jhb171achill

Nothing to be ashamed of there, Sulzer - looks great!

me too

Yes, a blue 4.4.0 out and about again will be superb! Congrats to all at Whitehead.

Cork, Blackrock and Passage was very early, as were the first section of the West Cork system, and the Waterford & Tramore. However, are we talking about the first public railway, or the very first instance of anything in this country running on rails? There was an extremely early mineral tramway in Co Sligo.

Wish I'd known when I was over there! Must delve in the IRRS, though I doubt it would be there. I have the details of GSR and CIE stuff; earlier would be very interesting, though.

I would be interested in a later one. Absolutely stunning kit. Would there be an option to buy a fully assembled one? Neither my modelling skills nor eyesight would do justice to a model like that!

I see this as the same as the damager-of-property known as "banksy"; the vandal who did this loco, the idiot banksy, the other one grifter, and the lot of those brainless hoody-clad morons should be chained to the rails to be run over by the vehicles they deface. All but one. Whichever one's last can clean up the tracks..... Just my contribution to the graffiti artistry debate!

Not just the wagons, but the whole layout... that's as good as it gets-ever! Absolutely TOP class stuff, every detail... track, ballast, models, paint jobs including weathering. A real work of art as well as railway modelling. With regard to the sizes of the wagons, I doubt they would have used an exact copy of GNR ones - though quite possibly at times Dundalk might have built or repaired wagons from this line. Therefore, I would be more inclined to believe in different sizes being prevalent, rather than uniformity. From recollection, pictures showing "H" vans in SLNCR train consists indicate that they at least were marginally larger. The GNR vans would have been closer to "H" vans in dimensions, therefore smaller SLNCR wagons was probably the norm. Bear in mind also, the SLNCR hadn't a brass cent to its name. Thus, while the GN and CIE were upgrading with (inevitably slightly larger) wagons in the 1940s and 50s, the SLNCR was more likely just patching up older ones of their own. jhb171-Senior remembers noticing how down-at-heel most SLNCR wagons seemed to appear when he saw them in cattle trains at various locations on the Irish North.

The positioning of the plate is interesting, Minister. Normally, the GSW / GS / CIE tended to put them in the middle - though certainly not always. There is also no "ring" or mark of one - common to most GSW goods stock, this would have been an oval cast iron ring carrying the inscription "TO CARRY (whatever) TONS". This would have been on the body side - though, again, with replacement of planks over the ages, that might have gone. Could the missing plate have read something like "Hurst Nelson...etc"? Certainly, Inchicore farmed out loco and coachin g stock building to British firms from time to time. I am not sure if it did with wagons. A nice example in the photo though, and just as necessary as "H" vans or corrugated opens for any layout up to the mid 70s.

Really? Wonder where I'd get a copy of that - would be very interesting, especially if it could pin down the exact shade for the 800 class, which has remained elusive. It was at the time described as "bluey-green", set of by yellow and black lining and blue-backed number and name plates etc etc....

Something I meant to add with regard to accurate sources for liveries: there is a very old established hardware / paint firm in Belfast called Jamison & Green. They supplied paint to the GNR and the UTA in days of yore. In the 1990s when the RPSI had a policy of accurate liveries for all carriages, and as a result several ex-GN vehicles were turned out in the dark blue and cream livery, J & G still had the specifications for the paint, and made it up accordingly. I believe, from conversations with a man I know who used to work there, that they also still have the spec for UTA green. I quizzed him some years ago on whether he had anything else: he didn't think so. There are examples elsewhere of BCDR and NCC maroons, and it is unlikely that J & G supplied any Dublin based company. The GSWR, certainly, mixed their own!

oooooooohhhhhhh!!!!!!! I'm getting 800 fever; can't wait to get mine built!

True, Wrenn; no central heat or fun - but - blue 4.4.0's on the Irish North! And the Sligo Leitrim..... Innocent of diesel locos!

Indeed, Weshty! No iPads, but red 2.6.4Ts in Donegal, and 800 on the express to Cork....

I agree... The IOM is stunning! My first visit was 1975, but my only other one a year ago. The island and Douglas station were different, but the railway a beautiful time warp, very interesting. Steam plus old carriages. Last Sunday I was in a similar wooden-coached steam world on an island - the Isle of Wight Railway steam gala. Excellent stuff, unless you're unfortunate enough to get one of their 0.6.0 saddle tank Austerities..... The 02 and "terriers" are worth seeing!

That's exactly the reason, minister. Limerick and Cork carried out painting jobs, especially Albert quay. In GSR days you'd get one or two panels of a coach resisted and the rest the same! As our good IRM colleague David Holman will know well, the SLNCR's carriages seem never to have seen a paintbrush at all in their last few years... One looked to have a livery of faded bare wood....!

I thought that myself; indeed i have discussed with another member on here putting together a terminus in the style of post-1963 Kilkenny or Newcastle West, by joining our resources. This could go to exhibitions and be joined with another two, to produce two termini "out the line" - but each of the three could function on its own in the owner's house with a fiddle yard. Member L E, email me....

Yes, george, I reckon I have about 8 or 10.

Re the light green bands showing on the coaches in "The Quiet Man", yes, the non-lined variations did exist. West Cork had several, including unlined dark green but with two "snails", and the West Clare had both the darker green, and later the light version, in neither case with any lining. On the C & L narrow gauge, a whitish lining was used, but above window level only. And through all this, bus liveries renamed much more constant!

I have a quantity of 2nd hand and new Peco track for G scale, if you want to PM me....

I'm hoping to. She's an old favourite of mine, 186.... First loco I was on the footplate of, back in whitehead in the late 70s.....

Superb! Long neglected by most; apart from obvious like Leslie! The absolutely essential one has to be "H" van, and the side door van..... Most goods trains were composed almost entirely of these pre 1973.

Liverpool built?????? Sharp, stewArt were at that time in Manchester......

Oola

One "Achill Bogie" tended to be on the branch (along with other locos) in the 1940s. I believe 530 was a regular for a time. By the fifties, few were left, and what little work they did seemed to be confined to light duties around Athlone and carriage heating in Dublin.