Rails Through Tipperary
MODELLERS of the Irish railway scene in the 1960s,
70s and 80s will find this largely pictorial volume a veritable treasure trove of rolling stock, trackside and wider period details. For anyone who travelled between Limerick and Waterford and the line’s associated branches to Nenagh, Killaloe and Cashel back in the day, these will be evocative pages. And for those unfamiliar with the area, it is a fascinating insight into the types of traction to have plied the rails. By the early 1960s steam had largely disappeared, so
the images are predominantly of diesel locomotives, though the unique (and sadly unsuccessful) railbus No. 2508 (literally a road bus on rail wheels), introduced on the Clonmel-Thurles branch in 1955, is an interesting exception. The images are arranged by geographic area and the book concludes with a summary of locos and stock to have used the lines, as well as a selection of track plans, timetable extracts and gradient profiles, making this a useful reference work, as well as an enjoyable browsing experience.