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Mothballed 201s Thread

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Thanks for posting and the photos. It’s such a shame the 201 programme didn’t fully work out as originally envisaged when they went into service only 23 years ago. The ability of Inchicore to completely overhaul some of these locos back into service is very impressive.  Of the 32 originally purchased how many are required in service now that the DMUs handle much of the intercity traffic?

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The 201 fleet are considered and treated as a combined pool so it's 34 total. 12 out of service with 2 returning in the next two years. Give 22 201s available now going up to 24 in 2020 roughly. 

There are 8 equipped to work Enterprise services. With 6 needed daily for that including 2 spares and 1 on exam. 

Leaves 16 free to work the 7x Mk4 sets, plus spares and exam and overhaul locos. 201s work IWT freight liners from time to time too. 201s will be allocated IWT liners all the time once they go to 24 wagon trains from the current 18.

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Really interesting photos there Railer and great info to go with them. I know they're not everyone's cup of tea but I've always had a soft spot for the 201's. Reliability issues never helped over the years I know, but it's such a pity they never got close to the success of their predecessors. 

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13 hours ago, Railer said:

The 201 fleet are considered and treated as a combined pool so it's 34 total. 12 out of service with 2 returning in the next two years. Give 22 201s available now going up to 24 in 2020 roughly. 

There are 8 equipped to work Enterprise services. With 6 needed daily for that including 2 spares and 1 on exam. 

Leaves 16 free to work the 7x Mk4 sets, plus spares and exam and overhaul locos. 201s work IWT freight liners from time to time too. 201s will be allocated IWT liners all the time once they go to 24 wagon trains from the current 18.

Plus there's the loco to work the Grand Hibernian in the summer!  I wonder will there be a surplus of 071s if 201s will be working all of the IWT liners?

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  • 5 years later...

What's the status of the 201 fleet these days?

There were ten (?) in storage according to earlier posts in this thread.

One of the in-service locos (224?) suffered a cracked frame, but also sure that one of the mothballed ones (230?) was brought back into service?

Stored as of October 2018 according to @Railer's photo and @ttc0169's photo:

201

202

203

205

210

212

214

Wikipedia also lists the following as being stored:

204

211

213

Basically the non-push-pull-equipped locos, 201 - 205 and 210-214.

Wikipedia also states that 230 has been in storage since July 2017:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IE_201_Class

 

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35 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

What's the status of the 201 fleet these days?

There were ten (?) in storage according to earlier posts in this thread.

One of the in-service locos (224?) suffered a cracked frame, but also sure that one of the mothballed ones (230?) was brought back into service?

Stored as of October 2018 according to @Railer's photo and @ttc0169's photo:

201

202

203

205

210

212

214

Wikipedia also lists the following as being stored:

204

211

213

Basically the non-push-pull-equipped locos, 201 - 205 and 210-214.

Wikipedia also states that 230 has been in storage since July 2017:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IE_201_Class

 

No sign of 230 coming back yet, she's in fairly bad condition.. I think the plan might have been to use her as the guinea pig for re-engineering/new power pack but that has obviously been cancelled/put on the back burner.. All of 201-205, and 210-214 are stored..

225 was stored for a good while after colliding with a tractor in 2010, it was back in service late in 2019(nice pic with all those lovely PINK one boxes)

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/irish-rail-225-back-on-the-roll/

However, shortly after the fleet gained 225, they lost 224 to the frame cracks. But with the BGH not coming back after COVID, they were up a loco(216) anyway..

 

 

 

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Thanks, @MOGUL!

225 was out of action for almost a decade after hitting that tractor on the level crossing?

Was the damage that bad or was it more because there was a fatality involved?

So there are 12 of the 34 stored at the moment?

201

202

203

204

205

210

211

212

213

214

224 (Cracked frame)

230 (Fire damage)

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54 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Thanks, @MOGUL!

225 was out of action for almost a decade after hitting that tractor on the level crossing?

Was the damage that bad or was it more because there was a fatality involved?

So there are 12 of the 34 stored at the moment?

201

202

203

204

205

210

211

212

213

214

224 (Cracked frame)

230 (Fire damage)

Yes, it took most of a decade to repair 225.. 216 was similar, I think was out from 2010 to 2016.. But they obviously weren't being actively repaired for most of that time!

That list seems to cover it.. So 22 locos to cover Enterprise(3 locos on links, plus 1 standby at each end), Cork line(7 locos on links, plus a standby in Cork) plus whatever freight is assigned to them(normally just 1 of the 2 IWT links).. They do seem to be getting more use on PWD work recently however, including mixed 201/071 pairs top and tailing HOBS trains

 

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225 was withdrawn from traffic due to the tractor incident, then the recession and the increase in ICR numbers resulted in less Mark 4 workings, therefore repairs were suspended. Then increase in use of Mark 4 sets required more locos so 225 was repaired and reactivated.

Two locos allocated PWD

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7 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

 

225 was out of action for almost a decade after hitting that tractor on the level crossing?

Was the damage that bad or was it more because there was a fatality involved?

On the 2nd of September, 2010 - 225 "River Deel" was involved in a fatal collision at level crossing XM096, County Roscommon. According to the RAIU report (link below), the tractor may have stalled and remained in the middle of the crossing. 225 appears to have had some damage as a result of the incident. The damage to the loco can be seen in the image below.

 

https://www.raiu.ie/investigations/road-vehicle-struck-at-level-crossing-xm096-county/1542278790784806358/

225damage.jpg

6 hours ago, MOGUL said:

Yes, it took most of a decade to repair 225.. 216 was similar, I think was out from 2010 to 2016.. But they obviously weren't being actively repaired for most of that time!

 

...Not sure when this photo was taken, but here's a photo of when 216 was stored at the Inchicore Works... I wonder if she would've ended up like the other mothballed 201s if the Belmond train never happened!

IMG_359242187536.jpeg

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10 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

What's the status of the 201 fleet these days?

There were ten (?) in storage according to earlier posts in this thread.

One of the in-service locos (224?) suffered a cracked frame, but also sure that one of the mothballed ones (230?) was brought back into service?

Stored as of October 2018 according to @Railer's photo and @ttc0169's photo:

201

202

203

205

210

212

214

Wikipedia also lists the following as being stored:

204

211

213

Basically the non-push-pull-equipped locos, 201 - 205 and 210-214.

Wikipedia also states that 230 has been in storage since July 2017:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IE_201_Class

 

201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 224 and 230 are the mothballed 201s as of now. The orange 201s (201-205 and 210-214) aka the non-push/pull 201s were withdrawn around 2009, with 214 "River Brosna" being the last non-push/pull 201 to come out of service in July of that year.

230 "River Bandon" caught fire on the 6th of June 2013 while it was hauling an Enterprise set. It was put into storage shortly afterwards and hasn't seen any usage, though in July 2017 it got partially rebuilt using 211 "River Suck" as the donor (apparently), but nothing of it has been done since.
 
224 "River Feale" was stopped and stored after a structural failure had happened while hauling the 
14:25 hr Cork Kent to Dublin Heuston service. It experienced a coolant leak and electrical fault that caused the locomotive to shut down while approaching Limerick Junction and its midsection began to sag downwards. 224 was deemed a failure and towed to Inchicore, where it currently remains. The RAIU report concluded that an unnecessary weld repair was applied to a structural chassis plate, which in turn resulted in the underframe eventually failing.

225 "River Deel" was stored in September of 2010 after having a fatal collision with a tractor in Roscommon while hauling a container train on the 09:30 hrs freight service from Ballina to North Wall. Fortunately, 225 was overhauled and reinstated, Returning to freight service on the 24th of October 2019 and passenger service on the 8th of November 2019.

Both RAIU reports of the incidents of 224 and 225 are linked below:
https://www.raiu.ie/investigations/chassis-plate-fracture-on-general-motors-class-201-locomotiv/1625134352168400/ (224)

https://www.raiu.ie/investigations/road-vehicle-struck-at-level-crossing-xm096-county/1542278790784806358/ (225)

 

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It’s a shame that half the 201s (including the one that hitched a ride on an Antonov) are lying derelict in Inchicore. I would wish to see them back in action but considering they’re gas guzzlers it’s probably unlikely; I wonder if the old 141s are still there too?

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1 hour ago, Branchline121 said:

It’s a shame that half the 201s (including the one that hitched a ride on an Antonov) are lying derelict in Inchicore. I would wish to see them back in action but considering they’re gas guzzlers it’s probably unlikely; I wonder if the old 141s are still there too?

Havent been in there for a long time, but there may still be one 141 in there which the RPSI reserved for spares... we've three preserved, though. The RPSI have 141 and 142 (one each at Connolly & Whitehead) and Downpatrick has 146 operationally in order.

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10 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

Havent been in there for a long time, but there may still be one 141 in there which the RPSI reserved for spares... we've three preserved, though. The RPSI have 141 and 142 (one each at Connolly & Whitehead) and Downpatrick has 146 operationally in order.

4 141s currently in Inchicore. 

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2 hours ago, Branchline121 said:

It’s a shame that half the 201s (including the one that hitched a ride on an Antonov) are lying derelict in Inchicore. I would wish to see them back in action but considering they’re gas guzzlers it’s probably unlikely; I wonder if the old 141s are still there too?


Thread on the Inchicore 141’s:

 

 

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15 hours ago, Thomas Nolan said:

4 141s currently in Inchicore. 

147, 162, 171 and 177 are still around, though recently I've seen 162 in a dire state. There's a red "X" on the side of her cab, so I can only assume she's up for scrap very soon. 144 was scrapped in March 2022, so there's four 141s left at Inchicore.

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