BOOKS WITH LOCOMOTIVE(steam and diesel), COACHES, RAILCARS(eletric and diesel) & WAGON DRAWINGS/DIAGRAMS

[josh_]

Hi all, ive been struggling to source places to find books with railway drawings/diagrams of rail stock in locomotives, coaches, railcars and wagons in standard and narrow gauge,

I was recently in donegal railway museum, i bought their only 4 and fascinated and so curious to know other locations to source these books physically and digitally

Any replies based on this are highly appreciated and eternally grateful

[leslie10646]

The IRRS has scanned several railways' drawings  in their archive, eg GNR coaches, wagons, also some GSR, SLNCR and MGWR.

E-mail me and I'll send the list.

lesliemcallister@aol.com

[josh_]

Thank you sm send a message onto u rn

 

[jhb171achill]

6 hours ago, josh_ said:

Hi all, ive been struggling to source places to find books with railway drawings/diagrams of rail stock in locomotives, coaches, railcars and wagons in standard and narrow gauge,

I was recently in donegal railway museum, i bought their only 4 and fascinated and so curious to know other locations to source these books physically and digitally

Any replies based on this are highly appreciated and eternally grateful

What area are you interested in, what period? Steam, diesel, UTA, NIR, CIE, Irish Rail, GNR, narrow gauge?

[josh_]

Honestly im not fussy at all i go for even NCC too

 

10 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

The IRRS has scanned several railways' drawings  in their archive, eg GNR coaches, wagons, also some GSR, SLNCR and MGWR.

E-mail me and I'll send the list.

lesliemcallister@aol.com

Also how much is IRRS membership yearly

 

Edited February 25 by josh_

[jhb171achill]

36 minutes ago, josh_ said:

Honestly im not fussy at all i go for even NCC too

 

Also how much is IRRS membership yearly

 

A couple of my books have diagrams of MGWR locos and stock - Rails to Achill & Rails through Connemara. But what Leslie suggests is the wya to go. IRRS membership varuies depending on where yopu live, but it's extremely good value in deed for the quantity of material available, plus the vast collection of phots that members are able to view online, - an essential tool for any modeller. I suggest you pick a period and a particular peruiod if you want to model anything prototypical. See https://irrs.ie/

[leslie10646]

Just a follow up to JB's comment.

Unhappily, membership doesn't get you cheaper books of drawings, but the custodians of such obviously look more favourably on fellow members!

The Society's "Journal" is the custodian of Irish Railway History and is an invaluable resource. Being an aged man, I have a set of them from No.1 and I've set myself a task of reading them starting in 1946. Some of the earliest ones are beyond price as records of what went on.

Loads of you guys have been buying beet wagons (aka Bulleid corrugated) from me and more recently the super IRM RTR ones. Do you know the story behind the beet traffic? It was told in extensio in Journal No.5 pages 136 - 141 by a Mr E Fitzgerald.

Which prompted me to suggest to the Society Board that e should digitise the Journal and make it available to members? There must be a way to do this to allow ACCESS, but not downloads........

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, leslie10646 said:

Just a follow up to JB's comment.

Unhappily, membership doesn't get you cheaper books of drawings, but the custodians of such obviously look more favourably on fellow members!

The Society's "Journal" is the custodian of Irish Railway History and is an invaluable resource. Being an aged man, I have a set of them from No.1 and I've set myself a task of reading them starting in 1946. Some of the earliest ones are beyond price as records of what went on.

Loads of you guys have been buying beet wagons (aka Bulleid corrugated) from me and more recently the super IRM RTR ones. Do you know the story behind the beet traffic? It was told in extensio in Journal No.5 pages 136 - 141 by a Mr E Fitzgerald.

Which prompted me to suggest to the Society Board that e should digitise the Journal and make it available to members? There must be a way to do this to allow ACCESS, but not downloads........

That’s an extremely good idea, Leslie. I, too, have a full set from 1946 as Senior was a founder member. I joined as a junior member when I was about 14. The journals are indeed invaluable.

[leslie10646]

Following on from my last e-mail.

An accessible Journal will be a part of the Society's new website (being built as we speak), so these treasures may become available to members in the foreseeable future.,

[josh_]

23 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

Just a follow up to JB's comment.

Unhappily, membership doesn't get you cheaper books of drawings, but the custodians of such obviously look more favourably on fellow members!

The Society's "Journal" is the custodian of Irish Railway History and is an invaluable resource. Being an aged man, I have a set of them from No.1 and I've set myself a task of reading them starting in 1946. Some of the earliest ones are beyond price as records of what went on.

Loads of you guys have been buying beet wagons (aka Bulleid corrugated) from me and more recently the super IRM RTR ones. Do you know the story behind the beet traffic? It was told in extensio in Journal No.5 pages 136 - 141 by a Mr E Fitzgerald.

Which prompted me to suggest to the Society Board that e should digitise the Journal and make it available to members? There must be a way to do this to allow ACCESS, but not downloads........

Its alright, but i do wonder what other benefits u do get being a member?

[Flying Snail]

15 minutes ago, josh_ said:

Its alright, but i do wonder what other benefits u do get being a member?

https://irrs.ie/irrs-membership/ ... its all laid out there

[leslie10646]

Just another word on the drawings "service".

Since the Pandemic, Richard McLachlan has been the sole worker, since the untimely and lamented death of Anthony McDonald - who was his "man on the ground" and who helped Richard - who is based in Eastern England, to extend the digital archive.

Richard is reorganising the service, so that it can be more easily be accessed, a job expected to take at least another year, so patience, please.

The Society needs younger (I'm 78, Richard is in his early seventies), enthusiastic, computer-literate (scanner literate?) members who are prepared to help preserve a treasure trove of information. I have two helpers here in England helping me scan the collections in my hands, but we all have lives to lead (and models to make!).

 

[josh_]

Completely reasonable i know people around my own age that ill ask and see as id love to sign up and keep this alive as a lot of clubs from IRRS to the RPSI are all older gentlemen and ofc if no one willing to step up and replace their roles, these places might sadly close for good

 

[airfixfan]

Which books did you buy in Donegal Town?

[leslie10646]

1 hour ago, josh_ said:

Completely reasonable i know people around my own age that ill ask and see as id love to sign up and keep this alive as a lot of clubs from IRRS to the RPSI are all older gentlemen and ofc if no one willing to step up and replace their roles, these places might sadly close for good

 

Exactly right, Josh. I can't encourage younger folk enough to "take up the flame".

We hold an important part of the Island / country's heritage

[josh_]

4 hours ago, airfixfan said:

Which books did you buy in Donegal Town?

i bought locomotives of the GNRI by nornam johnston aka: the blue bible
MGWR by W E Shepherd
DSER by Shepherd & Beesly
The Dingle Train by Rowlands, Macgrath and Francis

All with amazing drawings

 

[airfixfan]

No books then that we publish at the Museum!

[Mol_PMB]

This is an old book devoted to drawings of narrow gauge stock:

Irish Narrow Gauge (Narrow lines extra) by Lloyd, David: Fine Soft cover (1988) | Hereward Books

I've had one since the 1980s, you may be able to get a cheaper secondhand one by shopping around.

 

Most of the main Irish railway company histories have some drawings of locos and rolling stock. 

 

What I'd love to see readily available is the CIE 'Diagram Book(s)' equivalent to to the BR ones on the Barrowmore website:

Barrowmore Model Railway Group (BMRG)

We have a few drawings extracted from them scattered across the forum here, but nothing like a complete set.

 

[josh_]

16 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

This is an old book devoted to drawings of narrow gauge stock:

Irish Narrow Gauge (Narrow lines extra) by Lloyd, David: Fine Soft cover (1988) | Hereward Books

I've had one since the 1980s, you may be able to get a cheaper secondhand one by shopping around.

 

Most of the main Irish railway company histories have some drawings of locos and rolling stock. 

 

What I'd love to see readily available is the CIE 'Diagram Book(s)' equivalent to to the BR ones on the Barrowmore website:

Barrowmore Model Railway Group (BMRG)

We have a few drawings extracted from them scattered across the forum here, but nothing like a complete set.

 

Currently looking through, would u happen to know where to click to find these diagrams?

 

[Mol_PMB]

11 minutes ago, josh_ said:

Currently looking through, would u happen to know where to click to find these diagrams?

 

Which ones are you interested in?

And if you say 'all' the answer is 'everywhere'!

[leslie10646]

21 hours ago, josh_ said:

i bought locomotives of the GNRI by nornam johnston aka: the blue bible
MGWR by W E Shepherd
DSER by Shepherd & Beesly
The Dingle Train by Rowlands, Macgrath and Francis

All with amazing drawings

 

Ah, Josh, you're a man with good tastes in reading matter!

Also, on "Abe", the place to look for anything pub;ished, ever ......

Seller Image

More images

Modelling the Irish Narrow Gauge

David Lloyd

 

Seller: The Moffat Bookshop, Moffat, United Kingdom

(4-star seller) Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars

Contact seller

 

Used - Softcover

£ 15

Convert currency

£ 3.45 Shipping

Within United Kingdom

Quantity: 1 available

[josh_]

6 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

Ah, Josh, you're a man with good tastes in reading matter!

Also, on "Abe", the place to look for anything pub;ished, ever ......

 

Seller Image

More images

Modelling the Irish Narrow Gauge

David Lloyd

 

Seller: The Moffat Bookshop, Moffat, United Kingdom

(4-star seller) Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars

Contact seller

 

Used - Softcover

£ 15

Convert currency

£ 3.45 Shipping

Within United Kingdom

Quantity: 1 available

Ur very good, appreciated, they were actually the best i could find at donegal when i went  

6 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

Which ones are you interested in?

And if you say 'all' the answer is 'everywhere'!

I get u with 'everywhere',but was curious more abt the steam locomotives as we had abt 98% of our steam locos from england

[Mayner]

Josh.

your potentially setting yourself a major research project as apart from information/drawings published in books & held by the IRRS al ot of the information is held by individuals, and specialist groups and museums/histporical societies in the UK.

The majority of steam locos and stock used on the GSR & CIE systems were built in Ireland by the GSWR at Inchacore and MGWR at Broadstone rather than imported from English & Scottish builders.

New Irish Lines published twice a year by Alan O'Rourke in Sheffield https://newirishlines.org/archive/ regualarly publishes drawings and published a Register of GSR locomotive diagrams between 2014-2016 to compliment Jeremy Clements & Michael McMahons book "Locomotives off the GSR'. Upon formation in 1924 the GSR acquired 587 Steam Locomotives divided into 114 Classes!

The Historical Model Railway Society https://hmrs.org.uk/drawings.html  collection includes drawings and photos of stock supplied to Irish railways.

During the 70s & 80ss and number of model railway magazines published drawings of Irish lcos and stock, may be covered in index in NIL on-line archive

At one stage a number of major museums in the UK supplied drawings and photos of locos and stock supplied to Irish companies e.g. Manchester Beyer Peacock locomotove GAs (major supplier to GNR and companies in Ulster, Glasgow photos oof locos supplied by NBL to GSWR, MGWR & others.

 

 

[jhb171achill]

21 hours ago, josh_ said:

Ur very good, appreciated, they were actually the best i could find at donegal when i went  

I get u with 'everywhere',but was curious more abt the steam locomotives as we had abt 98% of our steam locos from england

A large number of our locomotives were built here - Inchicore, Dundalk and other places.

[josh_]

On 28/2/2025 at 10:59 PM, Mayner said:

Josh.

your potentially setting yourself a major research project as apart from information/drawings published in books & held by the IRRS al ot of the information is held by individuals, and specialist groups and museums/histporical societies in the UK.

The majority of steam locos and stock used on the GSR & CIE systems were built in Ireland by the GSWR at Inchacore and MGWR at Broadstone rather than imported from English & Scottish builders.

New Irish Lines published twice a year by Alan O'Rourke in Sheffield https://newirishlines.org/archive/ regualarly publishes drawings and published a Register of GSR locomotive diagrams between 2014-2016 to compliment Jeremy Clements & Michael McMahons book "Locomotives off the GSR'. Upon formation in 1924 the GSR acquired 587 Steam Locomotives divided into 114 Classes!

The Historical Model Railway Society https://hmrs.org.uk/drawings.html  collection includes drawings and photos of stock supplied to Irish railways.

During the 70s & 80ss and number of model railway magazines published drawings of Irish lcos and stock, may be covered in index in NIL on-line archive

At one stage a number of major museums in the UK supplied drawings and photos of locos and stock supplied to Irish companies e.g. Manchester Beyer Peacock locomotove GAs (major supplier to GNR and companies in Ulster, Glasgow photos oof locos supplied by NBL to GSWR, MGWR & others.

 

 

Thanks sm for the info and about the magazines and museums in the Uk would u happen to know whare i could source these? 
Josh

Edited Tuesday at 22:40 by josh_
typo

[Mayner]

1 hour ago, josh_ said:

Thanks sm for the info and about the HMRS, ive been on and i cant seen to find them irish drawings specifically 

Select an Irish company in the Company menu in the Shopping Options. 

Looking through the Irish companies in the HMRSI drawing register should give you an idea of the sheer volume of "Irish" drawings & photos held in their collection

For example there are 15 drawings in the HMRS Coras Iompair Eireann collection, some drawings can be viewed on line or purchased in digital or hard copy format.

The drawing of the Craven coach in the HMRS collection appears to be a UK manufacturers drawing, other drawings appear to have beenbased on 'official drawings" drawn by B (Barry?) Heaven often in 4mm Scale and intended for modellers. Barry's drawings were sometimes available in model railway shops when I was growing up in the early 70s

 

 

[josh_]

Thanks so much for guiding me 

Would u happen to know what museums and 70s and 80s magazines have Irish railway diagrams too?

Thank you 

Josh 

[Galteemore]

52 minutes ago, josh_ said:

Thanks so much for guiding me 

Would u happen to know what museums and 70s and 80s magazines have Irish railway diagrams too?

Thank you 

Josh 

Irish Lines Drawings Index (J.P.James, 1992).pdf

[josh_]

Brilliant, thanks a mil to u all 

[josh_]

Also any idea where I could find books with drawings in them online and in person?