Former CBSCR Layout

[Westcorkrailway]

Hello all,

 

I am very new to modeling and that so I require some help. i want to build a layout of one of 3 former CBSCR stations being Ballinhassig, crossbarry(kinsale junction) or upton. i have very basic track, borderline no rolling stock and a Silverfox C class on the way. my questions really are what radius track the curves would be for ballinhassig, how to go about making suitible buildings and terrain. please do advise on rolling stock and locos too

[Galteemore]

Welcome! Lots of good advice here - just browse the threads here. Sounds a great project. Good place to start are books - have you got any on the CBSC? Some books will have station building drawings - these can help you make a start on scratchbuilding. John Ahern’s modelling books still help here although rather old now.
 

BTW, the Historical Model Railway Society have a most helpful Irish expert in Alan O’Rourke;https://hmrs.org.uk/stewards/irish-bg/ 
 He helped me with my build of an F6, a class very common in your chosen area...

[Liam_Murph]

Hello, as Galteemore suggested, books are a perfect way to help inform and visualise the idea you have in your mind. "Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway" by Ernie Shepherd would be a perfect resource for you with some station track plans in it if my memory serves me right, along with information on rolling stock and plenty of photos. 

You are on the right track with the 'C' class. A filthy silver or green C class is perfect for the final years of the CBSCR. However there are not many other ready to run models of locomotives from the line available. 00-works are bringing out a 0-6-0 saddle tank at the end of this year that is based on a prototype from the CBSCR but it is rather expensive. Otherwise locomotives such as the Bandon tanks are only available as metal kits (studio scale models). I think 3D printed bodies of 0-6-0t No. 90 have been knocking about irish modelling facebook groups as well if that interests you.

The line had rather eclectic mixes of rolling stock that others on the forum could tell you about more precisely, but Bulleid corrugated-sided wagons were widely employed on the line, especially for things like seasonal sugar beet traffic. Kits of these are available from Provincial wagons.

As for making buildings, platicard will invariably become your new friend I would say. Find photos of the buildings you want to make and start trying to piece them together yourself. It is a fascinating line but will certainly require imagination and ingenuity on your own part to bring the model of it into reality, so enjoy the journey and experience creating it. 

 

 

[Irishswissernie]

 My CBSC Album  on Flickr might (or might not) provide inspiration and the web site http://map.geohive.ie/ Look in the Data catalogue top left hand corner and click on Historic Map 25 inch (1988-1903) and enlarge to the CBSC area for track plans

 

[NIR]

2 hours ago, Westcorkrailway said:

my questions really are what radius track the curves would be for ballinhassig, how to go about making suitible buildings and terrain. please do advise on rolling stock and locos too

Track radius is a compromise with reality, unless you have a very long space in which to build your own track. Ready made track comes in small, medium or large radius, the larger the radius the less the compromise with reality, so it all depends on how much space you have.

Track planning software such as SCARM (free download) will let you see what can be achieved with ready made components.

Edited October 6, 2020 by NIR

[Westcorkrailway]

5 hours ago, Liam_Murph said:

Hello, as Galteemore suggested, books are a perfect way to help inform and visualise the idea you have in your mind. "Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway" by Ernie Shepherd would be a perfect resource for you with some station track plans in it if my memory serves me right, along with information on rolling stock and plenty of photos. 

You are on the right track with the 'C' class. A filthy silver or green C class is perfect for the final years of the CBSCR. However there are not many other ready to run models of locomotives from the line available. 00-works are bringing out a 0-6-0 saddle tank at the end of this year that is based on a prototype from the CBSCR but it is rather expensive. Otherwise locomotives such as the Bandon tanks are only available as metal kits (studio scale models). I think 3D printed bodies of 0-6-0t No. 90 have been knocking about irish modelling facebook groups as well if that interests you.

The line had rather eclectic mixes of rolling stock that others on the forum could tell you about more precisely, but Bulleid corrugated-sided wagons were widely employed on the line, especially for things like seasonal sugar beet traffic. Kits of these are available from Provincial wagons.

As for making buildings, platicard will invariably become your new friend I would say. Find photos of the buildings you want to make and start trying to piece them together yourself. It is a fascinating line but will certainly require imagination and ingenuity on your own part to bring the model of it into reality, so enjoy the journey and experience creating it. 

 

 

yes I do have the ernie shepard book and another such book but there is no station layout for ballinhassig in those book which is the station im leaning towards. i have seen a few of the models, the silver fox aec railcar, the studio scale Bandon tank and J26. i think ive seen the saddletank but those were withdraw in the 40s a belive and i would like to keep it to 1950s spec. the same argument could be made for an adams radial tank where a simular tank to one was used but withdrawn well before the 50s. I didnt know of a number 90 3d print that might be a good shout. thank you for the advice

5 hours ago, Irishswissernie said:

 My CBSC Album  on Flickr might (or might not) provide inspiration and the web site http://map.geohive.ie/ Look in the Data catalogue top left hand corner and click on Historic Map 25 inch (1988-1903) and enlarge to the CBSC area for track plans

 

i have seen this collection many times before, I run a facebook page about the former CBCSR And have seen many pictures. these are some of the creme of the crop and a fantanstic collection That i do often visit for a glimpse of the former life of the railway. geohive is good but i find that some of the station layouts were upgraded since the 1888 survey unfortunatly

Edited October 6, 2020 by Westcorkrailway

[Mayner]

The West Cork was a very interesting and distinctive system, ideal for a 'system' layout with a number of stations if you have the space.

I once thought of building an N gauge West Cork layout with a number of stations and one of the branch line terminals in a 17X8 attic, though these days I would be more inclined towards a building a O gauge model based on the Timoleague and Courtmacsharry as brass kits are available for several of the locos from Alphagraphix and it a lot easier to assemble kits/scratchbuild in O gauge than OO

Traditionally 2' was the minimum recommended radius for reliable running with flexible track in OO gauge, but you will achieve reliable running with medium and large radius set track curves in OO. I would recommend Peco track and points in preference to Hornby to achieve reliable running, you can achieve a more realistic effect and will be less constricted in you planning if you use flexible rather than the rigid geometry of set track straights and curves, though set track can be good if you want to experiment with different track layouts or get something up and running quickly.

[Westcorkrailway]

11 hours ago, Mayner said:

 

I once thought of building an N gauge West Cork layout with a number of stations and one of the branch line terminals in a 17X8 attic, though these days I would be more inclined towards a building a O gauge model based on the Timoleague and Courtmacsharry as brass kits are available for several of the locos from Alphagraphix and it a lot easier to assemble kits/scratchbuild in O gauge than OO

I will stick with 00 guage anyway as i have a few old train sets in it and the silver fox c class is on the way, while i do have space i would prefer to keep it tidy and small focusing on quality rather in quality if you will (keep it to one station) although it is a tempting idea!

[David Holman]

Don't forget to check out the Bantry Town 1950s thread in the layouts section, currently on page two. They haven't posted much recently, but there is plenty to inspire there.

[jhb171achill]

On ‎06‎/‎10‎/‎2020 at 11:58 AM, Westcorkrailway said:

Hello all,

 

I am very new to modeling and that so I require some help. i want to build a layout of one of 3 former CBSCR stations being Ballinhassig, crossbarry(kinsale junction) or upton. i have very basic track, borderline no rolling stock and a Silverfox C class on the way. my questions really are what radius track the curves would be for ballinhassig, how to go about making suitible buildings and terrain. please do advise on rolling stock and locos too

Ernie Shepherd's book will give track diagrams, albeit drawn in a manner not easy to read.

You're in a good position having NO rolling stock, as almost nothing you might have bought would be close to what's needed!

In terms of radius, the wider the better. Sometimes space necessitates curves WAY sharper than they ever would be in real life, but we all have to work with what space we have. So, what space is available will dictate anything you do next. Will you want your layout to be a continuous circuit, or end-to-end?

A "C" class is as essential to a West Cork layout of any sort as a 141 or 071 is to a 1980s one. In short, without it the whole thing is unrealistic from the start. Thus, the next question is to what degree of actual authenticity do you want to build it? If your bar is high, it's scratchbuilding virtually every item of rolling stock - there are a few kits, but not many.

Among the kits:

Studio Scale Models do an ex-Midland "E" (or J26) class 0.6.0T tank engine - a couple of these worked on the West Cork system in the early to mid 1950s. There's also a kit of a CBSCR "C2" class 4.6.0T "Bandon Tank".

Leslie McAllister's ("Provincial Wagons") GSWR guards van - needed on ends of goods trains. Obviously, there were never any fitted goods trains!

Leslie's goods vans - the old GNR one and above all the standard CIE "H" van - easy kits, and inexpensive.

Then, Leslie's cattle trucks, CIE type - in this case, not GNR types.

Then, a few repainted Hornby open wagons, but for sugar beet, the standard corrugated open wagons CIE used for decades.

By now, you've a good selection of Irish goods stock. You needn't worry too much about flat wagons or tank wagons, and no bogie wagons of any sort. And, by now, Leslie owes me a pint of two!

British (Hornby OR Bachmann) cattle trucks aren't remotely like anything that ran here, but if budgets are limited, get a load of those with shorter wheelbases.

Studio Scale Models (SSM) in Ennis do a nice CIE brake van - brass kit.

So, you've locomotives and wagons. Carriages, however, are the problem.

If you are pre-1950, you're goiung to need six wheelers, all of different types, with only one or two 35-45ft bogies of particularly antiquated design. Longer, more modern coaches didn't work in West Cork much, and the smaller branch lines couldn't take them anyway. So, laminates or Park Royals were rarities, and only to be seen on the main line in ones or twos amongst the elderly 6-wheelers. Several OLD bogie coaches were used though - there was one old GSWR side-corridor composite and at least two ex-MGWR bogies, though one, I think was gone in the early 50s. All of these you'd have to build from scratch - though SSM do some GSWR six-wheelers as brass kits, which would do.

There's nothing British which is close to what ran there, as in "quick Hornby repaint", if you crave accuracy - but if not, the "2-ft rule", or "Rule No. 1" ("It's MY railway!) will certainly allow the likes of the GWR Ratio kits in shabby CIE green, perhaps.

SSM, again, do kits of several GSR "Bredin" types. Several of these ran on the main line, but not the branches.

If your layout is meant to represent the GSR era, it's all steam and six-wheelers. If you're into the '50s, and with a "C" class this seems a "given", you will need six-wheelers (plus the obligatory "tin van"; see JM Design's forthcoming re-release of these; Silverfox do a version too). If you are doing a main line station, by the "C" class era, all passenger trains on the main line were operated by an AEC railcar set, usually running as a 3-piece, but occasionally 2. This absolutely essential piece of kit has thus far eluded kit-makers as well as ready-to-run - but it is as totally critical to a 1950s CIE layout as an ICR is to a post 2010 layout. In the absence of such a thing, Silverfox do an amended British railcar which (for the 2-ft rule) is a passingly acceptable version. A 2-car will suffice; maybe put one of SSM's "Bredins" or "laminate" coaches in as a centre car, too.

I hope that all assists with choosing stuff.

Liveries - easy. Steam engines all FILTHY very dark grey, no matter what they are. No lined green ones ran down here! Wagons - all grey, full stop. The yellow and black stripes on guard's vans weren't invented until about 1963/4, and nothing brown until 1970/1. No cement bubbles - these didn't appear until several years after the lines all closed. Carriages: all green; three variations. (a) Dark CIE green with lining, (b) mid-green from 1955 on, and (c) secondary stock in the form of at least two prehistoric old bogies coaches were, in later days, painted the older dark green but with no lining.

The "tin vans" are an essential part of the scene on ALL passenger trains bar the railcar, but sometimes tagged onto the end of a set to carry parcels. These were unpainted, and thus a complete coat of nondescript weathering is all you need. The "C"'s were unpainted at first, and got into an appalling state of filth - again, a nondescript greyish coat of gunk is the livery; see photos! The later "C"s entered traffic in the green, tough; they didn't end up too clean either!

 

Now, if you look at that pic posted above, you have the "perfect" Wisht Caaark train.

1. Dirty green "C" class

2. "Silver"(!) passenger brake van ("tin van"). This thing looks brown, but it is...SILVER! See the filthy state? In reality, a 1050s layout needs weathering and dirt to actually look authentic, as much as it does any livery. 

3. The old GSWR bogie coach, regularly on this line. This is in the same green as the locomotive, but badly faded. Most branch trains in West Cork were this; a tin van for the guard and parcels, and one coach.

4. The wagons. The first and third are standard "H" vans, with a quite new corrugated open in between. It's only clean because they were building these things NEW at the time!

5. Then you've a couple of cattle trucks and covered van, followed by a couple of open wagons.

6. Then two reasonably clean "H" vans - probably quite new - these showing the correct shade of grey for wagons - ALL wagons; the OTHERS are all this colour too, just FILTHY!

7. The guard's van is a standard CIE 20T - as mentioned above, you'll notice no yellow and black stripes at this stage.

Hopefully all of the above is of some interest. With kits, you'll get all of the above bar the carriage, and sure you can get some sort of oul crate of a coach to suit!

For contrast, get the Silverfox two-coach railcar, perhaps? CIE green, of course; the black'n'tan livery only ever appeared on the entire West Cork system in the form of a "C" hauling the demolition train several years after it all closed. A nice "might-have-been", though; had it survived, you would be doubtless be jolting along in a 2600 to Skibbereen today, as IE and the Minister for Transport worked hard and diligently late into the night to try to dream up ways to close it, build a housing estate over its terminus asap, and hand the rest over to the Lycra Cycle Mafia (the LCM - a proscribed organisation) with indecent haste.....

Maybe it was better going in 1961!

[jhb171achill]

Have a look at this; a good basis for anything West Cork.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/albums/72157704311359882/page1

[Mayner]

It probably worth joining the IRRS to access their Flickr collection of photos, they have recently added a number of collections which include a lot of West Cork photos from the 1950s

[Westcorkrailway]

16 hours ago, Mayner said:

It probably worth joining the IRRS to access their Flickr collection of photos, they have recently added a number of collections which include a lot of West Cork photos from the 1950s

i would but (of all the things) im to young to join! roger joanes, micheal patterson and brian baker have all helped with my facebook page and there photos do help an awful lot!

[Westcorkrailway]

On 9/10/2020 at 7:12 AM, David Holman said:

Don't forget to check out the Bantry Town 1950s thread in the layouts section, currently on page two. They haven't posted much recently, but there is plenty to inspire there.

They have done a fantastic job. the pictures of the railcars gave me confidence in them (although the roof may need a respray!) unfortunatly i wont go near any brass kits (yet) as ive no experience. but by god they did a good job on the detailing 

[Westcorkrailway]

Thank you so much for this information. deffinetly going to be late 1950s with my Green C212 in the post. what im trying to do is mix realism in with inexperience. for instance i will probobly end up getting the Silver fox sets before the studio scale kits because of "inexperience" for fecks sake i dont even have a soldering iron! mark dunlea has just done a 3d print of Number 90 and is offering it for 80 (minus the paint and the chassis of course) and that might be an easier way to get started. i looked at corogated beet wagons and due to the cost i might just pop down to my local antique store, buy some second hand dapol wagons, spray them light gray and stick a flying snail decal on the back and happy days. again due to my "inexperience" coaching stock is a problem. studio scale do the most prototypical stock but i cant even fathem putting it together. i might be tempted by a 6 wheeler i saw hattons were producing the other day. as they have a good reputation for there production of models i might just try convert it into a CIE coach via paint...or something. if i ever was to try start with a brass studio scale models to start with it would be a brakevan of some sort!

Edited October 10, 2020 by Westcorkrailway

[Mike 84C]

Hi Westcorkrailway, all the posts above will be helpful to you in one way or another and you have a good handle on what is available. Books, models or online information. We got into the CB&SCR almost by accident! A group of us in our local club were asked for suggestions for a new layout, I opened Ernie Shepherds book and bingo!! Bantry was born.

John (Bantree) has done all the buildings and most of the scenic work, plus he owns the Silver Fox AEC unit , I have done the the other goods and passenger stock and the locos. The SSM Bandon tank is not a difficult kit to make up, it just needs time and some beforehand idea of how a loco works and fits together and of course being able to solder!! But most of all a belief in yourself that you can do it. The first step is the hardest the second is so much easier! And the guys on this group are so helpful, they will even let you be a bit of an idjut for a while but always point you in the right direction.

To go back to soldering, its not a black art, there is no mystery to it, it is a skill that once you learn the basics will so enhance your modelling. Just to tell you when I built the Bandon tank I had not built a kit for 40years and I am so pleased with it.  Look at the Lock down locos thread my C class is there..

Please keep posting ,ask questions you will get the right path. I look forward to seeing your progress and pm me if you feel the need.

  Mick

 

 

 

[Westcorkrailway]

C212, the first irish locomotive of my collection, im very pleased with it and hopefully more to come! 

[Westcorkrailway]

Just ordered a Bandon tank from studio scale models...however not the full kit with the wheels, gearbox, coupling rods ect. i want to try use an old hornby B12 4-6-0 Chassis and try incorporate it rather then assembling the chassis of the model as from what i heard from another beginner is the hardest part by far as the there is not room for error. its a bit big and a bit long but no point not trying! if not then ill try putting the kit together as its meant to! ill find out in the coming months.

 

[Mike 84C]

Hi Westcorkrailway,  understand your idea both being 4-6-0's but the B12 is by comparison with a Bandon tank quite a large loco. Full marks for lateral thinking!  The large wheels and longer wheelbase will be the problem.

  The chassis is the hardest part but the SSM kit goes together very well; hand on heart I struggled to work out how to make the brake hangers removeable, when I sussed it I kicked myself! What you need  is a Poppys Loco Builder Box to help put the chassis together. Its an adjustable jig that comes flat pack in the post, dead easy to assemble, will help you with any future chassis you buy and is not expensive! Just as usefull as a soldering iron. I bought the one for 3 axles and wish I had bought the 4 axle one. I have no connection with Poppys woodcraft just a happy customer. But which ever route you take, happy modelling.

      Mick

[murrayec]

@Westcorkrailway

If this is the first chassis your going to do I recommend a good read of Ian Rice's 'Locomotive Kit Chassis Construction in 4mm' ISBN 1874103100 Wild Swan Publishing.

Every modeller should have this book and some his other works on their reference shelf.

Eoin

[Westcorkrailway]

5 hours ago, Mike 84C said:

Hi Westcorkrailway,  understand your idea both being 4-6-0's but the B12 is by comparison with a Bandon tank quite a large loco. Full marks for lateral thinking!  The large wheels and longer wheelbase will be the problem.

  The chassis is the hardest part but the SSM kit goes together very well; hand on heart I struggled to work out how to make the brake hangers removeable, when I sussed it I kicked myself! What you need  is a Poppys Loco Builder Box to help put the chassis together. Its an adjustable jig that comes flat pack in the post, dead easy to assemble, will help you with any future chassis you buy and is not expensive! Just as usefull as a soldering iron. I bought the one for 3 axles and wish I had bought the 4 axle one. I have no connection with Poppys woodcraft just a happy customer. But which ever route you take, happy modelling.

      Mick

I see alright there might be a problem with size but as i have the chassis with years, and the model on the way its worth a try. especially as ive heard from 2 people now that they found the chassis the hardest part of the model by quite a margin. if it does come to a stage where i will have to assemble the chassis (likely). I am sure the Loco box you have recommended will help make the job more bearable.

 

5 hours ago, murrayec said:

@Westcorkrailway

If this is the first chassis your going to do I recommend a good read of Ian Rice's 'Locomotive Kit Chassis Construction in 4mm' ISBN 1874103100 Wild Swan Publishing.

Every modeller should have this book and some his other works on their reference shelf.

Eoin

certainly will look into it if i do assemble the chassis, its 1 of two model kits i intend doing so might be worth a read or a reference

 

[Westcorkrailway]

 

 

Great news for my layout anyway as mark dunlea's number 90 progresses. however this from another keen west cork modeler is what will hopefully be a 2-4-2 class 33 loco these were replaced by the aec railcar sets.

watch this space!   

 

Edited November 25, 2020 by Westcorkrailway

[Galteemore]

Great work. I’ve built an F6 in 7mm and they are lovely - once you get past making all the curvy bits! What’s the donor loco - an L and Y 2-4-2T? 

Edited November 25, 2020 by Galteemore

[Westcorkrailway]

42 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

Great work. I’ve built an F6 in 7mm and they are lovely - once you get past making all the curvy bits! What’s the donor loco - an L and Y 2-4-2T? 

Yes the L and Y loco is the doner, quite a basic conversion. what your seeing in the picture is just drafts for the front of the cab, the coal bunker has been slightly modified already and were trying to get the curve right on those lovely cabs......by tracing images of the side of the cabs using office lense! not the most precise method in the world but it does the job. 

 

[David Holman]

Love seeing how these conversions come together.

[Midland Man]

looks amazing 

[Westcorkrailway]

While my own layout has since been "halted" more work has commenced on my other west cork maniac's locos. the class 33. Has taken shape with a heavily modified smokebox, and on cab side installed (using a picture and microsoft office lense we figured it out) . Also the coal bunker has been modified so it only needs another cab side and making the water tanks a little higher (he might not try to put to notches in the running board as is prototypical)

 

In the third picture is....a slightly modified j72 to make a j26! With a fee transfers and maybe a bit of weathering i think while being a bit long admittedly it will pass....it goes to shoe that with little experience and relitivally low budget. An few irish steam locos aren't impossible.....i must say fair play to him its not easy modeling in west cork! 

[Galteemore]

Looks good - those 33s are rather nice. What may help make the illusion even more convincing is a smokebox door wheel and the ‘dogs’ around the edges. These are a classically Irish signature. I modelled no 42, and although a pain to make in brass, helped finish it off.

[Galteemore]

You could also make it into a J11 0-6-0T - well known in Cork but without a curvy running board to worry about ! Nos 201 and 208 were definitely used on the CBSC lines, sometimes on passenger turns.

 

Edited February 12, 2021 by Galteemore

[Westcorkrailway]

20 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

You could also make it into a J11 0-6-0T - well known in Cork but without a curvy running board to worry about ! Nos 201 and 208 were definitely used on the CBSC lines, sometimes on passenger turns.

 

Now that we have a goof idea how to make the cab, we could make 201 aswell but as we have a 2-4-2 chassis we will finish the 33 class curvy bits or not!

 

 

[jhb171achill]

That's a very nice job to convert the tank engine to a Midland J26! I had considered doing that, and this gives me an idea what it would look like. You mention weathering it - I would suggest enhanced realism by a coat of grey paint first (and dull down the connecting rods!), as those wouldn't have been black....

Some of those J26 tank locos kept their GSR cast number plates well into the 1950s, depending on which you want it to be, you've a choice with that class of a cast numberplate or painted number.....

[David Holman]

Alchemy! As Galteemore says, the smokebox door makes all the difference and the dogs around the edges can easily be made from bits of plastic strip too. Nobody knows once the paint is applied.

 While is is only right to chase prototype fidelity, there is always the old adage about 'if it looks right, it is right' and we can all be encouraged by what Westcorkrailway is brewing here, not least because the skills involved are very much the same as in kit and scratchbuilding. A great way to learn, have fun and most of all produce something that is yours to be proud of.

[Westcorkrailway]

7 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

That's a very nice job to convert the tank engine to a Midland J26! I had considered doing that, and this gives me an idea what it would look like. You mention weathering it - I would suggest enhanced realism by a coat of grey paint first (and dull down the connecting rods!), as those wouldn't have been black....

Some of those J26 tank locos kept their GSR cast number plates well into the 1950s, depending on which you want it to be, you've a choice with that class of a cast numberplate or painted number.....

Ids say what well want is the newer painted numbers despite how relitivally short they were kept. The connecting rods do stand out a bit alright....i must tell him that

 

2 hours ago, David Holman said:

Alchemy! As Galteemore says, the smokebox door makes all the difference and the dogs around the edges can easily be made from bits of plastic strip too. Nobody knows once the paint is applied.

 While is is only right to chase prototype fidelity, there is always the old adage about 'if it looks right, it is right' and we can all be encouraged by what Westcorkrailway is brewing here, not least because the skills involved are very much the same as in kit and scratchbuilding. A great way to learn, have fun and most of all produce something that is yours to be proud of.

Yeah the smoke box door is a bit plain, itll only take 2 or 4 little strips to spruce it ip

 

I must say the way he has approached is promising for younger and more inexperienced modelers like myself who work in a more "awkward" era then the supertrain days and beyond! Steam locos only need to look "recodnisable" for us 2 anyway

[jhb171achill]

2 hours ago, Westcorkrailway said:

Ids say what well want is the newer painted numbers despite how relitivally short they were kept 

There are transfers available in the right style, so no problems there. Some had numbers from the early 50s, other never had them, so accuracy is easy whichever you prefer.... 

[Westcorkrailway]

6 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

There are transfers available in the right style, so no problems there. Some had numbers from the early 50s, other never had them, so accuracy is easy whichever you prefer.... 

This loco will almost certainly be 552 or if not 559. Which both had the later decals on them in the later days of courtmacsherry work. Which suits the rest of the loco fleet which have the same style of numbering