New Announcement - Hosanna Is A H Van

[jhb171achill]

2 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

Just a minor correction, Oh Exulted Jonathan.

I produced THREE different GNR vans as kits (10 ton fitted and unfitted and the 9 ton which is noticeably smaller.

My RTR Dapols are very close to the GNR Bagged Cement vans of 1953 / 4. I've done those in two GNR runs, plus the Snail version and the more recent "Brown" and "Wheel" versions - and another GNR number to come in April ......

You're dead right about the "Convertible" bands, but not so many of us model early enough? Surely they were history my mid-1950s?

@Mol_PMB take a look at my lovely GSWR 10 ton brake - still around iun 1960s.

I defer to your greater knowledge, Mr. Provincial; of whose wares I am an extremely contented customer!

This very day I found five of your kits, unmade-up, which had become mired within the disorganised primeval soup which outsiders see as my “study”!

That's this coming week occupied….

Edited Monday at 00:35 by jhb171achill

[Mayner]

On 9/3/2025 at 9:16 AM, jhb171achill said:

 

As for open wagons, they are the one thing where many British prototypes CAN be used. The British ones and our ones (main companies; not all!) were all standard types of designs. The West Cork system were non-standard (as with most things!), 

The final batch of 20 Bandon opens were "Standard Irish" Open Wagons added to a 1920 GSWR order of 200 opens placed with Metropolitan Carriage & Wagon. The "Standard" Irish Railway Clearing House (IRCH) open was introduced during WW1 and used by the CBSCR,GN, GSWR & Midland and basically the Standard open wagon up to the introduction of the Bulleid opens in 1956. The majority of 'Standard opens" appear to have been built on a steel underframe (with variation in axleguard detail), though the GN and some GSR opens had wooden underframes.

Main spotting difference between Irish and LMS 5 plank opens were the Irish wagons were had six plank sides and ends and Irish single lever brakegear quite unlike the LMS wagons in appearance.

My version of the Standard Open based on drawing of a GSWR wagon was my second best seller after the CIE 20T Brake van  was 21mm convertible. One customer bought the chassis separately to convert British Outline to Irish Outline wagons.

To follow on from Lesley, JM Design produced 3 variations of the CIE 20T Brake mainly in RTR format, GSWR/GSR/CIE Standard Open, CIE LMA Covered Wagon (1952) CIE 1946 H Van, GSWR/GSR/CIE Covered Van Planked & Sheeted Body, GSR/Ranks Bulk Grain in RTR & Kit format between 2021-2024. No l;onger produced but may show up on seccond hand market.

Leslies large GNR van Covered Wagon is the same design as Vans built for the MGWR & GSR, the Midland being the Midland built roughly 1/2 of its IRCH Standard Covered Wagons as Convertibles with a removable canvas cover to the centre of the roof, but the same profile as a H (hard topped) Van.

Those that hanker after an old style arc roof Convertible SSM produce white metal kits of both the GSWR & MGWR versions some of which survived in to the late 50s.

One of my favourite photos from this era is of a Mail Train being made up at Sligo a mix of almost new Bulleid 4W Heating & Luggage vans topping and tailing a MGWR 6w TPO dating from the 1880s and a MGWR Fish/Meat van from the early 1890s, most likely hauled to Mullingar by a Silver A CLass

[jhb171achill]

12 hours ago, Mayner said:

One of my favourite photos from this era is of a Mail Train being made up at Sligo a mix of almost new Bulleid 4W Heating & Luggage vans topping and tailing a MGWR 6w TPO dating from the 1880s and a MGWR Fish/Meat van from the early 1890s, most likely hauled to Mullingar by a Silver A CLass

That’s exactly why I like this era for modelling. Literally nine decades can be seen in traffic in a single photo. At least one old six-wheel postal van, built in 1877, saw in the 1960s, while you could get a two month old carriage and a seventy year old one in the same train, hauled either by a brand new C or an 80-year-old J15…..

And everything in between.

And the youth of today think that Cork’s 26s are old!

[BSGSV]

On 3/3/2025 at 6:26 PM, Mol_PMB said:

Certainly into the Irish Rail era…

When I found and uploaded this photo a couple of years ago it was with some from Mullingar and I captioned it as Mullingar, but I’m having second thoughts now. I think it might be Gort.

Anyway, a brown H van dumped in a siding in the early 1990s, note the IR and Irish Cement sign on the goods shed. 

 

 

Yes, It is Gort.

The shunter "missed" dropping the handbrake on it as it went into the siding, and it hit the stops with a bang, which left one axlebox bent out. Couldn't move then...

The delights of unbraked stock.

[Mol_PMB]

22 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

I produced THREE different GNR vans as kits (10 ton fitted and unfitted and the 9 ton which is noticeably smaller.

@Mol_PMB take a look at my lovely GSWR 10 ton brake - still around iun 1960s.

I could be tempted - my willpower is about as strong as a chocolate fireguard and my bank account has just swerved a major expense at IRM towrs! On the other hand I do have quite a backlog of stuff to build, so no rush. How is your re-stocking programme going?

Is the 10t brake van this type? I must confess I haven't yet found any photos of them still in use in the 1960s but then I haven't looked everywhere yet; there are a fair few photos of them in the 1950s but I guess most were replaced by the 30t brakes built in 1960.

 

N.B. the colour photo above shows van 8554 with 'eau de nil' lettering.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54253429200

 

Hopefully there are still a couple of those GNR 10t goods vans with my name on them too. I quite fancy doing one of them in this rare 'snail on brown' livery:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54257197990