minister_for_hardship

Lisbon's fairly hilly with old narrow streets and trams aren't fazed by it.

Is "Commuter" the navy/white/snot green livery?

Surprisingly decent prices for locos since overtaken by IRM's offerings.

Depending on where placed, the vinyl bleaches in sunlight. The Killarney one has lost its gloss and faded a little, it was only up for a couple of years before being replaced by the current green striped ones.

He's probably still scratching himself on account of it.

Ah the lesser spotted Wuhan, Detroit and Limerick Rly notice.

I'd say they were never installed, if they were repro we would see the same number popping up again and again like the knock off wagonplate below. The weathering is usual filth from stores, where they were likely "acquired"

By ropy you mean stolen? At least they're genuine. Anyone check if the Moyasta coaches still got their doors?

It's a beast of a wagon next to the 4 wheel yokes.

Quite a find. What the yanks would call 'gondola cars' would have been extremely rare here. I'm assuming they had extremely short working lives, not passing to the GS&WR. A few actual US gondolas did actually run here on the self contained 4' 8 1/2" Irish Steel system on Hawlbowline Island, still carrying US RR insignia.

Possibly this.

That last pic is Tralee, the building with the belfry is Latchford's Mill, still standing today. Taken in the North Kerry yard, now covered in a shopping centre and car park.

Not necessarily. The GN did have those in Railway and Tramway versions, one of the Tramway ones is in the IRRS library. Almost certainly Hill of Howth placed where public rights of way and tramway met. The odd, to our eyes, wording probably borrows from 19th century legalese. Original? Yes. Antique? Perhaps not. If you've been wondering where all those IE bridgeplates that have "fallen off" went, look no further than South Dublin Auctions.

Different culture wrt railways here too, loco designers being quite the rockstars in GB, small boys with spotters books etc. Here a new loco was just another lump of steel to take you to the fair or to the port for the emigrant ship. No one cared much if it carried a name or even what it looked like, provided it maintained the advertised schedule.

Era 1 models (Rocket and similar pioneering teakettles no one alive for over a century remembers) are getting popular right now.

Surprising they didn't name them Jesus, Mary and Joseph, or after a few 'wholesome' Irish saints instead of after pagan women! Apart from the GS pr dept and railway nuts, was there much fanfare at their launch nationally?

I'm looking at getting GS livery as outshopped, partly as getting rtr GSR *anything* is hens teeth plus partly I'd rather remember them in terms of being full of promise before world events put paid to that. In their final years they went out on a whimper rather than a bang.

Or (c) being dragged dead somewhere!

Wallet takes another hit. *Cough* technically only one was a mythological queen, the other two goddesses...

Contractor's gate and fencing. Manufactured by William Bain & Co, Loughrin Iron Works, Coatbridge. New Ross branch.

Ex GS&WR gates with sheet metal to prevent small animals getting through.

There's still an older orange/black "Mallow" nameboard still in place, missed by the crew tasked with taking down the old signage. It's hard to spot, but it's still there!

Mass market Hornby stuff in days gone by (and to an extent now) were sold as toys in their millions, most are next to worthless now. The logic for buying IRM or AS or whatever you want to call it is similar to the older gents buying the aforementioned classic sports cars and bikes, they are top end products in limited numbers, they've got the spare cash and it reminds them of their youth. Probably a bit of speculation thrown in there too.

I think the second button is a steamship crew button. A friend of mine in Westmeath dug up a Caledonian Railway button.

If you're on Facebook, it's worth checking out On Historical Lines. https://www.facebook.com/share/1BFjHShWWH/ In pre Grouping days, green, brown, blue were common as well as the expected black and navy blue. Lower grades were glad to see the end of the hated green corduroy by then; because it was dated, too hot in summer, too cold in winter, retained sweat and BO(!), in addition the fabric itself actually stank due to the dye used The dyes were also non colourfast and leached and stained in wet weather. Following a trip to Brussels by one of the directors, the Waterford & Limerick adopted coloured caps as Continental practice; red with gold braiding for station masters at Waterford and Limerick, at second class stations ie Tipperary, Clonmel, Carrick on Suir and Fiddown, as well as Captain Weir, master of the steamer Rosa, they were to have blue caps with plain gold braid.