Ernies Massive Irish 1930's to 2005 Photo Archive

airfixfan · April 19, 2023

Another nice new Donegal.photo

Gabhal Luimnigh · April 19, 2023

This is the page that I love seeing the updates on, the photographs are absolutely gorgeous and hugely informative, thanks for all your efforts.

Irishswissernie · April 19, 2023

Scanned this slide recently , Aghadavoyle area with a WT heading north with a dead VS probably 207 in the train followed by (I think) one of the ex GNRI bogie grain wagons ca August 1964. If it was 207, CIE sold the loco to the UTA in June 1963 so probably not it being delivered to them but maybe after having failed in the Republic.

GNRI 1964-08-xx Aghadavoyle WT + dead VS possibly 207 ds t050

Newtoncork · April 19, 2023

What a great photo of Rocksavage. I used to cycle over that bridge in the early 80's. as a kid. Now a service station but some arches are still in-situ. Bet the people using the service station have no idea of the history of the site. Thanks!

jhb171achill · April 19, 2023

2 hours ago, Irishswissernie said:

Scanned this slide recently , Aghadavoyle area with a WT heading north with a dead VS probably 207 in the train followed by (I think) one of the ex GNRI bogie grain wagons ca August 1964. If it was 207, CIE sold the loco to the UTA in June 1963 so probably not it being delivered to them but maybe after having failed in the Republic.

The van is a "P" van, used for newspaper traffic mostly, but also any sort of general parcels traffic by rail, and mailbags on occasion. The CIE van next to it looks like an ex-GNR one; for modellers, it isn't brown - nothiong with a flyiong snail ever was - it's grey covered with a lot of brake dust! Bear in mind that as now, but more so in the past, "weathering" tended to be a brownish rather than greyish colour, due to oxidisation of brake dust from brake shoes. Can't make out what type of coach it is - no doubt ex-GNR - but as a very outside chance possibly NCC; but it's in UTA green, of course.

I wonder if this could be when the loco was heading north following its sale to the UTA?

Irishswissernie · April 19, 2023

30 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

I wonder if this could be when the loco was heading north following its sale to the UTA?

The slide date is August 1964 which is over a year after, according to Locos of the GNRI the loco was sold by CIE (June 1963)

airfixfan · April 20, 2023

By that stage the only VS left in traffic was 207. Maybe Boyne had failed at Dundalk?

Irishswissernie · April 21, 2023

This glass negative arrived today.

Cork & Muskerry Rly, 4-4-0t No 1 built by the Falcon Engine Co of Loughborough in 1887 originally as a 2-4-0t. Neg says GSR period so between 1925 and December 1934 when line was closed.

C&M 1930 ca Cork, Western Road station No 1 built By Falcon Engine Co. Loughborough 1887

minister_for_hardship · April 21, 2023

Barely visible is the "K", GSR suffix for the Muskerry, making it 1K.

Formerly "City Of Cork", now sheepdipped grey.

Irishswissernie · April 22, 2023

Courtmacsherry 6 November 1960 552.

Clonsilla 5 September 1953. In the distance it looks like a goods train waiting to come off the Meath line or possibly recessed to let the railcar past.

Belfast Adelaide shed 207 May 1964.

Feb23Med025 Belfast Adelaide 207 May 1964

Mayner · April 22, 2023

1 hour ago, Irishswissernie said:

Courtmacsherry 6 November 1960 552.

Clonsilla 5 September 1953. In the distance it looks like a goods train waiting to come off the Meath line or possibly recessed to let the railcar past.

Belfast Adelaide shed 207 May 1964.

Most likely an Up Meath Road Goods hauled by a Cattle Engine. There were three return goods trains between North Wall and Kingscourt weekly during the 1950s most likely departing Dublin on M,W, F returning T,Th and Sat with the loco shedded over night in Kingscourt. Traffic to Dublin appears to have been mainly bricks from Kingscourt and general goods traffic from Navan with light traffic from intermediate stations. There is a photo of a Cattle Engine on an up-goods passing Gibbstown during the same era in a "Decade of Steam" the train consist (not very long) was mainly open wagons and a couple of vans.

leslie10646 · April 22, 2023

On 19/4/2023 at 2:14 PM, Irishswissernie said:

Scanned this slide recently , Aghadavoyle area with a WT heading north with a dead VS probably 207 in the train followed by (I think) one of the ex GNRI bogie grain wagons ca August 1964. If it was 207, CIE sold the loco to the UTA in June 1963 so probably not it being delivered to them but maybe after having failed in the Republic.

If the photo was taken in 1964, then I can't help with this, but Jim's surmise above (that No.207 had failed at Dundalk) is probably correct.

Why? Well on 15 July 1965 I was on the 0925 excursion with No.207, hauling 10 bogies. She ran to Dundlak, non-stop in 83 minues (Schedule 81) and was declared a failure with a Hot Box (which one I didn't record!). She was replaced by A19 which struggled up Castlebellingham in the forties (the VS would have been around a mile a minute here) and then failed at Drogheda. A27 took over and struggled to get into even the low fifties - mind you they were still with their original engines then!

For the return journey, WT No.56 had a reduced laod of eight coaches and ran like the wind throughout - with a full 75mph inn the Knockarney Dip.

Irishswissernie · April 23, 2023

Dunsandle station 4 November 1960.

Birr station 6 November 1960.

Mallow, 207 OOU ca 1959.

Westcorkrailway · April 23, 2023

52 minutes ago, Irishswissernie said:

.

Mallow, 207 OOU ca 1959.

An awful lot of 207 has survived into preservation. There are bits and pieces everywhere ranging from the numberplate to the dome!

airfixfan · April 23, 2023

Numberplate of 207 Boyne on display at Bangor last weekend.

StevieB · April 23, 2023

Do we have two 207’s here.

Stephen

Edited April 23, 2023 by StevieB

Westcorkrailway · April 23, 2023

32 minutes ago, StevieB said:

Do we have two 207’s here.

Stephen

Yes. GNR 207 and GSWR 207. I was referring to the GSWR tank engine seen in ernies pick.

Irishswissernie · April 24, 2023

Cork City Railway 464, 17 March 1961, a previously published view , I now have the original John Phillips slide.

Cavan & Leitrim Railway 2L arriving at Ballinamore from Dromod June 1957

NCC / UTA Class A1 No 69 but I divvent nar whar this one is like. Looks a bit rural for York Road, Ca1950.

C&L 1957-06 Ballinamore 2L arriving from Dromod. LN172

StevieB · April 24, 2023

10 hours ago, Westcorkrailway said:

Yes. GNR 207 and GSWR 207. I was referring to the GSWR tank engine seen in ernies pick.

And it’s the latter whose bits can be found all over Ireland.

Stephen

Galteemore · April 24, 2023

Looks a bit like Ballymena for the A1

Westcorkrailway · April 24, 2023

8 minutes ago, Irishswissernie said:

Cork City Railway 464, 17 March 1961, a previously published view , I now have the original John Phillips slide.

One of the classic west cork shots. I don’t think many books have omitted this image!

3 minutes ago, StevieB said:

And it’s the latter whose bits can be found all over Ireland.

Stephen

Yes, although the GNR 207 deffinetly had many surviving bits and peices. I found it strange how much of the GSWR tank engine survived. Perhaps it was cut up in that siding in mallow and the GSRPS found bits of it….perhaps it was easier to nick stuff in mallow then it was in the scrap yard. But about 5 or 6 significant bits survive

minister_for_hardship · April 24, 2023

Perhaps the scrappers were giving away, or selling or appropriating bits for themselves.

A dome is hardly the sort of thing you could walk off with in your pocket. I imagine it would not have happened as much in a scrap line sealed off from public view behind the walls of Inchicore.

airfixfan · April 25, 2023

Tend to agree NCC photo of 69 appears to be Ballymena

Edited April 25, 2023 by airfixfan

Irishswissernie · April 25, 2023

Cork, Kent 1950's.

Crusheen, ex M&GW TPO! extremely doubtful that it was in revenue service.

Cork, Glanmire Road "aBANDONed" Tank 470.

Irishswissernie · April 27, 2023

Clonakilty shed 17 March 1961. amended date confirmed.

3 views of County Donegal Railways wagons, poor negs.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Irishswissernie

Westcorkrailway · April 27, 2023

9 minutes ago, Irishswissernie said:

Clonakilty shed probably 17 March 1961.

….

the only reason it might not be that date is the lack enthusiasts surrounding the tank engine! Otherwise Bandon tanks didn’t go down the clonakilty branch too often

otherwise it’s 99 percent 17th of March ‘61

if you look at my profile picture, it’s the same view from a different angle

Mayner · April 27, 2023

On 25/4/2023 at 7:07 PM, Irishswissernie said:

Cork, Kent 1950's.

Crusheen, ex M&GW TPO! extremely doubtful that it was in revenue service.

Cork, Glanmire Road "aBANDONed" Tank 470.

I am not sure if TPOs ran on the WLWR line, at the time the daily Limerick-Sligo train was usually operated as an AEC railcar set, the Limerick-Galway train was a loco hauled (A Class) Mail based in Limerick possibly with a TPO. The late 50s built Bogie and 4W TPOs may have struggled to provide cover for all mail trains before the line closures of the 1960s

Possibly a cripple shunted out of a train (especially with the net) en-route from Limerick Works to Sligo or Athenry, ex MGWR TPOs appear to have been in use on the Midland until the (very) early 60s.

jhb171achill · April 27, 2023

On 24/4/2023 at 8:37 AM, Galteemore said:

Looks a bit like Ballymena for the A1

Was thinking that, yes - though after the Jeeps were delivered, these locos were apparently much less seen anywhere other than the Larne line. According to the late Harold Houston of the NCC, they "couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding", so by 1950 (according to the late Nelson Poots plus jhb171Snr) were primarily found between York Road and Larne. So while I'd agree it's Ballymena, it begs the question what the loco is doing there.......probably a local passenger from Belfast.

The Midland TPO is an interesting one too. I would agree that it's possibly a "cripple" normally used on the up Sligo Day Mail (as suggested above) en route to Limerick for attention. It's tempting to guess it's run a hot box and been shunted off there, As per Mayner's opinion too, I can't see one of those in use on the Sligo - Limerick line - in fact I'd lay money on it that they didn't. None of the stations had snatchers for one thing.

When I travelled over that line (albeit from Ballina to Limerick, not from Sligo), mail bags were being loaded and unloaded by hand into and from the tin van on the train at Claremorris.

airfixfan · April 27, 2023

NCC loco could have been on the Derry Central? Those poor CDR wagon photos could be from the same mystery source that I have acquired for the Donegal Centre?

jhb171achill · April 27, 2023

2 hours ago, airfixfan said:

NCC loco could have been on the Derry Central? Those poor CDR wagon photos could be from the same mystery source that I have acquired for the Donegal Centre?

Could be - several old 4.4.0s were banished there too!