jhb171achill

In this day and age we see trains made up of entirely the same type of vehicle - be it passenger or goods. No ICR sets sail with a De Dietrich coach and a Craven as intermediates; nor does the "Enterprise" ever consist of a mix of DD and Mk 4stock. Well, apart from the new EGVs, that is. Goods trains are all of idntical Tara wagons, no odd tank wagon, beet truck of flat wagon samdwiched in between; or a string of identical pockets or container flats. Even maintenance trains are made up of the one type of vehicle per train. Few exceptions exist, and few have existed for some time. But for anyone modelling any period pre 1990, standardised rakes were an extreme rarity. Many a fantastic layout set in the "Black'n'Tan" era or earlier, might have a rake of identical 4 wheeled vans behind a superbly weathered "A" class or a "Pair". Many a passenger train will have a string of identical Cravens (OK after Buttevant, but not before), or identical laminates, or even identical wooden stock. This is generally as inaccurate as the ICR with the DD intermediate. To take a few absolutely typical train make ups from old photos of mine taken in the late 70s, we can pick out the following... Goods: 30 ton van, 8 "H" vans, one with wood planked doors - one grey with snail, three grey with roundel, four brown. A flat with a BR "Freightliner" container, and several "Lancashire Flats", finally two beet wagons and a wood-planked open wagon. Passenger: Six wheel "Hot water Bottle" tin van, brake standard, full standard laminate, Craven, Park Royal, Craven, two more laminates, not the same. Another - BR van, two Cravens, Laminate, Park Royal, Laminate. This would be the norm. So, if you're modelling pre 1990, remember the mix! Cravens, several types of Laminates, several variations of Park Royals, several variations of laminated brake standards, brake standard gennies, four and six wheel heating and luggage vans, four wheel post vans converted to brakes 9there were four; one still exists at Heuston) - all these were indiscriminately mixed in main line and suburban trains. The only carriages never to operate in traffic with anything else were the Mk 2 air-cons from 1972; and all subsequent types. Mk 2AB, Mk 3 and of course Mk 4 all kept themselves to themselves. The goods picture was the same, though in pre container days, "H" or other covered vans formed perhaps 70% of all wagons in routine goods trains (not counting things like mining traffic or beet). Hope this is of interest to some!

First I heard of it - hope so, though. Don't discount 6111 as a future push-pull, though! ;-)

This is the first time I've looked at pics of this layout - stunning use of the space available. Looking forward to seeing it develop!

Tis indeed.... One of the most scenic railway routes ever built in Ireland. The greenway people have done a great job. I would recommend it to anyone.

The new question should be: "What is the difference between a duck?" Anyone?

An 80 class, an AEC set and a BUT set! But MED, MPD and 450 class sets are pics on the wall only...... ;-)

As it says in Alice in Wonderland, the answer is always "sixpence, or a hundred inches long"........ Such good advice has always got me far in life......

Those little cakes need to be weathered........

What to put on it, heirflick?? Let's see. An NCC mogul, 800, a MGWR "mail engine", a pair of 121s, a pair of 141, an "A", an NIR maroon Hunslet, a 201 and an 071. And a B101.... Finally, GNR 85 Merlin, and 171! How's that for a garden railway!

Wonder how much the entire property costs? Probably half that of the two steam locos!

Now that really looks the business!! Pity we didn't have iPads then....!

So for me, with a poor knowledge of bus history, what type of bus should I seek for what I'm looking for in the late 70s / 80s?

Exactly. The small size of the prototype would lend itself to a great degree of detail. I always thought the same treatment, again in 7mm, would do justice to a model of the Dublin and Blessington - more of a railway than a tramway, and with the same "quirky" element as the T & C or the SLNCR....

A layout based on the T & C would be amazing.... Especially if given the David Holman treatment!

The very thing, heirflick! I saw one on a display stand at blackrock yesterday, but it wasn't for sale. Really looked well - that's exactly what I'm looking for.....

Does anyone know where I might get a 4mm scale model of a suitable bus for the No. 10 route, as it would have been, and in the desert sand livery, for the 1976-1981 period?

A thing to remember with these are that the lining and snail were themselves lined, as on pre-1955 carriages. Also, there would have been a fleet number, which I think was painted in white.

I had a brief look in today, will go back for a better look tomorrow. Some excellent stuff on show. Bit pricey at €8 entry though...

I saw them today too and the colours are absolutely spot on, so it must have been the photo!

Interesting! One of the very last wooden GN coaches in traffic...

Looks nice, but the green is nothing like the right shade, unfortunately......! Easy re painted though.

At a guess, about 1910 vintage; and unlikely to have remained in traffic much beyond 1964, therefore a real gem of a picture.

Carriage no. 434.... Will look it up next time I'm in the north where most of my archive stuff is. Standard enough type of beast, probably built for Dublin to Belfast mails / guard. Maybe Derry Road, or both.

Jhb171Senior still refers to Kingsbridge and Amiens Street....

I remember it well.... Creosote smell from sleepers too......