minister_for_hardship

It would have been like another well meaning but naïve project, the Cahirciveen "C", that got several shades of sugar hammered out of it by local youths. Unless your exhibit is under cover and lock and key here, forget it. It's going to get vandalised.

I visited the site, many moons ago. The shed doors were wide open, not a sinner around. Had a look at the above mentioned coach and the beet loco. Was there for at least 40 mins. Not too long after the place was torched. You would think someone would at least pay visits and make sure the site is secure. Not knowing anyone or anything about the group I just went on my way.

Kildare? Ok just saw previous guess so nope

Does it include alternative names and numbers for Paddy (Shannonvale horse), Dick (Fintona tram horse) and Shergar?

What are the numbers on the loco smokeboxes on the magazine cover about? Clearly not the running numbers.

It's an Irish thing, anything other than mainstream culture, GAA and chronic alcohol consumption is looked upon as weird.

And as it says on RTE, "It is the first of 10 flights to Beijing to deliver PPE to Ireland as part of a €208m deal." Possibly one or more donations and everything else we have to stump up for?

I guess like major BR stations having never gotten a regional "hotdog", I don't recall that Kingsbridge, Broadstone, Westland Row ever got a GSR nameboard either? Ditto Cork, Galway(?), Limerick(?), Waterford(?) Sligo did get one, it had a fine display of GSR signage well into the 1990s.

Ones that I can think of that never got a bilingual board...open to correction. Headford Jct, Loo Bridge. Dooks, Listowel, Abbeyfeale, Newcastle (West), Ballingrane Jct, Rathkeale, Fermoy, Bruree, Newmarket, Mourne Abbey, Rathduff, Clondulane, Dunkettle, Little Island, Cobh Jct, Carrigtwohill, Midleton (cabin had a small version, ditto Killeagh and Youghal) Blarney (both), Ballymartle (Kinsale branch), Clonakilty. Early closures, Clifden branch, Achill branch. Curiously the Muskerry got one GSR board (Western Road) as did the Passage (Monkstown) and some perhaps not all T&D roadside halts got them. Manhattan, there's a Bagenalstown GSR board in Fitzpatricks Hotel.

New Ross got a standard bilingual GSR board on concrete posts, saw it in a photo somewhere, possibly removed after 64 along with footbridge and other trimmings.

A pair in captivity. Cheap painted-on plywood with metal angle surround edged in orange. More substantial timber sign, stuck on black plastic letters and grey surround.

They were also English only at GNRI, CDRJC, DN&GR, L&LSR and SL&NCR stations in the ROI. Anything that wasn't GSR/cross border.

No. English only.

Let's hope they're better than the faulty batch the Netherlands got from China. Meanwhile the wet markets are back in full swing. Great bunch of lads.

Looks disturbingly like a headstone!

If anyone was interested in running a Woolwich in oil burning form, the following were converted. 372/4-9, 382, 386-91 (381 & 385 converted but never ran as oil burners)

Allman's had their own locomotive, the first one known as Allman's Coffee Pot from its archaic appearance and its replacement, a Peckett, ended up in GSR hands after the closure of the distillery. That's not to say a loco could have been borrowed or leased from the CB&SC if their own was out of traffic, six coupled may have been a bit big for a poky distillery, the Peckett was like a toy, size-wise.

Inchicore smokebox and Inchicore type chimney on that, its lost its original flush rivetted sloping smokebox and plain chimney. Think some of that BP design ended up on Swedish Railways, but being 00 not much use to that market.

I'm attempting to learn Spanish, building a card kit and growing a batch of trees from nuts. After that maybe arrange my collection of cast iron rail chairs, not sure should I display them alphabetically or chronologically.

Vot time does der nächst train kommt?

There's no shortage of small native locos to suit Downpatrick's needs.

The "big wheel" was very much a feature of MGWR cabins, where sited to overlook the road to keep an eye on road traffic. Think a few GN cabins had them too, Poyntzpass(?) I'm not aware of WL&WR/GS&WR cabins having them.

I doubt it. I think they may have been all replaced by or before early CIE days. First pic was K1 376, still carrying MGWR headlamps date unknown but noted as GSR days, 2nd is K1a 393 in 1947, 3rd is 383 in 1956. Nothing for it but to trawl through photos.

In the early years, they sported the original flat SECR wheel-less door. Gradually as doors got burnt or worn out, they got replaced with the Inchicore dished door with dart handles or the more widespread wheel. Note CIE budget numberplate, numerals simply painted on sheet steel and welded to door. The supplied wheel with the model would not be correct for the flat door, strictly speaking.