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minister_for_hardship

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Everything posted by minister_for_hardship

  1. minister_for_hardship
    Re councils and railways, if CIE didn't have a monopoly and councils got a disused line or trackbed for free in this country, it would likely be handed out / sold / rented to surrounding landowners/"friends and family" in days of yore or made into the current in-thing now, greenways. Again, there's more interest in "what can you do for me?" clientelism here, and that's usually something that can be turned into a thing that makes money with minimum effort. Quickly. Railway preservation can add value to a locality, but it's a slow burn.
  2. minister_for_hardship
    Heaps of people give hours of unpaid, unglamorous background work for GAA, Tidy Towns, beach litter picking etc etc here. Of course local pride/environmentalism comes into it, it's regarded as a social outlet, they don't dig into their pockets much apart from the odd draw or purchase of inexpensive clothing or equipment and doesn't require training as such. You would struggle to find people prepared to do likewise on a heritage railway. Granted there's some specialised knowledge involved that the general public may not have, but most anyone can wield a paintbrush. The interest just isn't there though.
  3. minister_for_hardship
    Plus you will be unlikely to prise it from the grasp of Kerry County Council, doesn't want to run it, doesn't want anyone else to run it either!
  4. minister_for_hardship
    Probably more suited to something like the C&L's "Dromad" or a 4-4-0T a la the original C&L. Both 5T and 5C are huge beasts. At the risk of being called a "wibbler", thrown around as a term of abuse these days, I'd be in agreement with Mayner as to whether this is a suitable choice and wise use of resources, a ground up restoration vs a new build. Will the addition of steam attract enough bums on seats to make it worthwhile? Plus what experience and facilities do the W&SV have to look after it? A steam loco is for "life", a long term commitment, not just for Xmas.
  5. minister_for_hardship
    Not Welsh. Not a "train". Top journalism.
  6. minister_for_hardship
    Unless there's arrangements made for the future of the site and contents it could well be Blennerville mk2
  7. minister_for_hardship
    I think the interwar years are looked upon as a sort of golden age in the uk and kept alive in popular culture whereas here seen as "bad times" of economic and cultural stagnation, unemployment, emigration and best forgotten. I think if you asked the average person they probably have never heard of the GSR, it having just about passed from living memory.
  8. minister_for_hardship
    Maybe flaking paint and streaks of green stuff down the walls? Maintenance seems to be an afterthought here with modern developments! One for the weatherers.
  9. minister_for_hardship
    Oddly enough, the GS&WR Clerkship examinations had an Irish exam, in that hard to read script. Granted it was about 1920 and perhaps the writing was on the wall (excuse pun) of the old regime at that point? If I recall, they did refuse to handle parcels with addresses written in Irish at an earlier stage.
  10. minister_for_hardship
    Shame. It was good PR when turned out like that. Now it's just another grey loco.
  11. minister_for_hardship
    A 4-4-0 or 2-4-0 wouldn't have both pulling power and speed to have max bums on seats and not hold everything else up on a modern railway. Something like a go most anywhere, modestly sized new build 4-6-0, perhaps a version of the 400 or 500 class. The new build Mogul may be a good compromise.
  12. minister_for_hardship
    The "wouldn't it be lovely if..." or "someone should do something" Facebook comments. There are heaps of preservation projects up and down the country in dire need of funds and boots on the ground help. 800 is fine, it's not under threat, it's under cover and being looked after.
  13. minister_for_hardship
    The difference between here and the US are more generous clearances and (again) the level of interest. The general public here, say on Santa trains, are maybe a faintly interested Daddy and a Mummy looking for a vaguely "old timey train" experience for the kiddiwinks with Santy. They couldn't care less if 800 or 131 or an 071 hauled it. Hell, one of those road train yokes going to a Santa village would do them just as well. Apart from visiting enthusiasts mainly from uk, these are the people that help pay the bills and keep the heat on for the RPSI, not Irish enthusiasts.
  14. minister_for_hardship
    It can be both. There is a common misconception that the word Xmas stems from a secularizing tendency to de-emphasize the religious tradition from Christmas, by "taking the Christ out of Christmas"; nevertheless, the term's usage dates back to the 16th century, and corresponds to Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Church of England, and Episcopalian liturgical use of various forms of chi-rho monogram. In English, "X" was first used as a scribal abbreviation for "Christ" in 1100; "X'temmas" is attested in 1551, and "Xmas" in 1721.
  15. minister_for_hardship
    The retina-burning old IRRS page, had forgotten that.
  16. minister_for_hardship
    Not railway at all. It's for a horse drawn vehicle. Candles went into them.
  17. minister_for_hardship
    There was a flurry of sales of Silverfox "A's" leading up to the launch of IRM's "A", no doubt there's still some out there. I have the black version I'll probably move on.
  18. minister_for_hardship
    With new releases of mk2s, the Murphys Models ones may be sold off at reasonable prices. Likewise secondhand Silverfox A class should be picked up for a song now.
  19. minister_for_hardship
    Another one for around the campfire. https://www.dundalkdemocrat.ie/news/home/217954/the-local-ghost-train.html https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/history/living-history/adavoyle-ambush/
  20. minister_for_hardship
    I'd say just the sheer density of their railways compared to us. And then there's the affinity British people have with their railways whereas here there is still a lingering notion that they are a bit "foreign" in the landscape, a product of the invader. There are a few stories, local in nature so not as well known.
  21. minister_for_hardship
    A bit late but still..happy listening.
  22. minister_for_hardship
    I don't know where getting the flying snail/broken wheel logo bit from. I've never seen a pic of them carrying either of these logos.
  23. minister_for_hardship
    The spelling gaffe is proof the maker's first language is not English. The real railway back in the day would never allow signage intended for the public carry an error like that! The actual text ran "GS&WR Notice Any person leaving this gate open is liable to a penalty of forty shillings." The holes are often staggered like that on the real notices, depends on what sort of gate they intended to affix it to.
  24. minister_for_hardship
    Rather different use of the red flag over there! Here as far as I know, a red flag means "omg STOP!" in pretty much all circumstances.
  25. minister_for_hardship
    Multiple profiles? It looks like something that got a quick roasting with a blowtorch and a spell in the garden.
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