CIE station "livery"

[jhb171achill]

When modelling the 1970/80s period, we are seeing ever better and more detailed models of trains, mainly thanks to people on this website, but all too often stations are neglected. Recently I commented on the absence of cattle docks in so many layouts, probably because it's now over forty years since any we used!

 

So, the following to guide on colour schemes. Today, the is a degree of uniformity in station colour schemes, though exceptions occur. This was the case in the fifties and sixties, when most CIE (and UTA) stations carried green schemes, but occasionally red and cream. In the 70s and early 80s it was a great deal more uniform, with three or four (not fifty) shades of grey.

 

A lighter shade is evident at Moate, with the darker shade in the background, while at Ardrahan the dark shade is more evident. The lighter shade was almost universal on platform awnings (though I've a notion Bray might have been dark...

 

Craughwell first, 1976.

 

 

At Attymon and Moate were the last two MGWR original enamel signs, both on the back of station platform seats. It's 1976 again. Around them is the standard CIE grey shades for stations. The MGWR used white lettering on navy enamel backgrounds for most station signs, but occasionally on smaller ones navy on white enamel.

 

 

 

Moate cabin. Totally MGWR still.

 

Athlone Midland (or might I suggest Athlone Proper!)

 

Ardrahan, showing colour scheme and also the standard CIE signage of the day (plastic).

 

Ballingrane Junction

 

Newcastle West - recently closed, as this picture is from 1978.

 

And Claremorris. The footbridge carries a GSR sign, as many did then , especially on the DSER. Like the MGWR, these were enamel. Almost always they had white lettering on black backgrounds, but occasionally black on white enamel.

Edited February 29, 2016 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

Just as the GSWR's grey loco livery lasted beyond the GSWR, and its GSR successor, and to the end of CIE steam in 1963, so did the GSR station livery. I believe this may also have originated with the GSWR in later days, but I could be wrong on that.

 

Green lower, standard CIE dark green that is, cream above with a one inch black line separating them. Those who watch the LUAS green line being built a few years ago will have seen this exposed on the pillars at Dundrum old station building as it was being refurbished.

 

Here's the platform shelter on the down side at Collooney (south) station (W L & W R) in 1975, twelve years after the last passenger train called. The green is a bit faded, and the colour in the photo is no longer up to much. Needs to be photoshopped within an inch of its life.

 

The wooden seats are green.

 

So, think CIE preserved green, CIE preserved 800 green.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]23046[/ATTACH]

[BSGSV]

JHB, that first picture is of Ardrahan, not Craughwell.

[jhb171achill]

JHB, that first picture is of Ardrahan, not Craughwell.

 

I stand corrected!

[DiveController]

Moate cabin. Totally MGWR still.

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Athlone Midland

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Just to clarify what I'm looking at here, JB, the trim color above the lower windows, uprights et all CIE grey. Is this the same CIE grey that was on the seats with signage?

The background color to the CIE grey on the cabin is white? Is this the same as the walls on the station?

What is the third color on the cabin brickwork similar o the Hillman Hunter/Ford or whatever that vehicle is?

[jhb171achill]

Just to clarify what I'm looking at here, JB, the trim color above the lower windows, uprights et all CIE grey. Is this the same CIE grey that was on the seats with signage?

The background color to the CIE grey on the cabin is white? Is this the same as the walls on the station?

What is the third color on the cabin brickwork similar o the Hillman Hunter/Ford or whatever that vehicle is?

 

The seats with the signs are the very light grey, same as what looks like "white"; actually an extremely pale grey. The Hillman Hunter colour looks beige-y in the picture, but in real life might best be described as a sandy grey colour.

[Weshty]

The Hillman Hunter colour looks beige-y in the picture

 

I think it's fair to say that EVERYthing looked beigey in the 70's...or orange..or brown...or avocado.

[craven1508]

fair to say it has gone full circle? we are now back to grey again,

we had a period in the 90,s of green!!

[jhb171achill]

I never liked the 1990s red and blue. The sight of an original DSER signal cabin painted like a garish fairground attraction was absolutely ghastly.

 

Nor was I too keen on the cream and light grey in recent times - the old green and cream used variously by CIE, and a similar scheme used by the UTA, looked well.

 

Just as CIE had grey shades in the 70s, so did NIR, on the few stations they bothered repainting! Though that was a much darker grey....

 

The MGWR had bright emerald green engines, always kept sparkly clean. Add to this brown coaches, also well kept, and stations in pillar-box red and buff, and we've a recipe for a very attractive scene!

[minister_for_hardship]

The acres upon acres of grey plastered all over CIE stations in the 70's/80's was quite depressing!

[Horsetan]

The acres upon acres of grey plastered all over CIE stations in the 70's/80's was quite depressing!

 

But it was cheap, which suited CIE's pockets down to the ground.

[jhb171achill]

I suppose it's in the eye of the beholder, Minister - I actually thought at the time that it was a refreshing change from the old green and cream, which in most stations had become quite shabby by then.

 

But I'm the oddball here; I believe I'm the solitary person on the planet who liked the "desert sand" bus livery, even on the only one old half-cab bus that ever carried it! (For only 2 weeks till management demanded it be repainted in navy and cream!)....

[Weshty]

 

I believe I'm the solitary person on the planet who liked the "desert sand" bus livery,

 

You may be right there. If ever a shade perpetuated the "70's is brown" vibe, that did. I can see Reeling in the years already....

[Horsetan]

... If ever a shade perpetuated the "70's is brown" vibe, that did.....

 

...along with vinyl roofs on cars, unfeasibly-wide flares on trousers, etc. And the hair! What were they thinking of!?

[minister_for_hardship]

The CIE red/cream scheme of the early 60's was quite pleasing, West Cork stations were famously freshly painted red/cream shortly before final closure.

[minister_for_hardship]

I think it's fair to say that EVERYthing looked beigey in the 70's...or orange..or brown...or avocado.

 

Avocado bathroom suites...ugh!

 

Maybe coloured suites may have some kitsch value now? Barbie pink anyone?

[jhb171achill]

Well, the Belfast buses have a barbie pink livery.....

[richrua]

signal cabin is a beaut. so well looked after.

 

does anyone know if Kingscourt ever had a Cattle Dock ? ... been tempted now to add a little more interest

[jhb171achill]

signal cabin is a beaut. so well looked after.

 

does anyone know if Kingscourt ever had a Cattle Dock ? ... been tempted now to add a little more interest

 

 

Cattle traffic was everywhere on the Midland. It's bound to have had one, though I'd have to look at old photos to deduce where.

 

Moate signal cabin had just been painted when I took that photo.

[richrua]

As always, thank you JHB. Gold Mine.

[jhb171achill]

As always, thank you JHB. Gold Mine.

 

 

I'll check and see where it was. I suspect it might have been where the gypsum loading area end up.

[Old Blarney]

Richrua,

 

Reference, Kingscourt Station, and the possibility of there having been a Cattle-bank there. Have a look at this reference from OSI.

 

http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,679710,795650,12,9

 

The historical OSI map from which this reference is taken, may help you to decide if there was one there? There is space to the top left of the Station Buildings, and also at the bottom right of the Station, just after the level crossing. It may have been possible to load cattle at these two locations?.

I visited Kingscourt, on an Ore train, however, there was little to see of the original buildings. There was, to the left of the level crossing, a large modern shed in which Ore was housed prior to it being loaded into wagons, by a mechanical shovel. There was also an abandoned tipping area to the top right, of the old station. I was told this had, in the past, been used for loading railway wagons from lorries, which tipped the ore into said wagons prior to the introduction of the mechanical shovel. Oh, the turntable pit was just about visible, if my memory serves me correctly!

 

Unfortunately, I do not remember seeing an extant cattle loading area.

[Mayner]

Richrua,

 

Reference, Kingscourt Station, and the possibility of there having been a Cattle-bank there. Have a look at this reference from OSI.

 

http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,679710,795650,12,9

 

The historical OSI map from which this reference is taken, may help you to decide if there was one there? There is space to the top left of the Station Buildings, and also at the bottom right of the Station, just after the level crossing. It may have been possible to load cattle at these two locations?.

I visited Kingscourt, on an Ore train, however, there was little to see of the original buildings. There was, to the left of the level crossing, a large modern shed in which Ore was housed prior to it being loaded into wagons, by a mechanical shovel. There was also an abandoned tipping area to the top right, of the old station. I was told this had, in the past, been used for loading railway wagons from lorries, which tipped the ore into said wagons prior to the introduction of the mechanical shovel. Oh, the turntable pit was just about visible, if my memory serves me correctly!

 

Unfortunately, I do not remember seeing an extant cattle loading area.

 

I travelled over the like in 1975 or 76 and drew a sketch of the track layout. There was the remains of a loading bank between the two sidings at the south end of the station, the bank appears on the OS 25" map of the area. There did not appear to be room on loading bank by the goods shed road for loading cattle as this was covered by an extension to the goods shed.

 

At the time gypsum was carried in a mixture of hoppers and open wagons and the sidings were in use for wagon storage.

[jhb171achill]

If that was the RPSI trip with 186, Mayner, I was on it too! I remember seeing some sort of loading bank at the south end too, but I'm not sure what it was for. I didn't take any pictures of it. From what you say I doubt if it was for cattle. This would make me even more inclined to take the view that it must have been at the north end of the station.

[Mayner]

If that was the RPSI trip with 186, Mayner, I was on it too! I remember seeing some sort of loading bank at the south end too, but I'm not sure what it was for. I didn't take any pictures of it. From what you say I doubt if it was for cattle. This would make me even more inclined to take the view that it must have been at the north end of the station.

 

JHB Was that the famous excursion where the loco release was blocked by wagons and the passengers had to get out and push? I visited Kingscourt in an A Class hauled IRRS special around 75-6, work had just started on clearing the trackbed of the Oldcastle line from Tara Junction to the mine.

The most interesting item of stock at Kingscourt was an ex-GNR 6 w ballast wagon parked by the buffers on one of the sidings at the South end of the yard. I had drawn the loading bank serving the siding closest to the running line rather than both sidings shown of the historic OSI map. There does not appear to be evidence of a loading bank at the North end of the yard. There is a 1939 J Smith photo of a cut of cattle wagons stored on the siding between the head shunt and the loco shed but no sign of a loading bank. The whole area was obliterated with the construction of the gypsum loading ramp and turntable.

Looking at the OSI map and Eiretrains photos the most likely place for loading cattle was the loading bank on the goods shed road. http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20K/Kingscourt/IrishRailwayStations.html#Kingscourt_20040801_002_CC_JA.jpg

It’s possible that cattle traffic may not have been heavy enough to justify a dedicated cattle bank and siding at Kingscourt. A large proportion of cattle traffic on the Midland was tied up with the seasonal movement of cattle from fairs in the West to farms in Meath and Kildare for fattening , a situation that would not arise to the same extent on an area that specialised in dairy farming and pork & bacon production.

[minister_for_hardship]

Perhaps if there was no dedicated loading bank and there was only very occasional traffic, they would use any old platform even the passenger one, in pre- H&S days?

[jhb171achill]

JHB Was that the famous excursion where the loco release was blocked by wagons and the passengers had to get out and push? I visited Kingscourt in an A Class hauled IRRS special around 75-6, work had just started on clearing the trackbed of the Oldcastle line from Tara Junction to the mine.

The most interesting item of stock at Kingscourt was an ex-GNR 6 w ballast wagon parked by the buffers on one of the sidings at the South end of the yard. I had drawn the loading bank serving the siding closest to the running line rather than both sidings shown of the historic OSI map. There does not appear to be evidence of a loading bank at the North end of the yard. There is a 1939 J Smith photo of a cut of cattle wagons stored on the siding between the head shunt and the loco shed but no sign of a loading bank. The whole area was obliterated with the construction of the gypsum loading ramp and turntable.

Looking at the OSI map and Eiretrains photos the most likely place for loading cattle was the loading bank on the goods shed road. http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20K/Kingscourt/IrishRailwayStations.html#Kingscourt_20040801_002_CC_JA.jpg

It’s possible that cattle traffic may not have been heavy enough to justify a dedicated cattle bank and siding at Kingscourt. A large proportion of cattle traffic on the Midland was tied up with the seasonal movement of cattle from fairs in the West to farms in Meath and Kildare for fattening , a situation that would not arise to the same extent on an area that specialised in dairy farming and pork & bacon production.

 

 

Mayner

 

Yes, the shunting that day was an absolute nightmare. The RPSI train was too long for the loop, and nobody had thought about this. Added to that was the fact that the place was full of gypsum wagons! The train had to be split in two parts and reunited. However, each cloud had a silver lining. There was time for several pints....

 

I'd say you're right about the use of the hoods bank there for cattle. I do know that when built, cattle traffic was anticipated, thus provision must have been made initially. As you say the Midland especially was involved in that. As to the exact type of "beast" traffic, I don't know, but maybe pigs were carried.

 

The traffic returns for the branch in the late 20s / early 30s would be interesting to see; they (and possibly other years) should be available in the Heuston (CIE) archives.

[jhb171achill]

Perhaps if there was no dedicated loading bank and there was only very occasional traffic, they would use any old platform even the passenger one, in pre- H&S days?

 

This was rare, but did happen. There's a picture of it happening at Ennis in "Rails Through The West".

 

I've seen a photo of a train leaving Kilmainhamwood somewhere with the usual couple of 6-wheel coaches and half a dozen cattle vans. Back in the day, a place like Kings-court is bound to have had some sort of proper facility. Naturally, in later years it might have been removed.

[DiveController]

The most interesting item of stock at Kingscourt was an ex-GNR 6 w ballast wagon parked by the buffers on one of the sidings at the South end

Ant one have any photos of what this looked like or book with a photo. I didn't manage to find one online