How about this for a mix of passenger stock?

[Garfield]

 

Taken near Kilfree Junction on the Dublin-Sligo line in July, 1957.

[jhb171achill]

Laminate, Bredin, Laminate, Bredin, Laminate*, Unidentified wooden bogie-possibly ex-GSW suburban, GSW bogie, "tin van*", wooden covered van and finally ex-MGWR postal / guard's van. What a gathering!

 

Today's train at Downpatrick behind an "A" class, if it's running, is a laminate style brake genny, a high-roofed GSWR tri-compo and a non corridor low roofed GSW 3rd...

 

I remember seeing a 10 vehicle train passing Port Laoise as recently as the late 70s, with an 071 hauling an eclectic mix of various types of laminates 9no two the same), a couple of Cravens and Park Royals, a BR van and a "tin van".

 

If you like such collections behind a loco, look at pics of West Cork or the WRC in the 50s, and you'll regularly see things like a brand new laminate or Park Royal paired with an 1880s-built non corridor birdcage roofed brake third (inevitably of MGWR origin) or the like. the last full train of six wheelers (based in Cork) was in use until 1963 and possibly a while later, not being officially withdrawn until 1964.

(* in silver; rest in green)

[minister_for_hardship]

What was the deal with the silver laminates?

Were they trying to match them up with the silver locos or did they just run like that until they got a proper paint job?

How long did they run like that?

[h gricer]

Lovely photos on that entire Flicki site, John Phillips certainly visited Ireland at an interesting time, before Tod Andrews started swinging the axe.

Regards

h.gricer

[jhb171achill]

Minister, waht happend was that in 1955, when the earliest laminates, Park Royals, and of course the "A" class locos arrived, they decided that they might look wll in silver and it would save paint and time. As photos show, they couldn't have been more wrong - anything left unpainted deteriorated almost as soon as it entered traffic. How they could expect loco bogies to remain silver is a mystery! Subsequent deliveries of the three G601s and the B1013 were also initially unpainted.

 

Interesting livery detail: locos had a snail and number in "eau-de-nil" but at least some carriages and tin vans had numerals in red, possibly all at first. No silver rolling stock ever carried "snails" - just the numeral.

 

By the early 60s, silver was dying out. It is likely that some stock went straight to black'n'tan.

In all cases, at first repaint, they received the post-55 lighter green.