Operations 150

Irish Railway Record Society

Operations

PASSENGER OPERATIONS

Executive specials ran from Dublin Heuston to Thomastown for a golf tournament on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 September. The Friday 08.15 from Heuston was hauled by 084 and passed Athy at 09.20. It was followed by the detouring Limerick-Waterford laden cement train, 162 + 12 bulk + 5 bagged cement wagons, passing Athy at 10.03. The detour was due to the closure of the Limerick Junction - Waterford line for re-laying at Clonmel with second hand materials. In the opposite direction, the 11.34 Waterford - Limerick empty bulk cement was 168 + 24 wagons and 12.40 Athy-Limerick empty cement was 185 + 20 wagons. Other activity on the Dublin-Waterford line that day included the 12.10 Norfolk Liner, 169+152 + 18 bogie-wagons.

Three specials ran from Kerry to Dublin Connolly for the All Ireland Senior Hurling Final between Armagh and Kerry played in Croke Park on 22 September. The 06.50 from Killarney, 231 + 8 Mk IId + EGV, arrived at 11.01 instead of 10.30, with about 440 passengers. It was followed by the 07.15 from Killarney, 226 hauling a 6-piece push-pull (DT6101), which arrived at 11.07 with about 430 passengers. The 07.25 from Tralee, 218 + 7 Mk III + EGV, arrived one minute early at 11.54 with about 460 passengers. On Friday 27 September, the 14.25 Dublin Heuston - Galway was formed by the Dublin - Waterford push-pull set instead of the usual Mk IIIa International set. It was 222 + 6 Mk III push-pull (DT6104).

Locomotives 071 and 087 on the 08:35 Sligo to Connolly, near Ashtown, on 22nd September 2002 (Photo: John Cleary)

The Executive train, EGV + 6 Mk III, was used on the 18.05 Dublin Heuston - Athlone on Friday 4 October. The same train worked the IRRS Dublin Connolly - Rosslare Europort - Waterford - Kilkenny - Dublin Connolly special on 5 October, with locomotives 155+135 as far as Waterford and 077 from there to Connolly.

On Monday 21 October, 129+172 worked the 18.30 Dublin Connolly-Rosslare Europort, EGV + 6 Mk IId, returning with the 07.20 from Rosslare next morning. They then worked the delayed 09.45 North Wall - Dundalk liner, passing Clontarf Road at 12.10. The same morning, NIR Enterprise locomotive 8208 operated the 06.37 Dundalk-Bray, DT 6103 + 5 Mk III push-pull.

The October public holiday weekend remains the busiest for IÉ, with the Cork Jazz Festival being a particularly popular event. All Dublin-Cork trains on Friday 25 October required advanced booking and afternoon services were sold out. All serviceable rolling stock was in use and the Executive train had to be used on the 18.05 Dublin Heuston-Athlone. It was formed by 219 + EGV + 4 Mk III Executive and was full, with passengers standing while others sat in luxury. It departed Kildare at 19.00.

Dublin suburban services have currently three sets of GSV + 6 Cravens and these are expected to be re-deployed when the 2900-class CAF railcars come on stream. They are normally rostered for the 17.25 Connolly-Arklow, the 18.45 Connolly-Dundalk and the 18.50 Pearse-Longford. The 12.32 Drogheda-Connolly is normally rostered for a railcar, but on Monday 2 December it was worked by 172+146 + 6 Cravens + GSV.

Late-night DART services were again provided over the pre-Christmas period from 5 December to 21 December. They operated on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Pearse to Howth departures were at 01.00 and 02.30, with Howth to Pearse at 01.35. Connolly to Bray departures were at 01.00 and 02.30 with a return journey at 01.45. A connection to Greystones was provided at Bray. A special fare of €5.00 applied and additional security was provided on the trains. Trains served all stations except Tara Street and Grand Canal Dock.

On 3 December, the 13.25 Sligo-Dublin Connolly was formed by 172+146 + 7 Mk IId + EGV. Sligo line trains are hauled almost exclusively by 071-class locomotives.

Relief trains operated for shoppers in the run up to Christmas. On Saturday 7 December, 232 + EGV + 6 Mk IIab worked a 07.15 Cork-Dublin Connolly special, arriving at 11.15. There were also specials from Longford and Belfast to Connolly the same morning.

On Friday 13 December, the 18.05 Dublin Heuston-Athlone was formed by a 4-car 2600-class railcar. Railcars are now often used on this service on Fridays, instead of locomotive hauled coaches. A 2600-class railcar is the normal provision on a Saturday, with the railcar working empty to Galway on Sunday morning to form the 13.50 Galway-Dublin.

FREIGHT

Sugar Beet The beet season commenced on Wednesday 9 October, with 072 + 25 laden wagons from Wellington Bridge to Mallow Beet Factory. The programme quickly built up to the normal five daily trains Mondays-Saturdays.

Motive power in the early part of the season included 072, 076, 078, 155+159. Over the weekend of 14/15 December the following locomotives were observed on beet trains: 076, 078, 081, 135+190, 133+160 and 129+177.

Friday 18 October was busy on the Limerick Junction-Waterford line. The 07.50 Mallow-Wellington Bridge empty beet train was 155+

147 + 28 wagons and passed Fiddown at 10.18. The 11.34 Waterford-Limerick empty cement was 144 + 1 bogie container + 16 empty four-wheel bulk cement wagons and departed on time. It was followed immediately by 081 + 25 laden beet, which passed Dunkitt at 12.10. At Tipperary, this beet train crossed the second Limerick-Waterford bulk cement train of the day, 163+166 + 16 four-wheel wagons. The next beet train was 076 + 25 laden wagons and this crossed the laden cement train in Clonmel.

The next day, the first laden beet, 076 + 25 wagons, passed Buttevant at 14.05. The second laden train, 142+152 + 25 wagons, passed Charleville at 16.30.

On Saturday 7 December, 148+186 + 25 laden wagons passed Ballycullane at 11.40. The next movement was 078 + 6 empty and this was followed by 150+168 + 39 empty at 13.45. The next laden train at Ballycullane was 078 + 25 laden at 14.10. Another empty passed at 16.20 behind 129+177 and, as soon as these arrived in Wellington Bridge, 150+168 + 25 laden departed.

The last day of the ‘campaign’ was Friday 27 December. Three laden trains operated. The first was 168+188 + 25 wagons, departing Wellington Bridge at 11.55. At Limerick Junction, 168+188 were removed and 201 + 2 Guinness wagons were added to the train before it proceeded to Mallow. The second train was 082 + 16, departing Wellington Bridge at 13.47. The last train was 078 + 17 wagons, which departed at 15.58.

Tara Mines Following the re-opening of the mines on 16 September, the first loaded working was 088 + 6 bogie wagons on Tuesday 24 September. Traffic built up to three daily trains by early October and a fourth train was added from 18 November. Instead of the usual 071-class, 164+190 hauled an Alexandra Road (North Wall)-Navan empty train on 4 October. On Monday 7 October, the 08.40 North Wall-Navan empty was 082 + 10 bogie wagons and this crossed the 10.20 Navan-North Wall laden, 088 + 11 bogies, at Navan. The 13.20 Navan-North Wall was 082 + 6 bogies. On Thursday 10 October, the 15.05 North Wall-Navan empty was 082 + 11 bogies.

Cement Two bulk cement trains run from Limerick to Waterford on Mondays to Fridays, with one on Saturdays. They often convey containers from Limerick to Waterford Belview and vice versa. On Saturday 21 September, the 11.34 Waterford-Limerick was diverted via Kildare due to engineering works on the direct route. It consisted of 162 + 4 bogie container wagons + 12 empty four-wheel bulk cement wagons. However, the four bogie wagons were left in Carlow, as the complicated shunting in Kildare required to run round the train and place bogie wagons ahead of four-wheel wagons was considered too disruptive.

The second laden Limerick-Waterford cement train on 14 September was the 13.00 from Limerick and it consisted of 150 + 14 four-wheel bulk + 4 four-wheel bagged cement wagons. It passed Cahir at 15.10.

On 25 October, the 11.34 Waterford-Limerick consisted of 144 + 4 bogie container flats + 5 four-wheel bagged cement + 20 four-wheel bulk cement wagons and passed Tipperary at 13.50. On Saturday 23 November, the 11.34 Waterford-Limerick was 176 + 6 bogie container wagons + 20 empty bulk cement wagons.

The bogie bulk cement wagons currently run daily between Platin cement factory, Drogheda, and Cork. An empty train consisting of 153+142 + 9 bogies passed Donabate at 13.59 on Monday 2 December. The second daily Drogheda-Cork cement trains runs with four-wheel wagons. On 16 October, 214 + 25 four-wheel wagons passed Ballyhay between Charleville and Buttevant at 15.23 with an empty Cork-Drogheda bulk cement train. On Thursday 22 October, 190+164 + 20 four-wheel wagons worked an empty from North Wall to Drogheda.

Oil The ESSO liner continues to run from Dublin North Wall to Sligo. On Saturday 28 September, the empty train, 152+169 + barrier + 19 wagons + barrier, passed Claude Road, Drumcondra, at 16.10. On 22 November, the empty train arrived in North Wall at 12.30 with 172+129 + barrier + 19 wagons + barrier. With lower demand over the Christmas holiday period, the laden train was formed by 076 + barrier + 12 wagons + barrier and departed North Wall at 13.30.

The 20.45 Dublin-Ballina liner normally conveys wagons of diesel and heating oil for Claremorris. In the approach to Christmas, this liner was too full to carry the oil wagons and a special oil train operated on Monday 2 December. It consisted of 210 + barrier + 19 oil wagons + barrier (all four-wheel wagons) and passed Clara at 14.30. The locomotive returned light engine to Dublin from Claremorris.

The 14.00 Dundalk-North Wall was formed by 128+133 + 14 four-wheel Guinness wagons on Friday 18 October. It passed Rush and Lusk at 15.40. The driver works the 17.13 Pearse-Dundalk passenger train from Connolly.

The 12.05 Dublin North Wall-Cork North Esk liner has reduced in size as IÉ withdraw from freight. Formerly 21 bogies, it is now often half that size. On 13 November, it was formed by 221 + 13 bogies and passed Limerick Junction at 16.38.

The first pre-Christmas Guinness special ran on Saturday 23 November, with 124+164 from Dublin Heuston to Limerick Junction, where 124 was taken off to return to its normal base in Limerick. On Saturday 14 December, 168+128 + 20 four-wheel wagons formed an 11.30 Dublin Heuston - Limerick Junction Guinness special, while on Saturday 22 December, it was worked by 071 + 3 bogies. On the same day in the opposite direction, 128 + 8 four-wheel wagons worked a Limerick-Heuston empty Guinness special, passing Hazelhatch at 15.55. Specials also ran after Christmas. On 31 December, the 11.30 Dublin Heuston-Cork was 175+176 + 4 bogies.

The 12.10 Dublin North Wall-Waterford Belview Norfolk liner was formed by 163+135 + 18 bogies on Friday 22 November and by 129+177 + 18 bogies on Friday 6 December. On Friday 13 December, it consisted of 133+160 + 18 bogies, of which 16 were laden and passed Sallins at 13.00. On 20 December, it consisted of 082 + 18 bogies.

The 19.50 Dublin North Wall - Ballina liner on Thursday 28 November was full size and consisted of 215 + 18 bogies. Eight of these carried containerised tanks of concentrate for the Coca-Cola factory in Ballina.

Locomotive 215 near Charleville with the last Shelton Abbey to Marino Point discharged ammonia train on 16th October 2002. (Photo: Paul Quinlan)

Wagons The Talgo pocket container wagons were cleared for service in November, initially between Dublin North Wall and Limerick via Limerick Junction Loop (Direct Curve). They were restricted to this route as their wheel-base is even longer than a Mk III carriage and is longer than the standard locking bar fitted to mechanically operated points. This could lead to the points being free to move under the train. The wagons are 21.89 metres (71’ 10”) long. There are no mechanically operated points on the Dublin-Limerick route.

The wagons are numbered 36001 - 36024 and can carry containers and ‘swap bodies’ up to 3.048 metres (10’) high, 13.716 metres (45’) long and 2.6 metres wide. They weigh 23.50 tonnes and have a capacity of 40 tonnes. Despite being specified and tested to 75-mph, they are only permitted to travel at 50-mph.

The wagons are twin-pipe air braked with a through vacuum pipe to allow operation with other air braked wagons as a completely air braked train or with vacuum braked wagons as a mixed braked train. They must be marshalled next to the locomotive in all cases. The brake system produces different braking rates depending on the load in the wagon. The handbrake applies brakes on two axles of one bogie. Each wagon is fitted with a brake pipe pressure gauge and test valve at each corner and this does away with the need to fit a train pipe tailpiece. Screw shackles are fitted.

They ran to Limerick on Wednesday 4 December, when 072 hauling 10 pocket wagons passed Straffan at 12.00. They ran to Mallow on 30 December, when 232 + 12 pocket wagons departed North Wall at 09.45. They arrived in Mallow at 14.00, where all containers were unloaded.

North Wall to Limerick liner train formed of the new IE "pocket" wagons near Straffan with Locomotive No. 072 on 4th December 2002. (Photo: Colm O'Callaghan)

Other The ‘steel’ train continues to operate, delivering new rail from Waterford Port to the welding plant in Portlaoise. It is normally routed via Lavistown Junction and Kildare. On Friday 25 October, it was formed by 147 + 6 bogie wagons and ran round in Kildare from 14.29 to 14. 58. Also in Kildare the same day, the 12.05 Dublin-Cork liner was 214 + 11 bogies, the 12.40 Athy-Limerick empty cement was 159+135 + 20 four-wheel wagons and the 19.50 Dublin-Ballina liner was 072 + 18 bogies.