Killester Nocturnal Trains of the Early Eighties

[DJ Dangerous]

I have hazy memories of living in Artane in the early eighties, and at night, I could hear the sounds of GM locomotives carrying over the air.

Killester would have been the closest station, probably around a kilometre and a half as the crow flies.

What late evening and nocturnal trains that would have been running on that line back in those days?

Probably pre-DART era.

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, DJ Dangerous said:

I have hazy memories of living in Artane in the early eighties, and at night, I could hear the sounds of GM locomotives carrying over the air.

Killester would have been the closest station, probably around a kilometre and a half as the crow flies.

What late evening and nocturnal trains that would have been running on that line back in those days?

Probably pre-DART era.

Ghost trains..............  whooo whooooo

Delving into the Catacombs, aka the most disorganised study even I have ever had, in 1977 we have NORTHBOUND (passing times at Howth Junction):

2133    Limerick - Kingscourt Empty gypsum

2248    North Wall - Platin Empty cement

0023   Cabra - Platin empty cement

0103    Tara empties

0238    Path for North Wall - Platin empty cement

0337    Connolly - Dundalk Newspaper train

0437    North Wall - Belfast Liner

0607    Connolly - Belfast Mail train

0821    Enterprise

 

SOUTHBOUND

2216    Belfast - Dublin liner (left Belfast 1445, had 3 hour layover in Dundalk)

2323    Dundalk - Dublin Mail (Monday - Friday)

0002    Platin - Foynes empty Oil

0048    Path - Platin to EITHER Sligo or Wexford cement

0231    Kingscourt - limerick gypsum Tuesday & Thursday

0332    Platin - Midlands bagged cement path

0421    Dundalk (Barrack St) - North Wall Liner (Tuesday & Saturday)

0529    Tara Mines to Alexandra Road

0552    Platin - North Wall cement

0611     Platin - Cabra Bulk Cement

0930    Platin - Cabra Bulk Cement

1007     Enterprise

 

This is the NOCTURNAL stuff - you should see what else passed in daylight!

Fast forward to 2021, and we've three Taras in daytime, unphotogenic due to the graffiti scribblings of the mouth-breathers of society, and various brightly coloured tubes with people in them. Since goods trains are all but a thing of the past, and railways don't seem to have "passengers" any more, are these silver or green tubes "customer trains"?

Going back to nocturnal stuff, if you examine the Cork line in those days, there are multiples of what's above. Living close to the railway line near Kildare, for example, would have you kept awake by some twenty train movements per night, none passenger obviously. Even the Limerick - Claremorris line, with not a passenger train to its name day or night, had up to seven trains a day, though 4 of these only ran if required.

And almost all was "Supertrain"-liveried....... I think that this was the year when the very last black'n'tan loco was repainted.....

Foynes had four regular trains per day, with EIGHT extra paths if required; thus it was theoretically possible for 12 trains a day on that line. The so-called "Runs of Goods" from Cork to North Esk went on all day long.

Cherryville Junction - Waterford - Ballinacourty had twelve freight movements per day in each direction, from the through goods to the dolomite and other short workings. And today we get flustered over an 071 trailing a single standard bogie wagon with some yellow thing on it!

 

 

[Sean Hogan]

We lived only 5 mins from station and remember all the wonderful sounds.

[Mayner]

As a teenager in the early 70s I used to go to the Model Railway Society of Ireland North Richmond Street clubroom on a Friday night.

The sound of goods trains (particularly on a cold frosty night) climbing the grades from the North Wall to Liffey Junction with a  loose coupled goods train was something else with an A or Ar leading a long slow moving train of wagons with an E Class banking at the rear.

 

[jhb171achill]

Anyone remember the very last of the steam doing that long haul up?

[DJ Dangerous]

Outstanding info, JHB.

As Mayner says, it was always the cold, clear nights when the sound would travel best. The GM's sounded like they were just around the corner.

Ah, the nostalgia.

[Garfield]

I've similar memories of lying in my bed at night as a kid in Longford and hearing the growl of a pair of Bo-Bo GMs or the low frequency wallop of an 071 either pottering about the local yard with a liner or powering through on the way to Sligo. Unforgettable...

[jhb171achill]

3 hours ago, Garfield said:

I've similar memories of lying in my bed at night as a kid in Longford and hearing the growl of a pair of Bo-Bo GMs or the low frequency wallop of an 071 either pottering about the local yard with a liner or powering through on the way to Sligo. Unforgettable...

Nocturnal meanderings.....

LONGFORD, Summer 1974.

Down Direction

0016   Down Night mail from Mullingar (Connection from down Galway night mail)

0121    North Wall - Sligo goods (loose coupled) (Tuesday to Saturday)

0305   Mullingar - Sligo goods (Monday to Friday)

0635   Mullingar - Longford local goods (Tuesday to Friday; stopped only at Mostrim).

1107    Down day mail / Passenger

 

Up Direction

2211     Sligo - Mullingar goods (Monday - Friday)

2232    Sligo - Mullingar Mail (usually had an old Bredin brake on it for nominal passenger accommodation; I travelled in it once).

0020    Sligo - Dublin Empty Fertiliser path. (Opposite direction was during daytime)

0312    Sligo - dublin goods (Tuesday - Saturday)

0750    Longford - Mullingar light engine

0910    Sligo - Dublin passenger

 

My own early "sounds" were loco horns heard at Westland Row / Lansdowne Road, and GNR steam whistles at Knockmore Junction.......

Edited May 20, 2021 by jhb171achill

[Mayner]

We live in an eastern Hamilton suburb about half a mile from a railway line with about 30 freight movements daily with several at night. Most noticeable thing is the low rumbling of long eastbound freight trains that can be heard for several minutes before passing through our suburb. The city is in a wide river valley basin with a distant range of hills on the western side, so sound travels a long distance in calm conditions.

Until fairly recently we had a nice mix of loco sounds with the deep rumbling of American General Electric locos with 4 stroke engines contrasting with Turbo and non Turbo 2 stroke General Motors sound now largely replaced with Chinese built DL Locos with their screeching high revving MTU (Maybach) power units. 

The General Electrics were upgrades of the 2700 hp U26C model dating from the early 70s two of which were rebuilt to  C30-8m specification with reconditioned 3250hp power units sourced from GE. 

The C-30-8m rebuilds had a distinctively different sound to the 2700 hp locos and the two members of the sub class were rostered to the Metro Port container trains that pass through our neighbourhood until transferred to the South Island following the introduction of the DLs.

Going back to Ireland, I once spent a week in a Fawlty Towers style seaside hotel in Bray while attending a training course during the early 80s, whatever else it was an excellent place to stay and listen to 001 Class climbing the grade from the station to Bray head with empty fertiliser and laden Ammonia trains to the Shelton Abbey NET plant.

On average there appeared to be three South and a similar number of North bound movements most nights, at the time a lightly loaded Wexford Liner operated during daylight hours usually a half dozen 4w container wagons attached to the rear of a Fertiliser Train between North Wall and Shelton Abbey.

 

[K801]

remember a 14 piece  (13 x Mk2 Supertrain coaches and 1 x GSV van tagged on the rear) leaving Waterford around 9pm on Sunday evenings, could hear the 071 nearly all the way to Thomastown!

[jhb171achill]

23 minutes ago, K801 said:

remember a 14 piece  (13 x Mk2 Supertrain coaches and 1 x GSV van tagged on the rear) leaving Waterford around 9pm on Sunday evenings, could hear the 071 nearly all the way to Thomastown!

What was that as a matter if interest - a service train? Or a GAA or pilgrimage special?

I think the most I ever saw was something like 11 + two tin vans, and another time 12 including a BR van.........

Recently saw a pic of a Youghal summer seaside special probably about 1960 with about 16-18 six-wheelers behind an "A" class!

[K801]

I wish I knew JHB, could of been a Knock special, can't remember but it was a noise lovely to hear leaving Sallypark

[jhb171achill]

Just seen flashing yellow & white lights heading south out of Malahide (00:32).

What could that be? Some sort of yellow machine?

(Or a UFO?)

[Blaine]

8 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

Just seen flashing yellow & white lights heading south out of Malahide (00:32).

What could that be? Some sort of yellow machine?

(Or a UFO?)

A tamper or possibly the MPV out laying sandite, does a nightly wee hours tour of the Dublin commuter lines during leaf fall season