jhb171achill

Minister correct, Mayner's answer an interesting one too. Another short lived one was the Northern Railway, in between the Ulster Railway / INW and the GNR (I)....

Now that's one I didn't know, Minister....

Shortest lived Irish railway company or administrative body?

They weren't used for a very long time, but would make a very interesting addition to a layout. Don't forget the weathering... any time I saw them they seemed very tatty!

Excellent work! Keep us updated!

Yes, it was used with hat wicks but was of Mk 2 enterprise origin.

I think those whit lines came in about 1986.

Ah, UP, it's a terrible terrible condition to have to endure...... worse than listening to "wonderwall" played by a Temple Bar "musician" on board an MED bound for Larne on a wet Tuesday morning in February.......

I've seen that artist's work on the Internet before and he does some fantastic and realistic re-liveries of all sorts of things by photoshop! Excellent stuff.... Though a 201 in that livery in reality would give me a dose of the conniptions and the screaming fits.......

Best places for station modelling inspiration are (from north to south), Coleraine, Ballymoney, Ballymena, Antrim, Carrickfergus and Lisburn. Not sure if the ticket takes you to Dundalk, but if it does go there too. For modern image, graffiti included, any of the rest! For tasteful(ish) modern image, Bangor or Newry.

I have to say I'm fascinated at the continuing development of this highly unusual layout, of a very interesting and unusual prototype. Excellent stuff, superb model, well done!

Pity it didn't survive. In any event, it would make a fantastic basis for a layout!

And to go back to the original subject matter, the key for accuracy in putting together a train in pre 1970 times, irrespective of what engine was pulling it - would be the fact that rarely if ever did you get a train made of a rake of carriages all the one type. variety is the key; only in post-1970 NIR Mk 2 times, or CIE AC Mk 2 times did the spectacle of a whole train of the same coach type grace the rails. Even Cravens, during the 1960s and 70s, were not in sets of same; they were interspersed with the last few Bredins, laminates (of various types) and Park Royals. They were to be seen with four and six wheeled "tin vans", BR vans and Dutch vans also.

Don't worry, Broithe: I'm fully clothed...... and, as for internal combustion, don't forget the County Donegal's railcar no. 1, of 1906 vintage!

"The Ironroad Eireann Co. Persons applying graffiti to any edifice, locomotive engine, passenger carriage or goods wagon belonging to the Company are hereby warned that the penalty for all such offences or outrages will be a minimum of ten years slow torture, followed by mandatory death penalty; this as a minimum. By order of the Management"

Or, what / where were Ireland's first three internal combustion driven railcars?

Oh yes, heirflick. Here's one for you. What is the difference between a duck? Answer - one of its legs is both the same.... ;-)

While translink has the awful "train stations", IE has "customers", but seemingly no longer carries any "passengers"...... Don't start me on NIRs adding "8" to loco and railcar numbers, or IE adding 09 98 44533221.556 9 - 98 -3 to plain old "071"........ Well, I suppose it guards against 071 accidentally ending up on the Bucharest - Moscow commuter train.

Has that banana been to Newry? It looks well weathered...... ;-)

Guinness loco's were originally dark green, but all received the dark blue carried by the survivors at some stage, possibly immediately post war. Correct, the RPSI's No. 3 only acquired its name within its preservation era. The loco is currently being restored having spent many recent years as Whitehead shutter, and before that a spell on the DCDR. The reason that the brewery's loco's were originally green is probably the same as for Allmans in West Cork, i.e. this is what they were delivered in from the makers. Few breweries were concerned with adopting a formal corporate livery image for their locomotives, any more than a builder would repaint all his JCBs, tower cranes and wheelbarrows in his house colours. Look at the Derry Harbour Commissioners loco no. 1 in Cultra; it carries its original livery to this day. And it is different to that on its erstwhile stablemate, the RPSI's "R H Smyth".

Dix points to Minister for Hardship! It was owned by Allmans, then the GSR acquired it. They affixed a standard Inchicore number plate to it (299) but it retained its makers lined green - in very shabby state - right to the end. Good possibility for a dock shunting type of layout. I always thought a layout based on Albert Quay terminus would be fascinating!

Yip

Wow! Fantastic modelling, extremely atmospheric..... Now back to the holiday home in courttown harbour....!

Nope! Much smaller....

An afterthought. If you model late 40s, early 50s, interesting livery variations apply. While your loco would need to be dipped into a pot of grey paint, with only the buffer beams being picked out in scarlet / red, the carriages could include some older wooden ones still in faded and weathered GSR maroon livery. This faded to a reddish brown colour when combined with brake dust. Pristine maroon was gone by this stage. Pre 1955, all CIE coaches were the darker green, including the Bredins and the 1950/51 built CIE stock, which was to much the same pattern. Needless to say, in the scenarios painted in all 3 posts above, all wagons are all-over grey. No black, no brown! And goods brakes were ten years away from getting the yellow / black wasp stripes on the duckets.