Ernies Massive Irish 1930's to 2005 Photo Archive

[Irishswissernie]

Dublin Connolly today.

CIE 1962-xx-xxca Dublin Connolly  ex GNRI 174

CIE 1962-xx-xxca Dublin Connolly unid J15

CIE 1962-xx-xxca Dublin Connolly ExGNR 'S' + A Class

CIE 1962-xx-xxca Dublin Connolly B129

 

[airfixfan]

Regarding the CDR tracklifting was finished to Donegal Town by August 1960

 Roger Joanes has a nice photo of Railcar 12 sitting in a rail less Donegal Town from August 1960. All rail lifting trains were finished by the end of August 1960.

[Galteemore]

Interesting to see how quickly some lines were lifted. I think my dad was still catching lifting trains around the Irish North in Fermanagh in 1960, lines which closed over 2 years before the CDR! The Cavan and Leitrim was also ripped up quite quickly. 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Galteemore

[Mayner]

14 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

Interesting to see how quickly some lines were lifted. I think my dad was still catching lifting trains around the Irish North in Fermanagh in 1960, lines which closed over 2 years before the CDR! The Cavan and Leitrim was also ripped up quite quickly. 

Traditionally the railways tried to lift and abandon closed lines as quickly as possible in order to dispose of the track bed and extinguish any potential liability claims.

A closed line continues to be a drain on the railways finances until the line is abandoned and and the trackbed sold.

I had a friend in BR who's job in the 1990s was extinguishing liabilities on lines closed during the Beeching era mainly transferring the liability for fencing lines and maintaining structures to landowners and councils. 

Presumably CIE/IE receives a Government payment to cover liability claims on disused lines, cost of maintaining fencing and road overbridges and some form of right off for the income it would have received from scrapping the line.

UK Councils got first refusal on closed railway lines from the late 60s, presumably the Irish Greenway movement allows CIE/IE to transfer the liability of closed/mothballed lines to the Councils in a similar manner as the transfer of the Canals to Waterways Ireland during the 1990s

[Galteemore]

The liability question is most interesting. British Railways Board had a considerable number of closed properties on its books until 2013, including Chelfham Viaduct on the L and B, a line which closed some 13 years before BR even existed - British Railways inherited the Southern’s liability.
 

The SLNC liquidators managed to sell off the NI assets within a year or so of closure, but struggled for quite a while to sell Weirs Bridge as it would have cost any contractor so much to dismantle.

Edited December 13, 2021 by Galteemore

[airfixfan]

Lifting trains on the Swiily started in September 1053 just 5 weeks after the final closure in August 1953

[jhb171achill]

3 hours ago, Galteemore said:

The liability question is most interesting. British Railways Board had a considerable number of closed properties on its books until 2013, including Chelfham Viaduct on the L and B, a line which closed some 13 years before BR even existed - British Railways inherited the Southern’s liability.
 

The SLNC liquidators managed to sell off the NI assets within a year or so of closure, but struggled for quite a while to sell Weirs Bridge as it would have cost any contractor so much to dismantle.

Interesting.

When the GNR lines in the west were all sacrificed on James Craig's political altar of still-unbuilt motorways in 1957, Senior was retained in Enniskillen for many months before being transferred to Amiens St., before taking up what would have been a temporary position in Great Victoria Street - but the division of what was left of the GNR some months later left him on the UTA side of the fence!

While IN Enniskillen post-closure, the matters you mention were exactly what he dealt with, including the removal of a brand new concrete bridge he had replaced months earlier!  I don't recollect all his utterances on this subject, but the girders from one underbridge somewhere on the Irish North ended up on the NCC during a bridge replacement there under his watch (1959-64), and the concrete beams for another Irish North underbridge remain buried (I know where!) near the line at Adelaide - they were cast but never used.

What a waste.

He also had to supervise the lifting of tracks he had maintained well only months earlier, and the removal of all sorts of other structures which GNR management thought might attract stone throwers or the then equivalent of claim-chasing morons....

[Irishswissernie]

3 from the late Alex Ford/Transport Library today.

AF0142 Limerick  Class D2,322  5July1950

AF1501 CIE Mullingar G2 666 30June1950

AF1500 CIE Bray G2 657 29June1950

 

[Lambeg man]

Hi Ernie, sorry to hear you have been unwell. Love the latest posting, in particular the above. I've never seen a photo of Amiens Street taken from position. Certainly was not aware of how straight the road in front of the shed ran. Excellent modelling information. Thank you.

[Irishswissernie]

A fair amount of negatives etc arrived whilst I was sampling Hospital hospitality and I am gradually working through them. There are approx 180 negs taken by the Roy Dennison and the CDRJC slides may also have been his work.

CDRJC 1960-06-xx Barnesmore Gap

CDRJC 1960-06-xx Strabane, these 2 post closure but before track lifting etc completed.

 CIE 1958-06-03 Valencia Harbour - I've acquired a donkey and cart for Glengarriff - just needs painting!

 

[Northroader]

Everything looks so much better in colour, but I still love the last shot. Three brilliant shots there.

[Galteemore]

Agreed. Hundreds of excellent photographers must have walked past scenes like this and simply not recorded them - understandably given the price of film! But this is a gem. 

[jhb171achill]

57 minutes ago, Irishswissernie said:

A fair amount of negatives etc arrived whilst I was sampling Hospital hospitality and I am gradually working through them. There are approx 180 negs taken by the Roy Dennison and the CDRJC slides may also have been his work.

CDRJC 1960-06-xx Barnesmore Gap

CDRJC 1960-06-xx Strabane, these 2 post closure but before track lifting etc completed.

 CIE 1958-06-03 Valencia Harbour - I've acquired a donkey and cart for Glengarriff - just needs painting!

 

This one's priceless. Now how do I organise a 00 scale working donkey cart for Dugort Harbour, complete with DCC chip stuffed up its.......well, you get the idea.

Actually, serious point. Horse or donkey carts were used even by CIE at several locations for local deliveries well into the 1970s; Loughrea had a CIE horse cart almost to the end in 1975. Does anyone make models of carts which resemble this typical rural Irish type, perhaps even with modern car tyres on it, as later ones (which I well remember) tended to have? Such a cart would make a very good scenic "prop" in many a 1960s (or earlier) goods yard.

5 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

Agreed. Hundreds of excellent photographers must have walked past scenes like this and simply not recorded them - understandably given the price of film! But this is a gem. 

As a child I remember asking Senior to take a picture of something - can't remember what it was - but the reply was "sure, who'd want a picture of that...."!

I'm quite sure many a wan would, nowadays!

[Galteemore]

7 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

This one's priceless. Now how do I organise a 00 scale working donkey cart for Dugort Harbour, complete with DCC chip stuffed up its.......well, you get the idea.

Actually, serious point. Horse or donkey carts were used even by CIE at several locations for local deliveries well into the 1970s; Loughrea had a CIE horse cart almost to the end in 1975. Does anyone make models of carts which resemble this typical rural Irish type, perhaps even with modern car tyres on it, as later ones (which I well remember) tended to have? Such a cart would make a very good scenic "prop" in many a 1960s (or earlier) goods yard.

As a child I remember asking Senior to take a picture of something - can't remember what it was - but the reply was "sure, who'd want a picture of that...."!

I'm quite sure many a wan would, nowadays!

JB - this is one I made from a 3mm kit, but Langley Models etc should do them in 4mm. Some parts from a car underframe might also make a fairly authentic one IIRC!

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by Galteemore

[Irishswissernie]

Mine is made by Dart Castings, 2 separate models of a donkey and what is described as a Farm dung cart I think. The cart is 8 castings and you could just leave off the body if you wanted to model the 'flatbed' version as at Valencia.

[airfixfan]

The 2nd colour photo post closure of Strabane is very interesting. This ties in with some similar photos of Strabane Yard about the same time. Then a big shunt.took place putting most locos and rolling stock into what became their more familiar final settings in Strabane waiting for a visit to the USA that never took place!

 

[Irishswissernie]

Three more Roy Denison views today, this time on the CB&SC.  First view shows 2 x  6 wheelers attached to the Bantry railcar at Albert Quay. Apparently these were detached at Drimoleague and added to the branch train to Baltimore (2nd view). They returned the next day via Drimoleague and then behind the railcar. 3rd Photo at Clonakilty Junction  June 1958.

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Irishswissernie

[Westcorkrailway]

2 hours ago, Irishswissernie said:

Three more Roy Dennison views today, this time on the CB&SC.  First view shows 2 x  6 wheelers attached to the Bantry railcar at Albert Quay. Apparently these were detached at Drimoleague and added to the branch train to Baltimore (2nd view). They returned the next day via Drimoleague and then behind the railcar. 3rd Photo at Clonakilty Junction  June 1958.

 

I believe it was usual on a Thursday for one extra 3 wheel coach to be attached to the end of a railcar set 

[Irishswissernie]

More from the Alex Ford/The Transport Library today, due to a cock up er technical error some of the file sizes are not very large. If anyone actually orders a scan or print from the Library please mention my name as it would facilitate me getting my hands on other Irish material hidden away in their Archives. 

AF0061 Harcourt St Dublin D10 310 27June50

AF0122 SLNC Sligo Goods branch 'Lurganboy' 3 July 1950

AF0130  SLNC Sligo 'Enniskillen' 3July1950

 

[Irishswissernie]

z040 CIE 1959-05-19 Kilfree Junction

z172 WCR 1961-01-xx Ennistymon

z174 CBSC 1961-01-13 Ballinascarthy

 

[Irishswissernie]

I've sorted out the Alex Ford images where I cocked up the file size so will eventually replace the small files already uploaded.

4 images today, 2 from Alex Ford/Transport Library and 2 from Roy Denison negs.

AF0103 CIE Dublin, Tara St. J15 172 27June 1950

AF0105 CIE Dublin Tara Street, Class F1 438 27June 1950

z122 CIE 1958-1959 ca Ballingrane

z120 CIE 1958-1959 ca Adare

 

[Irishswissernie]

z0853 CIE 1958-05-31 Sallins

GNRI 1967-03-04 Belfast GVS 117

GNRI 1967-06-07 Dundalk B153

 

[airfixfan]

Love the Blue and Cream AEC set

[Irishswissernie]

Kilfree Junction today 19 May 1959

 

[Irishswissernie]

Guinness Brewery 27 June 1950 & the SLNCR at Manorhamilton 1 July 1950 today , Alex Ford photographer.

 

[Billycan]

On the Guinness Brewery 27 June 1950 photo what make/model of cars should a modeller use for a taxi line like that?  Also, we are now familiar with Guinness keg liners from IRM, but what was in those wagons in the photo, crates of bottles, or barrels, or kegs, or what?  Any photos?

TIA

[Broithe]

20 minutes ago, Billycan said:

On the Guinness Brewery 27 June 1950 photo what make/model of cars should a modeller use for a taxi line like that?  

TIA

The front one has the 'look' of a Ford Model 40 'Fordor'?

[Irishswissernie]

Mainly barrels and crates in the vans. Here is a rake of vans alongside one of the loading (or unloading) platforms.

 

[Galteemore]

Lovely ones of Manorhamilton including the cattle dock, not often in shot. Notice the motorbike under a tarp. An animated scene outside the shed. Not sure if it’s a leaking gland or they are doing some outdoor blacksmithing!

[Irishswissernie]

z092 CIE 1958-06-02 Clonmel

z096 CIE 1958-06-03 Killorglin

z094 CIE 1958-06-03 Killarney

 

[jhb171achill]

Notice whether DSER or west Cork, it’s MGWR six-wheelers which dominate!

[Galteemore]

Loads to enjoy here. Note the PW crew stage right at Killorglin

[airfixfan]

57 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

Notice whether DSER or west Cork, it’s MGWR six-wheelers which dominate!

They were built to last!

[jhb171achill]

6 hours ago, airfixfan said:

They were built to last!

Correct!  Broadstone’s finest.

[Irishswissernie]

 z031 CDRJC 1959-05-15  Stranorlar. Even at this late date plenty of fresh white paint in evidence!

 z037 CIE 1959-05-18 Claremorris 590

z030 CDRJC 1959-05-15  Stranorlar, I hadn't noticed the separate loading platforms for the goods shed doorways before.

 

Edited December 24, 2021 by Irishswissernie