minister_for_hardship

A bit of a Paul Daniels...he can turn a herd of cows into a field. Another couple of less well known individuals, Charles Blacker Vignoles - early Irish born railway pioneer R.L. Ross from Coleraine- inventor of the pop safety valve Charles Yelverton O'Connor from Co Meath- engineer-in-chief and acting general manager of railways in Western Australia

Apart from the well-known CME's whose careers shuttled between England and Ireland. To get the ball rolling... Playwright Sean O'Casey, worked for a time with the GNRI as a clerk. Writer Frank O'Connor, did a spell in Cork Goods I think. William Hulme, formerly of the L&NWR, involved in the apprehension of William Smith O'Brien at Thurles. Accounts say he bought a public house with the proceeds of the reward and was his own best customer. Former Taoseach Albert Reynolds. Any more?

The add-on to the store is visible in osi mapviewer, so it existed circa 1900. Interestingly, it also shows 2 other 'Goods Sheds', on same side of line, 'fore' and 'aft' of the currently existing one. The one at the Waterford end looks shoehorned between the road accessing the main store and the sidings, perhaps a late addition?

Looks like it had an end window high up on gable end when built, then blocked up and and arc roofed shed built end-on (possibly in corrugated iron with a raised timber floor?) and the brick lined doors being put in. Faint traces of what looks like whitewash on the stonework, might have been applied when that wall was once 'indoors'.

Pity they can't do the same with that godawful Santa 'head' board!!

'Into The West' had a brief rail sequence. 'The Railway Station Man' with Donald Sutherland was filmed in Cashelnagor on the Lough Swilly, long after it had closed. Was told that the tattered period 'Cadbury's' poster in Pearse is a reproduction, pasted up for a movie but never taken down afterwards. http://itsallbright.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/cadbury2.jpg Might have been for 'Michael Collins', not 100% sure though. On trivia, read somewhere that the stock used in the 'First Great Train Robbery' was offered to then president Paddy Hilary. Exactly what he was supposed to do with these vehicles is not recorded. Also, noted in 'Nuacht' CIE's staff magazine, the best coffee that Sean Connery said he ever had was at Heuston during filming!

According to a piece on the National Museum's website "Probably Belfast based William Curran who won a Bord Fáilte anti-litter poster competition in 1967" As for a 'narrow gate', maybe a 'wicket gate'!

He might still get a Hornby industrial starter set at the end of the day and make do, to use the much maligned phrase 'in the current economic climate'

'May not post to Ireland' - how thoughtful.

I don't have to book with me now, but I recall something in it about Pakistan Railways were half interested in buying them, is that right?

What was the story with the ownership of Lough Derg/Lough Melvin. AFAIK they were never the outright property of the SL&NC, carrying plates stating that they still belonged to Beyer Peacock. One was sold recently... 'This locomotive makers No 7138, is the property of Beyer Peacock & Co Ltd., Gorton, Manchester, England from 0-6-4T loco 'Lough Melvin' supplied by Beyer Peacock in 1949 under a hire-purchase agreement to the SLNCR rectangular, 33x10 cm in original condition, front and back, the name L. Melvin is also chalked on the back, SRA311 £1000 I presume BP were paid off when the UTA got them?

The GSR only ran passenger services up until 1935, so for a period of only 10 years that they issued tickets like that. Might have had the odd excursion before it closed completely but that was pretty much it. Nice find.

A Macroom ticket is a rare item, more so if it's been dated and used.

Artwork by someone called 'Curran' for CIE poster, around mid/late 50's when A Class were still in silver, full version here, another version has alternative wording for US market, offices in New York, Chicago, LA, etc: http://www.irishrailwayana.com/CIEposA2L.jpg Not of any actual location in particular, seems a trippy mish mash of somewhere on the South Eastern with a bit of the lakes of Killarney thrown in. Note cab that looks a bit early Sulzer-ish and interesting double brake hoses!

Seller should be renamed 'fakeirishstuff'. Would love to know who is churning out these babies (and derivatives thereof) by the bucketload. http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Irish-40-Shillings-Fine-Railway-Gate-Sign-Ireland-/190757780449?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c6a0cbbe1

Fake, you often find 'distressed' reproduction items in Paddywhackery pubs since supplies of the genuine article dried up. Font looks far too modern....Also: there hasn't been trains to Kinsale since the mid 30's, pretty unlikely a real destination board would retain such a long closed location, since when was there ever a direct Kinsale-Limerick and Baltimore-Limerick service and where the hell is 'Lough Hee'???? The tricolour border in the circular thing on top is a tad too convenient and Oirish for my liking as is the encirling text 'National Line Of Railway' sounds like it was manufactured in Beijing rather than Inchicore! Came across stained glass panels inset into timberwork with 'GSR' and CIE broken wheel logos in Perth (WA) once, with text in mis-spelt Irish decorating the walls. Sure as sugar they didn't come from the Emerald Isle. One place you will get some real articles is in the Pub in Fitzpatrick's Hotel in Manhattan...incl a brass nameplate off a loco named at the Inchicore 150th, the other ones sprouted legs and walked as they were stuck on with resin instead of being rivetted on!

No, unless the steam crane is still there? 90 is up north, the E is at Dunsandle and the tuam sugar factory shunter would have been scrapped after local morons burnt the shed it was in down.

To use the oft hackneyed phrase, 'in the current economic climate'.... snowball's chance in hell. Nice going, Mammy O'Rourke.

It's not up to CIE/IE to preserve anything, but maybe offering 6111 to a (responsible) interested party or else put it out of its misery.

Ugh, NIR/Translink have plonked for that awful Yankee-ism 'Train Station'.

Somehow I don't think NRM will close, given the British people's love of their industrial heritage. They could have saved a lot by not p*ssing it away on the debacle that was the Flying Scotsman. The thing is a played-out money pit.

Wonder what CIE crews made of them? Better (or worse) to operate compared to what they were used to? Imagine that steamers were a lot better looked after by Dundalk than by Inchicore.

What routes and how far from their native system were they used by CIE in the pre-preservation era? Was there such things as runs for gauging or was it 'yerra f___ it tis grand'?

Something to do with the Chester MRC T&DLR model layout that was exhibited in Dingle a while back?

That violates just about every H&S regulation in the book as well as child labour laws!