Northern Ireland Shed Allocations?

[RaglanRoad]

Hey all, does anyone have a source for Irish shed allocations? I haven't yet found an Irish equivalent of https://www.brdatabase.info. I'm especially interested in Adelaide shed, to find out what engines were used on Belfast-Dundalk/Dublin and Derry Road services.

[Lambeg man]

I',m not sure engines were ever "allocated" to particular sheds in the manner of BR. For example, Irish locomotives never wore SHED PLATES in the manner of BR locomotives. Obviously GNR 'V' & 'VS' class locomotives were allocated to either Adelaide or Amiens Street following an overhaul and perhaps engines were for a time regarded as being Dublin or Belfast based. GNR 'S' class were allocated on a seemingly ad hoc basis to Dublin, Dundalk, Portadown or Belfast.

In respect of Adelaide, If one moves into the UTA era, ex-GNR 'VS', 'V', 'S' & S2', ''Q' & 'QL', 'P' & 'PP' 4-40's were "allocated" or "worked out of" Adelaide shed, as did the surviving 'T1' & 'T2' tanks. Likewise the four 'RT' tanks were always Adelaide engines. Any class of 0-6-0 (large and small) could be seen in the Belfast area and therefore notionally allocated to Adelaide.

Post 1958 NCC ''W' & 'WT' became common. At one point in 1964 with the run down of steam operations, Portadown overtook Adelaide as the principle steam base on the ex-GNR system. The last operational engines working out of Adelaide were 'WT' Jeeps. 

Perhaps someone with greater knowledge than me can expand on this subject.      

Edited May 13, 2022 by Lambeg man

[Galteemore]

Chary of admitting or aspiring to ‘greater knowledge’ but Johnson’s book states that shed allocation ended under the UTA. This implies that it existed before. I am not aware of any published lists, of the kind that exist for the GSR in the 30s: IRRS may have GN loco dept records - and the Mallon collection in Louth CC archives may be a mine of information.

I suspect that, otherwise, allocations may simply have to be inferred from the photographic archive - how frequently a particular loco appears at a particular shed. Thus AL class no 59 was, I think, an Enniskillen engine, and has been identified (in Johnson again) as the resident pilot loco. Enniskillen engines could always be identified anyway as the cleanest on the system ! 

Edited May 13, 2022 by Galteemore

[jhb171achill]

2 hours ago, RaglanRoad said:

Hey all, does anyone have a source for Irish shed allocations? I haven't yet found an Irish equivalent of https://www.brdatabase.info. I'm especially interested in Adelaide shed, to find out what engines were used on Belfast-Dundalk/Dublin and Derry Road services.

Irish companies never officially allocated locos to sheds - but they did allocate TYPES of locos to lines or routes, according to traffic and driver knowledge.

Adelaide would have had everything. Suburban tank locos, goods and passenger engines large & small, dock shunters, etc....