Small yards & locations on the irish railway system

[Mol_PMB]

One of several salt works in the region, by the look of it. Near the middle of this map from NLS:

https://maps.nls.uk/view/247678280

https://maps.nls.uk/view/247665908

[Galteemore]

Yes, must have been two of them. The pic is of the one off the harbour line, as GR Mahon took views of the branch in 1963 and your dad’s pic is congruent with his photos. Can only presume the down side siding mentioned in the gazetteer above looked similar to the one on the harbour branch 

[Mol_PMB]

Search for Carrickfergus in the IRRS Flickr album and there are several photos of the branch and this particular industry too, though mostly after closure:

https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=142947080%40N07&view_all=1&text=carrickfergus

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53508713523/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53508865134/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53508546821/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53508713528/

 

As well as the salt works, the map and photos also show an oil depot by the harbour, and perhaps there was fish traffic too? A condensed version of this branch could make a nice micro-layout with varied traffic. It closed 1957 though; might plausibly be pushed into the 1960s but not really beyond owing to the UTA's freight policies.

[Galteemore]

Thanks Mol  - that’s the images I had in mind but can’t post links to for some reason. The oil depot/salt stores at the harbour is ideal and would make a nice micro, especially with an unconventional baseboard allowing viewing from both sides and one end. The backscene could be very nice, as in those days the town was quite small and characterful. Scope for some nice John Ahern type street scenes. 

There was also coal traffic, which lasted as a road-served facility until the 1980s, and evidence of the coal handling gear can be seen in Mahon’s pics. The coal traffic was the port’s last activity as a working harbour before the marina came along and ‘improved’ things. 
 

Searching for Carrickfergus on the IRRS page, as I also did, shows some fabulous images of the place, including the signalling as it was replaced  c1986. The stand out gem for me was the set of photos of WT53 being scrapped in Carrick c1972. I was living there at the time but at the age of 1 had no awareness….

 

As it was in 1926. Taken from ‘Britain from the air’. The harbour branch proper curves away left hugging the sea wall. No oil depot at this point.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 8 by Galteemore

[Mayner]

16 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

The simplest solution of all is to use COVERED vans. While I can't offer statistics, even in the steam era most goods trains seem to have been covered wagons - just look at the photographs which do exist.

That said, Andy is quite right to suggest using tarpaulins - somewhere on this site there's a photo of quite a string of corrugateds at Kilkenny covered in tarpaulins.

Of course, in the North, we could have a nice bit of variety with conflats and colourful bread containers!

ISO Containers had replaced Covered Vans and Open wagons for general freight during Celtic-transport, the original posters 90/00s preferred modelling eara.

Since the late 70s coal and scrap metal was transported in open topped (full height) ISO containers on 4w Flat Wagons, (load not visible when viewed at rail level). Containers used to transport coal (Foynes-Ballina ) and scrap (North Wall-Galway) were basically standard 20' containers with the roof removed.

During the late 80s/early 90s some new freight flows emerged sometimes loaded on private sidings, Avonmore Mollasses--Foynes to the Midlands, Cawoods Coal Dublin Port & possibly Dundalk to Arklow and possibly Sligo, Avommore Bulk Grain Waterford IAAWS (siding) elevator, possibly Foynes, later North Wall- Portlaoise

One possible scenario would be for the loading/unloading to take place on a private siding (behind a high wall) offscene possibly with an industrial loco (RH 88DS or similar) carrying out the shunting while the Main line loco delivers and picks up a complete train. With 'modern' fitted wagons you don't have to worry about finding space to fit a Brake Van.

I once built and exhibited an 8'X2' (incl 2' fiddle yard) British outline industrial layout which featured a working hopper for loading 'ore" into mineral wagons. The layout was based on Iain Rice's Bankfoot design though added a working hopper for loading mineral wagons rather than the cable worked incline in the original design. 

The basic operating pattern was that a 'main-line" loco would arrive or depart with a train of a max of 5 wagon if operating self contained while a second smaller industrial loco shunted the yard breaking down and making up the trains shunting the wagons under the hopper to be loaded 1 at a time. Physically loading the wagons certainly added to the operating interest and visitor enjoyment at exhibitions. The Airfix/Dapol/Parkside mineral wagons of the era were quite robust, we simply emptied the wagons into a plastic container, I hadn't the space or desire to build a working wagon tippler

[Mol_PMB]

It has crossed my mind that my Quartertown Mill layout could be stretched into the 1980s at least, if the freight was containerised in bitumen tank containers and bulk grain containers. This did really happen with the bitumen, but after the branch line closed it went by rail to Mallow and was transshipped to road for the last mile to Quartertown.

Cadbury's at Rathmore was another small industrial location which remained rail-served into the 1980s with the freight containerised. It was served by a trip working from Mallow and the containers were often BR 'Freightliner' types.

[airfixfan]

Coal traffic at Carrick harbour mainly for Coutaulds until that was switched to Belfast in the 1950s

[MOGUL]

On 8/1/2026 at 11:41 AM, Mayner said:

ISO Containers had replaced Covered Vans and Open wagons for general freight during Celtic-transport, the original posters 90/00s preferred modelling eara.

Since the late 70s coal and scrap metal was transported in open topped (full height) ISO containers on 4w Flat Wagons, (load not visible when viewed at rail level). Containers used to transport coal (Foynes-Ballina ) and scrap (North Wall-Galway) were basically standard 20' containers with the roof removed.

During the late 80s/early 90s some new freight flows emerged sometimes loaded on private sidings, Avonmore Mollasses--Foynes to the Midlands, Cawoods Coal Dublin Port & possibly Dundalk to Arklow and possibly Sligo, Avommore Bulk Grain Waterford IAAWS (siding) elevator, possibly Foynes, later North Wall- Portlaoise

One possible scenario would be for the loading/unloading to take place on a private siding (behind a high wall) offscene possibly with an industrial loco (RH 88DS or similar) carrying out the shunting while the Main line loco delivers and picks up a complete train. With 'modern' fitted wagons you don't have to worry about finding space to fit a Brake Van.

I once built and exhibited an 8'X2' (incl 2' fiddle yard) British outline industrial layout which featured a working hopper for loading 'ore" into mineral wagons. The layout was based on Iain Rice's Bankfoot design though added a working hopper for loading mineral wagons rather than the cable worked incline in the original design. 

The basic operating pattern was that a 'main-line" loco would arrive or depart with a train of a max of 5 wagon if operating self contained while a second smaller industrial loco shunted the yard breaking down and making up the trains shunting the wagons under the hopper to be loaded 1 at a time. Physically loading the wagons certainly added to the operating interest and visitor enjoyment at exhibitions. The Airfix/Dapol/Parkside mineral wagons of the era were quite robust, we simply emptied the wagons into a plastic container, I hadn't the space or desire to build a working wagon tippler

The traffic in coal from Dublin Port was from the CDL siding to Asahi, and I don't think Cawoods had any involvement.. The Cawoods flow as a short term flow by rail from Barrack Street to Arklow, with I believe Staffords of Arklow being the recipient.. The containers were shunted by road between warrenpoint(where the ship from Ellesmere port docked for the main NI flow) and Barrack Street.. The CDL yard itself could make a nice micro-layout, taking in part of Alexandra road and with the conveyor used to carry the coal accross alexandra road forming a nice scenic break.. Further down Alexandra road and the other side of that conveyor, the Boliden terminal could also make a nice micro-layout, with a prototypical wagon traverser being accessed by a sharp 90 degree turn off the main lines.. 

I would think there are plenty of other 90s/00s locations modellable including

-Kingscourt, with a small pad and covered shed used to store Gypsum which was loaded by a wheeled shovel into 4 wheel wagons(available from IRM), and also the possibilty of timber traffic, which was trialled in the 90s.. With a bit of alternate history, this could have become a regular flow.. 4 wheel and 62ft timber wagons aren't too hard to scratch build using Dapol and Hornby underframes, and plasticard to make the head boards and stanchions.. 

- Ardee Road, Dundalk, which replaced Barrack street which handled kegs and containers.. A relatively compact site, with a nice bridge to form a scenic break.. 

- NW wagon repair shop, with clever use of sightlines/forced perspective the Ballast bank could also be incorporated

- Cabra Cement depot(one I plan to do as time/kids/life permits), two/three sidings parallel to a twin track mainline, with bridges at either end for scenic breaks.. Cement trains arriving from the Heuston direction after a run around, and setting back into the yard.. The train would need to be split to be placed under the shed for unloading.. For added interest, a regular flow of passing trains made up of pretty much anything that ran on the Irish network transferring from Dublin port/Connolly to Heuston/Inchicore/Cork line.. Cabra also received a few deliveries of smokeless fuel(I believe in Fertiliser wagons) which could be easily modelled.. 

- Athy Cement Factory, a relatively compact siding alongside the Canal, with cement wagons being discharged into a silo for the factory

Castlemungret and Platin are probably a bit on the large side, but a taster of them could probably be modelled, with clever use of a backscene to give the impression of a wagon loader as part of a bigger plant

[Mayner]

I worked on a construction project in Dublin during the late  90s and apart from the CDL/Gouldings siding i hadn't really thought of the potential of Dublin Port in terms of small layout for the 90s/00s era.

Although CDL traffic had ceased Dublin Port renewed the connection to CDL/former Gouldings factory and disconnected a number of disused sidings when it upgraded the Alexandra Road Tramway during the late 90s

Although traffic along the Alexandra road to and from the ESSO, Bitumen and Irish Rail fuel terminals appear to have been worked by Port Tractor, locomotive hauled mainly 141? workings operated along the Alexandra Rd Tramway to the short lined Container Terminal at the end of Alexandra Rd Tramway and the Ashai Chemical Terminal. The Asahi Trains ran round using a short loop within the Irish Ferries terminal on the south side of Alexandra Rd. The loop within the Irish Ferries premises was the terminal for B&I Liner trains during the 60s-70s.

As far as I recall a container train (from Cork) operated along the Tramway mid-late morning, while the Asahi Chemical train was an evening departure.

The trains handled at the Ashai terminal appeared to be relatively short , 42' flats used up to their final year of operation 1987?

Tank wagons worked along tramway by Dublin Port owned Tractors, but possibly a shunter or main-line loco in a main line scenario.

IRM/Heljan tankers--ESSO traffic

Containers-4w Flat Irish Tar and Bitumen, though some 1950s era tankers sitll used for storage inside terminal late 90s.

CIE?IE 1970s eara Fuel Tankers

Wagonload era sidings serving miltiple oil terminals, granaries and quays. Shell-BP Planet diesel shunting loco to early 1970s 

Scope for mionimal space/modular or quite large layouts.

Edited January 30 by Mayner