minister_for_hardship

On 26/4/2024 at 8:34 PM, Rush and Lusk said:

What a fantastic livery - super photos.

It serves to heighten my disappointment with the truly boring and unimaginative current livery of the 29000 sets every time I see and travel on one - and as for the droning sound ! - (enough already). 

It really stands out in all the photos, compared to the dull as ditchwater grey current ICR scheme.

On 16/3/2024 at 8:38 PM, Mayner said:

A lot of the crap on Facebook/social media is relayed by the older generation, have a relative in their 80s form the States that only posts Trump/Republican Party propaganda and conspiracy theory stuff, while our 14 year old simply chats with their friends and shares selfies and artworks on social media. Populist politicians tend to appeal to the age group or people that feel "that they have been left out" by main stream politics leading to Brixit in the UK and quite reactionary governments in this part of the World. This in turn leads to increasing discontent among an upcoming generation who feel that they have been let down by their parents and grandparents generations, interesting ties in the next 15-20 years!

We use facebook to chat between family in gthe States and New Zealand but ignore most of the postings.

I have a distant cousin in the US who is a Trumpette, I've unfollowed her without unfriending and I've done so with anyone else on the activist/overly political spectrum.

I've noticed that I've confused the Book of Faces algorithm as it can't work out if I'm right, middle or left wing so I get random feeds from all.

I was the last of my peer group to use a "dumb" phone, I was still sending old timey texts when everyone else was messaging.

When the speaker got stuffed, I moved onto smartphone. I do appreciate the fact I've got a powerful mini computer in my pocket now which comes in very useful when I need to find out where the next train is, how to change a van lightbulb or find out if cats eat pancakes at 2am.

My current smartphone screen is cracked and the case is held together with gaffer tape. I don't see the value in chucking something for fashion's sake, so long as the thing works it'll do me.

9 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

The font style in the English version is also highly unusual.

At a guess, maybe it was a sample from a sign manufacturer that was never actually installed? The enamel around the fixing holes isn't chipped.

The wording is unusual too, a station having roadside parking, but important enough to have a dedicated attendant?

On 5/5/2024 at 3:41 PM, GSWR 90 said:

Don’t suppose anyone has a list of the letters in English and seanchló/Irish used by the GSR on its running in boards, or know the name of a similar font?

The GSR appeared to have used an upper case "B" (like a Latin B) on nameboards, some free fonts don't have this character.

14 hours ago, GSWR 90 said:

Hi all, 

To what extent was the Irish language used by Irish railways in their signage/tickets/etc before the creation of the Free State in 1922 and the GSR in 1924-5? Does anyone know of any railways that had a bilingual policy prior to this period? I'd be particularly interested to learn about the use of Irish on railways in what is now Northern Ireland.

 

Thanks

The GS&WR had an Irish language examination for clerks around 1920, along with Latin, Geography and Algebra. Have a few of the exam papers.

The Tralee and Dingle had Irish in its company seal as well. Ironically, a contributory factor to the rough and tumble early years of the T&D was the fact that the rule book was in English and many of the staff could only understand Irish.

A very early use of Irish in locomotive names were a pair of well tanks supplied to the Cork & Bandon named Sighe Gaoithe and Rith Tineadh (Fairy Wind and Running Fire)

47 minutes ago, airfixfan said:

Was at a transport event in Letterkenny where a local Councillor stated that they needed the Burtonport Line to re-open for tourists!

Typical Councillor 'wouldn't it be lovely' brain-fart.

On 22/4/2024 at 7:49 PM, seagoebox said:

This could also be of use in the station carpark !

This I've not seen before. Black on white enamel from the GSR, usually the other way around.

Not keen on the external paint job. I know they're trying to incorporate that soulless Origami Tricolour logo into the design. The big areas of white or off white will look dirty in a very short time.

Kilmallock, Buttevant, Blarney.

13 minutes ago, Westcorkrailway said:

 

the only real candidate for a RTR Irish steam locomotive 

 

If there's a suitable chassis out there, can't see a reason why someone couldn't 3D print a body, bar getting hold of an accurate drawing for such an unusual short lived loco could be tricky.

11 hours ago, LNERW1 said:

That is precisely what I think could be done with the Portlaoise railway i mentioned above! The passenger stock might be a problem, as I am aware that the Stradbally Woodland Railway has problems with using BnM wagon underframes for any passenger stock due to some insurance problem, I presume the freight-oriented nature of the wagons, which would make the chassis less safe for passenger use(?).

Waterford and Suir Valley can get what I assume are modern purpose built passenger coaches.

BnM could too, if they had any imagination or even the faintest interest. But whatever makes money with minimal effort I guess (scrap)

It would have been an easy win to take one rehabilitated bog and make it accessible by rail, reusing some of the old equipment. 

Not everyone has the ability or inclination to hop on a bike on a greenway, which I believe some of the trackbed will be converted to. Even just to access parts of it with equipment for maintenance.

3 hours ago, Horsetan said:

Who's to say that the Drumm battery system itself couldn't be further developed?

WW1 part 2 was always going to mean that materials to expand or at least keep that going were to be in short supply.

No offence, but (usually said by those who tend to offend) the 800 class were a waste of resources given their limited usefulness and smack of a vanity project. As far as I can see built for just one purpose, to start out of Cork without a pilot.

Perhaps with a bit more thought, the J15 Nua class could have been improved from the disappointments they turned out to be? A Jeep-like loco would have been an ideal, go most anywhere loco, but unlike today there was no shortage of operational turntables for tender engines.

OHLE was tried and trusted by the 20s and 30s, perhaps that could have been adopted for Dublin suburban rather than the Drumm units in a what if scenario?

28 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

The one on the right is almost certainly a dud. Bright white paper and felt-tip pen....prior to 1961! But, look closer..... by BUS!

Is this a more modern-day copy done thus, or just a plain dud?

 

Not even a hint of yellowing, and a rail worker going to the effort of writing 'Ford' in that company's font, really? It looks like it's written with a black Sharpie, first sold in 1964!

If it was an excursion for Ford employees only, why put it on a poster (intended for general public)?

Everything about the second one is suspect!

37 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

The one on the right is almost certainly a dud. Bright white paper and felt-tip pen....prior to 1961! But, look closer..... by BUS!

Is this a more modern-day copy done thus, or just a plain dud?

 

Rail and Bus. But the whole thing looks fabricated.

I'd say the poster is genuine, a little sceptical about the pencilled in details. Why would they go to the trouble of writing that out and not paste it up?

+1 for another J15 breakdown, worm slipping on the shaft if I recall. Fixed free of charge. 

On 1/4/2024 at 1:07 AM, Westcorkrailway said:

Lovely model, shame about how they run themselves into the ground…

I suspect bunker capacity may have limited usefulness on longer runs and aprés amalgamation there was no shortage of handier locos available to poke around the city quays and Courtmac.

12 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

As 00 Works showed with their CBSCR 0.6.0ST, obscurity is quite possible! There can be few prototypes more obscure than these, but it sold out I believe. As for the first IRM one, and the foregoing being the case, it could be absolutely anything under the sun. Availability and suitability of the internal gubbins may have a big say in determining what it will be.

Tacked on to production of the identical British based locos, just a different coat of paint and number plates. If it were a stand alone Irish obscure model, it may not have fared as well.

On 1/3/2024 at 1:21 AM, WRENNEIRE said:

Any idea if this is Railway related?

Safety lamp? Probably not railway.

27 minutes ago, Newtoncork said:

I can understand a local initiative like this causing a lot of pain for Kerry County Council. But you could argue that a national transport museum being a national and internationally important collection should be part of the National Museum of Ireland and funded centrally. After all the Dublin and Castlebar museums are also national collections. Museums Galleries Scotland are funded by the Scottish government and have locations across the country.

Maybe we're not thinking big enough for a transport museum!

 

Apart from a brief exhibition on travel posters at NM, the powers that be up in the NM haven't the faintest interest in railways.

Even in that exhibition, the emphasis was placed on the history of the tourist trade and the poster artists rather than the railways themselves.

18 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

There's never been any problem thinking big in Ireland. The problem is obtaining the money after thinking big....

It's not even that. The money was there for the initial steam railway, and in a rich country now money shouldn't be a problem, but interest to keep it alive/interest in a reboot is the rock it founders upon. Always.

1 hour ago, Horsetan said:

It's abundantly clear they have no interest in commissioning or funding the survey they claim is necessary, so no decision will ever be needed.

Meanwhile, open season for any metal thieves who fancy lifting the rails and chairs, followed by stripping of the stock...

Usual kicking the can down the road. Wash, rinse, repeat for next meeting.

2 hours ago, irishmail said:

Does anyone actually use twitter?   

I find it useful to complain about things when I'm out of options, most, not all, companies tend to take notice of public shaming when they ignore direct emails.