Grounded Bodies

[Mol_PMB]

On closer inspection, is it actually the long-lost last surviving cattle wagon in Ireland?

(all pics from Ernie).

 

@jhb171achill, are you looking for another retirement project? This would look grand at Cultra!

There were also covered vans with those tiebars, but the side framing of the grounded body looks more like the cattle wagon variant. Here are a couple of the covered vans:

 

[Westcorkrailway]

Yknow, I was thinking exactly that looking at it….but then I thought “nah couldn’t be”. Now that is an interesting find! 
 

the key to identifying is the fittings, and matching that to something in the IRRS or something 

[Mol_PMB]

The end framing is early GSWR in style, with a single vertical timber rib on the upper half, then a horizontal iron bar and a horizontal timber, then two vertical ribs on the lower half.

This arrangement was used on both covered vans and cattle wagons:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53508875896

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53507783407

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511622704

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53499200135

The sides are confusing, partly because of their poor condition. Looking at the timbers it's had to tell what has vanished, and what was never there in the first place. And indeed what may have been added/modified during its life on the ground.

However, the presence of a vertical rib as highlighted in your last photo suggests it's not a cattle wagon.

 

[Westcorkrailway]

10 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

The end framing is early GSWR in style, with a single vertical timber rib on the upper half, then a horizontal iron bar and a horizontal timber, then two vertical ribs on the lower half.

This arrangement was used on both covered vans and cattle wagons:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53508875896

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53507783407

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511622704

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53499200135

The sides are confusing, partly because of their poor condition. Looking at the timbers it's had to tell what has vanished, and what was never there in the first place. And indeed what may have been added/modified during its life on the ground.

However, the presence of a vertical rib as highlighted in your last photo suggests it's not a cattle wagon.

 

I was just looking at that first photo you sent about to send it in. 
 

the other side of the wagon is in much better nick. Unfortunately it’s completely inaccessible. Though for the fun of it I might try again some evening 

 

it would be unusual to me to buy a cattle wagon body as a pose to a covered wagon body. What could possibly be the use? Yes maybe animal storage but at that stage it’s a bit ineffective. 

in the last days of the west cork. These wagons were parked in Albert quay. I wonder if one of these wagons is the one that ended up in crossbarry. The other again itself is only about 200 meters from a LC 

 

 

 

https://flic.kr/p/2pwjsTY

 

Edited November 20 by Westcorkrailway

[Westcorkrailway]

3 Beutiful EX-CIE PAL Vans. The frame is actually in decent nick in these so somone could have had a go at restoring them into sheds. Unfortunately as far as I know, they’ve since been lost to history 

 

 

[airfixfan]

Was this the last UTA cattle wagon

 Strabane about 1961?

[Westcorkrailway]

After my brief volunteering at Downpatrick I noticed this wagon. Anyone know what it is?

 

nevermind, after going back through the thread I found it! 
 

to make this post worth it, I’ll add this one, at Kildare 

 

Edited 14 hours ago by Westcorkrailway

[Mol_PMB]

53 minutes ago, Westcorkrailway said:

After my brief volunteering at Downpatrick I noticed this wagon. Anyone know what it is?

 

nevermind, after going back through the thread I found it! 
 

to make this post worth it, I’ll add this one, at Kildare 

 

GNR 12 ton van. 

[jhb171achill]

On 23/11/2025 at 7:14 AM, airfixfan said:

Was this the last UTA cattle wagon

 Strabane about 1961?

   

 

I would think it was certainly among the last. I suspect the UTA ceased handling cattle after they took over the GNR.

9 hours ago, Westcorkrailway said:

After my brief volunteering at Downpatrick I noticed this wagon. Anyone know what it is?

 

nevermind, after going back through the thread I found it! 
 

to make this post worth it, I’ll add this one, at Kildare 

 

GNR(B) cement van, early 1950s; treated as a "common fleet" later by CIE with their essentially-similar "H" vans.