minister_for_hardship

Looks a bit rough and ready. Am I seeing things or is it tied down with nylon rope??

Re the milk churns: at a vintage rally there was a guy with a restored vintage pick up truck with churns on the back, most if not all of them marked near the rim with things like (paraphrasing here as I neglected to get a pic) 'Return to Rathkeale GSR station' or some such. The ones that had markings were for stations mainly on the North Kerry. Found one marked for Banteer Station in a disused creamery, wanted to retrieve it but as was on the second floor plus almost full to the top with hardened concrete I had to dismiss that idea.

They're on the passing lorry using the level crossing, there was/is a creamery adjacent to the railway.

There's a few brake vans still hanging around, if you had a closed wagon and maybe a cattle wagon (did any survive?) you could have a demo pick up goods.

The lower bit says 'vehicle plate'. The modern version of this now carried by private buses is an oval alloy plate with just 'Public Service Vehicle' in Irish and an ID number usually fixed up front inside the bus. I have one somewhere with the reg numbers of previous buses that carried it scratched into the backside of it, so as well as going through several owners the plate could have been carried by more than one vehicle. I believe CIE buses had to carry them at one point but not any more. CIE Conductors used wear an oval badge headed 'F.S.P.' (Public Service Vehicle abbreviated in Irish), a central number and 'Fear Stiurtha' (lit. Steering Man, not to be confused with Driver 'Tiomanai') underneath from a time when it couldn't be imagined there would be such a thing as a female bus conductor. Can be seen here worn by Albert Finney in A Man Of No Importance.

Anyone what this is from? Heavy piece of kit Non Railway but just liked it, Road Traffic Act 1933, vehicle plate, might be from a horse drawn yoke? SWL plate, probably from one of those hand cranked cranes that used be on loading banks. EDIT 4 1/2 T might be a bit much for those, perhaps a small travelling crane. Second one, could be bus or truck. No way of knowing unless you trawl the records with the number.

That is the real thing, that was attached to the cabin up until 5 years or so ago. GSR/CIE bilingual signs weren't always enamelled, a few were simply painted onto sheet steel. Probably better off indoors before the paint fades any further or peels off.

On steam locos (and buses) where there is a definite 'leading end' (smokebox/drivers cab) the snails are 'normal' on LHS and 'reversed' on RHS so that the upper 'wings' point in direction of travel. That convention may or may not have been followed religiously though.

Maybe you could name it "St Paddy"?

Very nice. IIRC correctly, round bales were only in use for only the last 25 years or so. Before that, square bales... and before that again haycocks.

They were both applied with stencils. Depended on who was doing the painting, whether they were bothered infilling the blanks left after the stencil or not.

Maybe it could be modified to look like an Irish NG 4-4-0T on a wagon heading to or from Inchicore for overhaul?

As well as passengers...staff! I can't recall who mentioned it at an IRRS show, but it was said that if aliens got hold of some pictorial railway books, they could be forgiven for thinking that railways ran without any human intervention.

How long has it been since train services ran on the 25th/26th?

Were the Guinness ones de facto Private Owner wagons?

South Wexford. Tralee and Blennerville. Upton Railway (rough agricultural effort run at the steam rally, constructed of plywood and held together with six inch nails, chicken wire and hope...)

I do abhor the term (or rather euphemism) 'anti-social behaviour' Sounds more like not engaging with people at a dinner party rather than acting like a scumbag.

Without knowing the nature of the 'anti-social behaviour', it is hard to say. Is it seasonal partygoers/12 pubs of Xmas shower or something else entirely?

And still cheaper than building model railways...

People were easier to please back then, most of the major manufacturer's offerings back then were riddled with inaccuracies, wrong colours, wrong fonts, motors and wheelsets from whatever shoehorned into bodies, moulded handrails, etc.

JHB would be IE's answer to Michael O'Leary...

Feign an illness or something. There will always be more weddings, not many opportunities like this...

http://www.athlone.ie/visit/open-day-at-midland-great-western-railway-station/ The Midland Great Western Railway station, Grace Road, Athlone, will open 2.30-5pm on Saturday, November 19th to launch a new radio series about the railway in Athlone called The Railway Children. The station has been closed to the public since 1985 and holds fond memories for locals. The event will include a guided tour which will allow access to the old platform, railway memorabilia, tea and snacks, and radio presenter Noel Henry will be taking song requests for his Through The Years programme.