Clifden Station news

[Horsetan]

We don't often hear about the oul station at Clifden, but it has made national news....

Is that MGWR 6-wheel carriage still rotting there?

[jhb171achill]

52 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

We don't often hear about the oul station at Clifden, but it has made national news....

Is that MGWR 6-wheel carriage still rotting there?

It is. It’s quite beyond hope now - a complete rebuild would be necessary.

[Horsetan]

4 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

It is. It’s quite beyond hope now - a complete rebuild would be necessary.

Basically a new-build, so.

[jhb171achill]

4 hours ago, Horsetan said:

Basically a new-build, so.

 

4 hours ago, Horsetan said:

Basically a new-build, so.

Exactly, as are the two at Downpatrick. The one at Whitehead, 62M, is also in a very sorry state.

[Mayner]

437k Euro down from 763k looks like the Hotel is profitable enough to restore the carriage either as a tax deductible expense in connection with the maintenance of the hotel and its grounds or a donation to a charitable trust dedicated to restoring the carriage say over a 10 year period.

Either way it would reduce the investors/shareholders tax liabilities.

After all the re-development of the Station into a Hotel-Golf resort is likely t have taken place under one of the Irish Government's tax incentive  (money laundering) schemes of the 1990s. 

Nice idea but unlikely to happen being Ireland

[jhb171achill]

5 hours ago, Mayner said:

437k Euro down from 763k looks like the Hotel is profitable enough to restore the carriage either as a tax deductible expense in connection with the maintenance of the hotel and its grounds or a donation to a charitable trust dedicated to restoring the carriage say over a 10 year period.

Either way it would reduce the investors/shareholders tax liabilities.

After all the re-development of the Station into a Hotel-Golf resort is likely t have taken place under one of the Irish Government's tax incentive  (money laundering) schemes of the 1990s. 

Nice idea but unlikely to happen being Ireland

Indeed.

I know the owner of the hotel. His initial idea was to restore and convert it into a coffee shop overflow seating area, having it parked at the platform beside the bar / cafe. However, this fell foul of catering / health and safety matters, so he had to abandon it. I discussed the implications of restoring it at the time - this is (at a wild guess) fifteen years ago or more. Even then, it was in very ropey condition.

This gentleman is a very, very busy man indeed - he runs not just this hotel but another very large local company as well. I would imagine that this vehicle is extremely low on his priority list, as he has now no likely use for it. Having now spent over sixty years in the open, in Irish weather, we can all guess as to its state.

We need not lament its fate. Whitehead has an identical one, as does Downpatrick. All require a rebuild, though the Whitehead one is marginally more stable than the others. Downpatrick also has a 2nd class version of the same. Thus, if the tooth fairy ever brought the necessary cash, a three coach MGWR train of six-wheelers could be assembled; Downpatrick would seem to be the only suitable place - and there, it could join two BCDR six-wheelers, one GNR one and one GSWR one!

I have just revealed my "Carriage Project", to commence when I win the Euromillions - because, in truth, that's precisely what I would do with a fair chunk of the loot................

 

[Horsetan]

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

... he had to abandon it. I discussed the implications of restoring it at the time - this is (at a wild guess) fifteen years ago or more. Even then, it was in very ropey condition....

I first saw the Clifden carriage in 1988. I remember it as being relatively complete, in a very faded grey/green shade.

I last saw it in 2001. By then, it had been partly wrapped in sheets to keep some of the elements out, but some of the exterior timbers were missing, exposing the interior.

Presumably a bit more of it has fallen off since then.

[jhb171achill]

22 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

I first saw the Clifden carriage in 1988. I remember it as being relatively complete, in a very faded grey/green shade.

I last saw it in 2001. By then, it had been partly wrapped in sheets to keep some of the elements out, but some of the exterior timbers were missing, exposing the interior.

Presumably a bit more of it has fallen off since then.

Exactly - it’s beyond help now.

[Niles]

2 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

 

I have just revealed my "Carriage Project", to commence when I win the Euromillions - because, in truth, that's precisely what I would do with a fair chunk of the loot................

 

And the rest on the newbuild Woolwich? 

[jhb171achill]

5 minutes ago, Niles said:

And the rest on the newbuild Woolwich? 

Achill D16, for the DCDR, with coal bill paid by me in perpetuity.

[Galteemore]

Vintage Carriages Trust entry on the Clifden coach; http://www.cs.rhrp.org.uk/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=3897

 

[jhb171achill]

On 18/4/2024 at 3:28 PM, Galteemore said:

Vintage Carriages Trust entry on the Clifden coach; http://www.cs.rhrp.org.uk/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=3897

 

And that was 24 years ago!

[DERAILED]

The most depressing part about the state of 467a - if it is that carriage - is that it was in running order when delivered by rail to Mallow. It was either the Cork or Limerick breakdown van - I forget which without digging out my notes - but it is a sorry indictment of preservation in the Republic.

[Horsetan]

3 hours ago, DERAILED said:

 ... it is a sorry indictment of preservation in the Republic.

Doesn't say much people's commitment to things generally, either 

[jhb171achill]

16 hours ago, DERAILED said:

The most depressing part about the state of 467a - if it is that carriage - is that it was in running order when delivered by rail to Mallow. It was either the Cork or Limerick breakdown van - I forget which without digging out my notes - but it is a sorry indictment of preservation in the Republic.

The reality is that this island, as a whole, apart from having only one tenth the population of Britain, simply does not sustain anything CLOSE to the level of interest in railways as themmuns over there do.

Oft-heard, over the years, be it close to Whitehead, close to the Wisht of Ireland, or waay down south, were murmurings to the extent that a Severn Valley, Keithley or Festiniog type operation would be "bound to be a success", often accompanied by that tiresome old canard "sure look at all the tourist revenue it would bring in".

Such notions were, are and will be in my lifetime anyway, as divorced from reality as a tooth fairy.

The ones that survive are the ones that were set up with - and retain - very modest cost bases, which will thus be able to operate with a very low level (by British or other standards) of visitor numbers. Moreover, again compared particularly with our neighbouring island, enthusiasts here are pathologically glued to their closed wallets (with a few notable exceptions) any time an appeal goes out for something. This type of stuff just isn't - unfortunately - in our culture.

I can count at least ten possible preservation schemes which were either stillborn, or in four cases tried to get off the ground but ultimately faltered due to a number of reasons. Of those existing today, two appear to be struggling, while another will, I strongly suspect, not last the course.

We have Dromod, Kilmeadan, Stradbally, RPSI and DCDR / ITG as going concerns. Each one of those, in their time, benefitted from financial aid no longer available. Places like Finntown and Moyasta are also deserving of our support (the former is publicly funded, otherwise it couldn't survive). However, put bluntly, an attraction like that, if placed in such a very remote location where there is no market but one of unrealistic pipe dreams - I would not be optimistic about. Yes, I do - very much - wish those two well - but, but....

Realism and practicality are often seen as "negative" by the dreamers and, eh, "enthusiasts" among us. But realism and practicality are what make things happen, not dreams.

The "takeaway" is therefore that we must accept what we have, be grateful to the volunteers who make the operational lines happen, and support them on foot and by wallet in every way we can.

Edited April 24 by jhb171achill

[airfixfan]

Involved with the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre. We are open 6 days a week during the winter months and visitors can be scarce. Without support from Pobal we could not survive as a tourist attraction.

[Mayner]

 

On 23/4/2024 at 7:39 PM, DERAILED said:

The most depressing part about the state of 467a - if it is that carriage - is that it was in running order when delivered by rail to Mallow. It was either the Cork or Limerick breakdown van - I forget which without digging out my notes - but it is a sorry indictment of preservation in the Republic.

The ironical thing is that the Clifden Station is no struggling preservation group but a  profitable business that made €437,000 profit last year on a turnover of €6.2m , or returned a 13% profit margin, that could have funded the restoration of the coach from its own resources.

The cost of restoring the carriage over the past 20 years would have been quite small change in terms of the cost of operating and maintaining the hotel and tax deductible, quite different from a preservation group attempting to restore a carriage from its own resources or donations.

The restored carriage could have been treated an integral part of the hotel in a similar manner to other parts of the hotel such as the swimming pool that don't directly generate revenue or generate revenue rather than an eyesore in the carpark.  Applying a bit of lateral thinking the interior of the restored carriage could have been used for storage or even a room for guests.

 

 

[jhb171achill]

On 24/4/2024 at 10:10 AM, Mayner said:

 

The ironical thing is that the Clifden Station is no struggling preservation group but a  profitable business that made €437,000 profit last year on a turnover of €6.2m , or returned a 13% profit margin, that could have funded the restoration of the coach from its own resources.

The cost of restoring the carriage over the past 20 years would have been quite small change in terms of the cost of operating and maintaining the hotel and tax deductible, quite different from a preservation group attempting to restore a carriage from its own resources or donations.

The restored carriage could have been treated an integral part of the hotel in a similar manner to other parts of the hotel such as the swimming pool that don't directly generate revenue or generate revenue rather than an eyesore in the carpark.  Applying a bit of lateral thinking the interior of the restored carriage could have been used for storage or even a room for guests.

The owner of the hotel, who I know, told me years ago that originally he wanted it as some sort of small coffee dock adjacent to the original platform, but was shot down by health & safety concerns, so it just sat there ever since; now it is beyond redemption. However, there is one identical vehicle at Whitehead and another at Downpatrick (along with another MGWR vehicle there of a different type); all four would require rebuild from ground up.