Diesel locomotives of Ireland

Last updated

Although prototype diesel locomotives ran in Britain before World War II, the railways of both the Republic and Northern Ireland changed over much more rapidly from steam to diesel traction than those in Britain, due to the island's limited coal reserves and (in the Republic) an ageing steam locomotive fleet.

Contents

Northern Ireland operated several diesel shunters as early as the 1930s. CIÉ's first diesels consisted of five shunters built by CIÉ in 1947/48. The initial two diesel mainline locomotives were also built in Inchicore, in 1950/51, and fitted with Sulzer engines and MV traction equipment. This was followed in the mid 1950s with a large order from Britain fitted with Crossley engines, with notably poor results. From the early 1960s, locomotives with more reliable engines from General Motors Electro-Motive Division were adopted. In the late 1960s the Crossley engines were replaced by EMD 645 units in a major re-enginging programme. Since the early 1960s all new locomotives on the two Irish rail systems have been purchased from EMD, with the exception of three from Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds, England, for NIR in 1970.

Ireland

Mass dieselisation

In 1948, CIÉ commissioned a report from Sir James Milne (General Manager of the British Great Western Railway) on the problems of upgrading its rail services. Despite his recommendation to continue with steam traction, CIÉ decided to push for the complete dieselisation of its railway system, expecting substantial economies of scale.

The first of the two mainline diesel locomotives built by CIÉ at Inchicore Works, each with a Sulzer engine built by Vickers Armstrong, Class 113, entered service in April 1950, following completion of trials.

Subsequently, CIÉ placed one of the largest orders of its time, for 94 locomotives (60 Metro-Vick Class 001, or A Class, and 34 201 Class, or C Class locomotives) with a consortium of four British companies:

Delivered to Inchicore Works between 1955 and 1958, the Class 001 was to become the mainstay of mainline passenger and freight services on the network for the next forty years. Parts were also ordered for a further 19 locos to be built at Inchicore Works.

From the outset, the two-stroke Crossley engines proved under-powered and unreliable. The 001s were not capable of reliably handling mainline work, while the Class 201, no longer required on branch line work due to Todd Andrews's large scale closures, were unsuited to mainline work because of their low power (c.600 hp).

The General Motors influence

From the early 60s, CIÉ looked to GM, with their history of reliability. 15 121 Class were purchased in 1961. These were modified shunting locos ("switchers") and proved an instant success. One drawback was the single cab construction requiring the loco to be turned at the end of each journey as the drivers refused to operate them "long hood" forward. They were modified in the mid-1970s for multiple unit operation and operated in consist, "long hood" to "long hood", with their cabs at each end. 37 141 Class, delivered in 1962, were fitted with two cabs to overcome this problem. The delivery of these engines brought an end to regular steam working in April 1963. A third batch of GM locomotives (181 Class) were delivered in 1966, which were essentially 141s with more powerful engines.

Having experienced GM's reliability, CIÉ decided in 1964 to fit higher-powered engines in both Class 001 and Class 201 locos. However, GM would only sell complete engine / generator assemblies and would not provide engines on their own. They finally agreed in 1967 to supply engines to enable re-engining of the Class 001. This was the first time that GM supplied engines for such purposes. The trials were a total success and over the next four years, all 94 Metrovicks were fitted with replacement EMD 645 engines.

Eighteen new GM locomotives were delivered in 1977. Visually resembling a stretched 141/181 Class, the new locomotives had a Co-Co wheel arrangement and were of significantly higher power, 2,475 h.p. The 071 Class with its higher speed and power went on to become the principal passenger locomotive on the Irish railway network for the next twenty years. The new 201 Class, again built by GM, superseded them in 1994–1995. These are currently the heaviest, fastest and most powerful diesel locomotives operating in Ireland (112 tons, max. speed 102 mph and 3,200 hp).

Classification

Initially, CIÉ numbered and classified its handful of early diesel locomotives in the same way as steam. However, it soon developed a series based on engine power Types, with the highest-powered locomotives being Type A and numbered in the Axx series, and the lowest powered being Type G and numbered in the G6xx series. Locomotive K801, ex GNRB, was a one-off prototype and did not truly fit in this scheme.

Since all the locomotives were in fact numbered in series, the letter prefix was dropped in 1972, as was the allocation of numbers according to power. Locomotives rebuilt with higher-powered engines were not renumbered, later locomotives simply taking the next available number series.

In the early to mid-1980s, locomotives started to be designated with the letters S and/or A after their number. For example, 124 was renumbered 124SA.

The "S" indicated that the locomotive had been fitted with Continuous Automatic Warning System (CAWS), an in-cab system that displays the aspect of the next signal. Locomotives not fitted with CAWS had restrictions imposed on their use.

The suffix "A" indicated that the locomotive's air brakes had been commissioned. Until the introduction of the Mark 3, all Irish coaching stock used vacuum brakes but all locomotives since the 121 Class had also been equipped with air braking, albeit never commissioned. Only those whose air brakes were commissioned could haul the new coaches.

The suffix letters were dropped once all locomotives had their air brakes commissioned and been fitted with CAWS, and numbering continued as before.

Northern Ireland

A variety of small classes of diesel locomotives have operated on railways in Northern Ireland. From 2001, most items of rolling stock in use on NIR had 8000 added to their number so as to be part of the Translink number series, which also incorporates their road vehicles.

Belfast and County Down Railway (1848–1948)

Northern Counties Committee (1903–1948)

Northern Ireland Railways (since 1967)

Republic of Ireland

ImageClassTypeImageClassType
23.10.93 Wellington Bridge 051 & 012 (6033721762).jpg
001 Class Numbers 001–060 (Type A)
071 077 colbert.jpg
071 Class:Numbers 071–088
23.10.93 Carrick-on-Suir 103 (6299550376).jpg
101 Class:Numbers 101–112 (Type B)
CIE B113.jpg
113 Class:Numbers 113–114 (Type B)
CIE 134.jpg
121 Class Numbers 121–135 (Type B)
B181 colbert.JPG
141 Class Numbers 141–177 (Type B)
CIE 181 CLASS INCHICORE.jpg
181 Class Numbers 181–192 (Type B)
23.10.93 Carrick-on-Suir 231 (6033165179).jpg
201 Class:Numbers 201–234 (Type C)(Type B re-engined)
301 Class Numbers 301–305 (Type D) 401 Class Numbers 401–419 (Type E)
E421 At Downpatrick.JPG
421 Class Numbers 421–434 (Type E) 501 Class Numbers 501–503 (Type F)
601 Class Numbers 601–603 (Type G)
G613 (Deutz).jpg
611 Class:Numbers 611–617 (Type G)
801 Class Number 801 (Type K)
Belfast Central (2).jpg
GM 201 Class Numbers 201–207 & 210–234

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diesel locomotive</span> Locomotive powered by a diesel engine

A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels. The most common are diesel-electric locomotives and diesel-hydraulic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIÉ 001 Class</span>

The Córas Iompair Éireann 001 Class locomotive was manufactured by Metropolitan-Vickers at their Dukinfield Works in Manchester. The 001 Class locomotive was the backbone of mainline passenger and freight train services on the Irish railway network for forty years from 1955 until the mid-1990s when they were replaced by the new 201 Class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIÉ 113 Class</span>

The Córas Iompair Éireann 113 class locomotives were the first mainline diesel locomotives used in Ireland, being built in January 1950 and October 1951 by CIÉ at their Inchicore Works. They were fitted with Sulzer 6LDA28 engines of 915 hp (682 kW), with four Metropolitan-Vickers MV157 traction motors. They were of Bo-Bo wheel arrangement, weighed 80 tonnes and had a maximum speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). They were initially numbered 1100–1101 in the steam locomotive number series, but were subsequently renumbered B113–B114 in 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIÉ 101 Class</span>

The Córas Iompair Éireann 101 Class locomotives, numbered B101-B112, were built in 1956 by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company. They were fitted with Sulzer 6LDA28 engines of 960 hp (720 kW), with four Metropolitan-Vickers MV137 traction motors. They were of A1A-A1A wheel arrangement, weighed 75 tonnes and had a maximum speed of 120 km/h (75 mph).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIÉ 201 Class</span>

The Córas Iompair Éireann 201 Class was a class of 34 diesel electric locomotives manufactured by Metropolitan-Vickers at their Dukinfield Works in Manchester. They were a smaller, lighter and less powerful version of the 001 Class and were originally intended for branch line passenger and freight duties. They were introduced in 1956 and, although their duties changed over the years, were in regular service on the Irish railway network until the mid-1980s. Six were sold to Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IÉ 201 Class</span>

The Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) / Northern Ireland Railways 201 Class locomotives are the newest and most powerful diesel locomotives operating in Ireland and were built between 1994 and 1995 by General Motors Diesel. They are model type JT42HCW, fitted with an EMD 12-710G3B engine of 3,200 hp (2,400 kW), weigh 108.862 tonnes and have a maximum speed of 164 km/h (102 mph).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIÉ 121 Class</span> Railway locomotive

The Córas Iompair Éireann 121 Class was a railway locomotive which was manufactured by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. These locomotives were in regular service on the Irish railway network until 2002, with the last two remaining in service until early 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIÉ 141 Class</span>

The CIE 141 Class locomotives were built in 1962 by General Motors Electro Motive Division (EMD) in the United States. Numbered B141 to B177, they were an updated version of the 121 Class locomotives, mechanically very similar but with cabs at each end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 28</span> Class of diesel electric locomotives built by Metropolitan Vickers

The British Rail Class 28 diesel-electric locomotives, known variously as 'Metrovicks', 'Crossleys' or 'Co-Bos', were built under the Pilot Scheme for diesel locomotives as part of the British Railways 1955 Modernisation Plan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD Class 66</span> Co-Co diesel locomotive

The Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) Class 66 are Co-Co diesel locomotives built by EMD for the European heavy freight market. Designed for use in Great Britain as the British Rail Class 66, a development of the Class 59, they have been adapted and certified for use in other European countries. Outside Europe, 40 locomotives have been sold to Egyptian Railways for passenger operation.

Push–pull is a configuration for locomotive-hauled trains, allowing them to be driven from either end of the train, whether having a locomotive at each end or not.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railway Preservation Society of Ireland</span> Heritage rail society in Ireland

The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) is a railway preservation group founded in 1964 and operating throughout Ireland. Mainline steam train railtours are operated from Dublin, while short train rides are operated up and down the platform at Whitehead, County Antrim, and as of 2023, the group sometimes operates mainline trains in Northern Ireland using hired-in NIR diesel trains from Belfast. The RPSI has bases in Dublin and Whitehead, with the latter having a museum. The society owns heritage wagons, carriages, steam engines, diesel locomotives and metal-bodied carriages suitable for mainline use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian locomotive class WDM-2</span> Broad gauge Indian diesel-electric locomotive

The Indian locomotive class WDM-2 is a class of diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in 1962 by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), Diesel (D), Mixed traffic (M) engine, 2nd generation (2). They entered service in 1962. A total of more than 2,700 WDM-2 was built at ALCO and Banaras Locomotive Works, Varanasi between 1962 and 1998, which made them the most numerous class of mainline diesel locomotive until its successor the WDM-3A.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian locomotive class WDP-4</span> Indian Railways passenger class diesel locomotive

The Indian locomotive class WDP-4 is a passenger-hauling diesel-electric locomotive with AC electric transmission designed by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and built by both GM-EMD and under license by Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) of Varanasi, India for Indian Railways as the classes WDP4, WDP4B and WDP4D. The GT46PAC is a passenger version of the previous Indian Railways EMD GT46MAC freight locomotive. The locomotive has a 16-cylinder 710G3B diesel engine and is one of the fastest diesel-electric locomotives in service in Indian Railways.

The ALCO DL560C is a series of diesel-electric locomotive with AC electric transmission designed by the American Locomotive Company and produced under license by Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) Varanasi, India for Indian Railways as their classes WDM-2, WDM-3A/2C, WDM-3D and WDG-3A for operation in India. The locomotive is fitted with a 16-cylinder ALCO 251 B, C diesel engine. In the early 1960s Indian Railways needed a reliable diesel workhorse to gradually replace its steam locomotive fleet. Equal numbers of ALCO's DL560C and EMD's G16 were chosen for trials. More locomotives of each of these were purchased for more trials. Indian Railways was keen on producing these locomotives in the country rather than depending on imports. EMD did not agree for a Transfer-of-Technology, while ALCO did. Thus ALCO DL560C was chosen for the job due to its easy maintenance, reliability and simple operation. And from then on vast numbers of this loco in different configurations have been produced and remain the main diesel traction power of Indian Railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD G16</span>

The EMD G16 is a diesel locomotive built by General Motors in the US and under licence by Clyde Engineering in Australia and MACOSA in Spain. It has been used in Australia, Brazil, Egyptian Railways, Hong Kong, Israel Railways, Mexico, Spain, Yugoslav Railways and on the successor Croatian Railways, Slovenian Railways, Serbian Railways, Macedonian Railways, Republika Srpska Railways, Kosovo Railways and Railways of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAGR X class</span> Australian diesel-electric locomotive class

The WAGR X class is a now-withdrawn class of diesel locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock & Company and Metropolitan-Vickers, Bowesfield Works, Stockton-on-Tees for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) between 1954 and 1956. Several members of the class have been preserved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIÉ 2600 Class</span>

The Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) 2600 Class were Associated Equipment Company (AEC)–engined diesel multiple units that operated InterCity and suburban services on the CIÉ system between 1952 and 1975. Many were later converted for push–pull operation with diesel locomotives, finally being withdrawn when displaced by the electric Dublin Area Rapid Transit service in the mid-1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Class 39-000</span> South African diesel-electric locomotive

The Spoornet Class 39-000 of 2006 is a South African diesel-electric locomotive from the Spoornet era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIÉ 071 Class</span>

The Córas Iompair Éireann/Iarnród Éireann 071 Class or Northern Ireland Railways 110 Class or Serbian Railways JŽ series 666 is a General Motors Electro-Motive Division EMD JT22CW series diesel-electric locomotive used in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Serbia.

References

    Sources

    Further reading