Found 6 old Lima CIE Vans

[Noel]

Only recently re-discovered that I had six late 1970s Lima CIE vans. I vaguely remember buying these in packs of three in WJ Owens of Bray which was 'the' best RC model aircraft shop in Ireland until the owner retired about 10 years ago, and during the 60s and 70s had also been quite a decent model railway shop as well as a specialist camera shop and an air-fix mecca. For me personally Bray lost its retail attraction when WJ Owens closed its doors for the last time. Aero modellers used to drive the length and breath of Ireland to get 'specialist' items from his 'Aladdin's' cave of goodies. Thankfully though Ireland now have some fabulous model railway shops.

 

I presume I could re-wheel these wagons, change the couplings, and add a touch of weathering to make them semi-CIE passable. Any suggestions welcome.

 

Lima CIE vans

Edited July 21, 2017 by Noel

[BosKonay]

Steel wheels and some dirt and they'll be just fine

[burnthebox]

Noel, whatever you do hold on to those, WJ Owens very sadly may be no more, a big loss to Bray ( well I remember visiting that great Model shop ) & coming out with my mouth hanging open at all the totally magical models of all kinds in that shop, aircraft, boats, trains, trucks etc. etc. I could go on, well done on your purchases all those yeas ago,

Edited October 28, 2014 by burnthebox

[murrayec]

Noel

 

WJ's was my number 1 shop, a big void opened up when they shut down!

 

The vans look great, yes dirty them up and maybe add some small weight when the steel wheels go on

 

Eoin

[WRENNEIRE]

Noel

Nice find

Do you still have their box's?

Never saw them in a three pack, and would love to do so if you still have them

As a collector I would say leave them as they are, and try not to run them too often!!

[aclass007]

Nice find! It might be worth getting a brake van to run on the end of the rake.....

[WRENNEIRE]

Think I might know someone who might have one lying around...

[Noel]

Nice find! It might be worth getting a brake van to run on the end of the rake.....

 

Think I might know someone who might have one lying around...

 

Wow - you guys are amazing and my memory is awful. Your post above got me digging and yes I have one - totally forgot. I just found it and took this pic. When one has been collecting this stuff for over 45 years and a near 20 year break from the hobby one might be forgiven for forgetting the contents of a few cardboard boxes of stock wrapped in grease proof paper and padded with old news papers.

 

Lima CIE Brake Van meets MM 083 with Lima CIE coaches in background (circa late 1970s I think, repainted BR mk1s).

 

If I remember correctly this brake van came with an o'rrible white roof so I painted it grey - about 37 years ago!

 

I will have to dig out some of the retired old Dublo locos.

Edited July 21, 2017 by Noel

[Noel]

Noel

Nice find

Do you still have their box's?

Never saw them in a three pack, and would love to do so if you still have them

As a collector I would say leave them as they are, and try not to run them too often!!

 

Hi WRENNEIRE.

In truth, I don't know if I still have the boxes, I doubt it, I would need to search the attic where I store the boxes of my rolling stock and locos. I have retained all boxes for the past 35 years, but before that it's a bit hit an miss. I will consider your advice about retaining them 'as is'. I have been considering either making or buying some display cases to retire stock for static display on track that I don't intend to run or run again (e.g. old Dublo, Triang, early Hornby locos that just don't run well and won't lend themselves to DCC conversion). These Limas and a lot of my old plastic wheeled hornby goods wagons may be candidates for static display.

Cheers

Noel

[burnthebox]

Noel, just a little curiosity, but any chance you might check the old newspapers & tell us something about the past,

[Noel]

Noel, just a little curiosity, but any chance you might check the old newspapers & tell us something about the past,

 

You won't believe it but Todd Andrews wants to close the Harcourt Street line. It'll never happen though.

[jhb171achill]

Noel, if you were hanging onto these as they are - go for it - but if you wanted to operate them on a layout and wanted greater realism as I found myself years ago, the usual repainting of chassis and roof in brown (as it should be) does wonders.

 

"Black chassis disease" for Irish goods stock is a Hornby-inspired inaccuracy which bedevils many a good layout....

 

(AND many a good preservation project; witness DCDR's plough van and CIE "H" van, RPSI's "Ivan" and the gunpowder van in Cultra - for starters....!)

[burnthebox]

Noel, if you were hanging onto these as they are - go for it - but if you wanted to operate them on a layout and wanted greater realism as I found myself years ago, the usual repainting of chassis and roof in brown (as it should be) does wonders.

 

"Black chassis disease" for Irish goods stock is a Hornby-inspired inaccuracy which bedevils many a good layout....

 

(AND many a good preservation project; witness DCDR's plough van and CIE "H" van, RPSI's "Ivan" and the gunpowder van in Cultra - for starters....!)

 

jhb17achill, any chance of some pics, would be a great help,

[DiveController]

jhb17achill, any chance of some pics, would be a great help,

 

I have heard you say that before. I have a rake of 6 or seven and may do that. Pics would be great

[jhb171achill]

Burnthebox, my own models were unfortunately handed onto another enthusiast maybe 25 years ago - but I'm assuming you mean photos of the real thing rather than my crude attempts. The archive of Ernie Brack on Flickr shows this type of thing to perfection. Ernie took some great photos of wagons back then. Various Colourpoint books show livery details too - albeit usually (obviously, prototypically) very heavily weathered!

 

Basically, Irish railways almost always* painted wagon chassis the same as body colour, buffers etc. included; whereas British Rail and Hornby painted them black!

 

CIE almost always painted wagon roofs the same as body colour too, though these weathered quicker....

 

 

* One exception was NCC "Brown Vans" which under NCC, UTA and also NIR ownership always had black chassis.... Other NCC wagons, along with GNR, GSR and CIE examples, had body colour chassis on all standard types.

Edited October 28, 2014 by jhb171achill

[burnthebox]

jhb, thanks but I was actually hoping to see your work at the painting, but alas it seem's that will not happen now,

[jhb171achill]

It was simple enough, Burnthebox. I bought some Hornby BR parcel vans which with corrugated ends looked very similar to the 1954 batch of vans built by the GNR for bagged cement traffic. After 1958 these spread throughout the CIE system and were to be seen among "H" vans, old wooden GSR vans and Pal-vans in every loose coupled goods until the mid 70s.

 

I simply repainted them head to toe in a plain Humbrol grey, or in some cases brown which was same as current CIE, and added crude weathering (thickish poster paint rubbed into cracks with fingers!).

 

My own layout was dismantled and given away when I acquired my first house in 1982! It had been based on Loughrea and had a cardboard G, and a "Q Kits" A and C - along with an LMS 2.6.4T masquerading as a "Jeep" and two BR class 31's, simply because I liked them!

 

Carriages were BR Mk. 1's, repainted in black'n'tan....

[burnthebox]

It was simple enough, Burnthebox. I bought some Hornby BR parcel vans which with corrugated ends looked very similar to the 1954 batch of vans built by the GNR for bagged cement traffic. After 1958 these spread throughout the CIE system and were to be seen among "H" vans, old wooden GSR vans and Pal-vans in every loose coupled goods until the mid 70s.

 

I simply repainted them head to toe in a plain Humbrol grey, or in some cases brown which was same as current CIE, and added crude weathering (thickish poster paint rubbed into cracks with fingers!).

 

My own layout was dismantled and given away when I acquired my first house in 1982! It had been based on Loughrea and had a cardboard G, and a "Q Kits" A and C - along with an LMS 2.6.4T masquerading as a "Jeep" and two BR class 31's, simply because I liked them!

 

Carriages were BR Mk. 1's, repainted in black'n'tan....

 

WOW, jhb171achill, what a sight that must have been, that's what I call enjoying your trains, it's what it's all about, well done sir,

[jhb171achill]

It kept me off the streets, Burnthebox!!!! ;-)

 

Well.... for a while..... !!!

[Noel]

Noel, if you were hanging onto these as they are - go for it - but if you wanted to operate them on a layout and wanted greater realism as I found myself years ago, the usual repainting of chassis and roof in brown (as it should be) does wonders.

 

"Black chassis disease" for Irish goods stock is a Hornby-inspired inaccuracy which bedevils many a good layout....

 

(AND many a good preservation project; witness DCDR's plough van and CIE "H" van, RPSI's "Ivan" and the gunpowder van in Cultra - for starters....!)

 

Thanks, that seems a good suggestion. Watching a recent Irish Railways DVD it brought back memories with clips of 001s and 141s pulling a few coaches with assorted goods vans and wagons attached and a brake van. Must have needed an interesting 'braking' technique in those mixed formations with the unbraked loose coupled wagons behind the passenger coach(es). The driver must have been careful to initially slow the train gently so all the wagons closed up on their buffers before applying more braking action (i.e. avoid multiple shunt bumps against the passenger coaches as each wagon closed the gap between buffers).