jhb171achill

Correct, though an unusual design.

Not THAT much on 1st July indeed; but I was at the centenary celebrations on that day fifty years ago, so I just had to go back for the 150th! Arrrrrggghhhh!!!! Ther "colourisation" Monster strikes again!

The rare No. 3 "Pender" is pictured at an ever rarer location - on the quays at Ramsey! The man standing on Port Erin platform, and at the MER Ramsey terminus is my grandfather, HJAB. That's the one! It was a dull bauxite-red colour, probably the same as the locomotives had been up to the late 1960s Ailsa era.

Superb stuff, gents! Must dig up my dad's photos of it again from the 1930s (first visit) to early 1950s (second visit there)........ Here goes:

It’s beautiful too! Cue for a 3ft gauge layout; the Inishbofin Railway….!

Anyone heading over to manxland next week for any of these events? I'm going myself, to renew my acquaintance with this fascinating railway. I attended the centenary events fifty years ago too, but I doubt I'll see the 200th! In 1973, it was still the old IOMR company which ran the system, as it would not be nationalised for another couple of years. It was still very old-world, with the full canopied Douglas station and all platforms in existence, though only the two faces of the (now gone) south lin e platform were in use. Today, what's left of the station is a travesty - just a roofless Peel platform and all the sidings, yard and carriage shed gone...... but at least the Port Erin line is in fine form. When I was there in 1973, myself and jhb171Senior took off to explore the now-closed, but completely intact, Peel and Ramsey lines. Everything remained in place, station buildings locked, but with office furniture and stationery in the ticket office still visibile through windows. Vandals had yet to turn their attentions to it; no doubt the law in place at the time permitting public floggings for vandals might have had some sway there.......... Ramsey station still had a rail-borne crane in it, at the goods bank, while at St. Johns there was a carriage shed full of carriages, plus a long siding full of the old Manx Northern Cleminson six-wheelers. Not long after we got home the carriage shed in St Johns was set on fire, with the loss of many old stored carriages.

Agreed. The old metal ones obtainable as kits are a bit heavy. These wagons were officially known as "Convertible vans", as in convertible from general goods use (with tarpaulin) to cattle use (without). Examples could indeed be found in traffic until about 1961 at the very latest (in West Cork, perhaps), so while they did indeed survive into the diesel era, we're talking of dirty silver A, C & B101 classes, but not "yanks". And several will be needed for Dugort Harbour, of course.......

Correct, yes. All steam locos had the lower one. This applied to grey locos, the few that were black, or green ones. Cabside numerals on grey or black locos were pale 9not bright) yellow, and on green locos the numbers were also pale green, lined gold, like the "snail" transfer. No steam loco ever carried a yellow (or, as on old lima models, white!) flying snail. When locos had cast plates, these were variously picked out in pale yellow (but grey, not black, backgrounds), or just painted over. A few had the numbers polished bare metal - jhbSenior noted several such at Inchicore in the early 1940s.

VERY true indeed!

Yes, 186 is correct - in fact, the shade of grey was correctly colour matched at the time and confirmed accurate by several ex-GSR men then still living. The 461 black livery was incorrect in detail - while that loco seems to have been very briefly black in the very late 50s, it was always plain grey after the DSER became part of the GSR and CIE. On the RPSI's 461, the yellow "flying snail" was wrong - no steam engine ever carried anything but the standard pale green "snail", lined gold - in other words, the same transfers as on the sides of carriages and buses!

Wow - crazy stuff, all right. It does very starkly show, though, the utter contempt that large companies (including railway companies) had for the safety of their workers........... had we never had trade unions, things would still be the same...........!

Correct. MOST had them, but just some didn’t. Apologies if I implied none had double! Yes, it’s a first with a luggage compartment. The GSWR & MGWR had similar, though obviously if very different body design.

Believe it or not, I’m only seeing it now! I prefer posts from the 1950s, as they were written aboard six-wheelers on the Ballinrobe branch…..

An interesting thing about GNR six wheelers is that uniquely in Ireland, many had no lower footstep . And yes, that Knockmore photo is as I suggested - full van, followed by a third, and the other two will inevitably be a second and a first, or another third (especially if it’s off the Antrim line) and a 1st / 2nd composite.

That would never catch on............. Actually looks fantastic!

Where's the black'n'tan one............

Go for six-wheelers, 27ft - 30ft length. While the GNR(I) had nothing whatsoever to do with the British GNR, by sheer coincidence it not only shared a name, but due to at one time a common engineer, similarities in some loco and coach designs. The long wheelbase type of four wheelers, with "modern" 1890s-style body shapes, never ran in Ireland in general and certaintly not on the GNR, so the best thing is Hattons six-wheelers in the LNER or GNR teak livery. The sort of typical make up will be similar to that on other rural Irish lines, namely (in the case of the GNR) typically something like a full 6w brake, a first, second and third, or more likely a third and a 1st / 2nd composite. Lines like Cootehill and Belturbet had mixed trains too, so add an old GNR brake van, a van or two, one open, and a cattle wagon or two.

A great day out in Omagh. Thanks to Tony for your customary hospitality, and meeting a few oul cronies there today, i8ncluding one gent with whom I used to watch "Jeeps" on ballast trains over fifty years ago...........!

Tankers - good question; but unlike rural areas in Britain, we didn't have milk tankers hyere - milk travelled in churns in vans, ideally ventialetd ones but in winter any sort of goods van would do. As for petrol, little or none; petrol was carried in canisters, again in wagons. In my next book I will be describing a raid on wagons carrying petrol for the British Army use in Loughrea in 1920 - this cargo was of significant size, but was housed in ordinary goods vans. Hopper wagons were all 4-wheeled and only used (perhaps obviously!) on ballast trains. In a rainy country, the vast majority of wagons on normal trains were goods vans, either with full roof or the so-called "soft-tops" - officially convertible vans. Opens of all numbers of planks were on most goods trains too, but would usually be in the minority. 4 and 5 planks were the most common. On fair days, out came the cattle trucks. Depending on local cattle marts, these could be just 2 or 3 in the regular goods train, or perhaps 100 or more loaded at a single location and despatched in a number of special trains, which could load to over 40 wagons and van. And yes, Leslie's GSWR goods brake is superb; two of these are at Dugort Harbour.

With the best will in the world, they’re having a laugh. Just OVER €70 for a book!! This is worse than some of those 071s online for €750…….! Colourpoint or Stenlake would have done that for €25. I’m afraid I won’t be buying any book at that price!

A lot of railwaymen had (and have!) quite offbeat nicknames, so away ye go with the imagination!

This promises to be a GOOD one!

Well done, Tony, a mighty piece of work. Looking forward to the launch in Omagh.

Only seeing this, Derek. You've put a lot of work into that - it's looking very well. Only (constructive!) suggestions I would make is that there doesn't seem to be a physical connection between the inner circuit and the rest - a connection would add much flexibility. Also, for Ireland, platform ends were never tapered (not all that much in Britain either)..... your idea of green paint on buildings, especially railway ones and post offices, is very much the way to go!

I had thought it was 3ft gauge.....no?