minister_for_hardship

The new battleship grey and discarding of the colourful pre-1925 liveries and evocative nameplates lent the GSR a dowdy public image, but they weren't slow to experiment with things that might be advantageous, various steam loco performance enhancing gimcracks, steam railcars, Drumm battery trains. If they only cottoned on to diesel railcars sooner, like the GWR, but the money wasn't there I'd imagine. Steam railcars fell out of fashion quickly, but don't understand the Sentinel shunters having such short lives, they being pretty standard-ish items (apart from gauge) Presume there were plenty elderly locos which could do the same work.

Both are lacking. Companies like IE slap up the signage simply to comply with regulations and the bulk of the public couldn't care less what is in the bit they don't read.

The (unfinished) Mallow-Lombardstown canal wasn't killed off by the railway...it expired due to the fact that road transport was seen as being more economical...in the 1780s(!)

The sort of people who suggest you are somehow 'less Irish'...whatever that might mean, if you are unable to speak it or simply choose not to speak it doesn't win any popularity contests.

How did CIE get lumbered with the canals? I assume they weren't really crazy about taking them over?

That's what I thought, we saw this sort of thing not so long ago.... Without funding, would the GS&WR (and others) have scraped by, perhaps the closures of the 1960's may have happened in the 1930's instead?

Just recalling a snippet from the McNeill/Murray history of the GS&WR, that the board of the GS&W approached the new Irish govt for aid in the aftermath of the Civil War, giving more or less an ultimatum that they were prepared to close down the entire system such were the losses incurred. Wonder how serious they were about that?

That would have been originally topped with an enormous cast iron ball and spike that was either removed or had broken off.

Some Irish signals did have fancy finials, but would have been replaced most everywhere by the Suoertrain era. Think they may have been a Railway Signal Co design manufactured by Courtney & Stephens. One double armed example with a square timber post with a ball and spike finial survived up until the end at Lixnaw.

The Fintona tram being either taken away for repairs after the horse bolted or heading into preservation??

Correct, Weshty just ordered a pint and a packet of pork scratchings in Burmese.

Spot the difference? Despite all the use of the Irish language to conform to their obligations, they still manage to get it wrong. I'm sure other signage is probably riddled with errors, though I wouldn't notice, as I'm just about able to ask permission to use the toilet in 'the medium' after the years of schooling in it.

The owners of the cars that were damaged when the elements remodelled Kent Station a few years ago would have been compensated for damage caused. Similarly, if a roof tile became dislodged from a station and landed on your head, you don't think you'd be entitled to compensation? Those signs are a bluff.

We'll have to pass around the hat and send jhb on an interweb driving course.

Closer to home, this one.

Quite big, yes. Maybe the kit could be sliced up to construct 2 more modest cabins?

Perhaps if there was no dedicated loading bank and there was only very occasional traffic, they would use any old platform even the passenger one, in pre- H&S days?

Don't think I've seen ground floor windows quite that large in an Irish cabin. Other than that it wouldn't look totally out of place.

Those posters I believe were printed en masse as 'blanks' with EXCURSION TO... and with loco at the bottom and the rest printed on in small batches for upcoming excursions or filled in by hand with pencil by station staff. Had found some torn blank posters with the A class many years ago.

An unidentified 800 class negotiating flooding, on the Kerry Road....

Typical CIE poster with 800 class, replaced by an image of A3 and train in similar style in later years. 800 class (top LH corner) travelling through a surreal landscape. Oddly, I've never seen a GSR poster or other publicity material singing the praises of the 800s, GSR posters were nearly always letterpress, landscapes or a few which could be described as 'ethnographic' in nature.

I have a good idea where to look, think it appeared on 'Nuacht' at one stage. The 400's/500's and Woolwiches did a lot of Radio Train haulage. The 800's were the 'pin-up girls' in steam era advertising, even for Tramore or West Cork excursions! Also, they printed the locos arseways, if you see any have a close look...smokebox doors are hinged t'other way round. Saw a CIE handbill once that had an LMS Jubilee(!) I kid you not, masquerading as a CIE Radio Train loco.

There's a pic floating around with all three 800's together in one place (Cork iirc) with these headboards and flags in place. Could find it with a little rummaging... Did an 800 ever do Radio Train duty? Saw an advertising poster which suggested they did, but may be a flight of fancy by the artist.

Avocado bathroom suites...ugh! Maybe coloured suites may have some kitsch value now? Barbie pink anyone?