minister_for_hardship

Oof.

Exchange rates, punitive postage rates and duty slapped on by Revenue makes these way less attractive for would-be Irish buyers now not to mind whatever the auction additional charges are.

Your GSR Appendix has a section on lamp lighting. Just check your reservoir for pin holes or you could have a mess on your hands.

They are marked Confidential to this day, so are Circulars. Not for Joe Public.

Just to add the majority of clientele on the RPSI may railtour are English, so that level of support in spite of geographical, cost and other obstacles is all the more impressive. I've been on a few steam trips abroad, Italy where vast majority of punters were...Italian, Australia...Aussies (with a few poms), Czech Republic...surprise surprise Czechs, Germany...Germans. Here, on a May tour in Ireland, Irish people are in the minority like an endangered species!

There's a great big one with the roof falling in on it on the premises. Public access could be an issue obviously.

I think there's a greater affinity in England because they did pretty much invent them so there's that. Here, railways may have been considered to be a little bit "foreign" in what was up to recently a largely agrarian society; they were promoted and controlled by Big House Anglo-Irish, they could speed troops to unruly areas, they were staffed by uniformed men with their own sub culture and slang, and surrounded by high walls and fences. Stations were often scenes of emigration, people dislike being reminded about the bad old days. As someone mentioned somewhere else, a working steam railway can be (and has been) funded and put into operation. That's the relatively easy part, the trick is to keep it going. Contrast that with the greenway, once it's built, it's up to "someone else", council usually, to maintain. It's a crowd pleaser, the public get a leisure facility for free* just turn up with your bike or running gear. * yes I know it's not really free. It comes out of taxation. I think people would love a Severn Valley type operation here, I see a lot of "wouldn't it be lovely if we had X here, it would be great for tourists" commentary. Full of good intentions but good intentions of course won't butter any parsnips.

You answered your own question; the insurance thing can be overcome, but lack of interest and linked to that lack of volunteers are where these things founder again and again. People can find loads of spare time and energy to volunteer for all sorts from tidy towns, charities to GAA because those things interest them. Granted there are things on an operating railway that will need special training but most anyone can wield a paintbrush. Culturally, Irish people are not as connected to railways as their counterparts in the UK, and specifically England.

Their naivety is delightful.

A combined road rail and canal museum, but small town politics fecked it up.

Youghal branch as a preserved line was proposed on multiple occasions from the 80s to 00s. I vaguely recall a letter to the Examiner from a "colourful local character" in legal circles threatening to clear the line himself.

"Economic stagnation grey"

He's treating the office of president as if it was a reality tv show, every day it's a "what the actual *expletive* has he done now?" The "ratings" are through the roof and that and money is all he cares about.

Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.

A (sort of) airport rail service. http://www.lucannewsletter.ie/history/frailway.html