were all taken during the very last beet campaign - maybe someone can mention the exact year, as I didn't make a note of the dates I took them. Must have been about 06? If this one is upside down, mind your feet as the beet will spill out. And this oddball: a one-off container to fit on a standard flat wagon. Only one was made and I believe it was only used in the last two "campaigns". While it is a detachable container, it's been given the same number as the wagon.

A few upside-downies for you. They are actually double-upside-down.... Tonight we're off down the south east. First, the then-recently-closed Ferns Station, then Wicklow for comparison. This type of station building was evident at other DSER locations also. Next, a few at Gorey. Most DSER stations still had the traditional and unique DSER signal cabin design. Now, we move over to the GSWR, and Bagenalstown signal cabin inside and out, 1977.

Serious question; now that "drones" are widely available, while a drone survey of a wagon wouldn't be much good to a modeller, I wonder if there are circumstances where such things might be legally used to view railway sites not available to the actual wandering feet of us folks?

Yes, the EIE is different in several fundamental respects, though I suppose it's the nearest thing comparable in Ireland. It may interest readers to know that a good 25 years ago the RPSI did a feasibility study aimed at establishing the viability of a thing like this using preserved RPSI (wooden) carriages. At the time the society would never have even remotely been able to fund this sort of thing; this was before European and "Peace" money was available. The idea was well ahead of its time. It was planned to focus primarily on the Connolly - Rosslare - Limerick route. No. 4 was the preferred locomotive, and carriages would have been hand picked and restored to a very high standard.

Those look fantastic!

I think it was Inchicore, Ernie. You'd see them kicking about there from time to time. But I don't know for sure, never really thought about it!

By comparison, the Railtours Ireland "Emerald Isle Express" is €4000 for six days, and uses decent hotels.

If modelling bubbles, the very last number series (into traffic 1972) were possibly orange body / grey chassis from the outset instead of grey body.

Another great looking flangelubricator van!

I'm not sure what the name is, Divecontroller, but what's on that van above looks perfect. Since the originals were stencilled, on a scale as small as 4mm to a foot it's probably not feasible to actually stencil them, and a scaled down transfer of a stencilled number is probably so small that you'd need a microscope to see it. Perhaps flangelubricator might advise us what transfers he used?

A more modern "might-have-been", probably of interest to those readers who don't yet suffer, as I do, from "Too-Many-Birthdays-Syndrome". The driving trailer yoke thing at the DCDR, which to my endless amusement appeared quite soon after I had resigned from holding the DCDR purse strings! ..... ..... had this ungainly looking beast remained in NIR ownership and actually been put to use, what's the scenario? In theory, push pulling with a 111 class on the Derry line, but as NIR discovered when they bizarrely introduced a separate "suburban" (red and cream) and "inter city" (blue and light grey) livery in the 80s, on a system that small each set gets all over the place. Thus, a set used on a morning return to Derry will often do the all stops to Larne that evening. So - would this thing have become, presumably with a few "gatwicks", a genny van and a push-pull modified 111, (a) a spare "Enterprise" set, (b) a regular "Enterprise" set, or © a quirky local set which might variously turn up in Derry, Portrush, Larne, Bangor or Deriaghy Halt? And if (b), would a Gatwick have been fitted out as a catering / first class vehicle? Answers on a postcard....

=))=))

Sounds painful. Really painful.....

I've a pic somewhere if the last cattle trucks awaiting scrapping in Cork about 1977. Must look it out. Given the above mentioned history of cattle traffic in Ireland, it is quite staggering that not one single example is preserved, anywhere. The last I remember seeing was an old SLNCR one in a field near manorhamilton which fell to pieces in the late 1980s / 1990s. A worthy "new build" for the DCDR; please witness here that when I win the Euromillions / Lotto, I'll fund the whole thing, plus restoration of all the six wheelers, myself.....

Another thing I like about this van is the font for the numerals. This is close as can be got to what CIE used. All too often we see little choice available but "Times New Roman" or "Arial". The former was, and is, entirely unknown on Irish railway vehicles. The latter appeared with British Rail's "double arrow blue" era and was never used by CIE either.

Superb!!!!! Incidentally, for those too youthful to have seen these wagons, you may notice distinct differences between the door of the one in the photo, and flangelubricator's excellent model. Flange's model is grey, as they were initially, thus represents a period before anything was brown. These wagons initially had doors like flange's model; all obviously being correct there - but later on, most had the "smoother" doors, though I certainly saw quite a few still with the type of doors flange has depicted, in the "brown" (1970-7) era. thus, if you want to depict the 60's, use the older type of doors, and grey. Later, brown with either type of doors. Another thing, livery wise, that flange's model reminds me of is the CIE roundel. On "palvans" and "H" vans in GREY, this was in the colours depicted, not all-white. When brown, wagons always had an all-white roundel. Snails would obviously only have been on grey wagons, and white. Snails on tenders of steam engines - lined light green, never yellow or white.

One of the "palvans", Richard. They were very common too.

When built, grey body, grey chassis. First repaint: orange body, grey chassis. latterly, in Irish Cement times, cream body and black chassis (SERIOUSLY weathered with cement dust!)

It's 1978 in upside-down-land. I'm taking a deep breath before I post these.....! Breakdown train, Glasnevin Junction, in those idyllic days before anyone going anywhere anything maintenance orientated had to have day-glo underpants, and before so much as a screwdriver had to be sheep-dipped in bright yellow! End of an era; the very last MGWR bogie coach, which would have been a good candidate for preservation.... For modellers; note - grey chassis, not orange. And certainly not Hornby black.... :-) One for Garfield... .....and for Garfield's great-grandad.... This vehicle was of GSWR origin. And the ubiquitous "H" van, hint hint. I really don't know what happened there. They are all the right way up. Maybe they turned out as double-upside-down..... Yes, that's it.

That's what I mean, Garfield. I'm saying that without such a thing, it would be inaccurate. Unless, of course, it's modelle on a suburban halt, or "modern image" ie surrounded by day glo people, security fencing, bus shelter stations, weeds and graffiti!

I remember being in the bank and the cashier was smoking, and he offered the customer he was serving a cigarette and a light..... And getting out of a train absolutely kippered. Yecchhh.... went with the territory on ALL public transport..

Isn't it incredible. By FAR the heaviest goods traffic ever on Irish railways, and one of the main reasons some lines were built, and this is the first time I've ever seen it accurately modelled! Any modelled rural Irish station is incomplete to an inaccurate level without a cattle dock...... the single most neglected part of modelling. Why? Top marks, thus, to Kirley - looks fantastic.

The DCDR one was withdrawn early to mid 80s.