Dugort Harbour

[jhb171achill]

Summer 1965, Dugort Harbour…. and there are gricers about!

"Saw these things being built in Inchicore at the IRRS Open Day! First time I've seen 'em in traffic!"

"The guy in Castletown station sez they'll be replacing the last of the old wooden vans, y'know, the Great Northern and Great Southern stuff...."

"They're tall, aren't they? Good bit higher than normal vans?"

"Yeah - full loading gauge..."

"Funny havin' the door at the side..."

Edited May 15 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

FULL MARKS to Enda Byrne on these models. Bright sunlight is absolutely unforgiving on any 3D model - ANY model, in fact, but these certainly have nothing to fear from bright light. Prompt service, very reasonable price, and excellent models. VERY highly recommended.

[jhb171achill]

1946, and a maintenance train is stabled at Dugort Harbour.

Edited May 25 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

Fair day, July 1957, and A30 approaches Dugort Harbour to collect five loaded cattle trucks….

[Tullygrainey]

Perfect shot!

[Dempsey]

One of my favourite weathering job on that livery. Amazing scenes and story telling. 

[derek]

9 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

Fair day, July 1957, and A30 approaches Dugort Harbour to collect five loaded cattle trucks….

Nice shot from the other side of the bridge. 

[jhb171achill]

On a summers day in 1966, the mid-day train arrives with a very clean B165.

 

.

Almost twenty years earlier, in summer 1947, ex-CBSCR No. 472, allocated to the Dugort Harbour branch in 1943, is seen with fair day sheep traffic.

Edited June 11 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

Taken from the car on an autumn day in 1960, branch engine 472 is spotted along the roadside section outside Castletown West with the Dugort Harbout connection into the Castletown to Tralee goods.

[jhb171achill]

September 1968, and the goods for Tralee is ready to leave. At Castletown Junction the first five wagons will be detached to be added to the Tralee - Cork goods. At Mallow, two will be detached, one for Thurles and one for North Wall. The other three will go to Cork, with one onwards for the West Cork system over the Cork City tramway, to go to Dunmanway.

The remaining wagons on the train are all for Tralee, Lixnaw, Abbeyfeale, Newcastle West and Limerick, with one for Nenagh.

That's the way it was..............

Edited June 19 by jhb171achill

[Past-Avenue]

On 15/5/2025 at 7:48 PM, jhb171achill said:

FULL MARKS to Enda Byrne on these models. Bright sunlight is absolutely unforgiving on any 3D model - ANY model, in fact, but these certainly have nothing to fear from bright light. Prompt service, very reasonable price, and excellent models. VERY highly recommended.

Thanks very much jhb171achill and hopefully I'll have more suitable rolling stock for your layout in the future. 

Enda 

[jhb171achill]

4 hours ago, Past-Avenue said:

Thanks very much jhb171achill and hopefully I'll have more suitable rolling stock for your layout in the future. 

Enda 

Very much looking forward to that!

[jhb171achill]

On 15/4/2025 at 8:26 PM, Mol_PMB said:

Looks good.

See what your mentor says, but if I were building it I would drill some holes roughly where I've put the red spots below, so that I could solder the overlay panels from the back.

Latest pics of this under way…. for a 2nd attempt at brass I’m quite pleased with it so far.

[jhb171achill]

Autumn 1961, and local management have decided to put a brand-new “yank” on the Dugort Harbour branch. Although still seeing some steam activity, the turntable is long out of action, so visits of these locomotives will always be rare, as they can only run cab-first over the four miles up to Castletown.

Today, we see the first ever visit of a B121 as it leaves with the 11:40 mixed. Just as well they picked today, because Crossley C209 has failed at Castletown, again.

 

[jhb171achill]

It’s 1963, and a 141 appears at Dugort Harbour for the first time….

[jhb171achill]

“I tell ya, boy, Kerry by five points at least!”

”Sure ye said that lasht year, an’ we lost….!”

[jhb171achill]

It’s that time of year again, late summer 1964.

Kerry are about to take on Galway in Croke Park.

As well as a six-car AEC set from Castletown West, and similar from Tralee & Killarney, a loco-hauled empty set arrives at Dugort Harbour at 06:50 from Cork (Glanmire carriage sidings).

It will be a quieter group of Kerrymen who arrive back at 01:12 on the Monday morning, after a five point defeat at the hands of the Tribesmen…. well, there’s always the lock-in at O’Donoghues Harbour Bar until 7 a.m….. Jackie will make a fortune, at sevenpence a pint now! At least there’ll be ONE winner in Kerry tonight…

 

[jhb171achill]

Fair Day, August 1966.

A few scenes with cattle trucks being shunted, and B141 on the extra passenger service from Castletown West….

At the end of a long day, B141 idles at the platform before returning light to Castletown for the night. It’s been drizzling, the platform is wet. B141 will be on the Tralee goods in the morning… 

The three tin vans parked up on the back loop came down yesterday with crates of homing pigeons from Ballymena (once a lesser-known but occasionally busy part of railway life!)

Edited Friday at 13:19 by jhb171achill

[Patrick Davey]

Magic JB - the last one is superb!

[jhb171achill]

In 1963, most B121s were still grey, but getting pretty shabby.

Here, an unidentified member of the class is seen on a rare visit to Dugort Harbour, shunting wagons.

[jhb171achill]

A23R leaves Dugort Harbour for Castletown West in June 1971….

Edited Sunday at 22:11 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

In summer 1960, C231 arrives in Dugort Harbour with the morning mixed. It is seen later on shunting wagons before departing again. Once it gets to Castletown, it has the long slog back to Tralee with the all-stations goods.

[jhb171achill]

In the late 50s, steam still ruled at Dugort Harbour, especially on fair days, when three extra locos would be brought in. 

Here, our intrepid photographer captures a few scenes in July 1958…..

From early days J15s were almost the staple motive power diet at Valentia, Kenmare, Castleisland - and Dugort Harbour. 

Here, an unusually clean 195 makes a brisk departure from Castletown West not long before the C class appeared, in summer 1958.

[Patrick Davey]

Fabulous scenes - any videos to look forward to?

[jhb171achill]

By the mid-1960s, goods traffic on the Dugort Harbour branch had collapsed. Only on account of the fact that yer man was an influential TD, did the line survive another decade.

Taken with a new-fangled telephoto lens from St Ciaran’s Hill, we see B165 depart with the Tralee goods one day in 1968. By the time it gets to Rock Street Yard, it will only have picked up four more vans, a wagon full of turf and an empty open wagon.

26 minutes ago, Patrick Davey said:

Fabulous scenes - any videos to look forward to?

I’ll get round to that! A couple of technical issues are currently restricting operations but easy to fix!

[jhb171achill]

“Did ye see Tommy?”

”What for? I paid him back a couple of weeks ago!”

”Well, Sarah in the paper shop says he’s lookin’ for ye, says ye still owe him four pound and ten shillings…” 

[Tullygrainey]

9 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

In the late 50s, steam still ruled at Dugort Harbour, especially on fair days, when three extra locos would be brought in. 

Here, our intrepid photographer captures a few scenes in July 1958…..

From early days J15s were almost the staple motive power diet at Valentia, Kenmare, Castleisland - and Dugort Harbour. 

Here, an unusually clean 195 makes a brisk departure from Castletown West not long before the C class appeared, in summer 1958.

Great pics and that weathering is totally convincing.

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, Tullygrainey said:

Great pics and that weathering is totally convincing.

Almost all weathered by the master - Dempsey of this community.

[Horsetan]

10 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

.... Only on account of the fact that yer man was an influential TD....

"The name's Rae. Healy-Rae...."

[jhb171achill]

2 hours ago, Horsetan said:

"The name's Rae. Healy-Rae...."

Tis, boy, tis!