jhb171achill

Anyone out there able to help? I've been going through a pile of old black and white negatives, many of poor initial quality, not helped by years of fading or over and under exposure when originally taken. They'd need to have a good bit of time taken over each one, photoshopping, enhancing, and so on, but the subject matter of many is amazing - there's a full set, for example, of pics taken at Inchicore about 1922 of a loco which had been blown up on the DSER, lost its cab and centre pair of wheels, and is sitting awaiting what must have been a very optimistically planned repair. Other odds and ends too - one of Dingle in 1939, from memory.... you just never know what's going to turn up. Now - I'm trying to go through all this stuff and properly list / archive / catalogue it, so I'd need (if possible) some facility to get it all done reasonably quickly. Naturally, I'm prepared to pay whatever costs arise - though on enquiring in Dublin city centre about processing old b'n'w stuff, commercial pricesd are horrendous. If anyone has any ideas, maybe you might ping me privately. Greater Dublin area preferred, though I'm in Belfast area for a day or so every few weeks as well. The

They must have serviced an MED for you, 33lima! :-)

Knew I had it somewhere, Islandbridge; this is correct GSWR green pre-1885. For 1885-1895 period, cream and black lining, same green. Then lined black to about 1915/18; exact date unknown. GSWR then changes to grey, which lasts through GSR and up to end of steam. This model, made by Inchicore apprentices, may be seen at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in London. It's a beast of a thing about a metre high. Worth seeing. Livery may also be seen on 90 at Downpatrick.

Who'd like to help me fund a new-build for the DCDR! This is a little beauty, which would be ideal for such things; well, one must dream. The straight sides are a giveaway to its Belfast & Northern Counties Rly. origin. Pictured at Ballyclare, Co. Antrim about 1942, it was already withdrawn. Note the boarded up window and very badly faded paintwork. Meanwhile, up in Donegal hi

The Giant's Causeway tram in the mid thirties. Here a three coach train awaits departure at Portrush. Meanwhile, at Ballinamore, we see this very rare phenomenon in the thirties; a locomotive not in plain grey! C & L No. 1 remained in lined green even at this stage. The Cavan & Leitrim painted engines a shade of green not unlike vie green, and lining was red and white. In this example the C & L livery is by thus stage understandably very dishevelled, as it's well over ten years since a paintbrush was seen near the locomotive.

Haha excellent..... But is it a dartboard or a DART board?

I always thought a sleepy GSWR branch terminus with just 2 or 3 J15s, a couple of six-wheelers and a dozen or two vans and cattle wagons would make a nice simple but interesting project. Personally, I'd base it in the 1950s so that an occasional "C" or "G" could appear, but that's just my own preference. Your GSWR plan is a superbly original one.

I've one or two more somewhere, Mayner. Will post when I can. This was taken two days before the line closed. Apparently there was a respectable number of people on the Dingle train that day, but not too many on the branch. The branch train was hauled by No. 6 as you can see, and consisted of a single coach, a bogie van and a couple of goods vans. The loco shed was out of the picture on the left, way down behind the carriage you can just see the end of. There was a turntable there too. The loco has just turned and had a drink and is running round. The two sidings either side of the goods shed were the only other sidings or track in the place. A very small compact station which would therefore make an ideal prototype even for quite a large scale layout. There was no signal box - just the ground frame on the left.

And we're off to Castlegregory again, and it's summer 1939.

Can't wait to see this develop, Islandbridge... I had a look at pictures of that layout just now - it's easily accessible online - and the GSWR wagons are indeed accurate, as is everything else as far as I can see even down to the station paintwork. I'm not sure about the blue coach - if it's meant to be a stray MGWR one it ought to have white upper panels. However, it may be a representation of some other company's livery which I'm unaware of, but it certainly isn't MGWR or GSWR in origin. Given the very close attention given to every other single aspect of historical details, I'd be surprised if it wasn't a true representation of some prototype.

It hasn't ben used even for engineering trains for quite a few years no, as it is impassable in several places. The level crossing in Limerick is tarred over, for example, and farm gates are across it. It's also tarred over in Foynes.

I'd say, based on things I've heard from people who ought to know, that this is a distinct possibility. I'm afraid that the possibility of a daily mixed with a J15 and a six wheel coach is somewhat less likely......

I think, Mayner, that many GSR rebuilds did little to improve the appearance of their subject matter! I would agree re the 4.4.0s you mention. Unfortunately, an ancestor of mine who was in their drawing office then could well have had something to do with some of them!

£99.99 plus £7.15 postage; that is to say £107.14, or about €145. For one used wagon. Can someone explain to a simpleton like me, what exactly is supposed to be going on here? Is this "payday loan" stuff, where you can borrow one cheap looking toy wagon, provided you pay back 500 brand new Murphy Models 201s in pristine condition? Does anyone at all actually pay money like this for an item like this? If so, I'll go through my neighbour's dustbin, sell the contents at €1000 an item, and retire. On another note, looking at the above picture, when did the SLNCR paint wagons brown and black, or CIE paint wagon chassis black? Answer: not during their entire history......

Best ferts I've seen!

Fascinating concept, Islandbridge, and good luck with what I'm sure will be a fascinating layout. The beauty about any layout is the way we can stretch any point we like! In terms of yours, 1910 was not that long after the GSWR took over the WLWR, so there certainly would have been the odd maroon locomotive pottering about, and their carriage colour was the same maroon; these would give a nice contrast, as it was lighter than the GSWR purple lake. I'm sure you're seen a layout based on the WLWR which featured in magazines YEARS ago, called "Castle Rackrent". WLWR livery was faithfully reproduced in that. Wagons can be livened up by a visiting grey GNR van, or green MGWR horse box.

Correct livery for chips, Wrenn........ Ok, I'm running for me bus now.

The more spuds you peel, the more chips, Wrenn!

I might add that if you go for early CIE days, you've a lighter (LMS shade) maroon on some coaches, with the dark CIE green appearing. While locos are almost all plain grey all over, a few main line ones are beginnings I appear in lined CIE green, a bit like the approximate version currently on 461 (though match your colour from 800 in Cultra). Goods stock is mid grey. A few early railcars can add interest. Go for mid-GSR days, and while every single loco bar the 800s are all-grey, you've three carriage liveries, and wagons are mid grey. Older, and branch line carriages are the same deep purply brown much the same as GSWR, but with a slightly more maroonish tint. Main line stock is chocolate brown and cream, while newer stock (like the "Bredins") and older stock being repainted, are coming out in a much lighter, LMS-style lined maroon.

I was reading over earlier posts on this thread with regard to the original idea of a 1910-ish GSWR layout, which, as I agree with others is a superb idea especially with scale track. While track has to come before locos, coaches, wagons or stations, a few pointers re GSWR liveries might be of interest, since you referred to the "battleship grey"'s drabness as a reason not to model GSR or CIE. The green used on 36 in Cork is not quite the right shade, though the lining is probably as close as one will get now. For such an important company, it's odd that (to date) no definitive information seems to exist in relation to loco green (or carriage colour) in the days when 36 was in traffic. But that's just an aside, since you asked about 36's colour - it's certainly jot CIE green either, by the way. The GSWR green livery started to disappear about 1895, being replaced by black lined with red. Numberplates had red backgrounds (immediately "greyed over") after about 1915! Therefore, for 1910, the liveries in daily use were actually - overall - a good bit darker and gloomier than the later grey, but probably more pleasing to the eye. Locomotives: the odd one, old, possibly still in the dark olivey green, as seen (accurately) on No. 90 in Downpatrick which has exact paint match. However, in the later years of the green, 1885-95, the lining was cream and black, not the style on 90 which is accurate for 1870-85. The vast majority of locomotives, therefore, would be glossy black with red lining. Carriages were painted the colour worn at present by the RPSI's 1142 and 351, or the DCDR's 836. This a very dark browny maroon known as "lake"; mind you, I'd be scared of finding something radioactive in a lake that colour!!!! Some mainline stock had the cream upper panels as seen on 351, but the bulk of carriage stock was six wheeled, and neither they nor the majority of secondary bogie stock did - these were all-purple-lake, like (accurately) 836. Wagons were - wait for it - mostly black! I have details somewhere of what way stations were painted. I'll pits it when I can find it. If you like the green on locos, you're looking at the 1870-1900 period....

Now, there's a loco. Forget yer oul identikit railcars. 2700, 2600, ICR, MED, MPD, 80 class, 70 class, 450.... All oul biscuit tins on wheels. I'm just standing back here now to see what happens. I did leave AEC and Donegal railcars out, before you ask.

How did we all get onto this from "GSWR 101"!

Herewith, proof from Mr Broithe of how devious leprechauns are. They lead you to believe that underneath a rainbow there's nothing more than an oul crock of gold. Above is the proof of the REAL treasure they guard. The man driving that lorry is either in their pay, in which case I hereby issue a fatwa against him; or he is an unselfish hero, determined to wrest his precious cargo from their grasp. Wonder if he ever drove the Guinness & Fert with a 141 for IE.

That's got the makings of an excellent layout. Plenty of room for the amazing scenery round there too.

Waterside, Derry, about 1975. York Road, April 1985. Note that the GM maker's plate on the cabside has obviously been only very recently hacked off! Lisburn, with GVS to Enniskillen train, about 1939. Claremorris, 14th June 1971..... hold on..... I don't think my bookcase was in Mayo then... One can dream.