Pictures taken in 1977/8 on CIE system

[jhb171achill]

Folks

 

I've found a few pictures I took in the mid / late 70s. None are publishable quality as I had an old steam-powered camera then, and I've copied them in poor light with an iPad.

 

However, the point is to show some sort of snapshot of what things were like then. Train make-ups, liveries and lineside / station details are worth noting for modellers interested in this period. I'll post more as time allows.

 

Now, this one won't go the right way up, so it must be Australian. It's a local leaving Limerick for the junction in June 1978. Note the variety of coaching stock; no two were the same. On occasion, due to a shortage of stock, catering cars were included in local train consists. Needless to say, they were for seating only and Mk catering service was provided.

 

 

Edited December 27, 2014 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

Bubbles were standard wagon grey when delivered but from the early 70s were painted orange, with stencilled lettering and grey chassis. The black chassis / cream body with "Irish Cement" was to appear many years later, and quickly get covered in a thick coat of cement.

 

In "orange" days, a dusting of "icing sugar" on top was more often the case. This example was at Heuston goods sidings in 1977.

 

[jhb171achill]

I can't make them the right way up!!!! Help!!!!

 

Recent posts on IRM have concerned tankers. This example was in North Wall, 1977 or 1978.

 

If anyone's interested in exact locations or dates for any of the pics I'm going to post, just ask.

 

[jhb171achill]

So now you know Australian trains are identical to CIE ones.

 

Here's Inchicore in the mid 70s. G's in varying states of undress were to be seen about the place, particularly after the Loughrea branch closed.

 

 

[jhb171achill]

When the 071s were brand new the shade of orange was very distinctly browner, the CIE roundel was larger than usual and had a white (instead of tan) surround. The new loco heads from Heuston to Waterford one day in 1977.

 

[jhb171achill]

Kilkenny, 1976. "H" vans abound, as they did on almost all goods trains. Brown ones outweighed still-grey ones about 6 to 4. The odd one had replaced door or doors of the other colour.

 

 

 

 

Note that when a grey wagon had a CIE roundel, it was always surrounded by a tan circle, not white; this applied to H vans and palvans. However, all-white roundels were very occasionally seen on wooden planked opens.

[patrick]

Maybe not of publishable quality but invaluable to the historic record and as a resource for modellers of the era. Do please post more. The photo of the brown H van with the grey doors is interesting for another reason. The sliding door palvan next to it has a combination x bracing/corrugated end. They were built with three different ends. From the photos I have seen most were either one or the other.

[josefstadt]

Pic turned JHB

Edited December 29, 2014 by josefstadt

[josefstadt]

Pics turned JHB

[railtec-transfers]

Wonderful photos, especially of the freight stock.

[enniscorthyman]

Great photos, thanks for sharing.

[burnthebox]

Love those photo's & yes I really liked the shots of the freight wagons, I also really like the pics of the Shunters, well done, ps can anyone continue & turn the rest of the photo's please, thanks in advance

[heirflick]

 

...great pic! now I know what to do with my old Hornby Esso tank wagons!

[DiveController]

Great thread JHB…. keep it coming:tumbsup:

Thanks Josefstadt for helping my neck strain with technical assistance;)

[jhb171achill]

Thanks for turning them, josefstadt..... I still can't understand why they would only upload upside down!

[jhb171achill]

 

Another candidate for josefstadt to turn! An "A" takes a few bubbles for a spin, in summer 1977. Sorry for quality.

Edited January 1, 2015 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

E434 pushes Mk 2's about at Heuston, summer 1977. There were always 2 or 3 "E" class locos bumbling about Heuston. One would shunt rakes of carriages out of arrival platforms, allowing brand new 071s, "A"'s or "pairs" to release and speed off up the hill to Inchicore. Another might be found about the Guinness yard (I have silent cine of either 432 or 434 in there), while another was in the goods yard where the car park now is.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16615[/ATTACH]

[jhb171achill]

While most guards vans were the standard CIE design by 1970, a very few older ones struggled on a not longer. This long lived example of GSWR origin was pictured in a scrap line in 1978; I think I saw another in Tralee a couple of years before that.

 

This one still has its snail, as some still-grey wagons did at the time (especially H vans).

 

Incidentally, brown wagons never had snails, as this logo was discontinued about 8 or 9 years before wagons started being painted brown.

 

Of standard CIE types, they were initially grey with duckets included. The yellow and black stripes on the duckets were added later. In brown days, duckets were always striped yellow and black.

 

An example in the UFTM in Cultra has black and white stripes on the ducket, as well as a wrongly proportioned CIE roundel. They were never painted thus, and didn't even look that way when weathered or faded.

 

Modellers are advised to be very wary of copying liveries from the preservation world. All of the major players; RPSI, DCDR and UFTM, have many examples of convincing-looking, and well painted, but utterly wrong liveries. Preserved CDR railcars in Finntown and Derry have wrong CDR crests, and I could go on.....

 

Edited January 1, 2015 by jhb171achill

[Mayner]

The ex GSWR12ton brakes may have been retained for use with G Class locos on the Loughrea and possibly the Castleisland/Fenit branches. I am not sure if the Loughea branch brake survives, the van was partially restored by Westrail the bodywork later burnt by vandals.

 

One of the interesting features of these vans was that like the GWR Toad vans in the UK the guard had to go out on to one of the verandas to apply the brake.

Edited January 1, 2015 by Mayner

[jhb171achill]

I think this is the one which was preserved, Mayner. It was vandalised at Tuam some years ago (the preserved one) but survived and is not at Dunsandle.

[jhb171achill]

 

Livery as well as weathering information.

 

Newish Tara's, 1978, North Wall. They were originally blue all over - a mid royal blue. After a while they'd get covered in dust.

[jhb171achill]

 

The UTA painted some wagons a reddish bauxite brown from the early 60s for a very few years until they finished with freight. This example was in Antrim ballast siding in June 1976.

 

It will be noted that NIR have cut down the sides which were originally the height of the ends, on all these wagons. It will also be noted that NIR overpainted their numerals and lettering over the "U T". They didn't bother repainting this wagon in their very pale grey livery.

 

That said, the pale grey wagon livery ŵhich NIR adopted was used for (a) very few wagons as goods had finished; and (b) on account of that, the repainted or re-lettered ones were only used for ballast trains.

 

The NCC guards van on the DCDR and the surviving "Ivan" (GNR brake van) at Whitehead were used for this purpose, and there was at least one other ex GNR van too. It survived at Downpatrick having been saved, and its parts were used in the restoration of "Ivan".

 

The DCDR (NCC) van is currently painted in this NIR grey livery, although it's incorrectly lettered "U T". The UTA painted these vans a much darker grey - darker than CIE used and more like English LMS grey, ironwork included.

 

The black ironwork on both the NCC van and "Ivan" is not correct. The NIR livery using black ironwork is therefore rare on three counts: firstly, only a few ballast wagons and a handful of guards vans ever got it (no goods vans at all), secondly it was very short lived, and thirdly it is one of the extremely few examples of an Irish railway company painting a goods vehicle one body colour, but with chassis and ironwork picked out in black.

 

To the right of the wagon above is one painted light grey by NIR, but no black ironwork! The grey paint was very poorly applied on all wagons thus painted and would show the original UTA paintwork beneath it very quickly.

 

The wagon above is one of those built for the Courtaulds traffic in Carrickfergus.

[jhb171achill]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16619[/ATTACH]

 

The end of the MEDs. They were gathered in Antrim GNR yard and vandals burnt the last ones out as shown here about 1980.

 

Nobody was remotely interested in preserving them! It would be different nowadays. I have to confess to never having liked them at all - they were noisy and extremely uncomfortable to travel in, and often filled with nauseous diesel fumes.

[jhb171achill]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16620[/ATTACH]

 

I photographed this former horsebox at Athlone in 1977. I'm not sure of its provenance, but I suspect it's ex GSWR.

 

Anyone here got access to the list of departmental "A" numbers? That would indicate its original number. If that had no suffix it is GSWR or even WLWR. It might, however, have an "M" or "D", indicating MGWR or DSER ancestry.

 

At this stage it was a sleeping van.

[jhb171achill]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16621[/ATTACH]

 

This station seat sign in white lettering on blue enamel background, indicating that it is an original MGWR sign, surviving GSR days well into CIE days. This picture was taken on 1st November 1975, two days before the branch closed. Behind it, a "C" class sat in the bay platform with a single laminate brake standard, the Loughrea branch set for the day.

 

The MGWR painted stations and signal cabins a bright red and buff-shade cream, with dark blue signage as above.

[jhb171achill]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16622[/ATTACH]

 

It's summer 1975 and the Limerick Ballina train has paused here. It consisted of 192, two work-stained laminates and a four wheel "tin van" with a noticeably lopsided gait.

 

This shows the then standard CIE station signage. The Irish and English versions were the same typeface. A few stations retained GSR black enamel signs with the Irish version in Gaelic script. The Foynes branch and, I think possibly Bray and Bagenalstown, were examples of this. Limerick and Midleton signal cabins had GSR signs too, as did what I think was the last survivor even in recent years, Cherryville junction cabin (albeit painted).

[jhb171achill]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16623[/ATTACH]

 

In advance of a royal visit Ireland (I think it was the Queen of either Belgium or the Netherlands) one single loco was specially repainted, and as a result wore silver tablet catchers for a while.

 

This picture was taken at Moate. It is the midday down Westport train.

[jhb171achill]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16624[/ATTACH]

 

A two plank ballast wagon of GSR ancestry, 1976.

[Dunluce Castle]

The pictures aren't showing up for me

[josefstadt]

Pics in posts 16 and 21 turned JHB. However the pics in posts 17 and 23 - 28 won't open, showing as 'Invalid Attachment'.

[heirflick]

Great pic of the A class with the taramines! Bty Johnathan- why were the wagons cut down?

[jhb171achill]

I'm not sure, Heirflick - I thought they were the same all along.... The pic has them with their lids on, of course....

[jhb171achill]

I'm going to have another go at listing the pics which didn't seem to show above. They are, in order, a burnt MED at Antrim, an old horse box at Athlone converted into a sleeping van, a former MGWR station seat sign at Attymon, a standard 1960-80 era CIE station sign at Ardrahan, an old two-plank CIE ballast wagon of GSR origin (I think; maybe v early CIE), and a double headed Galway / Westport train leaving Moate with loco 186 in proud possession of silver tanker catchers.

 

See above captions for full descriptions. All photos were taken between 1975 and 1980. May contain traces of nuts. Please do not try this at home. Terms and conditions apply.

......

 

[jhb171achill]

 

 

[jhb171achill]

 

This was the only loco ever to have silver tablet catchers, and it was short lived...

 

And finally, an extra one....

 

By the late 70s, most G class locos had migrated to Inchicore. The Loughrea branch had just closed - it had always occupied a couple at least, while others in their day shunted as far afield as Ballina, Dundalk and Tralee, as well as in Inchicore.

 

This forlorn example in summer 1975 (an absolute scorcher of a summer!) was in this twilight position of being fixable, and it might be fixed....or it might not. Fans of this class at this time could scarcely tell whether one pottering about Inchicore was actually in traffic or not.

Edited January 2, 2015 by jhb171achill