More Trains (And A Wessex)
Great research PP.
Thanks Rucsack. Can’t claim credit though. A Co Armagh friend / Irish railway photographer knew railwaymen from both CIE and NIR and used to travel out to Meigh, Adavoyle and Kilnasaggart with the PW repair gangs after ‘incidents’ such as that 1984 one. He got these two Wessex views from a south-bound Enterprise on 8th June 1988, five months before my own first encounter with 72 Squadron. The cab serial isn’t visible, but the tail code appears to be O or Q and the location looks like the 'boggiest' piece of ground the crew could find between Adavoyle and the border, to the east of the line below Romeo 21. Tally with anyone’s log book?
This particular express passenger service was regularly used by former International Olympic Committee President Lord Killanin up to his death in 1999 and I’ve seen it on a few occasions with what seemed to be a Wessex ‘escort’ from the border to just north of Bessbrook. I believe he was a passenger on 12th October 1978 (as was I) when the 08.00 ex Dublin was burned out at the Ormeau Road bridge in Belfast by three ieds hidden in the carriage partitions. One fatality, several injured and the narrowest of too many close escapes for Phamous during my time working in Belfast. Finally, "The Queen’s Engine" was withdrawn on 26th August 2006 and cut up the following week (more Seagoe info). Better quit before this becomes a railforum. Anyway, here’s the ‘photies’.
PS You referred to the state of the roads and railways in the Republic. Generally, the permanent way on CIE was always better maintained than what remains of Northern Ireland's 'network' and, courtesy of the EU, the roads south of the border are incomparably improved from twenty years ago. Our's now resemble what the south's motorists used to endure. Progress?
Last edited by PhamousPhotographer; 30th Apr 2010 at 19:39.
Reason: To re-size photos