I was stranded on Rosslare pier for 12 hours in August 1986..hurricane Charley.Passenger facilities were basic to say the least!!The departure lounge resembled a cattle shed.There was a separate cafe bar serving ham or cheese sandwiches, washed down with a cup of instant coffee!!The owners must have made a fortune that day..talk about a captive audience!!
Thats what happened at St. Davids. It may have said 15mph. at the bottom of the bank, but you got the road, had right away, and you got going. You didnt wait until the last set of wheels started the climb. Thats what has to happen these days of course, and thats how come perfectly capable steam locos appear to have so much difficulty with the climb.
Must have been filmed some years ago this as when the train approaches St Helens Junction you can see where the old St Helens Central to St Helens Junction link which closed in 1989 joins the Liverpool to Manchester line and you can see Bold Power Station which was closed in 1991 and was demolished along with the cooling towers a year later.
Well done for capturing this amazing railway heritage, now sadly gone. Beautiful trains and carriages, awesome sounds and leaving the current rolling stock and railway experience in the shadows. Thank you.
What a transformation contrast against a lovely summer's day and walking the dog it's unbelievable what a storm surge and a high tide can do to totally change the landscape in less than a day Its awesome great footage thanks for braving it and to showcasing it
This is great footage, I love the tide meeting around the fort, this is how I remember it from the 1970's, our family got cut off and we had to drive the car up into the fort gate way, it was very exciting, I think I was about 11 years old 😊 I am 58 now.
Good video. Thanks for posting. This was the Hunslet Farewell tour in 21/04/90. But it was not the last Hunslet on a passenger train. That was six years later, on the Yankee Explorer tour that had Hunslet 102 from Belfast Great Victoria Street to Belfast Central. There are two RU-vid videos of that tour, but sadly no video of the Hunslet. Of course, I also did a "Hunslet" much more recently when M42 001 worked a PTG tour in Sopron, Hungary.
Fantastic video. Brings back childhood memories of the bouncy ride, clickity clack and traction motor whine. Love the door opening and shut chimes. Lovely to see. 😊
nearly fourty years ago I was a nurse working for the National Dock Labour board at the timber birth in Seaforth. This was the view from my Portacabin Medical Centre Which I never tired of seeing of New Brighton. How I loved it. Thank you for reliving this memory for me.
A marvelous record of a bygone era showing the proud diesel locomotive age in Ireland and marvelous people skills in a truly evocative style. Thank you John Hewitt, you have done your country and our railway men and women of past generations, of which we can be proud, great service.
Thank you for your incredibly kind words! I'm really proud that you view my humble efforts so highly and that I was able to evoke that era in the 1990s with my videos. I only wish that I'd had better equipment back then!
Great video. 5:16 Lovely to see the train propelled into Rosslare Harbour Pier which closed quite early on. A mate and I cleared Iarnrod Eireann in a four day holiday, having already completed Sligo and Ballina on the Balligo Divider tour. We had an A Class 001 to Rosslare Harbour Mainland, and we were catching the train to Limerick which started from the Pier station. Not wishing to miss out, and seeing no other pedestrian route, we naughtily walked down the track. The driver of the Limerick train watching our trespass. He understandably wanted to know WTF we thought we were doing ! So I replied that we were catching the train to Limerick. He replied that his train was stopping at Mainland so we need not have walked along the track. I said "I know it does, but we wanted to catch the train from the Pier station as we were covering all Ireland's railways and we were keen not to miss a bit". The Dublin Rosslare line is in our opinion, the most beautiful in Ireland. Very scenic and we loved the street running section in Wexford. Thanks for posting.
Always loved the Limerick Ballybrophy train. One loco, one coach, one steam gen. What more do you want ?! Back in Blighty, it would be a rancid Class 153 !
Thanks for a great video. Liked the Park Royals on the Ballina shuttle and the Limerick shuttle, and A Class 014 on a rake of Cravens probably doing a Maynooth. Great views of the former track layout at Limerick Junction. Alas no video of the Limerick Rosslare doing a 5 point turn !
Just love this! Used to stick my head out the window on the way to school and wherever else I could. The feel of the chill morning air. The sound of the steam leaks. That very particular long metalic chime from the Park Royal bogies. The huge comfort and width of their seats. And the glorious crescendo of a whole train braking, squealing, shuddering and clanging to a gentle stop!
hard to believe CIE was something the irish could once have been proud of. Now its the most disorganised pthetic rail network in all of Europe. Shame on the directors and CEO's, they killed rail travel in Ireland just like Beeching done in England
This is great footage I used to travel from England to Ireland in 80s to see my grandparents and loved the Irish trains and hospitality great times and miss them wish I had a time machine.
Etruria station was closed & removed during the West Coast Main Line upgrade, as was Norton Bridge. Wedgewood & Barlaston remain never officially closed... Travelled via the "Knotty" for the Sealed Knot Battle of Nantwich last January; very appropriate!
That was a really impressive run and thrash for a Class 47 - must have had a very good driver! Seems like there was a big variation between members of that class in terms of noise generated.
Platform 4 is no longer used. Shame we only saw 2/5s of the 5 point turn. Propelling over the level crossing, behind the back of the station, used to always make me chuckle. Listening to the signalman at the North Box ring the block instruments and slam the levers always meant you knew when the Rosslare train was due.
Great to hear the roar and screech of the GM engines, and see the steam heat escaping again. "Running around" was the theme of Irish railway operation for decades until the advent of the diesel units.
