jhb171achill

Operational rules on NIR would actually be more in tune with the rest of Ireland, as railways in Ireland were in place over 90 years before the border was even thought of. UK practice is not dissimilar overall, of course, but the Irish railways standardised almost all practice years ago.

This is the same as what happened in Tralee, and may do so again; when you get an outfit like this which is not run by enthusiasts, but as a "business"...

There's an hourly bus......... !! ;-)

Superb!!!!!! Brings back early childhood memories....

That wagon is seriously good quality work, Nelson. I like the mix of planks in different colours - no two UTA wagons were the same in the 60's! As always, of course!

The UTA certainly out-Beeching'd Beeching! By 1964, when jhb171 Senior was based with the UTA, internal rumours were that the entire railway system in the north would close.

Old blarney, that would indeed be amazing!

In theory, Stevie, they could and have had that right for quite a while now. They would need, in practical terms however, need a good few more volunteers and paid staff!!! My point is that the legal ability is already there. As hurricane says, they have already done so, by using a public train path and serving IE passengers on a scheduled path on the Ennis line.

Already, the RPSI is technically entitled, as a fully fledged railway operator, to run public services within the south....

This being the case, airport railway is certainly a necessity. It also begs the question as to whether there is truly any future in Waterford to Limerick Junction, and the Nenagh branch!

I wouldn't mean it as a blanket statement as such, junctionmad. BR (or whatever it may BR collectively be referred to now) is a sum of many very diverse parts. Many of these parts simply don't exist in Ireland, didn't, can't and won't, for example very long distances, heavy freight traffic out of mines like bulk coal, and so on. Thus, of necessity Ireland's railways have a smaller area, smaller market and smaller number of potential niche markets to follow. Of those that do exist, and in the circumstances likely to prevail, actual subsidy-free commercial viability is unlikely to be possible in any sense. Again, if we subsidise a private operator, we're subsidising the operation of the railway plus fat cats and shareholders. One thing is very true though - your comment about incentivisation. Remedies for this type of thing come very slow in Ireland, especially in nationalised entities (the ESB and HSE are WAY worse than the railway) - but can be found without actual privatisation.

Sounds reasonable, josefstadt; just an off-the-cuff thought of mine...!

That link won't open.....

You've reminded me, Mayner, yes, I remember that too. I'm nearly certain - but stand to be corrected - that it was industrial relations. The fact that the UTA had abolished all internal goods traffic within the north in 1965, and thus never had its own liner trains, could possibly have resulted in there being no provision in the UTA / NIR rule book for guard-less trains.

Galway traffic congestion is indeed chaotic. A Moycullen - city centre - Mervue area Luas-style thing was considered at one stage in the past. This would certainly be a good thing, with a branch out to Salthill a good addition.

Again, who knows.... Highly unlikely... But when we operate our own layouts, everything's possible!

Which is precisely why privatisation in any shape or form is absolute inane madness; no matter what way it's configured, you're adding a senior management wage bill and shareholder dividends to the overall railway bill for cost of operating. Blinkered stupidity; while political thoughts are not appropriate here, politics will play a role in whatever thinking forms the future of our railways. As junctionmad says, railways are simply not commercially viable in this country, certainly outside Luas-land.

Too big a loco by far for Ireland, but when we go into "what-ifs", I suppose anything's possible!

I think Deltics, or other British loco stock would have been unlikely, as re-gauging would have been too expensive, but re-gauged rolling stock a la NIR Enterprise would be a probability.

That's very true. Given that today, an all Ireland state would have about 7% of what would be the total "UK" population, living in an area some 28-30% of its total, two-island size, it's fair to surmise that nothing much would have been left. Certainly not the SLNCR, which would make "Arigna Road" all the more fascinating, with "Lissadell" carrying a BR lion-and-wheel crest! Incidentally, to remain on thread, am I right in thinking I saw a 7mm scale model of some 3ft narrow gauge stuff (possibly C & L?) at an exhibition many moons ago? I'm not talking about Fry, incidentally; anyone have any idea?

For quite a few years, goods guards travelled in the cabs of (van-less) fitted trains due to union rules rather than any practical necessity.

Yes,all of those vehicles had ended their days in departmental service. The grey livery was evidence of this. Prior to that they were coach green.

Politics apart, I used to wonder what way Ireland's railways would have developed if no border had been created in 1921, and (like the GSR) all the railways came under one ownership of an all-Ireland independent Republic. Alternatively, if all of Ireland had remained as a part of the UK under British rule, would Ireland's railways have been included in the 1948 nationalised creation of British Rail?

Had the SLNCR survived, given the track and traffic considerations, it's safe to say that it would have become the preserve of "C"'s and lat 141s.... A "G" might shunt in Manorhamilton or Enniskillen if it had fallen into CIE ownership....

I knew I'd never seen "JL" on anything!!! The low numbers (just two-digit) were another giveaway.