E421 - Locomotive

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 They were numbered E421�E434, and were withdrawn from service between 1979 and 1983.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:

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• 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.