jhb171achill

You're in D wing,then, Broithe? :-)

Ballygunge???????? Is this for real?

Leslie - I'm sure you're aware of this but just in case not - CIE's wish to eradicate GNR stuff wasn't entirely complete by the time loose coupled goods vans were all retired. I saw what at first glance looks like a "H" van, but was one of the 1954 GNR corrugated-ended standard goods vans right at the end, about 1977, in a train at Templemore. It was one of those built for cement traffic originally. By this stage it was brown and carried standard CIE roundel and standard cast CIE numberplate with "C I E" and "66N" on it.

That's a jolly good cinematic projection, old chap.

Another cross country one might have been Belfast - Galway (for a number of reasons, particularly if Galway became a major transatlantic port). The GNR extends beyond Cavan to Roscommon, Athenry and Galway. Trains operate Great Victoris Street to Galway and reverse; after 1958, it's split into UTA and CIE.....

Could be, UP; I'm not sure. Limerick and Cork had a habit of having their own variations livery wise - for example, coaches in the pre-55 dark green with no lining at all, but two snails (Cork; on two Bandon bogies) or no snails either (Limerick; on some West Clare vehicles). I would have thought that the red buffer beams were Inchicore origin, but I don't know for sure. As to the lining, I remain puzzled!

An outstanding layout idea.....

Is it because I'm using an iPad, I wonder....

Come to think of it, bsgsv!

Only thing about Flickr, it's desperately slow to view and freezes up after a couple of dozen images. Anyone else find that?

The two lines on which I'm loosely basing my project would have had 0.6.2T steam, or Bo-Bo (2095 class) diesels, and passenger loadings tended to be 3-4 bogies. In 009 scale, even a bogie is only about 5-6 inches long, so not heavy.

Excellent stuff, Old Blarney. I would think that if built, it might have been used as an Attymon - Ballybrophy line with connections at Roscrea. obviously, to the Nenagh branch. Unless traffic had developed a great deal more than expected, I wouldn't think through working from Galway might have happened....but.....it's a "what-if"! I did think it would make an interesting layout project for a cross country line; here's another: Inny Junction - Cavan - Monaghan, survives the GNR Armageddon and becomes a CIE line throughout.....!

I know, Garfield! There's always something new to find out - the photos I saw over the weekend make it clear. Now, it's quite possible that lining was added before they entered traffic, as the pics show them "just out of the box". The silver and green liveries followed each other, i.e. silver first, then repainted into green, and steam engines were mostly the same colour 1915-63, so the actual existence of variety isn't the same thing. the 121s were only grey until first repaint (into B'n'T), so it puzzles me as to why there seem to not two, or three - but counting red buffer beams - FOUR detail variations of the one short-lived delivery scheme.

It does indeed look like a dome!

In recent weeks I have encountered a fair number of colour photos of grey 121s in connection with a forthcoming book. Something quite interesting emerges in relation to their livery. The pictures concerned are all from when these engines were absolutely brand new, and clearly show NO lining round the numerals and "snail". This is at variance with conventional wisdom that they were lined! Somebody here post a pic of one clearly showing black lining. At the time this surprised me as I don't remember black, but you can't argue with a photo. I had seen pictures in the past of them with WHITE lining. So - we have CLEAR photographic evidence that grey 121s had, at times, no lining; white lining and black lining. I wonder is it a bit like modern grey 071s or Enterprise stuff, where no two examples seem to have the same font, same exact position, etc. of numerals? Modern variations in lettering, logos etc look more like just laziness, but in the past - certainly in 1961 - absolute uniformity was the norm. Wee they deliver u blinded, and maybe some examples got black lining, others white? Two got r buffer beams - we know that. Any thoughts or ideas? Such is doubtless relevant to the finish that will be on the production models.

They were built beside the railway near Derriaghy halt and there was talk they'd be carried by rail....

Members will be aware of the MGWR Attymon-Loughrea branch, and the short-lived Parsonstown (Birr) and Portumna branch which only ran from 1868 to 1878 before going bankrupt and having much of its track stolen by people it owed money to. In the closing years of the 19th Century there was a proposal to rèbuild it, and continue via Tynagh to Loughrea. This would have resulted in a cross country line from Bàllybrophy to Attymon, with a Newcastle West style reversal at Birr... Cue for modelling idea; such a route survives to the 1980s with trains of ore from Tynagh mines and a three time daily passenger train, the odd cattle or fert special....

Ever so slightly dry for, well, Ireland! Am I alone in never having been remotely impressed by those cars, and less do by that tedious and pretentious advertisement! Or maybe I'm just grumpy and old....

Interesting solution, Broithe.... I ask because I'm in planning stage for a thing based on 1975-85 narrow gauge Austria....

No. It was purpose built - but it certainly looks very "steam-engine-ish"! On close inspection, the cab hasn't the right profile for an ex-loco one. It wasn't part of the Bretland thing, I'm nearly certain. However I have seen one old MGWR bogie flat in the flesh, and photos of at least one different one, with that type of bogie. There was some sort of old GNR bogie goods vehicle, the details of which I don't remember, which also has bogies of a quite American looking style, though not the same as these. And yet, I'd be extremely surprised if they actually were American.

I'm not sure myself. At least one RPSI carriage maintenance person posts here and might know, as the society has one Bredin.

Would it be fair to say that a 009 gauge loco would need a shallower climb, due to smaller size and smaller weight?

It was the oddest looking thing, wasn't it! I remember the first time I saw it (about 1968) the support coach was an old W & L bogie. It was red and cream, which made me wonder if it had been one of those old camping coach.

Drab as it sounds, it actually suited GSR / CIE steam engines very well too, for the same reason. It looked workmanlike....

Mayner, just getting your message now after a mad weekend in London with several other posters from here.... The exact date of the last revenue earning trip isn't known, but it appears to have been late 1974 for a through goods, though the occasional trip working from Tralee was later, probably early spring 1975. If I can pin it down exactly I'll post it here.