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The cracks were in the main frames of the locomotives above the bogie bolsters. A repair program was agreed with EMD involving strengthening the frames by welding reinforcement tubes into the frame above the bolsters. At one stage half the fleet was out of service either undergoing repair or waiting for repair.It only got into the public domain when a revised timetable had to be brought in as even a pair of 181's couldn't keep up the sectional running times of the 071's on the main line.

"I wonder can anyone, meantime, help with 3406M? Similar to the wagon to the right, very "American-looking" bogie rail flats. I recall seeing one derelict many many years ago somewhere round the North Wall area. Senior pointed it out to me. " War surplus, bought by the best bargin hunting railway in the country. i think some were later incorporated in the Bretland relaying train.

Maybe I can add some background to cement traffic as I was involved in it when I worked for CIE in the 1980's Cement wagons were loaded by gravity in either Platin or limerick. The hatch in the top of the bubble or bogie wagon was opened and a circular canvas chute was lowered in contact with the wagon. The chute was double walled as air was drawn up as the wagon was being filled to contain the dust. I think the loading silos had multiple chutes and could load several wagons at a time. A loco was still needed to pull the train through as each set of wagons were loaded. When the train reached the destination storage silo the operator connected the compressed air supply to the wagon and also a large diameter rubber hose to the unloading pipe. this was via a Bauer connection.The air blew the cement up through the hose up a pipe to the top of the silo. The train engine stayed with the train while it was being unloaded as only 4 wagons could be unloaded for each shunt, two at a time if I remember rightly. Hence why the bubbles were marshaled pipe to pipe so when the first wagon was empty the operator just moved the air and unloading hoses to the second wagon. Cork was different as a gantry with multiple hoses ran down between two sidings so the train could be split and left there. Wagons were moved using a capstan in Cabra but not anywhere else. Road tankers where driven in under the silo onto the weighbridge and were loaded using a similar telescopic chute to that for loading the wagons. The silos at Tullamore and Waterford were 1000 ton while the one at Athenry was 2 x 500 ton as there was a local customer how used a lot of rapid hardening cement rather than the normal portland cement. So they had to be careful to unload the correct wagons into the right silo. All three were built a company called IMC . The much larger silo in Cork was built by Kocums who had supplied the original bubble bodies. The one in Sligo was built by Portosilo and was 4 250 ton silos in a row There were also storage silos at Adelaide in Belfast. These were owned by Blue Circle but if I remember right were just mounted on the ground and the cement was blown in and blown out.

Yes bubbles could be discharged anywhere using the compressor mounted on the back of a cement lorry to fluidise the cement and pump it directly into the bulk road tanker. This was not ideal as the wagons spent a lot of time sitting in sidings and not earning revenue. This changed when bulk cement silos were built in Cork, Waterford Athenry Tullamore and Sligo. All were up and running by 1980 and from then on all cement was dispatched in block trains either from Limerick or Platin. In the early days the bogie bulk cement wagons only ran Platin to Cork as they were too heavy for the branches. All the others were supplied by bubbles. The only exception that I remember was Tegral in Athy who at the time were owned by Irish cement. Wagons were shunted down the siding and left until they were unloaded. They built a storage silo sufficient to take a full trainload in the mid 80's. During this period Cabra cement depot was closed for several years due to a strike by operatives, but when it reopened it never got back its market share as most Dublin customers had got used to driving direct to Platin to load

During the 1970's after both the A & C class were re-engined and loco reliability and availability improved pilot engines were generally withdrawn from around the country. Railplan 80 called for fixed rakes of coaching stock and block liner trains creating the so called "No Shunt " railway. Most maintenance was centralized in Dublin. During the 1980's Heuston passenger station always had at least one pilot engine generally a Maybach until they were withdrawn and after that usually a 141 with worn wheels due a bogie exam., All trainsets were pulled out of the platform road either to the wash, carriage maintenance depot or just to release the locomotive. The locos released usually went up to the running shed in inchicore for fueling and daily exams. An interesting feature of that time was that often two 071s would couple together for the run down the gullet to Heuston, one towing the other. I think Connolly had a passenger pilot as well for both Dundalk and Belfast trains but i think the Sligo train was run through to the Boston sidings to run around. While Cork used to have locomotives based in the shed there all mainline trains pulled out towards Cobh through a carriage wash where the train locomotive ran around. I don't think there was a passenger pilot based in Limerick and I am pretty sure that all passenger trains were propelled out of the station to run around and propeled back in. All other country locations either ran around at the platform ( incl. Waterford, Kilkenny, Tralee Dundalk) or propelled out the line to run around ( incl Galway & Sligo). Rosslare was interesting in that the train continued on empty all the way onto the pier to run around before pulling back towards the platform.

Next most important is a BR van for all those lovely cravens out there and also for the weed sprayer.

Just check with the IIRS journal. The modifications were carried out in 1986. Pipes were added to TPOs 2972-2981 and 8 GSVs The vacuum braked stock had to be marshalled next to the loco. Mails were carried in 20' containers on the bogie wagons not sundries. They were used on both the Cork and the Galway mails.

Air brake pipes were added in the mid eighties to allow them to work with the 60' air braked bogie flat wagons. It meant that the sundries and night mail trains could be combined

I really want to support IRM hence have bought the ballast wagon and the bubbles. Will definitely buy the CIE ploughs. Will be buying fert's, flats and anything else that comes along as long as it was around pre 1990. Will wait for the blue Tara's. I am not overly worried about paint colour as 90% of wagons should be heavily weathered to be in any way accurate. The principle cause of the weathering in the pre graffiti era was dust from the cast iron break shoes. My memory of the Tara's is that if one or two wagons in the train was blue, that was it. Hence the reason that Inchicore decide to paint everything brown in the mid eighties. The only wagons that were kept in any way clean were the ammonia's. Even these got very dirty, but because of the inspection regime, they were washed at regular intervals.

I mean the lid I think it was mentioned that IRM are planning to do a blue tar with the older style lid

I am an early to mid 80s' man up to Mk 3 era so am really interested. Haven't ordered yet as was waiting to decide what to do so I will definitely buy 2 plough in CIE finish. Likewise with the Tara's I have held off. Not so much by the colour but by the roof. Any pointers?

I seem to remember that the two middle bays had a wooden cross member fitted across to stop anyone loading a second level of pallets in those bays.

According to the Bible (aka IIRS journal) 1518 was converted to a snack car by October 1986 so it could have appeared with a single stripe.

I am not 100% sure but I think 1149 and 1150 were converted to super standard sometime in the 1970's to run on the enterprise as CIE wouldn't risk a mk2 set north of the border. Also I seem to remember 1508 and 1509 were converted sometime between1988 to 1989. This was due to the withdrawal of all timber frame stock following the introduction of the mk. 3s

By the mid eighties there were many surplus 12' wheelbase 20' container flats with floors in the 60's/70's that were only suitable for carrying 8' high containers. Some had even been built with oil bearings. The 8'6" high container was almost universal at that stage. The 22'9 skeletal flat was built the carry 20' x 8'6" containers. The wagon underframes were overhauled in Limerick wagon works and the bodies made from two old Bullied wagon bodies assembled by a private contractor in Limerick Junction loco shed.

Are the cements going to be orange or the later off white colour?

The gypsum hopper 26666 to 26694 were built in 1972 on the then standard 20' underframe with 12' wheelbase. this is obvious from the photograph on page 85 of 26686 in the 1979 edition of Doyle and Hirsch. I am pretty sure that the bodies were built by Parsons in Howth. The 9'6" wheelbase in the text is a typo. I have a copy of the 1972 wagon stock register which refers to diagram number 441 which is the GA of the 1954 built 16' long 9'6" wheelbase wagons 23963-23966. This is probably where the confusion arose. I am pretty sure that 26666-26694 were actually built to diagram number 468 which is what both the dolomite and the CCE hoppers were built to from 1969 to 1977. Gypsum when it got wet was quite corrosive and the hopper bodies had to be extensively repaired or replaced over the years. Also although 23963-23966 are noted to be scrapped by 1972 they were transferred to the CCE and probably lasted a lot longer. I have an undated copy of a Herbert Richards photo of 23963 with PWD painted on the body.

Have ordered three sets but think the train might be a bit short Very tempted to order another set

First post! I have been lurking on this site since the start but never bothered to join as up until now I have only been an armchair modeller of the Irish scene. My plan is to model the late 70's early 80's (supertrain era). That's what's so exciting about this model and the cement bubble to follow. The same basic 20' underframe was used on practically every four wheel wagon built by CIE from the mid 60's on. The main exception being the 22'9 container flat which was built to carry 8'6" high containers. Are there any plans to sell the underframe on its own?