jhb171achill

While at it... imagination suggests a few interesting scenarios for layouts in the last half century.... 1. Newcastle West type location, still with passenger in the BnT era. Stacks of loose coupled H vans and beet trucks.... 2. Imaginary Portadown if still a junction in 1975, and a few Jeeps left coming off they Derry Road. 70s, new 80s, ex-NCC & GNR stock, Enterprise with Hunslets, laminates from Monaghan... 3. Claremorris type location in 1958 - MGW or GSW steam, A, B101, C, E, G classes; AECs, a visiting SLNCR railcar "B" ... Ah well.

Nelson, you're one of a select few. Psychologists have shown us - I read about this years ago - that we are drawn out of a sense of security to an era in our young childhood. You will therefore often find that modellers (how many of us here?) concentrate on a period around their childhood / teenage years, especially when older and they realise that the current world is no longer so familiar and unchanging as they imagined as children. A few model past times they would never have known. These are usually people with a very deep interest in, and understanding of, the era of their parents or grandparents. I remember seeing an article maybe 40 years ago in the Railway Modeller about a superb scratch built model of Brunel's broad gauge line - it looked extremely accurate and the modeller had gone to great lengths to ensure absolute accuracy. But such things are an exception. Personally, given huge amounts of extra spare time, and possibly better eyesight nowadays, I'd like a layout based on a country terminus or junction in GSR (MGWR) territory about 1930. But I'll never have the time; being retired results in me being far, far too busy.......

4472 - I think there was some delay in fitting them....

I was weaned on noisy MED*, MPD* and AEC railcars, Park Royal / Bredin / Laminate / Craven mixes, UTA "Jeeps", and CIE A, 121, 141, 181, C & E classes. Loose coupled wagons pre-all-brown livery (i.e. all plain grey) and steam breakdown cranes. I remember track gangs, PW & weedspray workers before they had to dress in all bright orange like Halloween ornaments, nobody ever dying from wearing "proper" clothes.... and before anything maintenance-orientated on wheels had to be garish bright yellow from nose to tail! Mechanical signalling, staffed graffiti-free stations, and jointed track. Yes, I'm a dinosaur. But a happy one..... (* MPD and MED cars were the most uncomfortable things ever to run on rails apart from the ghastly 450s.....yes, I plead guilty to "dinosaur", m'lud.....)

They were turned.

goods and passenger alike! (apart, of course, from iconic Maedb x 3...) Hardly a colourful era... plus ca change....

That is exactly the right colour for original blue. Obviously the later shade (as nowadays on 111 / 2 / 3) is a darker shade.

The coal was in a tiny bunker behind the driver. This can be seen on DCDR's 90.

The buffer is as "very rare" as a blade of grass! I suppose it shows that it's no bad thing to check claims made by internet sellers.....

I believe that Dundalk works built a series of wagons got the NCC after that, but nothing went south for storage. I seem to remember reading somewhere that they started storing stock in places like Ballymena, Magherafelt, and even on the Draperstown branch. The NCC seemed to always keep itself very much to itself.....

Very true, Mayner; another factor was the great amount of tine and craftsmanship given to preparing surfaces properly - not always the case nowadays when time is money. The reason the initial GSR coach livery was the dark crimson lake, and that the GSWR's all-over grey spread to all locos, was exactly what you suggest - Inchicore had a large supply of both again the time of the amalgamation, and GSR management took the view that since the GSWR was the largest company by far it was cheaper and took less time to paint the locos and stock of all the other companies in GSWR colours. In fact, the brown and cream for carriages didn't even start appearing until about 1926/7, and even then only appeared on main line stock. Other stock remained the dark shade until the GSR introduced the lighter LMS shade in 1933 when the first "steels" were built.

I'm awaiting the day when a mod issues a fatwa..... :-)

And very convincing it is too, Kirley.

I remember seeing the odd UTA special and looking among a hotch-potch of GNR and NCC coaches to see if I could see a BCDR one! But they were all gone from traffic by then. The odd BNCR (obviously pre-NCC) one was about until the early 60's. You could tell them by the straight sides.

See how little anyone posts on railway enthusiast websites now - there's little these days to be interested in on either NIR or IE..... Or is it just me?

I'm looking at that photo again - I doubt if it was in 1932 - probably earlier. Having said that, I wouldn't think the GSR ever repainted it. There were several "oddballs" that survived well into the thirties without ever seeing GSR livery: C & L 4.4.0T No. 1, C & L 0.6.4.T No. 9 "King Edward", the magnificent MGWR twelve wheel Director's Saloon (without doubt the most sumptuous Irish passenger coach ever built), the T & D inspection car, the small tank engine 299 based in Albert Quay, one of the surviving Waterford & Tramore 2.2.2WT's, the aforementioned Inchicore-based No. 92 (almost certainly) and so on.... Senior, who I visited today, recalls a few carriages in GSWR livery at "Kingsbridge" in the early 30s....

The livery shown is GSWR livery - surprisingly clean as this loco / coach "unit" was generally filthy. The loco portion is painted in GSWR green (see 90 on the DCDR) but with black and creamy-coloured lining, the later GSWR style. Numnerplate background is black - the green on 90's on the DCDR is just to put something on it - it should also be black. Numberplates were never green-backed. The coach portion is a very dark maroon, as on the DCDR's 836, with lining in that pattern too. For the record, and for the modeller, the following is a list (off the top of me head) of preserved items that are correct in all aspects of their liveries (and it's a list that really could be longer - education, education and education....): DCDR: 90 CSET 1 & 3 E421 E432 146 (apart from later-style numerals) C231 (apart from numerals a bit too thick in typeface) A39 G613 G617 (not G611: no G610 class ever ran in green, and in any case the earlier trio that did had green chassis, not black, and no flying snail, larger numerals on cab sides) Coach 836 The TPO (3223 has a shade of green too dark for the lining which is on it - i.e. post-1955. She actually always ran in black'n'tan in her current format. 728 has the same green - too light for UTA, which is better represented on preserved buses. The straw line on it should also have very thin red edging). I don't include things still in original livery e.g. the BR genny, RB3, the 450 and so on; these are obviously authentic having never been repainted! 728, 3223, 1918 and 1097 are not correctly painted, nor are any goods stock. 1918 was painted in an approximation of GSR liver to look "older" but was always CIE green or black'n'tan; thus, the TPO livery would be more appropriate for her, and 3223 could reasonably be made to match. RPSI: 171, 85, 4 & 186. (184 and 186 were never black - and another footnote there: when painting a GSWR / GSR or CIE loco grey, wheels and smokebox are also grey, not black. Numberplate background was always grey, not (at all) red as some sources say). 461 was done in green to show the CIE passenger livery, though the shade of green is wrong. Correct shade on 800 in Cultra - albeit with incorrect Cultra-inspired "G S" lettering! Also accurate: Most of the preserved laminates. Most of the Whitehead wooden stock - except, notably, the ex-diner 87 which is now in the attractive NCC livery; but though an NCC design, it was built by the UTA and was always therefore UTA green prior to NIR days. The brake van "Ivan" should not have black ironwork or lower chassis, and the cream should be inside the body, not inside the balconies which were always grey. Cultra: As a general rule, nothing painted in Cultra is accurate, but all painted prior to entry there is!

Absolutely superb! Brings back memories....

Interesting looking thing - wonder what it would have looked like in traffic?

As Leslie says, a U2 was used on Belfast - Cavan as an experiment for a while about 1949/50, just after the UTA took over. NCC wagons would have individually appeared here and there, and possibly individual ex-NCC carriages turned up on occasional UTA excursions into Dublin the early 60s. I'm unaware of complete trains, and doubt it. But - as others have said - the layout owner determines what runs...... I have witnessed the "Flying Scotsman" in LNER green hauling CIE stock in such circumstances....

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....