The author was uniquely placed to witness the closing years before regeneration changed so much. The rare privilege of all-Ireland footplate passes led to an estimated 80,000 miles of footplate travel between 1982 and 1995. During his extensive wanderings, Michael met and made friends with many railwaymen of all grades from permanent way gangs, workshop engineers, signalmen, train crews and management. In this book he shares around ninety pictures from his immense collection to provide a fitting tribute to these railwaymen and the railway of a now bygone age. £17.50
Irish Rail Rover Part 1 Cover V1.indd 1
ISBN 978-1-913893-41-5
McMahon
This period of momentous change saw the traditional infrastructure of mechanical signalling, travelling post offices, steam heating, goods train services, and 19th Century station buildings, etc progressively give way to the utilitarian, electronic era. Train formations and their operation also changed beyond recognition as the traditional locomotive and carriage formation gave way to anonymous multiple unit operation.
Irish Railway Rover Part 1
This is a personal photographic memoir drawn from thirty years of observation, starting in 1975, during what are now regarded as the ‘museum years’ of post-steam Irish Railways.
Irish Railway Rover Part 1
Michael McMahon 23/08/2023 10:09:38
Contents
T
Irish locomotive classifications
4
1.
Limerick area
6
2.
Troublesome locomotives
11
3.
Permanent Way & Civil Engineering
15
4.
Sugar beet 24
5.
Push-Pull 30
6.
Day Mails 38
7.
Night Mails 44
8.
Cement traffic
9.
Trains crossing 62
10.
Unusual happenings 74
49
Introduction
his personal memoir recalls nearly forty years during which most of my spare time was devoted to observing and photographing the railways of Ireland. I started my railway photography in 1975, helped by the use of my school darkroom in Co. Tyrone, and until 1982, images were a mix of black and white and colour film prints. Thereafter I worked solely with colour slides until this mode finally yielded to the digital era. I was very likely one of the last Irish railway photographers exclusively working with colour transparencies, until I withdrew from railway photography on the advent of railcars and the loss of freight traffic.
There were three main phases of diesel power on the railways of Ireland: 1. Early individual pioneer units, a mix of small classes of locomotives, and quite successful railcar fleets from commercial manufacturers plus vehicles developed by the Ulster Transport Authority..
2. Larger fleets of locomotives, from Sulzer, Metropolitan-Vickers and most importantly General Motors while Northern Ireland Railways maximised use of their 70 and 80 class railcars. 3. Limited use of locomotives in Push-Pull formations and a resurgence of the railcar, this time from Construcciones y Auxilar de Ferrocarriles, Alsthom and Rotem. My period of photography mainly coincided with the mid-phase as described above, and for that reason the earlier classes are excluded although a few stragglers among the Sulzer B Class and Inchicore E class shunters were still around during my black-and-white days. In many ways my withdrawal from railway photography was appropriate. I was fortunate to enjoy the railway network’s closing ‘museum years’ typified by locomotive and carriage formations, mechanical signalling, steam 3
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8
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The view from the Check Cabin as No. 072 speeds past with the 17.40 hrs from Heuston on Monday 6 July 1992. Empty shale wagons are stabled on the right and will form the next morning’s 08.15 hrs to Kilmastulla. Further to the right are sugar beet wagons in store awaiting attention at the nearby wagon works in preparation for the annual ‘beet campaign’ which will start the following October.
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Top - No. 078 moves failed No. 049 to Cork shed for attention during the shunting of return Michael Jackson specials in the late evening of Sunday 31 July 1988. Many specials operated to Cork for a series of concerts over the Bank Holiday weekend. The NIR driving trailer on the left is No. 740, at that time one of three sets on loan to Irish Rail to assist with suburban services in Cork and Dublin
Bottom - All three roads were occupied at Kildare on Monday 5 July 1993. Standing on the Up platform road is a looped Down liner train for Waterford hauled by No. 160; on the centre road No. 015 hauls a failed and oily No. 009 from Limerick to Inchicore Works for attention. No. 080 on the Down main completes the scene with the 13.00 hrs Heuston-Westport.
Opposite - No. 082 drags No. 150 plus empty stock back to Heuston from Kildare on Sunday 12 September 1993. No. 150 had failed earlier in the day, conveniently close to Inchicore while working the 12.45 hrs race-goers special from Heuston to the Curragh platform. Newly outshopped No. 082 was the easiest engine to deploy for the emergency! 12
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Dundalk Central signal cabin is ready for the big lift on Thursday 23 May 1996 as No. 209 passes under the waiting cranes with the 11.00 hrs service from Connolly to Belfast Central. The line through Dundalk was closed to all trains from midday until the afternoon of 26 May to allow this exercise plus installation of extensive trackwork. The entire upper wooden structure of the cabin was later placed on the platform at Dundalk at the Belfast end. Its preservation was accomplished by Station Master Brendan McQuaid who was influential in setting up a railway heritage museum in the station’s former buffet. 23
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Storm clouds gather as No. 182 valiantly reaches the top of Taylorstown bank and roars through Ballycullane with the 14.30 hrs loaded beet train from Wellingtonbridge on Wednesday 24 November 1993. This heavy train is helping bring the 1993 ‘beet campaign’ total to 156,000 tons. The two yellow battery-operated tail lamps on the locomotive’s front were left in place in error following its 14.00 hrs ‘light engine’ movement from Waterford. The operational intensity of these services meant that in the hurry to avoid delay or lose a path, removal of tail lamps was often overlooked. Who would ever have dreamt that NIR No. 112 Northern Counties would reach so many corners of the Iarnrod Eireann system? Here it is engaged on beet train duties, preparing to storm Taylorstown bank with the heavily loaded 14.40 hrs service to Waterford as the shadows lengthen on Monday 24 November 2003. No. 112 worked this train to the Sallypark yard in Waterford and then immediately returned light engine to Wellingtonbridge to collect the 16.10 hrs working. The two portions were then marshalled together at Sallypark yard to form the permitted maximum of thirty-five loaded wagons that formed the 18.10 hrs train to Mallow. Inchicore’s modifications to No. 112’s marker lights can be seen on the front of the locomotive; they are edged in orange! The freshly painted concrete milepost in the foreground dates from the line’s opening in 1906 and reads MP 93¼ from Mallow via Lismore and Fermoy. 29
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No. 149 hauls a six-piece Push-Pull set on the 11.50 hrs GAA special from Dundalk to Dublin Connolly across the River Nanny bridge at Laytown on Sunday 22 August 1993. This combination returned with the special working at 17.45 hrs and the set was stabled in Dundalk to work the 05.53 hrs to Dublin Pearse the following day. This mode of operation, i.e. haulage of push-pull carriages, was often seen due to a shortage of push-pull equipped locomotives. 33
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No. 035 is in charge of the 20.00 hrs Connolly to Galway mail at Athlone Midland on Saturday 12 May 1984. The train comprises the TPO next to the engine, two passenger carriages (Saturdays only) and an ex-BR Mark 1 GSV (guards/ steam heating van). The pair of locomotives on the right headed by No. 144 are stabled while allocated to Athlone for permanent way duties. The compressor on the platform and a drum of green cable indicate that Centralised Train Control (CTC) and ‘Rationalisation’ are not far away! 45
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The Athenry signalman with the ETS loop in his hand talks to the driver of No. 075 waiting to depart with the 11.00 from Heuston to Galway on Saturday 2 October 1993. No. 012 on the left has worked an 06.30 bagged cement special from Limerick to Gort and Athenry, it has already run round and shunted its empty train and will depart back to Limerick when No. 075 leaves. 71
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The author was uniquely placed to witness the closing years before regeneration changed so much. The rare privilege of all-Ireland footplate passes led to an estimated 80,000 miles of footplate travel between 1982 and 1995. During his extensive wanderings, Michael met and made friends with many railwaymen of all grades from permanent way gangs, workshop engineers, signalmen, train crews and management. In this book he shares around ninety pictures from his immense collection to provide a fitting tribute to these railwaymen and the railway of a now bygone age. £17.50
Irish Rail Rover Part 1 Cover V1.indd 1
ISBN 978-1-913893-41-5
McMahon
This period of momentous change saw the traditional infrastructure of mechanical signalling, travelling post offices, steam heating, goods train services, and 19th Century station buildings, etc progressively give way to the utilitarian, electronic era. Train formations and their operation also changed beyond recognition as the traditional locomotive and carriage formation gave way to anonymous multiple unit operation.
Irish Railway Rover Part 1
This is a personal photographic memoir drawn from thirty years of observation, starting in 1975, during what are now regarded as the ‘museum years’ of post-steam Irish Railways.
Irish Railway Rover Part 1
Michael McMahon 23/08/2023 10:09:38