jhb171achill

Talking of which, after the 1925 amalgamation, the MGWR men nicknamed "K" class 2.4.0 No. 27 "The Beast" after the GSR had renumbered it as No. 666! (Superstition led to some drivers being reluctant to drive this locomotive!)

A recurring theme of mine since teenage years is either a 3ft gauge Achill line, ending up post-West Clare with stuff from there, Leitrim, Dingle and the newest Donegal railcars! Or, an Achill line in the 1980s with 141s trundling single dingy Park Royals along behind a spluttering Dutch van..........

Rasp ripple on one DD today, plus the zebra again on another.

Yes, I do get that (though perhaps not all preservationists do), but as far as possible this stuff needs to be hidden. I remember being somewhat shocked - as were my fellow committee members - when a council-chartered marketing consultant whose remit was to advise DCDR & Down Council on how to develop the railway - pointed at the Sligo railcar, a NCC brown van, a past-its-best G class loco and some other stuff stationed opposite the main platform at Downpatrick. To us, it was valuable railway heritage. But this man introduced to us the hitherto “foreign” concept that (a) 99% of the public see it as unsightly junk which demeans the place, and (b) places like heritage railways make their living out of such people, and scarcely get a red cent from those who populate keyboards with opinions about “they really should restore No. 1234, it’s a crime to see it rotting away”! His point took many of us aback - me certainly, as the historical side of railways forms my primary interest and always did. But he made his point, and to such extent as was practicable we made an effort to tidy the place up and send scrap-like images on wheels to sidings as far out of sight as possible. Now, of course space often mitigates against anything like this happening - but in retrospect, I (and my fellow DCDR people of the day) realised that this person was right…..

Interesting to see the contrast between pictures 3 & 4. In one, a beautifully and meticulously restored station building - but the other showing what's opposite it. Throughout the preservation world, all across Europe and further afield, sidings choked with lines of barry-scrapyard-style junk, which will never see the light of day in preservation! Yes, bodies I've been involved with are just as guilty too............................................!! Looks like a fascinating little line.

In all likelihood, yes. I’ve a notion it’s 231.

That's the RPSI influence (Don't tell Nats.....)! Just now, a DD passed by Malahide with the 16:05 up, (10 mins late like yesterday) but with one of the zebras pushing it.

Worry not! Many place names have obscure or modified roots through oddball anglicisation. Who’s to say that Ballycombe didn’t have some old legend about some ancient figure combing their hair….. Anglicised “Ballycombe” = Baile na cíor = The “townland of the comb”….

Then it's sat down in Belfast, I suppose...........

2 x 2-CAF just passed Malahide 8 mins late on the 16:05 belfast - Dublin. De Deitrich ill again?

It hadn't seen a passenger train service since 1931! One of the first lines to lose its passenger trains in the entire country. Even the goods didn't last much longer. Latterly it slumbered in near dereliction for many years, the weeds only disturbed the odd time by a cattle train on market days.

So is it possible at this stage to state with any degree of certainty whether the last Tara train has operated?

The mines trains

I’m assuming this is finished now?

That loading bank could even be used to load beet. Several GNR locations such as Navan, Malahide and a couple of other places between Amiens St and Dundalk were loading beet in a few cases into the 1970s.

Kenmare too.... 4.4.0s were on that line regularly until the mid-1950s, though J15s were the norm, of course, as you suggest.

Well, none of them ever WERE black, to be fair; might as well paint it in Dart livery! If black, however, better to use a matt black, rather than a shiny one.....

Any thoughts on a suitable British RTR which might be altered to resemble one of these?

They certainly thinned out, Leslie, especially after the C class entered traffic in 1956/7/8, but a few remained on main line stopping trains, plus there were only a few years of steam left anyway. With growing interest - partly fuelled by your excellent wagons - in the “dark green” era, steam is necessary for most passenger workings. By the time A, C & B101 class diesels were hauling passenger trains, the coaching stock was rapidly becoming the lighter shade of green; a point to be borne in mind by the good folks wanting green six-wheelers to put behind IRM “A”s!

I think that whole IRN site is as ancient history now as 2.2.2 Burys on the Cork Mail! As the 141s were breathing their last almost twenty years ago, only one or two posters were still using it…

My thoughts exactly. A 4.4.0 of GSWR design would be a good and versatile bet.

Absolutely superb stuff. For any modeller of BnM lines, this is a treasure trove.

There would be much to be said for having a type of new train standard with the Dart bi-modals. Just have different seating configurations (EXTREMELY different) inside them, but retain the bodyshell and under-floor-gubbins and control systems. Sooner or later they'll electrify Greystones - Belfast - Bangor, I would think, so new Enterprises would end up being mechanically compatible with everything else between Greystonesw, Kildare, Maynooth and Bangor. And here's a completely revolutionary idea; make EVERYTHING from now on with the same couplers, so that no train anywhere will ever be stranded because it's incompatible with others. Bet the Victorians wish they'd dreamed THAT one up. Oh, wait...............

Superb stuff!

Your comments are much appreciated, Newtoncork. The British models are currently in storage in the same building, pending funding for new cabinets for them. I was looking at several of them only this afternoon - two (different types) of Llandudno trams, a Liverpool tram and a Birkenhead one! Excellent stuff. His LNWR stuff is absolutely superb. If funding cannot be had soon enough, or if space remains an issue, we're looking at having a one-off exhuibition of his British stuff at some stage. We'll see! Here's a taster, though, a bit closer to home; his excellent model of West Clare no. 5, currently (real thing) at Moyasta Junction preserved. You mention the original layout. This was in storage for years, and the bulk of it has now been repatriated to inchicore Works, where it was built. It is the intention of Irish Rail to display the major parts of it at some stage. Some of the CASTLE (as opposed to Fry-made) models have now gone to Headhunters in Enniskillen and others to the DCDR at Downpatrick. These are on permanent loan and are intended for public display at those places. The Enniskillen material is mostly GNR and CDRJC stuff, while the items sent to Downpatrick relate to the 1980s NIR Mk 2 "Enterprise" set, and some representative CIE fitted 4-wheelers of 1970s / 80s design. Only today, I took delivery of some paperwork kindly sent to me by Headhunters Museum in Enniskillen, which relates to his his correspondence with the GNR at Dundalk, when he was looking for outline drawings of locomotives. One of many things that in future it is hoped to display too.