jhb171achill

Happy paddys day all! See ye at the downs of Patrick, maybe!

I will make enquiries, Minister. I am not sure myself.

Sometimes various equipment is spontaneously called other things.....!!!

Standard corridors - yes, they were included in trains of other carriages - usually only one Pullman per train.

I'll see what I can do, Kirley. The main thrust of it is as above but there are always interesting one-offs for modellers, such as something a single loco or coach had, or that was not perpetrated long. E.g. a Craven with 1st class "1" on the doors, a loco running round for a while with no logos on it or (in at least one case) a "set of points" logo on each side, and a CIE roundel remaining on the ends! This pre-dated the "black'n'tan" era too - in "green days" there were possibly even more, though doubtless not all recorded.

In the case of 071s, there is a 121-esque issue in that they were delivered in a form of the livery not replicated on other engines, nor after their first repaint. they were in a very browny shade - not "orange" at all; this was applied in the States where GM obviously got the shade wrong. The black was the same. The CIE logo on the front was all white, instead of having white letters and a "golden brown" surround, and was somewhat larger than normal. After that, they were repainted in whatever the normal livery of the day was until their second "unique" livery of black and silver appeared. And by all accounts, they are all set now for another unique livery! A record? The various liveries used since the sixties are generally descirbed as: Black and Tan: Early 60s to mid 70s on various classes: orangey brown and black with upper white band. The orangey brown was variously full lower panel height, or a band lower down with a largely black side. Loco numbers on ends and larger on sides. 141s had no CIE roundel when delivered, though 181s did - and 141s later acquired them. All Black: No, not rugby; a variation of the above from mid to late 60s (later on a few G's, D's and E's); all black but with white flashes above window level on ends only, though G class had it right round the top of the cab, sides and ends. At various times, and on various locos, logos and lettering on the sides varied; some versions had no CIE logo at all, others had the standard with orange surround and white letters. Loco numbers on ends in large version, and either mid-side large, or both ends lower side in smaller numerals. CIE Supertrain: 1972-87: All over orange with broad black band equivalent to full depth of carriage window level, dipped or raised on ends. CIE roundel on loco ends only; white letters, orange surround. The delivery version on 071s was a corruption of this as described above. On the sides, loco numerals on both cabs at low level. IR, or "Tippex" livery: 1987 - 1990ish; same as above, but with CIE roundel replaced by IR "set of points" logo on ends, and also appearing on the sides, mid black band. Numerals in same places, but white stripes (nicknamed "tippex" by some fitters in Inchicore) added separating the black from the orange at top and bottom of black band. IE Livery: Same as above, but with "set of points" replaced by "Three Pin Plug" logo on ends, and by giant "plugs" on sides. And here endeth the Orange and Black Era; welcome Enterprise liveries, apparently no two locos having an identical version, let alone when repainted; and both the original and altered colours; the green and grey of the "flying frogs" on the Cork line, and of course the hideous orange, black and yellow, with or without various sizes of yellow ends, as used on 201s from 1995. (Yes, I know; out of order chronologically; but it's 1 a.m.) What's to be next? 077 in GSR livery? Oh... wait....

A r-t-r 121 would be amazing! Put me down for a grey and yellow one!

Kevin - dunno if you're in Dublin or an IRRS member, but they might possibly have photos.

Excellent work, and fascinating to see an online account of the gradual development of a model.

On arrival at Downpatrick, A39 has been referred to as the "Black Baby", while E421 was often known (at Downpatrick) as "The Tractor"! (And the original genny van, inside a CIE "H" van, was known as "Roaring Meg"!)

That means Downpatrick's A39 is Sinead.

Exactly, ei6jf. I was involved in costings in recent years for various things elsewhere and the info I gathered there would suggest that to provide three decent steam engines (IF they were avalaible), plus a minimum set of three decent coaches fitting all modern requirements but also looking the part, as well as wiping "Ballyard" (Ball Yard? Bally Ard?) station and the DART terminus off the earth, replacing them with something that looks like a heritage railway, would cost several million euros. No less. To run a reliable steam service, at least three good locos are needed. At any one time, one will be newly in traffic, another nearing the end of its ticket, and a third in overhaul. Thus, once the seco d one comes out of traffic the third enters traffic and the wheel goes round - literally. As a general rule you'll get 7 years use out of every 10 for a steam loco in preservation, if it is very well looked after, less if not. I would again say that i wish anyone well in trying to make something of this mess in Tralee - not one created by anoyone on here, I know; just a great pity like the same in Derry, where apart from letting it go to rack and ruin, they vandalised CDR coach No. 14 from absolutely original condition into a revoltingly botched and utterly inacurate fairground exhibit. I saw that coach before it was treated as it is, and whoever did that to it ought to be locked up. Anyway; I digress.

I love this. One gentleman has a new arrival, and someone posts up that the baby will look too new and will need weathering; and here Gareth gets advice about sound chips! Excellent stuff lads! If anyone has twins there will be talk of double heading and "pairs"!

Fantastic pic - would like to see more of the plywood-panelled GNR van next to it!

Good luck!

Congrats, Stephen; a great excuse to buy the baby a train set!!!! :-)

Folks Just posting this because one or two members of this forum are already planning to be at Downpatrick on 17th March. If there are any of you going, do make yourself known to me (I'll be on as train guard). Trains will operate to an enhanced timetable with the first departure from Downpatrick (probably*) at 1100, 1120 from inch Abbey. Newly restored O & K No. 1, newly repainted, will haul most trains though the morning ones will be either A39 or 146. I will post exact detals of the timetable when it's finalised, b ut on the basis of previous years it will have departures from Downpatrick at 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400, 1445, 1530, 1615 and 1700, and from Inch 20 minutes later. Parking is at a premium in the town that day, so it is advisable to drive to Inch Abbey (if approaching from the Belfast side) and get the train into Downpatrick. If approaching from the Ballydugan side it's not so bad. (* Based on St P's Day timetable in recent years)

I would add that that photo of Lady Edith - good as she certainly looks - was taken some twenty years ago. An American friend of mine who is very interested in her sees her regularly and sadly, she is most certainly not in that condition now.....

Lady Edith is, as I understand, mechanically in a very bad state indeed. It certainly needs a brand new boiler and firebox, and I would imagine much more besides. The cost of this alone would be several hundred thousand euros, and the cost of sending it from the USA to either Whitehead or England would be eye-watering, and then the cost of bringing it from there to Tralee... Meenglas also needs something similar. The funding issues for these two locomotives alone would almost certainly far exceed half a million euros. I don't know what the state of 5T is. Regarding carriages, replicas would be cheaper. To give an idea of coach repair costs to standards required nowadays for public operation, carriage bodies or even "kits of parts" require reassembling with much new material and replica chassis built. Based on work done in Whitehead and Downpatrick over recent years, I would estimate the cost per coach as €100k from "farmyard" condition to that required by statutory bodies (H & S etc) for public operation. Take those three locomotives and just a few carriages and you are clocking up a million in a very short time. Just saying! But, yes, I'd love to see something like that happen...

I know a D16 had a very limited range as it were, beyond the Achill line they were rarely to be seen, but small 4.4.0s were to be seen elsewhere and i suppose a layout based on a fictitious location (as many are) would provide a rationale for one. After the Achill line closed one was even based for a short while in Athlone to work the GSWR branch down to Portarlington, and I have evidence of one making it to Port Laoise on a special when something else had broken down! A GSWR D14 would be nice too. But so would SO many others.

Hope something positive comes out of Tralee at last! Personally, I'd stick to 3ft; a "centre of excellence" for it would be a big asset to the area.

I wonder is an "Achill Bogie" D16 4.4.0 too much to ask! (I'd buy a model of all six, guaranteed!). Very limited range of operation though, fair enough....

Anthony - there was a serious proposal put to the DCDR from a group who proposed to purchase a two-car 80 set and donate it to the DCDR. The proposal was approved by the DCDR committee, but since then the set had not been made available. Should said group acquire it and repeat their proposal, I am sure it will receive the same response. From the perspective of the DCDR management, nothing has changed to make them want to reject it at this stage! In fact, the coming St Patrick's Day operations would provide it with good opportunities for use on off-peak services.

All three are true. In Manorhamilton (on private property) is half of one of their bogie coaches which (with owners permission) I surveyed a good 15 or 20 years ago with a view to advising Downpatrick about it. Even then there was but half of it, but another half of a different one was to be found in a field near Glenfarne. The portion at Manorhamilton is now as good as fallen apart, and the Glenfarne one vanished. The AEC cab was indeed in someone's back garden on the down side of the railway line near the junction of the "back line" with the NCC main line. I do not know if it is still there, but it was in recent times. With regard to the one in Inchicore, it is No. 6111 and it remains in storage there. For a potential preservationist it would require to be entirely rebuilt, as the body is well beyond repair as it is; also, it has no engine, control gear or interior. It would require an eye-wateringly large budget to fix it up - and the only place it could probably operate would be on the DCDR, who have enough stuff as it is! It would, of course, be great to see this iconic type of railcar in preservation; they saw service everywhere from Great Victoria Street, via Dublin and Cork, to Bantry; most CIE main lines, Enniskillen, Clones, Harcourt Street Line, Tramore.... and my recollections of them were that they were very solid and comfortable even if the engine produced noises suggesting distress at times....

When they say "scrapping", it may simply mean "disposal".... There was indeed a serious proposal to preserve a 2-car set, which would almost certainly end up on the DCDR if the same scheme is revived.