The "Eyre Lee Bird" railtour Cork-Galway-Return 5th April 2025

[Westcorkrailway]

56 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

 

Are all the Dublin-Cork direct services booked for 201+Mk4 or are some worked by ICRs? If it's a mix, is there any way to work out which is which from the timetables?

Some are worked by ICR’s. Like I’m not an expert but usually the first train out of cork to Dublin and the last train from Dublin to cork is generally an ICR

 

@Mol_PMB I forgot, but a surefire way to check is by trying to book a ticket for said train. The seating statements of the seat books and if there is a “quiet coach” in Coach G will tell you if it’s a mark 4

Edited March 31 by Westcorkrailway

[Mol_PMB]

On the railtour on Saturday I'll wear my MOL T-shirt so you can recognise me. I answer to the names of Mol, Paul or PMB.

Please say hello - it would be great to meet some other forum members face to face.

I'll have the E class with me if you want to inspect it at close quarters.

Cheers,

Mol

 

[Niles]

10 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

On the railtour on Saturday I'll wear my MOL T-shirt so you can recognise me. I answer to the names of Mol, Paul or PMB.

Please say hello - it would be great to meet some other forum members face to face.

I'll have the E class with me if you want to inspect it at close quarters.

Cheers,

Mol

 

If you see someone in a Táilte jacket looking they haven't slept in days it's probably me. 

re: mkIVs, generally the 'odd hour' trains out of Heuston and 'even hour' out of Cork are mkIV worked, plus at peak times you should get one on the 08:00, 16:00 and 18:00 down. The 21:00 is an ICR set.

I believe the 14:25 up this Sunday is an ICR though so you may or may not want to avoid that.  

[Westcorkrailway]

If you see a man with a tailte tours shirt and a pint of Guiness, that’s probobly @jhb171achill

 

some might want to recreate this shot by Alex Duggan 

[Westcorkrailway]

Looking forward to Tommorow and reminiscing on the last tailte 2600 tour which in my humble opinion was probably the best Railtour I’d ever boarded. 

Edited Friday at 08:46 by Westcorkrailway

[Bob229]

Looking forward to the tour

[Mol_PMB]

On 7/3/2025 at 11:59 AM, Georgeconna said:

Fransiscan well is still there but not into those chainy Benny McCabe  'heritige'pubs.

Stay out of the centre really if you want real, below list are my go to places. Great for afternoon pints.

Calnans

any pubs up Shandon Street

The Oval (Bennys Pub)

Fordes

Vicarstown Bar

Hi Bi

Long Valley.

Bradlys.

Welcome Inn

Idle hour

Charlies.

Plan well and you can get a nice pub trail going!

IF you are staying up Northside near St Lukes

Bellevue - my old local, Marie sadly long gone, after hours escape route down the side!!

 

Henchys

 

 

Ticked off so far:

- Long Valley

- Welcome Inn

- Idle Hour

- Hi B

- Vicarstown Bar

All good so far!
I might do one more tonight but I have two more nights to work on your checklist

 

 

[Bob229]

1 hour ago, Mol_PMB said:

Ticked off so far:

- Long Valley

- Welcome Inn

- Idle Hour

- Hi B

- Vicarstown Bar

All good so far!
I might do one more tonight but I have two more nights to work on your checklist

 

 

A good start to the weekend

[jhb171achill]

Hope you’re staying incognito and drinking Murphy’s. 

Dem oul langers down dere, boy, sure dere a mad oul lot, boy, doon in de REEL capital, boy….

[Bob229]

Tailte Tour in progress

[Mol_PMB]

[Mol_PMB]

What a great trip!
Thanks to all those involved in organising it. All ran very smoothly from the punters’ point of view.
It was great to meet some other forum members on board and see the progress on the Bandon tank too. 
Whoever arranged the weather deserves a bonus! 

[Mol_PMB]

I meant to mention that I really liked the wrong-end departure from Cork - that took me back 20 years to when some of the Tralee trains did that (though they were 141+Cravens back then). 
 

220 made an appearance too, looking smart if a bit midge-spattered this morning:

[Westcorkrailway]

4 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

I meant to mention that I really liked the wrong-end departure from Cork - that took me back 20 years to when some of the Tralee trains did that (though they were 141+Cravens back then). 
 

220 made an appearance too, looking smart if a bit midge-spattered this morning:

You were also on the first passenger train passed platform 6! 
 

Random assortment of photos from the day. 

Cork

Cork 

Mallow

Limerick

Ennis 

Galway

Shining in Galway

Quick one at mallow 

Back at cork 

@jhb171achill in his natural habitat. He’s small not far away

 

Some of you may have noticed the Munster area headboard on the rear and this sign on the cab. Honouring Cork Railway legend Seamus Breathnach. He was due to board the tour but passed away on Sunday the 30th of March. He got a symbolic final journey 

[thewanderer]

Pictures from the Tailte Tours The Eyre Lee Bird railtour from Cork to Galway via Limerick bringing a 4 car set of 2600 Class DMU's back to the City of the Tribes for the first time in several years. 

Click https://thewandererphotos.smugmug.com/RailtoursPreservedRailways/2025/Táilte-Tours-The-Eyre-Lee-Bird to view all the images from this excellent day out on the rails with what can now be considered classic traction with the 31 year old 2600 Class fleet. Another highlight from the day was getting to photograph the retro liveried 201 Class loco, No. 220 at Limerick Jct. 

 

 

 

[Westcorkrailway]

The tailte set was used the following day on Midleton to Cork trains due to the big match on today (Cork won and took home the silverware!) . Never have I seen so many people come off a 2 car 2600 then I did today on the Cobh trains. Literally thousands between a couple of trains. 

 

 

[Westcorkrailway]

On 5/4/2025 at 4:49 PM, Mol_PMB said:

 

 

 

I hung this poster up for old times sake in 2602 (helped that it was double sided as one side was an original CIE poster). The other side advertised a tour from Ennis to Gort when Gort was a closed station. Some passengers came to me, enquiring when this tour was happening. I had to break it to them that it happened on the 6th of June 1987! 

On 5/4/2025 at 7:52 PM, Mol_PMB said:

It was great to meet some other forum members on board and see the progress on the Bandon tank too. 

On this point, there was a very soft announcement on the train, not heard by many but hopefully will come to something (2AM the previous night the motor burned out, fair to say it’s our first real hiccup!) more to follow, but those on board got an exclusive first look.