Ernies Massive Irish 1930's to 2005 Photo Archive

[Irishswissernie]

 

Lots of things going on at the moment , the more pleasant being the large amount of material being proccessed. Here are a few 'tasters'.

Waterford & Tramore ,Park Royal Driving Trailer.

I have about 50 slides of demolition  activities on the Donegal in 1960 covering Erne in steam at Letterkenny and Meenglas on the West Donegal through Barnesmore (not titled up yet)

The UTA 1964 slides I started last year are still not sorted as I am awaiting the final batch of 60 but here's one at Finaghy with 171  arriving on the 8.15 to GVS

 

[airfixfan]

21 minutes ago, Irishswissernie said:

 

Lots of things going on at the moment , the more pleasant being the large amount of material being proccessed. Here are a few 'tasters'.

Waterford & Tramore ,Park Royal Driving Trailer.

I have about 50 slides of demolition  activities on the Donegal in 1960 covering Erne in steam at Letterkenny and Meenglas on the West Donegal through Barnesmore (not titled up yet)

The UTA 1964 slides I started last year are still not sorted as I am awaiting the final batch of 60 but here's one at Finaghy with 171  arriving on the 8.15 to GVS

 

Love the new Donegal photos. Cannot wait for more!

[Mol_PMB]

Very interesting to see the driving trailer in use. I had imagined that it was intended for a short 2-car power+trailer set, but the photo shows it as part of a 4-car set with the pair of railcars at one end, rather than sandwiching the trailers. Presumably this required less shunting when the normal 2-car set needed extending to 4 at busy times. 

It's also a reminder that the 1950s CIE modernisation wasn't limited to the main lines, and even the W&T received a modern fleet.

 

I hope all goes well with your other commitments and I look forward to the future batches of photos.

[Horsetan]

2 hours ago, Irishswissernie said:

...I have about 50 slides of demolition  activities on the Donegal in 1960 covering Erne in steam at Letterkenny and Meenglas on the West Donegal through Barnesmore (not titled up yet)....

Of all the many photos of the CDR, we don't see many of the lifting of the lines in 1960, so these will no doubt be a useful addition to the knowledge.

Always thought it was a shame that logistics meant that the Letterkenny line was lifted into Letterkenny, rather than the other way around into Lifford / Strabane as that might have increased the chances of Erne surviving rather than being isolated.

[airfixfan]

When the line closed the road bridge to Lifford was too weak to take lorries. Line quickly lifted to Lifford by Phoenix

 Erne used to lift most of the Letterkenny branch and why it ended up in Letterkenny. Have a new book on the railways of Strabane being launched in Donegal Towm on February 23rd

[exciecoachbuilder]

8 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

Very interesting to see the driving trailer in use. I had imagined that it was intended for a short 2-car power+trailer set, but the photo shows it as part of a 4-car set with the pair of railcars at one end, rather than sandwiching the trailers. Presumably this required less shunting when the normal 2-car set needed extending to 4 at busy times. 

It's also a reminder that the 1950s CIE modernisation wasn't limited to the main lines, and even the W&T received a modern fleet.

 

I hope all goes well with your other commitments and I look forward to the future batches of photos.

Park Royal driving trailer? That's a new one for me.

[Irishswissernie]

CIE 1961-06-08 Dromod B129 yj211.

GMK055 CIE 1955-xx Cobh Station .

GMK056 CIE 1961-04-xx Dun Laoghaire C229.

 

 

[Irishswissernie]

CIE 1964-06-xx Dublin Amiens St E413 yj342.

CIE 1964-06-xx Dublin Amiens St E413 yj343.

CDRJC 1957-xxCA Stranorlar East Box KB yj050.

 

[Mol_PMB]

Super! Thank you for the E photos!

[airfixfan]

3 hours ago, Irishswissernie said:

CIE 1964-06-xx Dublin Amiens St E413 yj342.

CIE 1964-06-xx Dublin Amiens St E413 yj343.

CDRJC 1957-xxCA Stranorlar East Box KB yj050.

 

Nice photo of Stranorlar East cabin

[Irishswissernie]

CIE 1967 CA Galway A43 25j+083.

CIE ca1965-7 Coach 1312.

CIE ca1965-67 Lismore station

 

 

[Irishswissernie]

GNRI 1957-06-07 Dungannon 130 LN1041.

GMK066 GNRI 1955-xx 3rd ex Lav 3rd 12 .C337.

GMK062 CIE 1961-04-xx Inchicore Buffet 2407. C381

 

 

[leslie10646]

Whoever took the Dungannon photo must have been one of the Loco Club of GB's group led by Lance King, whose colour slide I have. Lance's shot doesn't show the porter with that ubiquitous wicker-bodied luggage troller. A good model of a 3D print, perhaps. We GN men would like a few each!

[Paul 34F]

I’ve spotted something different in each of the two GNRI photos.  The M1 van, (looks like 453), at Dungannon has had its lower beading renewed with flat strip instead of half round.

To the right of the image of K3, No.12, there is a K15.  This is one of the first built, as it has a Truss Rod underframe, instead of the LMS style angle iron framing, which all later builds had.

Paul

[leslie10646]

It IS 453, very clear in the c colour slide.

[Patrick Davey]

Fantastic view of Finaghy Ernie - thanks for that, where it all started for me!!

Note the signal box beyond the bridge, the large GNR shelter on the down platform (there was a shorter one on the up platform to the left of where the photographer is standing) and of course the Finaghy Road North bridge itself, long before it was vandalised....

Edited February 24 by Patrick Davey

[Galteemore]

It’s great pic Patrick. Also shows the dying days of GN steam - 171 was eking out her last days before preservation. 

Edited February 24 by Galteemore

[Irishswissernie]

CIE 1962-09 Youghal 262 yj199.

CIE 1962-09-01 Bruree 183 TJE  yj201.

CIE 1962-09 Youghal B126 yj200

 

 

[Mayner]

58 minutes ago, Irishswissernie said:

CIE 1962-09 Youghal 262 yj199.

CIE 1962-09-01 Bruree 183 TJE  yj201.

CIE 1962-09 Youghal B126 yj200

 

 

 

The changes at Youghal between the 1960s and closure are quite striking. The buildings (hotels and guest-houses) damaged/destroyed as a result of Storm struck Youghal in 1962.

At one stage there were several long platforms for seaside excursion trains on the seaward side of the platform, reduced to a single long platform following the storm

 https://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitions/1916-amateur-films/651943-storm-damage-youghal-1962/

[Irishswissernie]

Records say the date of the storm was in March 1962 so the date on the slide is a bit late as there are carriages in the bay on the B126 view.

 

Edited March 2 by Irishswissernie

[Mayner]

On 3/3/2025 at 12:20 AM, Irishswissernie said:

Records say the date of the storm was in March 1962 so the date on the slide is a bit late as there are carriages in the bay on the B126 view.

 

The O'Dea Collection photo indicates that there was once an island platform on the seaward side of the main & bay platform. https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000305132

Some idea of the level of seaside excursion traffic Youghal once capable of handling 3 full length passenger trains.

When I first visited the station in the late 70s all the buildings on the seaward side of the station had been removed possibly replaced by a new sea wall/coastal defence work, the station retained a long bay platform that appeared to be seldom used.

[jhb171achill]

On 7/2/2025 at 6:53 PM, exciecoachbuilder said:

Park Royal driving trailer? That's a new one for me.

It was single unique vehicle, specially converted for the Waterford & Tramore. After it closed, it was re-converted to "irdinary" format and returned to the main line.

On 5/2/2025 at 1:41 PM, Irishswissernie said:

Well I'm stuck on the location for this one! Its a print with copyright as the negatives have been thrown out. I can't therefore enlarge the details much but the lines to the left are the problem as there seems to be a line of cattle wagons in the distance next to the building on the skyline at a height above the main sidings. Ideas anyone? 

Foynes train leaving Limerick.

[jhb171achill]

On 24/12/2024 at 3:11 PM, Mol_PMB said:

I hope you can have a relaxing lie-in tomorrow morning then! Another wonderful selection of photos - many thanks.

The Connolly shot is interesting for the variety of traction and the variety of shades of orange - proof that they didn't always match and that variations in paint colour, fading and weathering could give substantial differences even on fairly clean locos and carriages.

 

Before my time period, didn't the GNR 4-4-0s look wonderful in blue, whether they were big or small ones!

They did match them perfectly when painted; it's just that as you suggest, weathering varied them, as with anything.

On 9/12/2024 at 4:46 AM, David Holman said:

Try enlarging the photo. It is very much black and the only dirt appears to be water marks down the tank side. The A class is typically work stained.

 Am sure have seen other colour photos of locos with black buffer beams too.

Very much so - absolute black but with filth - but they were actually painted red, always!

[jhb171achill]

On 21/11/2024 at 2:56 PM, Mol_PMB said:

Super, many thanks for the detailed views of the wagonry. The side of the brakevan looks very presentable (and even has shaded numbering!) but the roof is in a terrible state!

Saw that, yes. the lettering is in pale green in a style only used for a short time after the GSR became CIE. Yet, the flyiong snail, which at the same time (1945-8, maybe) would also have been fully painted in pale green, is now a late 1950s white-painted stencil!

[Irishswissernie]

CIE 1964-06 Westport Quay 130 yj317.  

CIE 1982-06-28 Athlone MGW, 141 yj183.

CIE 1982-06-28 Athlone 054  yj184.

 

[Mol_PMB]

Lovely!

Some nice little details to catch the eye there. 

141 has large shaded numerals on the cab front, relatively unusual and only applied to the first few 141s repainted in supertrain livery. Most had small unshaded numerals.

054 has the horn pointing straight towards the photographer, rather than forward along the track. Note also the small lettering on the lower bodyside, not often seen so clearly, not often modelled.

[Irishswissernie]

I have uploaded a series of 13 views at Letterkenny CDRJC station taken after closure but with loco Erne in steam working on the demolition train. Here is a selection.

 

They are on the last page of the Album which is now up to 472 images with a fair few more (63 just counted them) of the system still to be added.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/albums/72157662649694575/

 

Edited Saturday at 09:09 by Irishswissernie

[airfixfan]

What a pity Erne was scrapped as it was painted in Swilly green

[jhb171achill]

On 5/3/2025 at 9:02 AM, Mol_PMB said:

Lovely!

Some nice little details to catch the eye there. 

141 has large shaded numerals on the cab front, relatively unusual and only applied to the first few 141s repainted in supertrain livery. Most had small unshaded numerals.

They all, or almost all, had shaded numerals when first repainted from black'n'tan in the early 70s. When the background was orange, as on 141s, the shading was black. When the background was black, as on an "A", the shading was orange.

It seems that the shaded end numbers lasted only a very short time on "A"s and "C"s, from memory, possibly only some ever having had them at all, and I never saw them at all on a 101. On the 121, 141 & 181 classes they did seem to last a bit longer, which leads me to think that while most probably had them replaced with plain numbers at first repaint, it's possible that others got a second painting of shaded numerals. By degrees, of course, all lost them.

The other possibility is that with the GMs being almost constantly in traffic, they mightn't have had time to repaint them as often, leading to the shaded version lasting a bit longer on these.

56 minutes ago, airfixfan said:

What a pity Erne was scrapped as it was painted in Swilly green

....or a very rough approximation thereof!

[Mol_PMB]

2 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

They all, or almost all, had shaded numerals when first repainted from black'n'tan in the early 70s. When the background was orange, as on 141s, the shading was black. When the background was black, as on an "A", the shading was orange.

It seems that the shaded end numbers lasted only a very short time on "A"s and "C"s, from memory, possibly only some ever having had them at all, and I never saw them at all on a 101. On the 121, 141 & 181 classes they did seem to last a bit longer, which leads me to think that while most probably had them replaced with plain numbers at first repaint, it's possible that others got a second painting of shaded numerals. By degrees, of course, all lost them.

The other possibility is that with the GMs being almost constantly in traffic, they mightn't have had time to repaint them as often, leading to the shaded version lasting a bit longer on these.

....or a very rough approximation thereof!

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that then. My study of hundreds of photos suggests otherwise.

[jhb171achill]

5 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that then. My study of hundreds of photos suggests otherwise.

I saw them.............

[BSGSV]

On 4/3/2025 at 1:32 AM, jhb171achill said:

It was single unique vehicle, specially converted for the Waterford & Tramore. After it closed, it was re-converted to "irdinary" format and returned to the main line.

Didn't work between closure of the W&T and conversion to an Ambulance carriage.