jhb171achill

A taster from "Rails Through North Kerry". Newcastle West, before they axed the passenger trains. copyright C P Boocock

Just a question to manufacturers: since model wagons, of all types, seem to come from makers with default black chassis (almost never appropriate for Ireland), do the models made specially for here? In other words, do they come with the plastic of the chassis the same colour as the body, or is it up to the buyer to paint it to match? I'm thinking maybe the manufacturers have no choice but to buy chassis elsewhere all in black?

After 1970, there were enough Bullied opens to cover virtually all traffic, and thereafter very few traditional wooden bodied opens were about. Consequently, while a few survived to have "broken wheel" roundels in the late 60s, the majority saw out their days with stencilled "snails". Even fewer got the brown livery all. Here's one that did. A detail: while grey palvans and grey H vans had roundels with white letters and tan surrounds, any open wagons with roundels had all-white ones. CIE brake vans with grey paint and roundels had white ones too - certainly for the most part anyway. Hope these details are of interest.

You see that both those posters show the loco with a sleek line of (supposedly) Bredin stock behind. In a TYPICAL train, you'll get something like: 6 wheel GSWR Mail van Bogie wooden GSWR full brake Bredin GSWR wooden dining car Bredin GSWR wooden bogie Bredin Pullman car Wooden bogie Wooden 6-wheel full brake Horse box maybe...

On the summer 1951 timetable, that's 800 at Rathdrum. Oh.....wait till I check......!

If that was the RPSI trip with 186, Mayner, I was on it too! I remember seeing some sort of loading bank at the south end too, but I'm not sure what it was for. I didn't take any pictures of it. From what you say I doubt if it was for cattle. This would make me even more inclined to take the view that it must have been at the north end of the station.

I'll check and see where it was. I suspect it might have been where the gypsum loading area end up.

Park Royals yes; I forgot that train was in 1949, but the "Bredins" were built for exactly this type of service between 1933 and 1937, and while a uniform rake was probably never seen, one might expect at least half of that train to be "steels". It's hard to make out the very end vehicles. Certainly, GSWR stock was still to be seen even on main line trains well into the 1960s, with some reaching into the black'n'tan era.

Cattle traffic was everywhere on the Midland. It's bound to have had one, though I'd have to look at old photos to deduce where. Moate signal cabin had just been painted when I took that photo.

I've just turned it....

Well, the Belfast buses have a barbie pink livery.....

I'm afraid I'm unaware of any comprehensive record of GSR numbering in the IRRS. I've been through a lot of stuff in there over the years, though by no means all. Next time I'm in, I'll make a few enquiries.

Yes, "Maedb" was indeed a lot cleaner, though not at all pristine, in later times. I have never heard any explanations as to why her two sisters had their plates repainted red. Look at that pic - old six-wheelers (I think GSWR origin) converted for turf traffic in the background.... The entire train behind the loco is old GSWR wooden coaches as far as can be seen - not a "Bredin" or "Park Royal" anywhere......

Very much so. There were but six D16s, and most had at least some unique features! Your model looks fantastic!

I suppose it's in the eye of the beholder, Minister - I actually thought at the time that it was a refreshing change from the old green and cream, which in most stations had become quite shabby by then. But I'm the oddball here; I believe I'm the solitary person on the planet who liked the "desert sand" bus livery, even on the only one old half-cab bus that ever carried it! (For only 2 weeks till management demanded it be repainted in navy and cream!)....

Indeed they were! One of the three had some extra bits and pieces on the front too for a while, but I don't know why, or which (this is largely what I was referring to).

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The extra railing, gsr800, was on one of the trio for some of the time; cryptic question - which one and when? Answers on a postcard? Disputes will be adjudicated by me grandfather. Who's got a shovel in Mount Jerome?

No, that'll be a 40ft trailer driver, not a van driver.....

In both those particular places, unfortunately it's absolutely not. Places are thin on the ground.

If so, please PM me as I have some details I can pass on in relation to Irish stuff. Nothing major, just some odds and ends in my head. Something reminded me of it!

Those Palvans look absolutely fantastic! (Don't forget to paint the chassis grey!) The Palvans had three different variations of end details and two variations of door. Earlier ones had strapping on doors, later ones plain doors. The end details are better described by photos than dscriptiins, but some were plain with strapping, others corrugated, and others again half and half. Plenty of scope for variations! Roundels tan surround / white lettering on grey vans, all-white on brown vans post 1970. The MGWR vans and horse box also look fantastic - well done.

Looks narrow gauge, but it isn't Schull & Skib. It looks like one of a number of goods vans built by the GSR for the West Clare in the late 1920s.

I never liked the 1990s red and blue. The sight of an original DSER signal cabin painted like a garish fairground attraction was absolutely ghastly. Nor was I too keen on the cream and light grey in recent times - the old green and cream used variously by CIE, and a similar scheme used by the UTA, looked well. Just as CIE had grey shades in the 70s, so did NIR, on the few stations they bothered repainting! Though that was a much darker grey.... The MGWR had bright emerald green engines, always kept sparkly clean. Add to this brown coaches, also well kept, and stations in pillar-box red and buff, and we've a recipe for a very attractive scene!

Many thanks, junctionmad. We see various collections coming online in these days, and of course we can access the excellent stuff put online by the likes of the National Library, or view it (as I have done) in the archive in Temple Bar. Irishswissernie, of this website, has also posted some amazing stuff, as have people like Roger Joanes. It's good to share. All too often, stuff gets squirrelled away by someone, or worse, thrown out. I doubt there's a single photographer in the world that wants that. History is made of such stuff, and I do think it's incumbent of any of us who remember certain things to pass them on to anyone who's interested. What I've posted here is the best of what I have, I had a cheap camera for most of the interesting times, and like many a one back in the day, couldn't afford enough film to take all the pictures I'd like to have done. I'm looking at a future publication to encompass the best of what I have, like Michael McMahon (rather excellently!) did recently. It might take the form of an album including some of my father and grandfathers stuff, but I'm light years away from having time to sort and sift. Meanwhile, I'll shtick the odd thing up here. I'm glad it's of interest to people. The railways 1950-80 were possibly the most interesting period in history. For us modeller's, "the devil's in the detail". Not everyone wants accuracy, not everyone cares, and fair play to them; but for those who DO, or who want to put a lot of effort into modelling accurately, it's detail info that's needed. And for those of us with a lengthy enough list of birthdays, who were privileged enough to see it, I feel we've almost a responsibility to pass it on. Thanks for the comments, folks.