The Córas Iompair Éireann 101 Class

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

s, numbered B101-B112, were built in 1956 by the

Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company The Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRC&W) was a railway locomotive and carriage builder, founded in Birmingham, England and, for most of its existence, located at nearby Smethwick, with the factory divided by the boundary betwe ...

. They were fitted with Sulzer 6LDA28 engines of , with four

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

MV137 traction motors. They were of A1A-A1A

wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...

, weighed 75 tonnes and had a maximum speed of . With their design, size and axle loading, they were intended for mixed traffic duties, hauling both freight and passenger trains. They found regular use primarily on the

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

- Mallow-

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...

line and also on the

Newcastle West Newcastle West () or simply Newcastle (''An Caisleán Nua'', formerly anglicized Castlenoe) is a town in west County Limerick, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county, excluding Limerick city, It is also the county town, and sits on the ...

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line. Given that they were the first main group of diesel locos used in Ireland, they proved very successful and quickly gained a reputation for comfort and reliability by contrast to the poor cab conditions and suspension rocking of the 113 Class and the interminable breakdowns of the A Class and C Class locomotives. However, during the 1960s many of the secondary lines that they were used on were closed and following the arrival of the 181 Class, the 101s were relegated to goods, permanent way and pilot duties. The first withdrawal took place in 1969 (B111), and the last in February 1978 (B106). A proposal to re-engine them in the light of similar refurbishments of the Class 001 and Class 201 came to nothing, and the decision was taken to order new locomotives in the form of the 071 Class instead. After withdrawal, the entire class was lined up together with the two 113 Class locomotives to form a sound barrier around Inchicore Works. Official withdrawal of the class came in April 1984, and the majority were scrapped between December 1986 and March 1987.

Preservation

One locomotive, No. 103 survived and has been preserved by the

Irish Traction Group The Irish Traction Group is a railway preservation society dedicated to preserving diesel locomotives from Irish Railways. It was formed in 1989, with the intention of attempting to preserve at least one example of every type of diesel locomoti ...

, and is currently in storage at Carrick-on-Suir railway station. It was purchased by the group in 1993 directly from

Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and fr ...

and is awaiting eventual restoration.

Model

A resin OO gauge model kit is available fro
Studio Scale Models
with etched brass/whitemetal detailing and a selection of decals to cover various liveries.

References

External links

Eiretrains - Irish Locomotives
*Sulzer engines from around the world

{{Ireland Diesel Locomotives Iarnród Éireann locomotives BRCW locomotives A1A-A1A locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1956 Diesel-electric locomotives of Ireland

Preservation

Model

See also

References

External links