jhb171achill

Did a bit of research on "snails" on the grey 121s. Apart from the grey and yellow touring coaches at about the same time, these were definitely the only yellow snails. There does indeed appear to have been an extremely fine lining round them. It was not white as I thought but either a darkish grey of black as Irishrailwayman suggested above. Reproducing this lining on a model would be difficult as it was indeed very fine, rendering it virtually invisible in most photographs.

Wow! Excellent stuff! Better not let T C Courtney, the UTA general manager see, or somebody will be told off for leaving a van door open!

Well said, Burnthebox.

Just to show solidarity with free press, freedom of speech, and support for France currently. To fatwa-issuers, fundamentalists and bigoted fanatics worldwide, whatever you seek to censor, silence, or force into following your twisted beliefs: go to hell. You will NOT silence the free press.

The Castle class followed a similar story in later life, but were delivered too late for maroon and blue. They started off in a base colour of cream, with a deep red round the windows, day-glo warning panels (as opposed to yellow) and a thick orange line under the windows. It looked quite well when clean, but tended not to stay that way. 70 class sets spent much of their life in maroon and grey, but ended up in maroon and blue. And then we had the MPDs. UTA green, with grey round cab windows, green with wasp stripes, maroon and grey, and a few later ones (but not all) maroon and blue.

1. Lifelong interest in railways, encouraged by a small Hornby train set when I was 11. 2. The unfolding of a mini-world as the layout us built and developed. 3. When I can, but that actually isn't anything like as often as I would like. 4. Currently, no more than a couple of hundred euros, but this is because following a house move, all layout activity is on hold: I need to build a new one..... Hope this helps....

I'd guess its a two car set. What intrigues me, though, is what is behind the "A" class beside the loco shed. Looks like a six wheeled MGWR coach, but with a roof profile more normally found in bogies. If so, it's a rare survivor, as only a few six wheelers were built this way and I wasn't aware that any were still about in 1960.

It would indeed, Mayner. With a "C" in working order there now as well, it adds to the possibilities, as does the "H" van.

I see it was daubed as being preserved by the RPSI... as one of the RPSI carriage brigade at the time, that's the first I ever heard of it! It would have been a worthy mate for a DCDR "G" these days.... G613, at Downpatrick, was actually one of the most regular "G"'s on the Loughrea branch.

Jawfin, the refurbished sets had the now-familiar red seating in them, and cream walls originally with some decorative vinyls on them. Prior to that, they had what in 1974 was standard British Rail checked blue upholstery and mock-woodgrain effect walls up to luggage rack level, with an off-white ceiling. Externally, they received the same maroon and blue livery at first repaint, but with a white "diamond" instead of an upturned "v". Later - I'd guess about 1981 - they got the all-grey with maroon band under window level. Those on loan to IE retained that livery much longer, as by the time the last car painted that way (69, I think), came back to NIR, everything was beginning to be "intercity" blue and grey. Next up was the "suburban" red and cream with orange stripe: I think this was about the time the "Castles" were introduced into traffic - 1986. Some 80 class sets were thus painted, but others got the original (and best looking) blue and grey, with the following: from bottom up, a darker grey band at the bottom of the bodyside, main below-window area light grey, then a yellow / white / black / white band, then blue round windows, light grey line above, and dark grey roof. The red and cream livery, which did not suit 80 class cars at all, didn't last and railcars painted this way were gradually put into the intercity version. To separate intercity and suburban "fleets" on a tiny system such as NIR was clearly impractical. Later livery variations (approx 2001 onwards) saw the acquamarine band replace the yellow, black and white below window level, along with the continuation of the blue up to roof level (i.e. no grey band above windows). Then, latterly, we had the quite ghastly re-incarnation of these sets in "red bull" livery - quite the most stomach churning match of livery and vehicle I've ever seen. Oh no, that's the sandpit (sorry, sandite) yellow.....

That's absolutely correct, Mayner; it was long gone at the closure. I think, but am not certain, that several different brake standards were used within the last year or longer. I've a photo of the second last day somewhere - must look it out - but it certainly wasn't the "Loughrea Coach" as you say. It had seats clad in the standard mid-brown upholstery used on many older Dublin buses, though not bus seats. I was the only passenger. On the seat opposite me, in black biro, it said: "FAREWELL TO THE DUNSANDLE EXPRESS"! Anyone remember that?

NIR had three varieties of white lining which might have escaped attention: 1. The old gold-coloured "upright" NIR logo had white lining; see the last few steam engines and any maroon and grey, or acquamarine blue and maroon railcars. 2. The Hunslets when maroon. The yellow bits had white lining. (This is missing in Cultra). 3. Post 1987, just as IE simply added the "tippex" lines to standard orange and black locos and carriages, NIR added white lining to either side of the light blue bands on the otherwise light grey "Enterprise" coaching stock.

The make-up of that goods train at New Ross is worthy of note; a standard "H" van, three GSR goods vans and five cattle trucks!

That shot at New Ross is an enthusiast special; regular passenger finished on the Waterford - Macmine in 1963. Groups like the IRRS were, in those days, able to arrange for a coach to be added to a goods train in order to traverse a line not open to passenger traffic.

Correct re the Loughrea coach. It was entirely different internally as it was fitted with bus seats, and (from memory) about 6 first class seats! It also had a storage heater which was plugged into a land line at Loughrea at night to recharge it, because it didn't run with a heating van, and a "G" class loco was hardly going to provide train heating! Externally, 1910 appears to have been repainted from green to black'n'tan about 1965 or 1966.

Utterly stunning, Ernie. I'm speechless!

Absolutely dreadful. I know the location - my late mother's family were from that neck of the woods. Terrible for these young people's families. RIP.

That is a lovely job. I always thought the silver and black would have suited a 201 better than an 071!

So, a Pratt with a bottom, and badgers, well... Wow! The mind boggles.... :-)

The W & L one ended up, as far as I remember, derelict at Mullingar where it attracted the attention of the RPSI with a view to preservation. But it was sadly too far gone, and had started to fall apart, thus both of the last two coaches from the W & L never saw preservation.

That's a superb layout overall - it's easy to forget that all-black "C"'s, "A"'s and B101s would have rubbed shoulders with grey 121s - as well as all sorts of other things - in those days. I'll report back with findings re snails on them once I find a particular photo I'm looking for! I'd almost swear the lining was white, though.

Really superb, very realistic!

The stencilled version of the snail was the norm after, I'd say, the mid 50s, but was only seen in this "non-filled-in" form on wagons. By the late sixties, while most wagons wore CIE "roundels", almost all remaining with snails - and there were lots - almost all had the stencilled snail. That's a fantastic looking 121, Railwayman, first time I've seen a model in light grey. I'm not 100% sure on black lining on the "snail", though, will have a delve and see what I can find.

There were two (at least), Hunslet. The red and cream one was one of the last two surviving W & L bogie coaches, the number of which escapes me at the moment. One more, former GSWR stock, was standard wagon brown. This was ex GSWR 837 of 1902, identical to the DCDR's preserved sister coach, 836 of the same year.

Post 1950, Jawfin, they became more and more common for a few years, as they were the official livery, but by 1960 many steam locomotives either had snails entirely obscured by dirt, or none! A quick "straw poll" could be done of pictures of tender engines in the various books that cover the period - I'd guess 50 / 50 by then.