jhb171achill

Online character asassinations are always best ignored....! This reads like a carbon copy of Derry. Local "business interests" are just that; they see a business opportunity, and there's nothing wrong with that per se. In fact, with no credible business case, any fledgling outfit will probably fail, and deservedly so. The difference between Tralee (and Derry) as opposed to, say, the RPSI, DCDR or Dromod, is the involvement of "local business interests" aka the local bar-room intellectuals and gombeen men, as opposed to genuine enthusiasts. For while the former will lose interest and walk away at the first sign that the thing won't be the cash cow they imagined having a trough to bury their nose in, the latter are under no initial illusions on that point, and will persist against all odds, to make reality out of whatever's possible.

C'mon ya boys in green!

Congratulations.

The current incarnation is ghastly, and if I was involved in a heritage body on charge of the railway, its "stations" would be among the first things to receive attention. Public perception is everything. A heritage railway needs public bums on seats, end of.

It's like Derry. Put enthusiasts in charge, and if something's possible, it can happen. Put local government officials in charge, and all will go irretrievably pear shaped.

Good detective work, Mr Mayner!

Wish I'd known that not long ago - bought a new one for a good bit more, and the cost of installing it wasn't cheap either!

Best of luck, folks. In fifteen years time, we'll have a historic layout showing long-withdrawn antiques like DD and Mk 4 sets, and those old ICRs......

Totally correct, WTCLASS. Privatisation across the water has resulted in more public money being thrown at what was BR, with less quality of service, at higher prices to the public. That's mathematical fact. So who benefits? Shareholders and bonus-led layers and layers of duplicated management; again, mathematical fact. Knowing the "nose-in-trough" and short sighted, ill-informed and selfish attitude of almost all politicians on this island, should we open a book on how long it will take them to catch on to ways of further wrecking our railway system? BR had no bonuses and shareholders, and one board. That's mathematical fact too. As our good friends in the States might say, "Go Figure!"!

As a matter of interest, what size - what dimensions - would your Arigna Road layout be?

Was it No. 800?

A pleasure, Mike. If anyone else wants it, it's yours for nothing.....

Disgraceful. Rural elderly people have enough worries to contend with, between rural crime, closure of Garda or PSNI stations, lack of public transport, doctors and hospitals..... without the activities of these worthless scumbags. Incidentally, flogging in the Isle of Man were often carried out at the annual proclamation of laws at Tynwald Hill, near St Johns, the junction of the Peel and Ramsey lines. Did anyone ever see the massive operation the railway had to undertake in order to get huge crowds to St Johns on this day each year?

It could have been, minister, I can't remember. In terms of GSWR standardisation, they were a lot better organised than might be obvious, but after the amalgamation they had to deal with all sorts! When Sprite's boiler was installed in 90, several other swops took place at the same time. I must try to find the details.

Interesting........ Makes sense...... I had a document at one stage - may still have it somewhere - detailing the position about boilers in 1922. Even before the amalgamation and this standardisation, there was hardly a loco with its original boiler in Inchicore, so the idea of switch and swop was already there. Even little engines like "Sprite", "St Molaga" and the four J30s (90, 91, 92 and 100) were carrying boilers from each other. No. 90, for example, had had "Sprite"'s boiler installed following its rebuild in 1915. It may well still be carrying this in preservation. I've just remembered - senior mentioned once the there were very divided opinions on 900 at Inchicore. That would fit very well with Mayner's thoughts on the matter.

Take a holiday. All this modelling wears ye out. Go on, Achill for a week for under two pounds.

How to impress your friends. Write your letters on headed paper. Download, print and use. I've Clogher Valley and Lough Swilly somewhere too.

The interiors of some of these yokes had interesting layouts. And now all we have is centre-aisle railcars with no opening windows, which smell of the nearby unventilated humid toilet. Progress! Ha! De Deitrichs, Mk. 4's, the characterless Mk 2's.... Brel stuff...., MPDs, ICRs, CAFs, 2600s, Castles, yeah yeah........ All the same, says jhb171 the old fashioned philistine. BREL products are to quality railway carriage design what McDonalds, pre-horsemeat-scare, was to fine gourmet dining. Derby own-brand Tesco versus Inchicore, Limerick, Dundalk and York Road quality and craftsmanship. Rant over; here are the pics.

The LUAS Green Line in days of yore. No stops at Central Park, Balally, Kilmacud or any of those other Johnny-come-lately places. We're talking Old Dublin here. Actually, we're not. Beyond the Grand Canal it's outer suburbs. Beyond Ranelagh it's la-la land, culchie land, beyond the Pale in places where only those of a rural disposition may be found......

Just in case you were in any doubt.

And, more grey-loco haulage, without an 071 or a sperry train in sight: ......so there you are. Fun's over; time to get a 400 class 4.6.0 back to Dublin, then one of those GNR 4.4.0s if you're going to Belfast. You know that the GNR have just started painting their express locos BLUE! Pity there's no such thing as colour film, iphones or DVDs.

Senior was not impressed with them in his day, despite being a keen cyclist on stony unsurfaced roads in remote country areas like Ashtown and Stillorgan! Here's how we got from A to B back in the day, back when Jesus was a child and pussy was a kitten......

If you happen to be free on and from 10th September 1934.......

I have to say I thought it was an excellent series.

hahahaha! I think I'll try my own house first - just to see if there's anything half valuable left.....