Some interesting pictures of the West Clare diesel locos awaiting scrapping at Inchicore in 1963. As a lot of people will know, the IMR investigated buying these in the early 1960s. I wonder how things would have turned out had they been bought?

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It would have made an interesting twist to the I.M.R. tale, and apart from the fore-mentioned bridge and loading gauge problem, would more of the steamers end up on the scrap heap, and we wouldn't have so many interesting examples left today? 

It is very intersting to speculate just how things on the IMR would have turned out if the locos and perhaps a couple of the railcars which were more or less the same as the Donegal Railcars 19 & 20 had also arrived. ( l actually discovered one of the railcar passenger bodies in use at Shannon bridge about 20 years ago on a trip on the now closed passenger service on the peat lines there)
Perhaps the lines may have lingered on for a couple of years which would have resulted in Lord Alsia not becoming involved, the railway say closing around the late 60's as a fully diselised line with the steam locos withdrawn and possibly scrapped in a drive to raise capital to keep the system going. In that case i am pretty sure that the system would not have been attractive to re-open in some form or other and the railway could have been lost.
A missed opportunity in some ways but as things turned out perhaps it was a blessing.

I think we are very lucky to have left what we have today - it could have been a lot worse.