jhb171achill

Absolutely stunning set of MPD cars!!!!!

I wonder if the dark stripe will be along the full body side??

Disgraceful, but unfortunately you're totally right! Jack O'Neill would revolve in his grave....

I always thought that a model of Albert Quay terminus would probably be the single most fascinating layout imaginable!

Absolutely; in his polka dot era, the insides of the loco frames were painted in left-handed tartan....

The original - and long lived - seating colour was a dark grey fabric with a darkish blue "fleck" through it.

I have to say I'm with 007 on that.... but maybe I suffer from Too-Many-Birthday Syndrome......

The way the train was internally set up and used..... Coach 1 = Genny van. Externally a total rust bucket, but internally working very well. Coach 2 = Service Crew (RPSI staff) coach. Standard RPSI Craven. Coach 3 = Bar Car. Used also as morning / afternoon tea coach. Used properly as bar car with traditional musicians hosting a fantastic party atmosphere evening en route from Westport to Dublin (Connolly) on the last evening before decamping to the Shelbourne. Coach 4 = Tea Car. Used (obviously) for kitchen to produce superb lunches and an evening meal on the last day. Seating also used, along with bar car seating, for morning or afternoon tea and for any on-board lunches. Coach 5 = Refurbished Craven, table cloths, antimacassars, flowers on tables, silver service. Used as "club car" - seating on reception onset mornings before going into the dining and bar cars for morning coffee or lunch. Used as restaurant on the last evening (Westport to Dublin) when punters had a three course dinner in it before moving to the bar car for a farewell party.

One never can tell, Kirley...... I'll tell you one thing, though..... the RPSI crew who manned it all week were absolutely top notch... it made the job of the Railtours folks very satisfying and comfortably easy. Salutations to all involved in the support, maintenance, loco, dining car, stewarding and catering crew.

Oh dear.....

Very true, 33 Lima.

The liveries can be mixed, as some coaches still wore the pre-1955 dark green. When black'n'tan came in. However, for every dark green (and by this stage, heavily weathered) coach mixing with the new livery, there would have been many more in the lighter green or (equally weathered!) silver.

That looks utterly stunning!

In terms of width of lines, the white is way too wide, but both green lines are, unfortunately, worse - especially the lower one. While scale may make it awkward, the "snails" and "3" numerals should be edged in gold. The two green shades are very accurate though, judging by the photo. The numerals on the black'n'tan coaches are far too large. That said, when all is said and done, any new Irish stock is very welcome.

Colm Any debate on UTA green can, happily, be definitively settled as numerous examples of actual paint exist. The most accessible is on both the "red-hand roundel" and the post-1963 "coast of arms" UTA crests in Selwyn Johnston's "Headhunters" museum in Enniskillen - the background boards in most crests in that collection are actual paint from the companies concerned. Prior to installation in Headhunters they were deliberately kept in a location away from sunlight to preserve colours. If anyone is interested in some of the more obscure, or least verifiable, actual liveries of the past, that collection is an ideal source of reference. DUTC / CIE dark green (same thing, as CIE copied it!) can be had there too on the backgrounds of the DUTC crest and Flying Snail. The only thing to be aware of is that colours don't translate well from actual to model, or worse still, vice versa; 461's current green is a case in point as it is not accurate CIE green, having been copied from the late Drew Donaldson's models. Accurate UTA green may also be found on some preserved buses. Just as CIE copied DUTC green, so did the UTA copy the old N I Road Transport Board's green, though they inverted the light and dark on buses. For the record, NCC, LMS and (post 1935) GSR maroon were the same. There is some evidence that the BCDR may have used the same stuff from time to time, but in any event their own maroon wasn't much different - maybe a very slight shade darker, son made indistinguishable by brake dust and wear 'n' tear! Having seen your models years ago at an exhibition, they certainly look the part to me - excellent work too, most inspirational. If there is some slight in discrepancy it's such a miniscule one as to be unnoticeable.

I'm looking forward to Monday!

Had a word today with one who remembers well - they were originally a lightish brown.

Yes, it's meant to be like the old GNR livery. For purists, the GNR version did not have blue above window level, nor a black line; it was blue below only. Also, the blue is Dublin RPSI blue, but the GNR shade was much darker and may be seen today on the Fintona Tram (of all things!) in the UFTM. The old Belfast paint firm, Jamison & Green, hold the original spec for both the navy blue and the cream, as well as authentic UTA green. They supplied all three - and these are the only genuine Irish psi t specifications still held on file by any company. The diner and bar have been treated as above, with the three "RPSI Blue" coaches remaining as they are. The genny was not repainted as it is due to come out of traffic once its companion is finished by the RPSI's Mullingar squad. This coach, another BR genny, will be the last RPSI coach to be treated in Mullingar, and will be turned out in blue.

Absolutely, Dhu Varren.

Correct - there won't be any possibility, unfortunately, of anyone aboard.

The green is possibly a bit flat and light... curtains were probably either a fawn or reddish colour, though might have been a goldeny brown colour too.

The re-gauging looks fantastic - interested to hear how this was accomplished.

If interested in such things, the unique "North Atlantic" dining car would be an amazing subject for a model. Point of info: the one at Whitehead (No. 87) was built by the UTA, not the NCC, though to a broadly NCC-inspired design. The RPSI has it in the very attractive NCC lined maroon livery, but it's important to bear in mind that it never carried this livery, as obviously with a build date of 1951 it was UTA green from the outset. The UTA's version of "Brunswick Green" was, as another point of information, somewhat darker than the green that BR used, though described in the same way. The exact specification is held by Jamison & Green in Belfast. The DCDR carriage, 728, is painted in a much lighter shade which is really more like CIE green.

I always thought St Molaga would have been ideal for the DCDR!

A 201 in Black and Tan...... Photoshop, anyone?