071 class cracked frames

[K801]

Hi,

i was reading in an old journal the 071class was taken out of service in the 80s(?) due to cracks.

What was the problem and were any of the older locos like the Sulzers or C' class put back into service to cover?

[WRENNEIRE]

Have a couple of spares .....

 

[Mayner]

The 071s developed cracks in their bogie frames at some stage in the early 1980s.  There appear to have been sufficient locos in service at the time to cover the 071 Class rosters,  CIE had something of surplus of main locos following the ending of loose coupled goods working in the late 70s and the electrification of the Howth-Bray Suburban services. Some 001 Class were out of service from the early 1980s and were never re-instated, 141, 181 Class took over Dublin outer suburban services from the (B)201 Class around the same time as electric services were introduced on the Howth Bray line, a (B)201 was used on the Bray-Greystones shuttle until replaced by a 121.

After the (B)201 class was phased out of main line service a small number continued on pilot duties mainly in the North Wall Yards, all the Sulzers were out of service by the late 1970s and were never re-instated.

[Joe Keegan]

An 071 on duty in the North Wall last week

[mfjoc]

The cracks were in the main frames of the locomotives above the bogie bolsters. A repair program was agreed with EMD involving strengthening the frames by welding  reinforcement tubes into the frame above the bolsters. At one stage half the fleet was out of service either undergoing repair or waiting for repair.It only got into the public domain when a revised timetable had to be brought in as even a pair of 181's couldn't keep up the sectional running times of the 071's on the main line.

[hexagon789]

20 hours ago, K801 said:

Hi,

i was reading in an old journal the 071class was taken out of service in the 80s(?) due to cracks.

What was the problem and were any of the older locos like the Sulzers or C' class put back into service to cover?

 

Journal 101 by any chance (Oct. 1986)?

 

There's a segment in the news section which mentions many 071s being out of action with frame cracks above the bogies.

On one day only 2 were in service.

There's a good photo of replacement traction during this period with double 121s replacing an 071 on a Westport Mk2d set, 10 coaches making quite a sight iirc. Sadly I cannot find that photograph again, but I distinctly remember the train make-up and the fact the 121s had replaced an 071.

 

Not from the Journal, but I was informed the frame cracks were thought to be as a consequence of the 071s running at sustained higher speeds and braking harder (90 vs 75mph) and the track forces and braking forces simply took their toll on the locos more so than when they were running at the old 70/75 general limits.

Whether this is true, I can't say, but the 071s were said to ride quite roughly at speed this eventually being cured by the fitting of yaw dampers from the early 1990s.

10 hours ago, mfjoc said:

The cracks were in the main frames of the locomotives above the bogie bolsters. A repair program was agreed with EMD involving strengthening the frames by welding  reinforcement tubes into the frame above the bolsters. At one stage half the fleet was out of service either undergoing repair or waiting for repair.It only got into the public domain when a revised timetable had to be brought in as even a pair of 181's couldn't keep up the sectional running times of the 071's on the main line.

 

Would the multi working have allowed triples?

Very wasteful no doubt, but out of curiosity.

[K801]

40 minutes ago, hexagon789 said:

 

 

 

Would the multi working have allowed triples?

Very wasteful no doubt, but out of curiosity.

One of the Markle videos shows 4 x 141s  running up and down newly laid track, but I couldn't tell if all 4 were hooked up running together or if the middle one's were just extra weight

[Mayner]

The new Zealand DFT Class a close relative of the 071s experienced problems with cracked frames & engine mounts apparently as a result of vibration in the higher power notches after the power units were uprated from 1800-2400Hp.  The Irish and New Zealand locos are variations of the same Standard EMD 22 export model.

The NZR locos were originally supplied with a 1 non turbo charged 645 engine used in the 071 for use on drag freight work and later uprated to 2400hp for fast freight work, the export locos may have lighter frames than those supplied to the US market