jhb171achil

"What if it's reported to the guards?" "Why do think we're hiding them somewhere else! Now give me a hand down here - there's two more"

I had almost forgotten the pocket wagons by this stage!!!!

Superb, Class26; just what I was looking for. Thank you.

On a sunny early morning in 1966, B141 arrives in Dugort Harbour with the empty stock for the first of only two daily passenger trains to Castletown West. Here the loco has unhooked and draws forward, and runs round the carriage and van which will form the 08:00.

“Last time we’ll have to load this lot - the railway’s lost this traffic from next week…..” “Well, my back’s not fit for much more of it anyway….” “Ye hear yer man at the junction is transferred over to Capwell bus depot?”

“What’s that boyo staring at through the window?” ”Dunno, but he’ll hardly be looking for a spare seat….. only about a dozen on it this morning…..”

Happenings in Dugort Harbour during one day’s train spotting in 1966. C201 has brought in the goods, but expired with a strange RMWeb upside-down affliction in the siding, where C230 will rescue her later. Meanwhile B125 retrieves the passenger set from the back loop road for the 11:40 to “town”.

My daughter got them when she was working in America! I think they came from some company like Woodland Scenics, but can’t be certain….

“How come you’re measuring it?” ”We’re from the Irish Railway Record Society in Dublin, but I’m also planning to make a model of it”. ”Well, lads, it’s as well you’re here - she won’t see 1955 out - next time she’s due a boiler test she’s off to the scrap lines…… Last of the class, y’know, she came here after the Bandon was finished with her….”

They do indeed! So much to do!

“Is that the last stuff off?” ”One more wagon to go. If you’d only sell them two cows of yours, ye wouldn’t be too tired to unload it….”

“How come the guards are meeting the train?” ”Group of railway enthusiasts on board. Don’t want ‘em climbing the signal posts.”

A good many very valid questions here, and great info! First, it wasn’t so much a “border” / “north-south” thing, just different companies had different policies. The “joint” nature of the CDRJC resulted in the signalling area being looked after by the NCC, so there were several somersault arms - Derry being one location, and perhaps an obvious one. I’ve a notion there might have been one at Strabane too. Most, of course, was normal lower quads, inherited from pre-joint committee days. Yellow was used on at least some CDR distants. The GNR used yellow going way back, throughout its system, from Dublin to Cavan to Derry to Antrim to Belfast. No railway would have changed its system due specifically to the border. In the early 1970s, CIE had at least some distants in all reflective yellow with a black chevron. I had one at one stage, prepared but never used, along with a home arm with all-reflective-red, with white bit. Both were on flat aluminium signal arms. The yellow-tipped one with red elsewhere was not widespread; I saw very few myself, and certainly not before the mid 1980s, as far as I recall. As you say, shunting signals varied; they are another story entirely! jhb171Senior installed the somersault at Queen’s Quay, and at the same time a set of GNR arms in Bangor, about 1960! This, believe it or not, was deliberate!

I’ve a few more of those kits, but would need to get them put together!

To answer the several questions - multi-coloured (yellow-white-red/orange) was not used anywhere ever, until CIE adopted it, seemingly in the 1970s or 80s. The levers were indeed standard equipment from the British manufacturers you mentioned, even if the signal arms weren’t . The wide bit you remember was probably the plate in the front indicating which signal the lever related to.

Quiet moments at Dugort Harbour

“How come you’re on this shift?” ”They’ve transferred John to Kildare” ”Kildare? What did they do that for?” ”Did ye not hear about that business in Cork, with the missing beer crates?”

On another day in 1965, the 12:55 goods sets off. All it carries is one van containing a consignment of tractor tyres; the other vans are empty, having arrived with newspapers, bags of fertiliser and some new pots, pans and aluminium kettles for the local hardware shop……

Come Friday and Saturday, it’s gone pretty quiet again. Although it’s a mixed train, there’s no goods today, and but nine passengers.

On Thursdays, the 11:40 mixed can be busy because it’s Market Day in Castletown. Here, a second coach has been added to the train as it leaves to go “into town”. Several vans are going back empty after arriving with the newspapers, some crates of washing powder, seven sacks of cement, fourteen kegs of Guinness for O’Donoghue’s Select Bar and Lounge and some machine parts for the fishermen’s co-op.

It’s 1957, and 195 pauses during shunting at Dugort Harbour. The van has come in on the goods with spare parts for a fishing boat engine.

“Which is the first class?” ”There isn’t any till ye get to the junction! Sure there’s only the one coach!” ”But I had a first class return from Dublin….” ”Well, unless ye want to travel with me in the guards van - I’ve a flask of tea!”

Yup - that's an upper quad. Unique, I'd say - unless anyone has further info. I checked more info since on the DNGR - it was all lower quad but many of its signals had grooved LNWR-style arms, rather than the wooden ones used here by all railways until well into CIE times.

Had a look - can't readily find any info......