hurricanemk1c

Good morning all, Day 2 of the Irish Railway Record Society tour dawned very dark, very cold and very wet for the run out to Tralee. In Tralee a complicated shunt move had to take place, with the ICR and 2600 having to be moved prior to the special running around. The weather gradually improved throughout the day (if you call snow an improvement!) and by the end of the tour in Connolly, everyone was tired but incredibly happy. Thanks to all involved, including the IRRS' Outings Organiser Shane Roberts, the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (Dublin Operations) and Irish Rail for the time and effort in the weekend's running. As always, click on any of the photos below to view them full size and the album link is at the bottom of the post Album link - https://www.flickr.com/photos/hurricanemk1c/albums/72157666977075346/page1 Regards, Kieran

Good evening all, Part 1 of the weekend's antics start in Connolly and end in Killarney. Some great driving by all three drivers resulted in little time lost overall and some great thrash around the country. Photos also include the normal services, disrupted due to the ballast cleaning. Click on any of the photos below to view them full size, or this link to view them all Part 2 (Day 2) will come as soon as I've finished editing the shots as required and got a few hours to spare! Regards, Kieran

Evening all, Now that I'm back at college, Monday afternoons mean a wander aroung the place, be it to Dublin Airport, Portarlington or around the city of Dublin. Today I walked around to North Wall, before taking my first trip out of Docklands station. Photos from today are available to view below. As always, click on any of the photos below to view them (and more) in full size, and the album link is at the bottom of the post Full set link - Regards, Kieran

Morning all, Further to The Wanderer's post above, here's a few shots from yesterday's Engineering Works. My plans went through several phases and were finally confirmed after the failure of the 0645 Portlaoise - Heuston on depot prior for departure. No De Dietrich shot at Islandbridge then! Highlights were: -Nenagh Branch shuttle being extended to Portlaoise -216 outside Inchicore -Mixed pair on the HOBS All shots here - Regards, Kieran

Evening all, The Stradbally Woodlands Railway, in partnership with Portlaoise Men's Shed, did a series of re-enactments today to commemorate the first shots of the 1916 Easter Rising (April 23rd). These suprisingly took place in sleepy Laois, rather than the main action centre of Dublin. A train was de-railed on the Portlaoise-Abbeyleix section of the line to Kilkenny. Luckily today we didn't quite go that accurate, but a good time was had by all. Certaintly an experience to stand in the woods and listen to gunfire in the background! Click on any of the photos below to view them full size, and the noraml album link is at the bottom. Regards, Kieran

Evening all, Further to Fran Burke and The Wanderer's posts earlier, a brief visit to Portlaoise station to see 072 on the materials train, a couple of ICR's, 232 on the 1100 Cork and 079 in the yrad. Click on any of the photos to view them full size or the link at the bottom Regards, Kieran

Evening all, A few shots from an hour yesterday at Portlaoise, to see a pair of inspection vehicles and 076 clagging away from Portlaoise. Click on any of the photos to view them full size or click here to view them all - Regards, Kieran

Evening all, A selection of shots from yesterday's trip around Dublin. Photos feature Heuston side, LUAS (both Green and Red lines) and the Northern line up to Howth Junction. Click on the photos or link below to view them all Regards, Kieran

Yep it is a fuel tank underneath - looking forward to seeing more!

It appears that all of the Mark 4's are undergoing a deep clean internally and a general freshen up - 4120 springs to mind

Afternoon all, A few shots from yesterday's wanderings around the Curragh to watch the ballast cleaning operation (and associated single line working). The weather was a complete change from Friday's snow! Click on any of the shots below to view them full size Album link - Regards, Kieran

Evening all, March 2016 starts off quite dramatically here in Ireland. Two updates from me First, shots from Thursday, mainly of Inchicore and getting a shot of the Belmond designated loco 216. The loco is currently in an anti-corrosive primer, whilst we all wait for it to be released! All shots here - --- Secondly, this morning (Friday 4th March) brought snow to the country, with over an inch in Kildare. A little diversion during my morning commute to college was called for to get a few shots of trains in the snow All shots here - As always, click on any of the shots to get them full size with descriptions Thanks for viewing! Kieran

Good evening all, A few photos from Heuston, Portarlington and Kildare from Monday 29th February. Although it was wet some interesting running was around, and as a result I unusually took two videos. One is of 075 on the DFDS liner passing through Portarlington and the other is 078 slipping and screaming out of Kildare with the laden timber. Both are in the album at the end of this post. As usual, click on any of the photos for the full size and description Full album here - Regards, Kieran

That is a very neat looking vehicle!

Morning all, A few shots from Thursday and Friday from Heuston, Portarlington and Portlaoise. As always, click on any of the photos to view them full-size and the album link is at the bottom of the post Album link - Regards, Kieran

Heard Heuston VP as the servicing base (running service, A+B exam style stuff). Heavy stiff would have to be Inchicore

Yep, great refurb. This is what 077 was like after two years And note that both 077 and 071 went back into the works before other members (such as off the top of my head 075 in the silver/black livery). I'm not saying the end of 071's is immediate, but they won't do trains to this weight (as has already been stated they struggle with the 942 tonne Taras)

Good morning all, Some shots from both Wednesday and Friday at Portarlington, Parkwest and Heuston. Click on any of the photos to see them full size: Albums - and Regards, Kieran

I would say looking forward that 071's will feature less and less. Whilst there is talk of re-gearing down a bit, the future is looking more like re-engineered 201's. Savings are plain to see - common maintenance, common driver rating etc. There would have be to be changes (such as the traverser at Alexandra Dock Road) but I honestly can't see the 071's lasting much longer sadly

Thanks Noel! The rear loco in the formation was not providing traction power - it was there to eliminate a run around at Sallins, as well as to add additional weight. 8209 went down shut down, whilst 226 went up idling

Good evening all, Last but by no means least (I hope!), my shots from yesterday's 16 HOBS trial. Photos also include the regular ICR / Mark 4 movements, a tamper transfer, materials train and spoil train. Click on the photos below to view them full size, or this link to see them all - Regards, Kieran

Good evening all, In a very promising sign, the RPSI's 141 Class loco 175 has been moved from being sandwiched by 162 and a 201 at the other end of the works to being next to the Cravens. I saw this on the 1300 Heuston - Cork but wasn't able to get a shot - so I went back up! Shots from Friday including a misty Portlaoise, a couple at Heuston and a few from Inchicore. Click on any of the shots below or the link to see them all full size Album link - Regards, Kieran

Noel - I believe the track is made in sections, laid and then welded on sight. this is due to space constraints at the factory and going around curves. Re grey 071s - 071, 076, 077, 078, 080 (in works I believe), 084, 085, 087, 088. Just over half the fleet now

Evening all, A double update from me tonight. Click on any of the photos to see them full size First up is shots from last week, specifically Thursday and Friday of Portlaoise, Heuston and Inchicore All shots here - And shots from Monday and Wednesday this week, with a grice along the Green Line of the LUAS on Monday and a stop off at Portarlington on Wednesday All shots here - Regards, Kieran

There's one train of thought (ha ha) that the green is an anti-corrosive primer. Althought the numbers do look like standard numbers as applied to 215