jhb171achill

I asked Rails to advise on update re ordering hattons Genesis CIE six wheelers. This is what they said: Rails of Sheffield Hi Jonathan, the orders are due to be fulfilled by us, however i am afraid the order details have not yet come through from Hattons. as soon as they do we will be in touch.

I'd say you're amongst the vast majority! Three family members of mine, lately the proud possessors of free travel passes, are finding the joys now of long distance BUS travel, where changes from one pedestrian train to another are unnecessary. One relative has recently moved to Co Wickla. By express bus from Dublin city centre it's 48 minutes. By train it's over an hour. Another relative has had the misfortune to have to go to Rosslare every month or so in the last year. She wouldn't touch the train with a bargepole. Wexford Bus all the way. I did this journey once recently myself. It was horrific. Had I not been an enthusiast, I would have genuinely made a point of never setting foot on a train again. An absolutely FILTHY 29, no wifi, and crawling at what seemd 30mph the whole way until it got to bray; thereafter a trundle at walking pace to Connolly, arriving a good hour after a parallel bus would have done. And now they're talking about terminating this service half way, and putting people into even slower darts? As others say, we're playing catch-up. Big time. One must recognise good planning etc., and compensation for those inconvenienced, but nothing short of a massive root & branch upgrade, and hundreds of billions spent on it, will remedy the public transport in the east coast area. And if that means knocking down half of Ballsbridge and Killester to quadruple Drogheda - Bray, removing the Aviva Stadium to somewhere near Blessington, putting a tunnel under Merrion Gates, levelling Bray Head to double the track from Bray to Wicklow, and ignoring those in the city centre who say that tunnelling beneath them will keep their cat awake, so be it.

Recalls to mind a story from my long-ago youth; I was in Kildare cabin with my dad talking to the signalman, who he knew. A train went speeding through without stopping. All the carriages were green, bar the very last one which was onbiously only newly repainted in black'n'tan (all were Bredins and laminates of varying types). Senior says to the signalman, whose name i forget, "Oh! Is that the new livery!!" as the whole thing sped through. "Yeah", say signalman, in deadpan voice. "ye'd think we'd seen the last'o'the black'n'tans by this stage...." Seems like only yesterday, but it has to have been summer 1962, given which relative we were visiting on the day. The earlier Murphy 141 rolls into Dugort Harbour one afternoon in 1964.

Thanks for that, Flying Snail. In that case they go to the north!

So first class & catering only on selected services?

The info I had tends to concur with this; summer to early autumn. I had ordered a single example of each. When I did so, the full brake in black’n’tan was sold out on pre-order - I think I got the last one. it’s just occurred to me - if Rails are posting these things out instead of Hattons, what’s the situation with customs charges? Should I get them sent to my “safe house” address in the north?

That’s for sure, boy, and if yer man from the Co-op is in, he does a mad oul brush dance, boy…..

No, unfortunately. Irish Rail charges overall would make many diesel trips hopelessly uneconomic. I’m aware of the quotations given in some cases recently and they’re higher than ever. A second man on a vintage diesel will add to this. Dropping carriages wouldn’t be an option, I’d say, for the reason you mention - munny€€€!

A 121 on its own would struggle with eight packed Cravens and the RPSI's "red van". I once saw a 141 trying to lift nine loaded Mk 2s on a Portadown - Belfast morning commuter local. Boy, did it make a noise! It was standing in for a failed NIR 111 which normally did this - at the time, it was the last 071-hauled train on the island. The 141 had been commandeered off the Dundalk goods, I think. However, even if a 121 was well able to lift 18 bogies, never mind 8, there's the small matter of turning. there's no way under the sun they'd allow it to go nose forst, so pairing will, I guess, be mandatory. The DCDR considered taking 124 some years ago, but opted for 146 instead, as the curves around the north junction area and elsewhere would have necessitated a 2-man crew; not always possible on a volunteer-run railway. If nose-first won't do on the DCDR, it certainly won't do on the Cork main line.... Plus, an 071 would be well able to haul a train of eight plus a potentially failed 134. Mind you, if the 071 threw its toys out of the pram, the whole lot would be stuck.

SUPERB back story! I'll have to concoct a visit of Mr Weaver to Dugort Harbour, to where Brookhall Mill sends three or four vans of linen every two weeks, to keep the Wisht Kerry Tourist Hanky & Awwsome Errin Jumper factory in supplies. Would he like to be taken up to the local pub for a lock-in, or does he not approve of the Devil's Buttermilk?

They’ll have bits of soggy toilet paper on the floor outside the jax

It’s absolutely one of the best layouts of any type in existence. Saw it a few years ago, can’t remember where, and was transfixed!

Probably put more on!!!

If the thing ever takes to the rails they’ll have to pair it with some other loco. Possibly an 071 these days…..?

Looks perfect!

Just seemed a bit hard……

Hopefully these things will be replaced by something more comfortable!

I tried contacting him once but no reply….. was going to ask him to do No. 90 in each of the actual liveries it carried, to assist the DCDR in choosing its eventual livery at the time when it was being restored for use there. He didn’t answer, but DCDR ended up finishing 90 in the livery it would have had when new.

Yes, the “tippex” name refers to the last livery they carried, either with the “set of points” logo or the “three pin plug”. Since the new entity Irish Rail hadn’t any money for a new livery when CIE was split up in 1987, the new admin traction just put white lines on the existing livery. Hence “tippex”. All three of these nicknames (and many others) originated amongst workers in Inchicore Works. When the 2600s were new, Connolly drivers christened them as the “Fanta Cans”; one suggested to me later when the navy blue, white and lime green livery appeared, that they were niw turning them into Lilt cans!

I’m sitting in an ICR as I write this, and my back sympathises! Unlike many of the good folk here, I don’t actually mind ICRs per se, but the new leather seats are too upright and too hard. As far as any railcars are concerned, probably the best of a very bad lot are NIR’s 4Ks at the moment. I agree about the DDs, by far the best there is operating today, outside Downpatrick!

A 29 outside a commuter setting is an abomination, saith the lord. The Gatwicks were similar in comfort terms to a 450 or a 2600.

I was working in Belfast then and commuted in them every day. They were seriously uncomfortable - flat hard seats that would almost make a 26 class railcar seem luxurious, seats too low, windows too high, stuffy in summer and cold in winter. Very spartan inside. Less comfortable than British or CIE equivalents…. I actually though the CIE ones were ok.

Certainly never regularly. Latterly they did a single daily run; Newry - P’Down - Lisburn - Central, even working out empty.

I’m following this with interest! Will we see an 800 class in GNR blue, or a De Dietrich set in CBSCR olive green? A Lough Swilly 4.8.0 in Donegal red? (Airfixfan, what ye think?) Lined CIE green on NCC Jeeps? NIR Red Bull livery on Cork 26’s or Drogheda 29s? CIE Black’n’tan on an NIR “wokfru” 4K set? The sky’s the limit….

The DVT - assuming it’s the same one we’re talking about - did arrive, but sat at York Road and never turned a wheel in traffic. It is now “preserved” at Downpatrick; the only railway vehicle in Ireland to have seen 0% of its (Irish) life in service, and 100% of its operations in preservation as a barrier vehicle!