B141

You say that as if there wasn’t a coordinated mass arson attack against Irish rail’s infrastructure last Sunday

According to their eventbrite link and Facebook page, steam haulage has been cancelled for the RPSI’s upcoming Cú Chulainn railtour and has been replaced by an 071 due to fire risk. I assume this is in light of the fires caused by 131 last Sunday. Irish rail have cancelled the steam train three weeks in advance, even though they don’t know what the weather is going to be like, and it’s only going to get hotter as we move closer to the summer. Does this mean that we’re going to have a blanket ban on steam on Irish rail during the spring and summer months? If so, very disappointing!

I don’t know, Noel’s theory of a coordinated arson attack sounds much more plausible than sparks from the loco causing the fires

If you look closely at the photo you’ll see that some of the grass is dry and yellow along the track. I assume most of the fires involved gorse which burns much more readily than grass. If the fires were man-made, it would involve setting alight to brush just as the steam loco passed. This would be particularly difficult in areas which have no lineside access and would involve climbing up cliffs or walking along the track for some time like in this photo. Do you think this was a coordinated arson attack against the RPSI? I have seen some people suggest that on social media. I didn’t see any photos of the damaged equipment, I’m going off what RPSI staff and Irish rail staff told me, and the RTE news article.

131 used to have a mesh over the damper to stop sparks from falling out. I assume it was removed at some point

1. Up to half a dozen fires were found where the loco travelled shortly after it passed as per photo. It’s reasonable to assume that at least some of those fires were caused by the loco – sparks from locos causing fires is a well known phenomenon. If a machine which emits sparks leaves a trail of fires in its wake, then that machine probably caused the fires. It’s also been very hot the last few days, drying lineside brush out. We don’t need a forensic investigation to establish this on the balance of probabilities. 2. H&S gone totally berserk? I’m not sure you read what I wrote. The fires damaged cabling and signalling equipment, as per RTE. Are you seriously suggesting Irish rail should run trains without safety equipment? This incident likely cost tens of thousands of euro.

Train left yesterday 15 minutes late which was fine. Then after about an hour and a half of travelling towards Wexford we stopped at Rathdrum station. After about 15 mins they announced on the tannoy that the train was temporarily halted due to lineside fires. Then about an hour later I found out from social media that we would eventually be towed back by diesel engine to Dublin (this was not announced on the tannoy). I later found out that the fire brigade had told us not to proceed as cinders from the steam engine had caused several (someone told me six but I'm not sure) lineside fires behind us, which damaged signalling/electrical equipment and closed the line, so Irish Rail had to organise rail replacement bus services. Also the steam engine missed its water stop so the civil defence came with a fire engine to fill it. Since the carriages dump the contents of the toilets directly onto the track which isn’t allowed at platforms, we weren’t allowed to use the toilets for a while then after that we could use them but not flush so didn’t smell great. About two hours after we first arrived in Rathdrum the diesel engine arrived and towed us away – but they didn’t give us any notice when it was due to arrive so I’m concerned that some people people were left behind at Rathdrum and had to make their own way back to Dublin. I was in the whiskey carriage so on the way back they gave us a small bit of whiskey each as that was all they had, the whiskey guy tried to make the best of a bad situation. So we didn’t make it to Wexford or get the food/whiskey we paid for there, also the onwards steam service to Rosslare was cancelled. But there was alcohol at the bar, the weather was good, and the people we were sitting next to were good craic so we had a good time. However, the communication by the RPSI was very poor and I doubt passengers will get a refund. Probably cost Irish Rail tens of thousands of euro between damaged signalling equipment, cancelled trains, replacement bus service, and rescue diesel too. A few people have expressed concern that given the amount of breakdowns the RPSI have had over the past few years they may be confined to the Dublin-Maynooth route in the future. Here's a photo of one of the fires I saw on social media.

175 is owned by the RPSI, not the ITG

Only time will tell!

Fantastic work. Black and Tan is an interesting livery choice – perhaps to match RPSI’s B141 and/or B142 at Maam Cross? Both of them are operational as far as I understand, so it’s very possible!

One of the coaches in the film was a GSWR full brake, same as GSWR 69 at Downpatrick. Hattons are making a model of one

G611 is currently green and G613 was green in the 1990s, so yes they were!

Sorry to be a bit blunt, but how are the Gs coming along? Will the 611s be available in green?

Oh dear! Hope he gets better soon

IRM have said that there’s an announcement in February, but they didn’t say *which* February…

Very glad to have gotten plough van 24852 (the one at Downpatrick), will look great behind the G class you’re surely about to announce

Patiently waiting on my G class so I can make a model of Downpatrick

A model of GSWR 90 would be lovely please Would be perfect for any steam era or early 1990s layout

I am pretty sure 2 and 3 were re-engined when they went to Merthyr Tydfil so hopefully overheating isn’t a problem any more. Not a problem for 1 as there’s no longer any engine to overheat in the first place.

In an ideal world I’d love to see Maam Cross get one of the ex-NIR DH locos from Holcim in Puttalam, Sri Lanka. I think DH2 (now named Shakthi) was operational as of a few years ago. Irish loco with an interesting history, (used to have) vacuum brakes, sturdy enough to easily haul a few carriages, not too heavy, good visibility in both directions. Also DH1 is in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales but is just an empty shell like C227.

It says that these are sold out on the IRM website. Glad they sold well and that profits from them are going to a worthy cause.

Where was the other place where a G hauled passenger services?

Very interesting information. Do you know which Jeeps carried the NIR logos?

None of the preserved diesels “seem to see the light of day”? That’s totally inaccurate - the restoration and running of diesel locomotives is the entire reason why models of A3r are being made, as some of the funds raised are being donated to the Irish Traction Group which is currently operating A39r, 146, C231, and G617, and restoring 226. Well done to IRM for supporting such a worthy cause. Not to mention 69 and 458 currently operating at Downpatrick or B124 under restoration at Inchicore by the RPSI…

Very interesting and very informative, thank you so much. I didn't realise that they were used so extensively on intercity work, I always associated them with the Limerick Junction shuttle and suburban duties.