228RiverOwenboy

I'm mostly on about the 1994 ones, which still run today

Good afternoon everyone, I'm currently making plans on a historical video of the history of the 201 class, and I was wondering if there was anything noticeable about them, and if there was anything major that would be crucial to add into the script, or hopefully some misconceptions that could be corrected.

We all know the infamous no.230 as it caught fire in June 2013 due to the HEP system overheating and catching fire; since then, she has been sitting in a siding located at Inchicore whereas she sat in the works at some point. Apparently, there are indications that Irish Rail were repairing the locomotive using parts from stored class member 211.

So...Will she ever return? 

6 minutes ago, connollystn said:

@228RiverOwenboy - Thanks for the update and picture. Looks like 224 is for the scrapheap.

Most likely, I actually saw her a month prior to her incident!

4 minutes ago, connollystn said:

Anyway, back to the subject in hand. Does anyone have any up-to-date information regarding the 224? It'd be interesting to find out why the superstructure failed.

Well, the reason why 224 failed was because of that of a weld repair to a non-structural bed plate had been unnecessarily applied to a structural chassis plate, causing an eventual structural failure of the locomotive.

A bent no.224 brought to the Inchicore Works, July 2020

34 minutes ago, Colin R said:

I think the thing is most railway organisations at some point pick a pig in a poke, the other thing is technology also has to play its part. like the days of the steam engine there is only so far a design can go and as 228Riverowneboy has said the A class would not have coped with todays traffic, also I don't see IE buying any new locos at this moment in time either, what with the eco summit having just taken place, there will now be design teams at all the locomotive manufactures working out what the industry and railway companies will require in the future.

I would not be surprised to hear of a IE bill to electrify the remaining parts of the rail system and the construction of at least one may be two new electrical power stations or the installation of bigger wind farms around Ireland to power the railways future needs.

Mhm. It'd be very illogical if Irish Rail retained the majority of the A Class, they already have the 071s and 201s which are more flexible and more powerful...There's only so many issues with keeping locos over the age of 40 in service, there's major aspects such as scarce spare parts (especially with over 50+ A Class locos), expensive maintenance and immense fuel consumption.

17 hours ago, connollystn said:

It had limited operational use. Should have bought fewer 201s and retained the A class.

Now, I'd like to add that the A Class were pretty obsolete, and would definitely not reach the standards to pull anything of today's rolling stock (well, except freight...if anything). Plus, it was inevitable that they were going to be withdrawn, sure, they were about 39-40 years old...They were bound to be replaced by more powerful locos

2 hours ago, Noel said:

As a matter of interest what is the status of 201? Is it on the 201 scape line at inchicore? Presume it doesn't have the PP gear? Was there a suggestion some years ago that some of the 'resting' 201s could have gone back into service re-engined with hybrid power trains? In the context of climate action, diesel locomotion's days seem numbered.

If I remember correctly, this plan either never came to fruition or was cancelled in 2019

So, where's 224 now?

So I recently began a new hobby of 3D Rendering, using something called "Blender" making Irish Rail trains digitally, and I'm looking for a few more Irish Rail diagrams, mostly looking for the IE 201 Class (not to be confused with the CIE 201 Class); as I can't find anywhere online...If there's none, then that's okay!

5 minutes ago, skinner75 said:

In the UK, GBRF are taking Class 56 locos, gutting them, and putting in new eco engines, generators etc., to form the Class 69:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdSC-WF-eNI

Yeah I saw that, can't wait to see them in service in the future!

On 16/3/2021 at 10:10 AM, skinner75 said:

With the love that Inchicore shows to the 071 fleet, I don't see why they would have to be retired. As long as nothing major fails, the rest of the 'consumable' wear parts can be replaced ad infinitum. 

Emissions from the engine may be an issue in the not too distant future, but nothing a re-engine program couldn't sort out if the rest of the loco is sound

To be fair, you do show a good point! You could always just re-engine them or find them a different use!

Since the 071 class will be reaching the age of 50 in around July 2026, would this mean that the 071s are getting closer to retirement? And crazily enough, they were built around when the UK's Class 43 were built and being put into service and they're already being retired with 70+ in storage as of 2021. Usually (depending on the country and reliability) the life span of a diesel loco would be 25-50 years, and they're already at the age of 44 years old; but there hasn't been anything said about their service coming to an end...