GSR 800

Fantastic stuff. If I had half your skill, I would be a happy man.

Just recalling a snippet from the McNeill/Murray history of the GS&WR, that the board of the GS&W approached the new Irish govt for aid in the aftermath of the Civil War, giving more or less an ultimatum that they were prepared to close down the entire system such were the losses incurred.

 

Wonder how serious they were about that?

Could have just been a plan to intimidate the government into funding, like what the GNR did in 53,except (both) governments took them more serously. I think JB might know more about that then me..

Well, if Ireland had remained a single jurisdiction, no border would have meant one owner nationally, whether under Irish or British rule. So no NCC, no GNR, no CDRJC, no BCDR, no GSWR, no CBSCR, no MGWR etc...

 

Either an all Ireland UTA (in which case they probably have closed everything but Dublin - Cork) or an all Ireland CIE, meaning in either case standard designs across the island. The entire railway history would have been completely different.

 

141s into Derry, MPD cars in West Cork..... anything.

But would it be a state owned company, or a GSR type company. Great Irish Railways?

Probably not, come to think of it...

Would there even be an NCC? What a horrible might have been...

Would there even be NCC jeeps?

As John said,Both were relatively modern, and if a certain design proves better than others,obviously other companies would follow maybe the GNR were influenced by the NCC,however some W class had older "MR" style tenders which looked ancient!

Working signals whether semaphore or light always add a great extra dimension of reality to a layout.

 

One of the unique things at Tara Junction is seeing a carriage going round with a model of "The Wanderer", camera in hand, standing at an open door window in one vestibule of a Craven!

Your joking! Pics please! Unless I have been tricked..

Bummer! Looks like I'll have to save up big time then nevermind thanks Harry.

i better start saving meself!

Nelson, here's your answer

"And no we can't sell them unpainted, the reason being that some parts are painted as we go through assembly, and are only sold as ready to run items".

He also told me that rivets will also be on the U.

Epic! And neat and tidy too, inspirational stuff

What are the 'Fangs"and when were they fitted? The A's didn't always have a double headlight?

Not sure what the fangs are, but no they didn't always have headlights, they acquired them after their rebuilding.

Dave is your only man! I'm sure he will be along soon..

Looks great so far Kirley! The details can be tricky, but just take your time, and don't let them get to close to the soldering iron!

Guys, I know I'm not a moderator but can we PLEASE get back on topic which is about the UG and U class. Has anyone found out if you can buy them unpainted? I would rather paint my own to keep costs down.

I sent them an inquiry about that Nelson, hopefully they will get back

I thought you were talking about a J15!

Even they won't bring back steam to that unfortunate railway, GSR.

Think about trains, think about trains,think about trains...

Steam trains of course!

Vaginal tablets! Dear lord!

Nonsense? I think you should mind your manners there Harry. No problems with differing opinions, but manners cost nothing, unlike tooling of a RTR locomotive. €150,000 for an obscure prototype who someone is working to make a kit of would be commercial suicide.

 

As for the J15s, yes a minefield of variants but modular tooling and planning would allow to cater for the more popular types. Make a hell more sense than doing 461.

you could just do a J15 from early years, then one or two types in the GSR era, and the rest in CIE and preservation era, maybe 6-7 variants when brought down to that?

I think something like a J15 would be the best compromise JB; built in large numbers, long lived and of course a couple of survivors. Or of course something that has a 'wow' factor like the 800's.

Now we're talking! Well known, unique, and very little variation!

And,of course, I would commit to all three!

Only two were built, so volume wise it would not be an ideal RTR candidate at all. Kit or hand built ala OO works maybe but even then I think the latter would be stretching it.

Nonsense, 461 is a preserved loco, which would make it more commercially viable, it's a sought after loco as well, with many threads on this forum going towards having a model of 461. Obviously the most commercially viable would be a J15, but then your left with the hundreds of different variants, superheated, belpaire firebox, cupboard doors, inchicorised, etc. Even if one is to choose just 184 and 186, it's basically two different models...

461 would be the ideal RTR loco. She is inside cylindered, as Ivan has already pointed out, and is in preservation. A kit will soon be available...

More for the "might have been" thread.... if the two governments had decided to go on subsidising the GNR and SLNCR and it had lasted into the sixties..... another railcar and one or two diesel locos, perhaps, along with a few recently withdrawn CIE or UTA coaches to replace the oul wooden antique hen houses it had itself?

 

Probably Loughs Erne and Melvin might have struggled on into the 70s, as the last steam in Ireland.

 

Or they'd have made it part of CIE / UTA; cue a "C" class and a couple of laminates rattling up and down twice a day, with the railcar spirited off to the Nenagh branch!

We should probably revive the auld MHB thread, methinks?

You've some imagination, Harry! Maybe Maedb going up it - re-gauged! Or a Lough Swilly tender loco....

 

But to go back to the U class........ (!)....

Lough Swilly tender loco may not be so crazy..survives another few years, transferred to the T&D for cattle specials! Maybe?

I might hold off getting a U myself, if I was going to get a RTR loco, it would be a J15, 461 or Meabh, or maybe a VS..

Glenagalt.

Imagine a Beyer Garret going up it!

It was something like that, Harry. Not the single steepest in Ireland, but up there, and also one of the longest. For an inexperienced fireman, it was a severe test.

I would be then! Let's see, we have the glanmire road bank, the carrickmore bank, but I'm sure if we include some narrow gauge banks the would be very steep! Wasn't there some 1 in 30 banks on the T&D?

The SG3s seemed to be designed with the Derry road in mind! One of the most powerful, if not the most powerful 0-6-0s in Ireland!