jhb171achill

It's spread all over the place, GSR; there isn't any one main central online repository about most aspects of Irish railway history. If you check out th likes of the photo website flickr, you'll get some superb contributions. In some cases these are made by people who post here. If you're anywhere close to Dublin, there is a lot of ("offline"? - as in not computer based!) material in the archives of the Irish Railway Record Society, which are open on Tuesday nights if you're a member. There is a good selection of photos and books available there too. The GSR was Ireland's largest company by a very long way, in pre-nationalisation days. It might be useful if you could give a few ideas about what particular aspect of the GSR you are interested in. If it's for a layout, then the types of locos and coaches used. You might like main line operation, like modelling the Galway, Cork or Waterford main lines. or you might prefer a sleepy rural terminus. If the latter, this could be of ex-DSER, ex-MGWR, ex-WLWR or ex-GSWR origins; all had their differing styles of architecture, but all were under the overall GS banner fro 1925-45. Because of this, there was also vast diversity in the range of locos and rolling stock used. Then there was the narrow gauge - at its inception, the GSR inherited no less than seven separate 3ft gauge systems, four of which it retained to hand over to CIE in 1945. It narrowly missed inheriting the Blessington tram as well. The separate and self-contained Waterford & Tramore system, ad the "as-good-as" separate West Cork system were all part of the GSR.

If my photoshopping skills were any good, I'd set up a whole album of things like that! CIE locos in GNR blue or UTA lined black, "Maedb" in grey or GNR blue, Midland six-wheelers in redbull, green goddess or tippex...... the list goes on! Many years ago, one of the "youths" at Whitehead circulated an absolutely superb mock up of 171 in NCC maroon and the UFTM's 74 (Dunluce Castle) and an NCC "Jeep" in GNR blue. You'd be surprised how well all looked!

That's a very impressive start! Good luck

True, Wrenn! Sold now - though I think I may have another, if anyone's interested I'll look for it.

This is an interesting document. Every loco then in traffic, including some real rarities, including the unnumbered but named oddballs like Argadeen, St Molaga, Sprite, Jumbo and Sambo. Also preserved 90, 461 & 186. Opens out to large poster size. €10 plus postage if you're interested.

Excellent collection - some really interesting stuff in there.

Amazing! Bit like a BnM turf plant.......!

What's this - a watch that tells time? Next, you'll be telling me that's there's a phone which makes telephone calls! :-)

True, Tony........! So we had part Mk 1's - maybe the 450 class could be "Mk. Half"......! :-)

"Jeep" No. 4 in redbull?

You mean GNR vs. CIE, Jawfin? CIE used their standard upholstery of the day. Latterly it was a dark grey colour but I think it might have been reddish at at earlier stage - perhaps josefstadt or Mayner might remember? The GNR had patterned upholstery, second class being (I remember) a grey and reddish pattern, with first having more brown and patterns. When the GNR fleet was divided between the UTA and GNR, they were eventually changed to those companies' styles. UTA upholstery was common to buses and trains and was mid to dark green with a fleck pattern in yellow and red.

I was in Connolly station this afternoon and noticed the usual 29's sitting about. It just occurred to me that the dark blue on them is not at all unlike GNR coach or railcar blue; perhaps a slight shade darker. It's important for perhaps younger modellers to be aware that the blue the GNR used on some mainline coaches and railcars was not the same as the famous steam loco blue. The solitary diesel loco, 800, was also painted the dark blue but without any cream areas.

The right colours on a model really show it up as well as possible. Each to their own, I know, but personally I think there's nothing worse than an excellent model painted wrongly. But on your layout it's not just the attention given to getting liveries and weathering right, it's the whole atmosphere it recreates. Looking at those pictures, I can almost imagine the smell of turf smoke from the cottage next door, and the coal smoke and hot oil smell from the engine..... the attention to all details is great, down to the puddles on the ground.

Excellent, top quality stuff. As others commented, it's always very refreshing to see unusual designs of wagons. May I ask what the prototype is, or if it's your own design it is just as realistic as a prototypical model!

That is just jaw-droppingly good. Those carriages and the Midland 2.4.0 are absolutely perfect. Superb work as always.

Absolutely fascinating layout. Trains and buses. Whew! I'm not the only desert-sand enthusiast; that's a good few out of the closet now! My earliest memories, of course, were of green buses with "flying snails", and UTA green ones up north.

Can you still get those kits anywhere?

Very impressive start!

Well, that's always the best reason of the lot to run them, Mike! They were a very individual type of wagon.

True, Broithe...

The only BR Mk 1's in Ireland were the CIE genny vans, I think. All else Mk 2, 3 or 4.

Great to meet chevron yesterday!

To all who offered new homes to the above stuff, it was posted yesterday and today. Perhaps I could ask each of you to let me know when you get it.

Italian trains with no graffiti! There's a first......

Indeed, josefstadt. The brown vans in those days weren't even common sights on the former GNR lines - they stayed mostly on home territory. I remember the goods trains in the Belfast / Lisburn area very well, but I personally never once saw one of these vans in a goods train.