Internal Combustion (petrol and diesel) Railcars

The TBLR livery is dark grey for internal combustion locos and crimson lake for railcars. Locos and passenger vehicles carry the company crest on their sides.

Petrol Railcar No.1

Ford Baguley Railcar - TBLR No.1
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 In 1922 (during the civil war) the Tralee and Dingle Light Railway produced an inspection railcar powered by a model T Ford engine on a Baguley chassis with a six seater body built in Tralee shops. The railcar doubtless found a use as a military scout car during the "troubles".
 
 The model was built from an IP Engineering kit and completed in December 2011. It is powered by two AAA size batteries.

The Walker 'Unit' No.2

Walker Rail Tractor - TBLR No.2
 The Walker diesel rail tractor No.2 (known as 'the unit') was built in 1933 for the Clogher Valley Railway.  It was powered by a six cylinder Gardner 74hp engine. This followed on from the purchase the previous year of a diesel railcar, which proved successful, so the company ordered the unit. It is essentially the front end of a railcar but without the bus body, it was used to pull an existing passenger coach and a van instead. 
 The model was completed in April 2010. It was built from a brass, resin and wood kit developed by John Campbell and sold by Back 2 Bay 6. Originally battery powered, the motor was removed in 2016: the free running unit is now propelled by motorised van number 9, which is also fitted with radio control and diesel sound.

The Railcar on the West Clare Section. I would love to credit this delightful photo of unknown origin. If anyone can help, please contact me with the details.

Great Southern Railways Drewry Petrol Railcar

 The Drewry Car Company built two narrow gauge 45 hp petrol railcars for the Great Southern Railways (GSR), Nos. 395 & 396. They entered service in October 1927 and ran the Kilkee branch services on the West Clare section until they were both withdrawn in 1936. They were transferred to the GSR works at Inchicore in 1939 and scrapped in 1943.

Drewry Railcar on the TBLR

The Model of GSR No.395 - TBLR Railcar No.3

 The TBLR supposedly 'borrowed' number 395 from the GSR for evaluation but it seems that they forgot to return it. The management applied the TBLR crests to the bodywork and gave it the number 3 in their railcar series, as if that implied ownership. The GSR probably would not have wanted it back anyway as the railcars were not robust enough for working on the West Clare. The model was constructed in 2008, using Worsley Works etched brass sides and ends. The rest of the railcar was built from scratch. The railcar is powered by a six volt re-chargeable battery; it was converted to radio control in December 2014. Follow the link to see the construction pictures.