jhb171achill

It's basically a single circuit, so it's operationally simple. You've maximised the extent of the single round-the-room loop by maximum use of the "oeninsula". The issue now is to see where you can put stations and sidings. The long top area and the long left hand side 9seperated by a short tunnel as a scenic break) would appear to be the best with lengths or platforms and loops in mind. Maybe on one side of the peninsula wild rural landacspe, and an industrial siding or country halt on the other.

Yes, very much so. Unusually, some Irish tank wagons were actually built by British firms like Charles Roberts, whereas the vast, vast majority of non-passenger stock was built here. I’ve two of these things and they look the part.

Which particular stock?

I like this distillery idea. Can you send me samples?

Fertiliser maybe? Always liked those bogies….

I’m the same! Solid booked now to mid June with tours with Awwwsum Murrikans….!

Congratulations!

I had the great pleasure of meeting MOL-pmb on the Cork to Galway railcar tour yesterday, and the masterpiece “E”! The connection from Dublin was 220….

Derry to Letterkenny & Cork to Passage.

Hope you’re staying incognito and drinking Murphy’s. Dem oul langers down dere, boy, sure dere a mad oul lot, boy, doon in de REEL capital, boy….

Senior told me, back in the day, that there were a number of similar adjustments, but perhaps only relating to one or two locos or vehicles, but I am unaware of any details without perusing some lists I have somewhere, in detail.

They must have been made of tissue paper!

Green wheels & frames…. en route?

Yes, the whole fleet did indeed end up with CIE, and were thereafter treated as a common fleet with their own "H" vans. An initial allocation to the UTA was on paper only and as you say, quickly altered - if, indeed, any sort of UTA allocation was ever actually made "official" at all. It may not even have been.

In terms of making a model, details of one specific one would be needed, as they were generally converted from withdrawn passenger stock. There was at least one, I believe, which had been a horse box! (Probably only had maybe two bunk beds?). The one above is a former GSWR first class six-wheeler. The thing behind it - I think there were at least two of these. There were also at least two long-wheelbase vans, painted brown even in the grey'n'green era, which i think were originally cattle driver's vans. One was used on the lifting train that was to be seen in West Cork and also Valentia after they closed. Probably Kenmare too. I remember seeing one in the 1970s somewhere on the Midland, shoved up a siding somewhere, painted green with red ends, as many of those sort of things were. (Livery note; the red quickly faded to either an orangey colour, or a salmony pink). This vehicle was a six-wheeler of indeterminate origin - later research suggested MGWR, but it had the body shape of a GSWR vehicle, and was thus probably a GSR-era rebuild. It had only a few windows. I don't know what became of it.

As one who modelled extensively with plasticard in MY teens, I couldn’t agree more!

I remember that. Especially for a teen, Nelson’s stuff was inspirational.

Excellent and well deserved publicity. We should all do all we can to support Ireland's only preserved standard gauge line!

That is absolutely the best scratchbuild I haqve seen in a VERY long time. And, there's some competition out there! A credit to you, sir! Looking forward to seeing it in the flesh. On Saturday I'll be getting on at Limerick Jct., going back to Caark. The wagons are weathered very realistically too.

1964/5

Just putting up a few notes here, triggered by conversations following the introduction of Leslie’s latest wagon releases. The lack of anything suitable for a BCDR layout has been mentioned, in response to which mention was made of a Kernow-made brake van that could double as a BCDR one. Between Provincial, JM Design and IRM, much attention has been paid to CIE (and constituent) and GNR stock, but not so much to the smaller companies like the NCC and BCDR. With a seemingly growing interest in the UTA area, I’ll post the odd thing here if I see wagons that might fit that bill - conversion or repaints of off-the-shelf British stuff to look at least vaguely Irish. Of course, Provincial Wagons have got the ball rolling with the famous and unique NCC “brown van”…. Any other ideas?

A very reasonable approximation, yes! They had several types, some made in very low numbers - same as many Irish railways before the mass standardisation of the GSR & CIE.

Even if the BCDR had been open when any of these wagons were conceived, from photos I've seen, there appears to have been little to nothing in the way of goods traffic from outside the system. My guess is that the vast, vast majority of goods traffic was belfast to / from rural stations on the system. Thus, few NCC or GNR wagons, let alone anythiong from further south. For an accurate representation of the BCDR, scratchbuilt goods stock would really be needed (or kits???)

That is an absolute masterpiece.