hexagon789

They seem quite sought after, but really any more than £30 is utterly obscene. They can be difficult to obtain, months can go by with none available - it took me 18 months to source all 3. After obtaining 1987 first it was 17 months until I found 1981 and then less than two weeks later I managed to get 1979! In other words it's your luck on how long it takes to source them all. The ITG books by comparison seem easier to obtain and are usually cheaper on average, I think it's like anything - the greater the demand and rarity the higher the price but those copies at over £100 are just not going to shift. There is still, over 3 years after I first saw it, a copy of 1987 for sale at £50 no one has bought it in all that time. Copies at less than £20 do sell well though. I often refer back to mine fairly frequently as while I can easily recall the Mk2d and Mk3 number series the older coaching stock are too numerous in type and variants to recall all the number series and types so I regularly look back for that information. I will say I prefer the ITG books, they have more information such as preserved stock, loco working diagrams and speed restriction tables and better photos but the Doyle/Hirsch books are invaluable for the late-1970s to 1980s modeller IMHO. Perhaps a fair comparison would be that the Doyle/Hirsch are like a Platform 5 pocket book while the ITG books are more akin to a Platform 5 Combined volume.

Good luck mate Three. 1st - 1979, 001 Class on cover 2nd - 1981, NIR 111 on cover 3rd - 1987, DART EMU on cover Technically the 1987 covers IÉ in a fashion as that's when CIÉ split the rail operations into Irish Rail/Iarnród Éireann and the book reflects this by changing the title from Locomotives and Rolling Stock of Coras Iompair Eireann and Northern Ireland Railways to Locomotives and Rolling Stock of Irish Rail and Northern Ireland Railways for the final edition. For post-1987 you want the Irish Traction Group books published in four editions - 1987, 1989, 1994 and 2004.

First edition Doyle/Hirsch rolling stock book, bids starting at £2 & ends in two days if anyone is still on the look for a copy at reasonable prices: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOCOMOTIVES-ROLLING-STOCK-OF-CORAS-IOMPAIR-EIREANN-NORTHERN-IRELAND-RAILWAY/264923945235?hash=item3daeb29913:g:xd0AAOSw7TNfobo-

I believe that's how it works, I can't see how else it would without an air-conditioning plant to do the job of sucking the air in.

Forced air ventilation might be a better term. Vents on the roof take in air forced by the movement of the train through the air. This is then heated as necessary and directed via ducts to vents in the passenger accommodation. Windows within the passenger accommodation also have sliding ventilators (moveable segments in the glass) which allow more ventilation in hot weather. These were marked on British stock with arrows to show how far they could be opened to allow fresh air in but without draughts if wished. It's worth noting that while the British Mk2D and 2E stock had sealed windows they actually were still pressure ventilated with the air-con system fitted on top essentially. This proved to be rather poor in service, the Mk2F stock therefore had no pressure ventilation system and had fully integrated air-con, this system was also used on the Irish Mk2D stock and later on both British and Irish Mk3 stock. Hopefully that helps a bit? I'm not always that great at explaining things!

An intriguing and probably unique combination.

Still full sized windows or the reduced height Mk2 AC style? It was even longer than I thought - about 10 years since I last saw it!

As far as I know the Brake First Executive retained pressure vent Mk2-style sliding toplight ventilators and not sealed windows. Apologies, it's been that long since I watched it. I thought there was a compartment but obviously not.

Found something I was looking for earlier - a YouTube video in which, at 3 mins 40, there is a Black 'n' Tan pair of Baby GMs on a mixed formation of Mk2Ds. I'd guess at mid-1970s, probably about 1975/76.

I believe that was the original intention, but they soon decided not to perpetuate it with other locos. Funny you should mention that the "A"s looked more modern than the GMs, I'm reading a set of journals I recently procured and a short piece in the news section of one refers to the GM classes giving excellent service and rarely failing but the "A"s suffering many failures even after re-engining (apparently electrical failures). The uprated ones were far more reliable as the electrical equipment had been refurbished and the traction motors rewound. As for the decade I can only experience it through photos and the old few film clips but the atmosphere is completely different to the modern railway in almost every way. Not ancient but definitely still not as reliable as the GMs

Given the first two AC sets entered traffic from the 4th December 1972 and 001 wasn't painted into ST until early the next year, there would've been a few months with only BnT locos hauling them. It's a fascinating period marked by new air-conditioned stock coupled with significant service improvements in the beginning of the decade, a new livery, then a series of worsening cuts in its middle, and finished off with some improvements again to the train service and new powerful 071 locos as well. Similar significant change in Northern Ireland Railways as well with the New Enterprise of 1970, the end of steam, the 80 Class Railcars, rationalisation of the Belfast termini stations and so on. I used to not be that interested in anything pre-Mk3 era but I think the 1970s interests me at least as much if not more than the 1980s now.

I haven't watched this in a while but if memory serves the Executive Brake is seen in this programme from the BBC - Great Railway Journeys: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p03rdrdk/great-railway-journeys-series-2-4-michael-palin-derry-to-kerry

And the Cù na Mara of the same year, usually a 121 pair in '76. Clearance issues?

Thought I might find something in Jonathan Allen's excellent flickr albums (I can easily get lost for hours in those!) and sure enough I've come up trumps. I couldn't find any BnT with AC stock in 1977 but here's a BnT pair on the 0830 "Supertrain" to Cork at Hueston station in 1976: (Photo credit to Jonathan Allen) He notes this was booked for a pair of 121s in the working timetable, but 174 is subbing for the other 121. Somehow I've always liked BnT locos on supertrain stock I think the contrast is more interesting and I like the livery anyway!

Plenty of photos of ARs, B121, B141, B181 Black 'n' Tan locos on Mk2 AC stock and mixed pairs (one BnT, one ST) as well. There is a picture in the O'Dea collection of a double BnT 141/181 pair on a Cork Road Mk2d set in early 1973 before the large sets were shortened (from EGV+8 to EGV+6) and the number of links increased (from 5 links with large sets plus the Tralee link (only EGV+4) introduced in January 1973 to 8 links from April 1973 plus the Enterprise from May). There were definitely some 141/181s in BnT until after the 071s entered service, probably as late as 1978 at least. And I'm probably going into too much detail again(!), so to summarise - yes, BnT livery locos worked Mk2d AC stock from entry to service until at least 1977 if not slightly later.

Much cheaper than manned crossing gates and full semaphore signalling. Though the GB system has full train protection something lacking outside the DART corridor afaik.

No problem, I spent long enough researching the Mk2D fleet so I should know plenty about them by now! If you ever need an individual vehicle number checked I have a master list I compiled which I can refer to.

The only vehicles which never changed internal layout were the Standards 5201-5236. The Superstandards (5101-5106) were covered to 56 or 62 seat Standards between 1985 and 1987, though 5106 remained Superstandard until the late 1990s for the Enterprise, it being converted to Standard in about 1998/9 (I can get the exact year if needed). The Composites (5151-5159) were very variable. 5 were converted very early in May/April 1973 to 54-seat Standards (5153-5156 and 5158). The remainder remained as Composites until 1988 though were declassified in the early/mid-1980s. Only 3 were actually internally composites by 1988 but in that year it was decided to reinstate Superstandard on Sligo line trains and so one was converted back (not one of the remaining post-1973 ones but one converted to Standard in that year). The Sligo line lost its by then First Class accommodation in about 2000/2001 but two composites survived as such internally until 2004 (5152 and 5156), 5156 was still such in May 2005. For the Kitchen Standards the only major change was removing 4 seats for wheelchair space in the 1990s. So yes, all the vehicles you've quoted would be identical internally unless as they are all the 52xx series Standards seating 64.

Though it had open seating as did all of the first two batches of Mk2 stock built new for NIR. Personally I can't see anything! I'll take your word for it. I looked through the first three editions of the ITG books, the 1998 Platform 5 and journals 1987-1998 and all agree there was no compartment stock on NIR after 1991 unless an error has crept in. My thinking is the vehicle jhb travelled in could have been the Brake Executive First as it is simply listed as "loose seating as required" and compartments would probably be preferred for the likes of business meetings on board etc.

They also obtained BFKs (Brake First Corridor) as well these having gensets fitted to heat the other coaches as of course unlike the Hunslets, the 111s couldn't heat coaching stock. These are still marked as compartment stock in 1994. Need to look out my other stock books for later dates, but I wouldn't expect them to still have had the older Mk2s some 3 years after displaced by the De-Dietrichs? Edit: Though saying that, the gen van used with the Gatwicks was one of the ex-BFK Corridor Standard Generator Brakes. Re-edit: I've checked, NIR had no compartment stock after 1991. The Brake First/Standard Corridor Generators were all converted in 1988/89 to open seating.

The Heart of Wales uses NSTR (No Signalman Token Remote). Four other GB lines use this, it is a cheaper and simpler version of the Radio Electronic Token Block used on the likes of the West Highland the Far North and the Kyle Line. Loops are equipped with hydraulic points which are spring in one direction so can only be traversed at 15mph, if necessary they can be hand-pumped to the opposite side but will automatically slowly return to their 'normal' position. All loops have a fixed distant board on approach which are equipped with an AWS magnet. The stop boards have a TPWS loop to prevent SPADs exiting loops. The driver operates the block equipment from small huts at the passing loop stations and this includes de-energising the TPWS loops to proceed out of the loops past the stop boards.

The only two not converted with withdrawn to provide spares, so all of the former BR Western Region FKs which became Standards AND remained in service by 1995 were indeed converted to open seating. One FK entered service as First Class, but this was converted to Open Standard 920 in 1991.

Not initially, they entered service as Compartment Standards and were only converted to open in 1988-89. That had the benefit of increasing seating capacity by 14 seats per vehicle.

I think I posted about this in the thread on NIR 111 Class liveries, if not let me know and I can check the journals tomorrow

That's my thinking as well, I think the silver frames are a nice touch. They looked well on the 2D stock.