jhb171achill

Glenagalt.

It was something like that, Harry. Not the single steepest in Ireland, but up there, and also one of the longest. For an inexperienced fireman, it was a severe test.

In terms of a RTR Irish steam loco, to be commercially viable it has to have as wide appeal as possible. Therefore it will be best to model something that was widely used in real life. Thus, probably the only show in town is a UTA / NCC "Jeep" or a GSWR 101 / J15.

That's the one. I've seen several pics of that scene. The 400 class were still kicking about then, and were very much the unsung heroes of the Cork line.

There are photos in existence of 800 and a 400 class at Thurles shed at that time, but I've no info on whether 801 was there too.

I'm not certain that 801 was repainted, Harry. 800 was, of course, in full lined CIE paint, though without snails.

I'll have a check, Glenderg. I think that photo was about 1978 / 9.

Absolutely. The 1977 new ones were, as far as I remember, the first PW vehicles (other than tampers, liners and general "yellow machines") ever to be yellow. If you're modelling a GSWR one around 1979/80, I'd go for all over brown.

I would concur with Leslie that if Mac Arnold says it's tartan, then it IS tartan!

It's possible, Garfield. If such a thing appeared even as late as 1986, it would still have a roundel if painted yellow. Certainly, when I saw ballast trains in the late 70s, yellow was nowhere to be seen, so it's been some time in the 80s. Maybe someone else might know exactly, for the assistance of those modellers seeking accuracy for their chosen period?

++ 1

As for changes in colours, I'm not sure when they went from brown to yellow. I would guess - but it's only a guess - maybe mid to late 1980s. Early 90s at most. The change from grey to brown would have happened in the mid 70s. Naturally, prior to CIE they we also grey in GSR days, and the later GSWR days a darker grey. They may have been black when built new, as most GSWR goods and PW stock was then.

More the 1990s than 80s (pic taken in 2005, though) ...... 4112, now in RPSI care at Whitehead.

Airfixfan, I suspect the disposal of the Courtaulds locomotives was covered in the IRRS journals.... I'll try to have a look as I've a full set of them.

Superb article, Glenderg! It would have been available for the DCDR, though with the one there rarely used, hard to justify the expense of bringing a non revenue duplicate vehicle to the railway....unfortunately. At least one is preserved.

How much better does this layout get? The people of Ballybeg, it has to be said are very industrious! Such background activity is always a good (and often neglected area) of layouts. How many (including my former one pre-first-house-moves) have nice trains rattling round sizeable stations with not a sinner about!

Well, fair play to you, Steve (Railtec). Such a quick reaction is extremely commendable. The answer above summarises it perfectly. From sight, not only is your amended version a better size (as specified by Dhu Varren), it is also a more realistic colour. I wasn't aware that Railtec did the 1963-7 coats of arms too. The transfers of them look very accurate and indeed are all too rarely seen on models. So hats off to Railtec all round.

Yes, at least 2 were. No. 4 had one on the right hand tank, and a UTA one still on the left; looking forward from the cab. The locos were never repainted, and retained UTA lining. Just the old UTA crest was painted over, nothing more.

Ah! So it's the "red hand" device, then..... A post-1963 crest transfer might be a useful thing for modellers too.... I saw somewhere a model someone had made which in prototypical form had a crest or logo of some sort for which no commercial transfer was available. I can't remember what the model was, or where I saw it, but the modeller simply photographed the real thing on a preserved vehicle and scaled a print down to the scale correct size, printed it on very flimsy paper, cut it out, and stuck it on. It looked very convincing.

The Courtaulds wagons were not private owner - they were UTA's, mostly ex NCC. Rather than being fully rebuilt, I'd say they were substantially patched up. They still had their NCC 1920s wagon plates on them well after withdrawal anyway! My own recollections of them were of wagons that were the FAR FAR from new looking. After the Courtaulds traffic stopped, the vast majority were broken very quickly, with maybe a dozen or so retained for PW. And these lasted into NIR days when some more were broken, or set aside, others cut down and repainted with a single coat of poor quality emulsiony light grey paint. Naturally, the red showed through quite soon, and the metal parts simply returned to bare rust with tiny occasional patches of rust-stained grey!

The Railtec UTA transfers are a little overscale, but better than nothing! You could always put an NIR logo on it, like 2 or 3 of them had, including No. 4 on ONE side only!

I'll look it up, Jawfin. It wasn't long after the closure - will check.

Those SSM lining transfers would be worth getting. The lining on UTA engines was not very wide (about an inch each line purely from memory)and would be awkward to paint accurately without looking overscale. Red connecting rods will be easier!

Because the rivets were incompatible with narrow gauge track. (I'll get me jacket)

Fantastic story, Mike, that's the sort of stuff historical archives don't tell us! The health and safety men would have had serial conniptions with complications! Senior went to back to Enniskillen after travelling with the tram to Omagh. I'm not sure how he got there. Sadly he's no longer here to ask, but on another occasion after the 1957 closure he went to Omagh and back on a light engine. I can't remember what for, or why....