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The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNRI) VS class steam locomotives were 4-4-0 three-cylinder simple expansion steam locomotives built in 1948 by Beyer, Peacock and Company. [2] They were procured in order to operate the Enterprise train service between Dublin and Belfast and were the last series of steam engines ordered by the company. [3]
The locomotives of class VS, designed by Mcintosh, were very similar to the compound locomotives of GNRI Class V, built in 1932 by Beyer, Peacock and Company. Unlike the latter, however, they had only simple expansion steam engines with Walschaerts valve gear. [4] Their wheel arrangement was due to the restricted space in the Dundalk workshops. Class VS used the same Belpaire boilers as class V with an evaporation surface of 1,235 square feet (114.7 m2) and a superheating surface of 295 square feet (27.4 m2), [1] and other parts were also interchangeable. [3] The locomotives were equipped with smoke deflectors, rocking grates, hopper ashpans, and self-cleaning fireboxes with a grate area of 25 square feet (2.3 m2), [1] and were fitted with 4,000 imperial gallons (18 m3) Stanier type tenders. [4]
Five locomotives of this type were built. Their works numbers were 6961 to 6965, [4] their running numbers were 206 to 210. [3] They were named after the rivers Liffey, Boyne, Lagan, Foyle, and Erne. [2]
The VS class shared working the heaviest and fastest expresses on the Dublin to Belfast main line with Class V compounds; and were noted for use on the non-stop Enterprise express services. [2]
In 1958 with the split up of the cross border GNRI Nos. 206, 207, and 209 went to CIÉ whilst acquiring a suffix of N. At the same time Nos. 208 and 210 became 58 and 59 under the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA). CIÉ sold No. 207N to the UTA in 1963 and utilised on both main line and suburban services from Belfast. [2]
All were taken out of service by 1965, [5] none surviving into preservation. [2]
A wide variety of diesel and electric multiple units have been used on Ireland's railways. This page lists all those that have been used. Except with the NIR Class 3000, the numbers given by each class in the lists below are those allocated to the coaches that make up the units in that class, otherwise, unit numbers are not used in Ireland.
A wide variety of steam locomotives have been used on Ireland's railways. This page lists most if not all those that have been used in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Irish railways generally followed British practice in locomotive design.
The Great Northern Railway V class steam locomotives were 4-4-0 three-cylinder compound locomotives built in 1932 by Beyer, Peacock & Company for the Great Northern Railway (Ireland).
Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English general engineering company and railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson founded the company in 1854. The company closed its railway operations in the early 1960s. It retained its stock market listing until 1976, when it was bought and absorbed by National Chemical Industries of Saudi Arabia.
Enterprise is the cross-border inter-city train service between Dublin Connolly in the Republic of Ireland and Belfast Grand Central in Northern Ireland, jointly operated by Iarnród Éireann (IE) and NI Railways (NIR). It operates on the Belfast–Dublin railway line.
The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I) or GNRI) was an Irish gauge (1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)) railway company in Ireland. It was formed in 1876 by a merger of the Irish North Western Railway (INW), Northern Railway of Ireland, and Ulster Railway. The governments of Ireland and Northern Ireland jointly nationalised the company in 1953, and the company was liquidated in 1958: assets were split on national lines between the Ulster Transport Authority and Córas Iompair Éireann.
The Great Northern Railway of Ireland (GNRI) AEC Class were Associated Equipment Company (AEC)–engined diesel multiple units that operated InterCity and suburban services on the GNRI and later Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) systems between 1950 and 1975. They were finally withdrawn in 1972. They were the inspiration for the CIÉ 2600 Class.
The Belfast–Dublin Main Line is a main and the busiest railway route on the island of Ireland that connects Dublin Connolly station in the Republic of Ireland and Belfast Lanyon Place station in Northern Ireland. It is the only railway line that crosses the Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border.
The SLNCR Lough Class was a class of 0-6-4T steam tank locomotives of the Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway (SLNCR).
The GNR(I) Q Class 4-4-0 steam locomotives of the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR) were mainly used on cross-border mixed traffic duties between Dublin and Belfast, as well as the "Derry Road" between Portadown and Derry. It was designed for the GNR under the auspices of Charles Clifford and built by Neilson, Reid and Company, North British Locomotive Company and Beyer, Peacock and Company. The Q Class is slightly smaller than the GNR class S 4-4-0 but powerful enough to haul a rake of eight or more carriages.
The Dublin and South Eastern Railway 15 and 16 were a pair of 2-6-0 steam locomotives which were built for the heavy goods (freight) traffic on the Dublin to Wexford main line of the Dublin and South Eastern Railway (DSER). The two locomotives were built by Beyer, Peacock and Company at their Gorton Foundry in Manchester.
The GS&WR Class 101, classified as Class 101 or Class J15 by the Great Southern Railways, was a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotives designed for working goods traffic although they did, and were quite capable of, working branch and secondary passenger trains.
Dublin and Drogheda Railway (D&D) was a railway company in Ireland which publicly opened its 31¾ mile main line between Dublin and Drogheda in May 1844. It was the third railway company in Ireland to operate passenger trains and the first to use the Irish standard 5 ft 3 in gauge. It later opened branches to Howth and Oldcastle. The opening of the Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway (D&BJct) between the D&D at Drogheda and the Ulster Railway (UR) at Portadown in 1852 saw an almost continuous main line connection between Dublin and Belfast, which was resolved by the official opening of the Boyne Viaduct in April 1855. Amalgamations between these and other companies in 1875 and 1876 saw the creation of the Great Northern Railway of Ireland GNR(I).
The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) class S was a class of five 4-4-0 steam locomotive that the Great Northern Railway introduced in 1913 to haul Belfast – Dublin express passenger trains. They were followed two years later by the three similar class S2 locomotives.
The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) SG and SG2 classes was one of the last designs of Charles Clifford. They were primarily intended for goods work, but the increased wheel diameter enabled effective passenger duties, managing heavy excursion trains with ease and speed.
The GNR(I) class U was a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotives built for the Great Northern Railway (Ireland).
The GNRI BUT Class was a fleet of diesel-powered railcars operated by the Great Northern Railway Board and its successors between 1957 and 1980. They were an evolution of the earlier AEC railcars, which had entered service in 1951.
The Belfast Central Railway (BCR) was a railway company operating in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The company was incorporated by act of Parliament in 1872 and acquired by the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) in 1885.
The DSER 20 class was a class of three 4-4-2T locomotives operated by the Dublin and South Eastern Railway and later the Great Southern Railways and CIÉ.
The DW&WR 13 was an 0-6-0 goods locomotive class built in 1904 at Grand Canal Street railway works for the Dublin, Wicklow & Wexford Railway and was followed by four more of the same class, two being contracted to Beyer, Peacock & Company.
