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The 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 (mixed traffic) 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.

181 Class locomotives were built in 1966 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division(EMD) and numbered B181 to B192. These locomotives were virtually identical to the earlier 141 Class locomotives, but fitted with the more powerful 645 engine and thermostatically controlled engine cooling fan and inlet shutters. Delivery took place in 1966, with introduction into service happening a short time later. They were fitted with an EMD 8-645E engine of 1100*hp,[1] weighed 67 tonnes (150,000 lb), and had a maximum design speed of 143*km/h (89*mph) which was restricted to 120*km/h (75*mph) in service. Number 186 was later fitted with an EMD 8-567CR engine of 960*hp (720*kW), as used in the 141 Class locomotives. All of the 181 class have been withdrawn, the first being 191 in 1991 after a runaway incident at Clonsilla; it was later scrapped in 1998.[2] The last was 190 in November 2009 and has been preserved by the Irish Traction Group,.[3] In their final days they were only used on Permanent Way trains or as pilots.

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 MV157 traction motors. They were of A1A-A1A wheel arrangement, weighed 75 tonnes and had a maximum speed of 120*km/h (75mph). With their design, size and axle loading, they were intended for mixed traffic duties, hauling both freight and passenger trains. They found regular use primarily on the Waterford-Mallow-Tralee line and also on the Tralee-Newcastle West-Limerick line. Given that they were the first main group of diesel locos used in Ireland, they proved very successful and quickly gained a reputation for comfort and reliability by contrast to the poor cab conditions and suspension rocking of the Class 113 and the interminable breakdowns of the 001/201. However during the 1960s many of the secondary lines that they were used on were closed and following the arrival of the 181 Class, the 101s were relegated to goods, permanent way and pilot duties. The first withdrawal took place in 1969 (B111), and the last in February 1978 (B106). A proposal to re-engine them in the light of similar refurbishments of the Class 001 and Class 201 came to nought, and the decision was taken to order new locomotives in the form of the 071 Class instead. After withdrawal, the entire class was lined up together with the two 113 Class locomotives to form a sound barrier around Inchicore Works. Official withdrawal of the class came in April 1984, and the majority were scrapped between December 1986 and March 1987. However, No. 103 survived and has been preserved by the Irish Traction Group at Carrick-on-Suir. .[1]

421 Class was a railway locomotive, built by the CI� at Inchicore Works between 1962�1963 and designed for branch line traffic use and shunting. The 421 Class was a larger development of the earlier 401 Class, and were fitted with a Maybach MD220 engine of 420 horsepower (310*kW) with diesel hydraulic transmission via a Mekydro KL64U torque converter. Unlike the earlier E401 class, these locomotives were fitted for multiple operation. They were of C wheel arrangement. The first of the class made its debut in early October 1962 on pilot duties in the Dublin area and although they had a design maximum speed of 100 km/h (60 mph), experience (notably the derailment of a trial train hauled by E421) showed that they did not ride well when travelling at speeds over 40 km/h (25 mph) and so henceforth were limited to that speed and used simply for shunting duties instead. They were numbered E421�E434, and were withdrawn from service between 1979 and 1983. Three of these locomotives have been preserved, as follows: E421 and E432: Owned by and based at the Downpatrick & County Down Railway, Northern Ireland [1]. E421 is operational; E432 is in store. E428: has recently moved from Inchicore Works to Dunsandle, Co. Galway under private ownership.

The 101 Class of NIR consisted of three mainline diesel-electric locomotives designed for use with the Enterprise passenger services between Belfast and Dublin. The intention was to reduce the time for the 180*km (112�-mile) journey to two hours. The design of the superstructure and bogies was carried out by the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds with English Electric / AEI being responsible for the electrical traction. The contract stipulated a ten month delivery period but with Hunslet's workshops already committed, the superstructure and assembly was contracted out to (BREL), Doncaster, Hunslet providing the bogies. They were of Bo-Bo wheel arrangement and fitted with CSVT Mk. II 1,350 horsepower (1,010*kW) engines. The locomotives were fitted with buckeye couplers as standard and had air brake capability for operation with the Mk.2 coaches. They were visually, mechanically & electrically very similar to the metre-gauge KTMB class 22 (Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad - Malaysian Railways) locomotives built by English Electric at around the same time, however these had had a Co-Co arrangement and an uprated power unit. A small number are still operated. All three re-use names previously used by the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Class V locomotives, as follows: No. Name Builders Details. Date Completed 101 Eagle Works No. 7197 8.5.70 102 Falcon Works No. 7198 22.5.70 103 Merlin Works No. 7199 8.6.70

401 Class locomotives were built in 1957-1958 and designed for use on branch line traffic and shunting. They were fitted with a Maybach MD220 engine of 420 hp, with diesel hydraulic transmission via a Mekydro KL64 torque converter, and were of C wheel arrangement. Though they had a design maximum speed of 100 km/h (60 mph), experience showed that they did not ride well when travelling at speeds over 40km/h (25 mph) and so henceforth were limited to that speed. They were numbered E401-E419, and were withdrawn from service between 1968 and 1977.

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. Initially they were fitted with eight-cylinder two-stroke, port-controlled Crossley engines. These were a loop scavenge type, which utilised a patented principle that recycled the normally wasted exhaust-pressure pulse to boost charge air in the cylinder. They produced 896*kW (1200*hp) at 625 rpm and could do 120*km/h (75*mph). The original sandboxes, which were utilised to improve traction with the rail, were removed after a few years.

The Coras Iompair Eireann 121 class is 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 2008. See full details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIE_121_Class