Irish Steam Railways

Has anyone been to the RPSI I intend to go this year would be interested to see where to stay etc

 

They have a very comprehensive website relating to their activities at Whitehead: http://www.steamtrainsireland.com/ and whilst I could not see any links to local accommodation, it might be worth using the email facility to drop them a line and ask for some accommodation lists if they have some.

46118

 

Thanks 46118 I checked out the website and they havnt updated yet .They were working on the compound they have "Merlin" and being a Compound nut i wanted to see this locomotive as it was the only compound still working .The one we have still doesnt look as tho its ever going to steam .Pity

 

Since the RPSI site at Whitehead is easily accessible by rail, I would personally stay in Belfast, where there is a range of accomodation from Travelodge upwards. Travel on a Sunday and get a cheap all-lines rover ticket. Whilst in the Belfast area, make a point of visiting the Transport Museum at Cultra (by train or bus) and perhaps the Downpatrick & County Down Railway (by bus). I planned to do all these things in April before a Volcano got in the way.

 

Thanks Gary thats good information .sorry about the Volcano

 

Make sure you have an endless capacity for Guinness. Some of those RPSI guys can drink for Ireland and will be more than happy to share several with you.

 

sounds good tho is there any irish real ales or would that be an insult to ask

 

Cask ale isn't a big part of the Irish beer scene but it does exist.
http://www.adrians.utvinternet.com/camrani/brewery.htm
http://www.adrians.utvinternet.com/camrani/outlets.htm

 

Train+ferry to Ireland £44 one-way any UK station to Belfast, accommodation search links at the bottom. North & South service train times.

If you'd like to do more than one steam railway while you're there, see this list.

 

Thanks laplace.I did check the ferry & train out too long and cheaper and quiker to fly .Thanks for the list real handy

 

Here are some phots of steam at the Ulster Transport Museum at Cultra. It is on the Belfast - Bangor commuter line, and trains are frequent. The museum is enormous! It covers motoring, shipping and aviation as well as railways. It is co-located with the Ulster Folk Museum, which deals with life in the early 20th century. Together, they form one of the biggest museum complexes in Britain. Allow plenty of time for a visit!

http://andrewsheritagetransport.fotopic.net/c1719660.html

And some phots of the 2009 RPSI three day tour are here - highly recommended! (The loco was 2-6-4T No 4.)

http://andrewstransport2009.fotopic.net/c1716933.html

Cheers

AN

 

Smithwicks is possibly the only fairly widely available brew that's comparable to a GB Ale, but it's still not in every pub by any means. In the majority, it's a choice of Stout or Lager. If you have the time, I do recommend searching out a pub that stocks the Hilden brews, as they are pretty tasty. IMHO, it's also pure marketing gibber that Guinness tastes better in Ireland; I've had more pints than I'd like to remember in both the GB and Ireland, and to my palate they taste exactly the same. I guess it's just the craic that goes along with it

 

Smithwicks is worse than cat's pee.
There used to be a difference between Irish and UK Guinness in that the Irish version was unpasteurised and the UK brewed version was. Now that Guinness for the UK market is brewed in Ireland it should taste the same whichever side if the Irish Sea you drink it. IMHO keg Guinness isn't a patch on a good cask stout. Sadly cask Guinness died many years ago and even bottled Guiness is no longer bottle conditioned.

 

I wouldn't argue with you with regards to Smithwicks, but it does seem to be the closest thing I've regularly found to a typical GB mass-produced ale. I'd still choose a Guinness though. By the way, what do you feed your cat? ;-)

 

Thanks for this post would like to see No 800 steaming again what a fine looking loco

 

Not quite. K1 on the Welsh Highland is a compound.

Meic

 

I think you'll have a long wait. IRC the class was restricted to Dublin - Cork so route availability wasn't great.

 

Ok 4-4-0 compound Midland style