Locomotive 131 on "Sea Breeze"

[Rush and Lusk]

Locomotive 131 steaming magnificently through Booterstown Station en route to Wexford on the RPSI Sea Breeze trip this beautiful Sunday morning. Also met a couple of nice fellow train enthusiasts - a good to be alive day.  

George 

 

 

 

 

[Galteemore]

Sadly I understand due to  fires in a few places she is stopped somewhere …..

Edited April 21 by Galteemore

[Rush and Lusk]

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, very disappointing for all concerned - many thanks Galteemore. 

[Galteemore]

Latest I heard is retrieval to Dublin by diesel. Shame - 131 is a cracking performer as that great video shows. Not the engine’s fault today apparently 

[DoctorPan]

Currently at Wicklow being towed home by 082

[irishmail]

Made the RTE news. 

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/0421/1444828-steam-train-wicklow/

[StevieB]

Seems like 131 caused widespread damage or is it just bad reporting?

Stephen

[Bob229]

The line has reopened, unfortunate very disappointing for the RPSI and all the passengers on the seabreeze tour

[226 Abhann na Suire]

16 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Latest I heard is retrieval to Dublin by diesel. Shame - 131 is a cracking performer as that great video shows. Not the engine’s fault today apparently 

RPSI steam jaunts down the DSER seem to be cursed of late!! I know last years ‘Sea Breeze’ only made it beyond Greystones and the few the previous years also didn’t make it the whole way. I wonder what it is?? The ghost of Brunel…?

[airfixfan]

15 hours ago, StevieB said:

Seems like 131 caused widespread damage or is it just bad reporting?

Stephen

On that train it was bad reporting and 131 was in top form

[B141]

Train left yesterday 15 minutes late which was fine. Then after about an hour and a half of travelling towards Wexford we stopped at Rathdrum station. After about 15 mins they announced on the tannoy that the train was temporarily halted due to lineside fires. Then about an hour later I found out from social media that we would eventually be towed back by diesel engine to Dublin (this was not announced on the tannoy). I later found out that the fire brigade had told us not to proceed as cinders from the steam engine had caused several (someone told me six but I'm not sure) lineside fires behind us, which damaged signalling/electrical equipment and closed the line, so Irish Rail had to organise rail replacement bus services. Also the steam engine missed its water stop so the civil defence came with a fire engine to fill it. Since the carriages dump the contents of the toilets directly onto the track which isn’t allowed at platforms, we weren’t allowed to use the toilets for a while then after that we could use them but not flush so didn’t smell great. About two hours after we first arrived in Rathdrum the diesel engine arrived and towed us away – but they didn’t give us any notice when it was due to arrive so I’m concerned that some people people were left behind at Rathdrum and had to make their own way back to Dublin. I was in the whiskey carriage so on the way back they gave us a small bit of whiskey each as that was all they had, the whiskey guy tried to make the best of a bad situation. So we didn’t make it to Wexford or get the food/whiskey we paid for there, also the onwards steam service to Rosslare was cancelled. But there was alcohol at the bar, the weather was good, and the people we were sitting next to were good craic so we had a good time. However, the communication by the RPSI was very poor and I doubt passengers will get a refund. Probably cost Irish Rail tens of thousands of euro between damaged signalling equipment, cancelled trains, replacement bus service, and rescue diesel too. A few people have expressed concern that given the amount of breakdowns the RPSI have had over the past few years they may be confined to the Dublin-Maynooth route in the future.

Here's a photo of one of the fires I saw on social media.

Edited April 23 by B141

[Noel]

Bad luck and disappointing I'm sure for all on board and the RPSI.

1. Were the line side fires actually caused by the passing of the steam loco, or was that media speculation, or other causes. April is a bit early in the year for ultra dry line side foliage, especially after all the rain these past 8 weeks.
2. Has H&S gone totaly bezerk. The amount of times we're driven the car across the wicklow mountains while there were gorse fires burning on the road side that posed no risk to the car.

Hope the H&S lunatics don't ruin rail tours and limit steam loco operations in the future.

 

[B141]

1. Up to half a dozen fires were found where the loco travelled shortly after it passed as per photo. It’s reasonable to assume that at least some of those fires were caused by the loco – sparks from locos causing fires is a well known phenomenon. If a machine which emits sparks leaves a trail of fires in its wake, then that machine probably caused the fires. It’s also been very hot the last few days, drying lineside brush out. We don’t need a forensic investigation to establish this on the balance of probabilities.

2. H&S gone totally berserk? I’m not sure you read what I wrote. The fires damaged cabling and signalling equipment, as per RTE. Are you seriously suggesting Irish rail should run trains without safety equipment? This incident likely cost tens of thousands of euro.

31 minutes ago, Noel said:

Bad luck and disappointing I'm sure for all on board and the RPSI.

1. Were the line side fires actually caused by the passing of the steam loco, or was that media speculation, or other causes. April is a bit early in the year for ultra dry line side foliage, especially after all the rain these past 8 weeks.
2. Has H&S gone totaly bezerk. The amount of times we're driven the car across the wicklow mountains while there were gorse fires burning on the road side that posed no risk to the car.

Hope the H&S lunatics don't ruin rail tours and limit steam loco operations in the future.

Edited April 22 by B141

[jhb171achill]

A very disappoiting day, indeed. I consoled myself with Guinness.....

[Broithe]

There can be a surprising amount of dead, and dry, matter from last year, especially in areas protected from outside interference. I took this picture in April three years ago - it was at 400+ metres, so the new growth hadn't got above the remaining  'tinder' in the local climate.

The 'snow' is just last year's used grass.

You felt that, if you sneezed, the whole place might go up...

[Ironroad]

Conditions are also quite different since the age of steam when embankment fires were quite common.  Those fires served to curtail line side vegetation and accordingly did not present a serious concern. But since then that vegetation has become quite dense in places with lots of accumulated deadwood so not an ideal environment for running steam locos. No doubt this will be an issue in the choice of routes going forward.  

[Brack]

I believe several preserved locos have had a master mechanics pattern spark arrestor and baffles fitted within the smokebox, without affecting the external appearance or hurting its steaming. Certainly the Vale of Rheidol tanks and britomart have one fitted, specifically to allow use on drier days.

Not sure what/if the current arrangements are, but perhaps worth investigating?

 

[B141]

131 used to have a mesh over the damper to stop sparks from falling out. I assume it was removed at some point 

Edited April 23 by B141

[Mayner]

In my experience lineside fires are sometimes ignited by burning embers from the ashpan landing by the lineside.  A steam loco travelling at speed has an ability to fling embers at some distance from the track, I once spent a day dealing with this problem on a Welsh Narrow gauge line which was almost perfectly flat and speeds did not exceed 10mph.

Farmers burning off gorse/dead vegetation in Spring has often been a cause of fires, Spring is usually considered to be the start of the Bush/Wildfire season in Australasia and New South Wales.

Perhaps a case for a Gangers Trolley with firefighting equipment following steam hauled trains through a section as they do on the Cumbres and Toltec in the United States, but difficult to apply on account of Irish or UK because of signalling practice/regulation.

On the subject of steam trains I found a 2018 trip on a diesel hauled Sea Breeze to and from Wexford in the RPSI Craven set something of an endurance test, while I really enjoyed a WT hauled trip from Connolly to Longford and back using the same coaches in 2005 really enjoyable.  Ironically I found driving to Wexford and taking photos of the Sea Breeze in the Vale of Avoca, Enniscorthy and Ferrycarrig on two occasions during the 90s much more enjoyable and relaxing than taking the train.

Interesting family seemed to enjoy and appeared to consider 6+ hour journeys travelling on the Silverton and Cumbres and Toltec as a relaxing day out rather than an endurance trip possibly low speed and vintage cars contrasted nicely with our experiences of travelling by train in Ireland and the UK.

[Noel]

On 22/4/2024 at 4:03 PM, B141 said:

1. Up to half a dozen fires were found where the loco travelled shortly after it passed as per photo. It’s reasonable to assume that at least some of those fires were caused by the loco – sparks from locos causing fires is a well known phenomenon. If a machine which emits sparks leaves a trail of fires in its wake, then that machine probably caused the fires. It’s also been very hot the last few days, drying lineside brush out. We don’t need a forensic investigation to establish this on the balance of probabilities.

2. H&S gone totally berserk? I’m not sure you read what I wrote. The fires damaged cabling and signalling equipment, as per RTE. Are you seriously suggesting Irish rail should run trains without safety equipment? This incident likely cost tens of thousands of euro.

That photo show lush green grass not brown dry hay, one might be forgiven for thinking that one in the photo was started deliberately given its proximity to the fence and that’s its upwind. Sparkes and cinders don’t blow against the wind. Might sound crazy, but the photo tells a story. I cannot imagine why anybody would light 5 or six small fires using accelerants. Are there any photos of damaged cabling or signalling equipment? 

[airfixfan]

10 hours ago, B141 said:

131 used to have a mesh over the damper to stop sparks from falling out. I assume it was removed at some point 

Think spark narrestor on 131 still there

Edited April 24 by airfixfan

[B141]

3 hours ago, Noel said:

That photo show lush green grass not brown dry hay, one might be forgiven for thinking that one in the photo was started deliberately given its proximity to the fence and that’s its upwind. Sparkes and cinders don’t blow against the wind. Might sound crazy, but the photo tells a story. I cannot imagine why anybody would light 5 or six small fires using accelerants. Are there any photos of damaged cabling or signalling equipment? 

If you look closely at the photo you’ll see that some of the grass is dry and yellow along the track. I assume most of the fires involved gorse which burns much more readily than grass.

If the fires were man-made, it would involve setting alight to brush just as the steam loco passed. This would be particularly difficult in areas which have no lineside access and would involve climbing up cliffs or walking along the track for some time like in this photo. Do you think this was a coordinated arson attack against the RPSI? I have seen some people suggest that on social media.

I didn’t see any photos of the damaged equipment, I’m going off what RPSI staff and Irish rail staff told me, and the RTE news article.

Edited April 24 by B141

[Mike Beckett]

Gotta love the combination of tinfoil hattery and faux science on this thread!

[Mike Beckett]

45 minutes ago, B141 said:

If you look closely at the photo you’ll see that some of the grass is dry and yellow along the track. I assume most of the fires involved gorse which burns much more readily than grass.

If the fires were man-made, it would involve setting alight to brush just as the steam loco passed. This would be particularly difficult in areas which have no lineside access and would involve climbing up cliffs or walking along the track for some time like in this photo. Do you think this was a coordinated arson attack against the RPSI? I have seen some people suggest that on social media.

I didn’t see any photos of the damaged equipment, I’m going off what RPSI staff and Irish rail staff told me, and the RTE news article.

B141, that fella on the beach looks like he could be an ITG fire starter.

[Horsetan]

10 minutes ago, Mike Beckett said:

Gotta love the combination of tinfoil hattery and faux science on this thread!

D'ye think the Illuminati were involved?

[Mike Beckett]

Maybe if we had snowflakes falling they could put the fires out.

 

The maddest one I saw was someone on Facebook on the official RPIS page saying that it was carried out by activists in protest at wanting 85 back in traffic.

 

I mean good grief. People have lost the run of themselves over this. 

[B141]

I don’t know, Noel’s theory of a coordinated arson attack sounds much more plausible than sparks from the loco causing the fires

[Mike Beckett]

55 minutes ago, B141 said:

I don’t know, Noel’s theory of a coordinated arson attack sounds much more plausible than sparks from the loco causing the fires

A drone attack from Internet Trolls? They spoil everything for the genuine enthusiast, you know.

[Westcorkrailway]

1 hour ago, B141 said:

I don’t know, Noel’s theory of a coordinated arson attack sounds much more plausible than sparks from the loco causing the fires

steam locos often cause fires. im told this time its just that this fire in particular damaged the signaling equipment

 

1 hour ago, Mike Beckett said:

The maddest one I saw was someone on Facebook on the official RPIS page saying that it was carried out by activists in protest at wanting 85 back in traffic.

i saw that....the provisional wing of the RPSI looking for 85 to come back! truly spit out your cereal stuff

[DJ Dangerous]

2 hours ago, B141 said:

I don’t know, Noel’s theory of a coordinated arson attack sounds much more plausible than sparks from the loco causing the fires

You win today's sarcasm award.

Where have you been all my life?

[Horsetan]

22 hours ago, Mike Beckett said:

.... official RPIS ....