jhb171achill

I think the new Enterprise livery is by far the best yet.

Another "might have been" with definite modelling potential. Most of us will be aware of the Glenariff 3ft gauge mineral line in Co Antrim, which ceased to function prior to the 20th century. It was Ireland's first 3ft gauge line. Where it ended, it was far too high up the mountain to be able to serve the port down below, one of the reasons for its demise. What if some sort of Devils Nose type thing, a series of reversals, or even a rack line, had been included? It might have even survived to become part of the NCC narrow gauge network. Question: what other opportunities might have existed for mountain reversals, rack lines or mining railways?

Crossmolina would be a great model for a fictitious MGWR terminus!

I'd see it closing with the Achill branch in 1937 and then converted into a Great Southern Hotel. Possibly a hilton today with the old platform area a high-end restaurant called "The Station" or something like that!

True, Dunluce..... pity.... but we did have decent cameras!

A few familiar faces in that! I can never understand why, but there seems to be loads of video and cine in existence of jeeps, and yet almost none of it is anything like decent quality!

Fascinating! The original terminus proposed about 1906 was a more conventional thing. Obviously, they went off and thought in grander terms!

Where did you get that, Broithe? Did it give any further information?

At one time a proposal was made for a railway to Belmullet to serve transatlantic traffic (which, like Clifden, never materialised). Depending on what set of plans would have been used, it would have either left the Achill branch between Mulrany and Tonragee, or run via Crossmolina from Ballina. The "West Mayo Railway", with 141s?

It could have happened a lot more easily than one might think. Let's take a few scenarios: first, either Ireland is a single entity with a pro-rail government, or Stormont and the Dublin government both are. Funding for GNR 4.6.0 and diesels is available. Within CIE, quite simply different management decisions are made, and let's say diesel fuel is a lot dearer, and coal a lot cheaper, than was the case in real life. Now - who's for building five 800 kits!

The greatest "might have been" of all time has got to be the proposed Ulster & Connaught Railway, from Warrenpoint to Clifden. Nothing but a bridge at Keady was ever built of it. It would have been 3ft gauge and along its tortuous and inevitably TOTALLY unremunerative meandering route it would linked the Clogher Valley and C & L. Doubtless Indian or Lough Swilly style large tender locomotives would have been needed, but what an eternity it would have taken to cover the whole route. Probably not in a single day? Would the necessary large engines have managed the street running in Aughnacloy? There, for sure, is a highly imaginative layout crying out to be built!

So the one on the right is a woman with a handbag. Or a man with a hole through him.

As long as it's under a fortnight journey time, it will beat the rush hour traffic.

With Scotsmen wearing kilts, how do you tell a Scottish "Gents" sign from a "Ladies" one? Maybe you have to lift the sign up to see what's underneath?

Mr Wanderer, can you roster the necessary ICRs? ;-)

Correct. Emigration did exist prior to the famine (economic migration) but nothing like the post-1847 levels. If there had been no famine, cue a double tracked Tralee & Dingle, with Beyer Garratts for the Glenagalt climb!

Not in Witham Street. She had no tender anyway; the UTA had scrapped it. The tender she has is the RPSI's, fitted only after she went to Whitehead, and never with her before. (I think it's off a V class loco)....

I had one of their die cast 2.6.4T locos years ago - a truly excellent and hard wearing model, intended on my first layout to represent a UTA "WT" class. Sorry I sold it years and years ago.

She was (is) owned by UFTM, but was not on display there as there was no room. Instead, she was stored in the old Lisburn goods shed.

Here's a what-if layout scenario, based on things which might have happened - or indeed, were actively planne at one stage. It's 1965-70, and steam as not been consigned to the bin. CIE has under it's ownership the following: A large fleet of D class, as they were considered perfectly adequate. A reasonable fleet of modernised J15s on secondary or shunting duties. A fleet of fast modern 2.4.4.T locos for suburban and branch traffic Five 800 class on the Cork line along with twin-engined Sulzer diesels and inherited ex-GNR diesels of American and German origins. Ex GNR 4.6.0 steam locomotives on the Enterprise A fleet of B113 types.... On the DSER and Waterford lines, ex-GSR 850 class 4.6.2T locomotives; these, along with the 2.4.4T types, and possibly a modern mixed traffic 2.6.0, being a standard "modern" GSR / CIE set of classes, the last of which would be destined to remain in traffic until about 1990....

I don't know for sure, Mayner, but I'm pretty sure they don't exist even if they were drawn up in outline. Within my own family history there's no talk of it, not that this is proof it never happened, of course. As a "might-have-been", it might be expected to follow what was then the house style for new designs. Had it come into being it could have vaguely resembled a Stanier type of design, I would imagine. What DID happen was that in early CIE times, when BR was researching the best ways to design their standard classes of steam locomotives, they wanted to take the best ideas from the LMS, LNER, SR and GWR. They extended their research to Ireland and consulted in detail with Inchicore. Family tradition has it that they took back with them some design features from the 800 class, but I've no idea which. The 2.4.4T sounds like an excellent project for a "might-have-been" GSR / early CIE layout! Now there's an idea.

....and there's your source outside the DCDR! The issue arose many years ago, but at the time there was no way under the sun that the DCDR could afford it, hence the appeal.

There are no RTR models which can be repainted to give a strictly accurate picture of a GNR / UTA / CIE / NIR / IE railcar, however there are a number which can be painted to have a reasonable approximation. A British class 150 two-car can be repainted to give a reasonable image of an NIR "Castle" class, and I suppose IE class 2600 / 2700 / 2800 with a good dollop of poetic licence. Others here are much more up to date than I am on modern British multiple units; doubtless more suggestions will follow. If you're modelling the 1950 - early 1970s period, the AEC cars so favoured by the GN, UTA and NIR can be represented by several British standard classes of railcar. Again, some here will advise, but Triang Hornby made one which I've seen repainted and it looks all right.

Indeed he did, GSR. And the passenger bodies for the Drumm trains (2nd lot), the Bredin coaches and various other things including several locomotive rebuilds.

Will they reopen Cabra, I wonder? It would make sense to maximise the potential of this by stopping the trains at somewhere along this route. Maybe somewhere in the broad area of Liffey Junction, in which area there is a huge lot of modern housing...