The 80 Class is a type of
diesel electric multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
formerly used by
Northern Ireland Railways
NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) ( ga, Iarnród Thuaisceart Éireann); and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent ...
. They were affectionately nicknamed 'Thumpers' by rail enthusiasts due to the thumping noise their engines produced.
History
By the early 1970s, the
MEDs and units inherited from the
Great Northern Railway (GNR) had been in service for 20 years, and the
MPDs for 10 years. To replace these increasingly life-expired units,
Northern Ireland Railways
NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) ( ga, Iarnród Thuaisceart Éireann); and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent ...
(NIR) placed an order with
British Rail Engineering Limited
British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was the railway systems engineering subsidiary of British Rail. Established in 1970, the maintenance arm was split as British Rail Maintenance Limited in 1987, and the design and building of trains was ...
(BREL) for 9 new DMUs. These were to be built as four 3-car and five 2-car sets and were delivered in 1974/75. Structurally, the new trains were based on the
British Rail Mark 2
The Mark 2 family of railway carriages are British Rail's second design of carriages. They were built by British Rail workshops (from 1969 British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL)) between 1964 and 1975. They were of steel construction.
Introduc ...
b bodyshell, which NIR was already using for the
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterpris ...
service. The new trains were classified as the 80 Class.
The power cars were fitted with an
English Electric 560 hp diesel engine, with electric transmission to two traction motors mounted on the rear bogie. The seating capacity of the power cars was 45, however after providing for wheelchair accommodation, this was reduced to 42. The vehicle also incorporated a guards/parcel compartment. The intermediate coaches were fitted with an additional door on each side to aid passenger flow and had a capacity of 87. The driving trailers had a small cab built at one end, which necessitated the removal of six seats. This cab was set to the left to preserve the gangway connection, so that two train sets could be coupled together and still allow passengers to travel between the trains. All three types are of integral construction, however the power cars, because of their weight, also have an underframe. They were similar to the
UTA 70 Class, both mechanically and electrically.
The 80 Class was intended to replace the aging MED, MPD and ex-GNR AEC and BUT railcars on the NCC services and the suburban service between
Bangor and
Portadown
Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...
. The railcars proved so successful that a second series was ordered in 1975, entering service in 1977/78.
Each vehicle was numbered individually, with power car numbers running from 67 to 69, and 81 to 99. The Intermediate Trailers were numbered 761 to 780 and the Driving Trailers were numbered 731 to 756. Power cars 81 to 89 were built between 1974/1975, while 67 to 69 and 90 to 99 were built between 1978/1979. Intermediate Trailers 761 to 764 were also built between 1974/1975, with 765 to 773 being completed between 1978/1979. Likewise, the Driving Trailers were also completed in batches, with 731 to 739 built between 1974/1975 and 740 to 751 built between 1978/1979. The additional coaches were conversions from BR or old
NI Railways
NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) ( ga, Iarnród Thuaisceart Éireann); and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent ...
loco-hauled coaches, and were not original 80 Class vehicles. These were Driving Trailers 752 to 756 and Intermediate Trailers 774 to 780. During the mid-1990s the surviving vehicles were all renumbered by Translink, by adding 8000 to their numbers to avoid duplication with the bus fleet operated by Ulsterbus and Citybus, also Translink subsidiaries.
Use by Iarnród Éireann
![IE80Class](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/IE80Class.jpg)
Three 3-car sets were leased by
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 ...
(IÉ) from NIR in October 1987 for use on, respectively, the
Bray–
Greystones
Greystones () is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies on Ireland's east coast, south of Bray and south of Dublin city centre and has a population of 18,140 (2016). The town is bordered by the Irish Sea to ...
shuttle (previously operated by a push–pull set rebuilt from
CIÉ 2600 Class
The Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) 2600 Class were Associated Equipment Company (AEC)–engined diesel multiple units (normally termed railcars in Ireland) that operated InterCity and suburban services on the CIÉ system between 1952 and 1975. ...
railcars), the
Dublin Connolly
Connolly station ( ga, Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile) or Dublin Connolly is one of the busiest railway stations in Dublin and Ireland, and is a focal point in the Irish route network. On the North side of the River Liffey, it provides InterC ...
–
Maynooth
Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...
route, and the
Cork–Cobh line. They were originally intended as a short-term measure until
Mark 3 push–pull sets became available. The sets entered service on 2 November. In addition to their regular services, they were employed on a variety of other workings, including a nine-car
All-Ireland hurling special from Cork to Dublin. However, although the sets were fitted with
Continuous Automatic Warning System
The Continuous Automatic Warning System (CAWS) is a form of cab signalling and train protection system used in Ireland to help train drivers observe and obey lineside signals.
CAWS has been in use on Iarnród Éireann diesel trains since 1984. All ...
and IÉ train radio in March 1990 and "for a while it appeared as if the units were going to be purchased by
É" NIR required them back when the lease expired at the end of October 1990. A brief "stay of execution" for the Greystones shuttle lasted until 26 November.
Refurbishment
![Sandite At Lisburn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Sandite_At_Lisburn.JPG)
Despite the increasing age and obsolescence of the 80 Class, the lack of available rolling stock meant that NIR was forced to retain a number of units, even in spite of the entry into service of the new
Class 3000. Until 2011, NIR maintained up to three 4-car units for use on passenger services. These saw a pair of 2-car units, a power car and driving trailer, coupled back to back. Six trailers were refurbished and fitted with central door locking enabling them to remain in service until the new
Class 4000 units entered service in 2012. (742 had been nominated for retention but was scrapped in May 2008 and replaced in the programme by 752)
The power cars were overhauled at LH services in Staffordshire and the trailers at York Road works in Belfast. Set 89-733-738-69 remained in service until 24 May 2008. Set 93-754-749-94 was sporadically on test from Wednesday 23 July 2008. From Monday 3 November 2008, regular passenger services commenced with this set.
On Thursday 17 December 2009, a second refurbished 80 class was deployed onto the Larne Line. The final sets on the Larne Line were 90-749-752-93 and 94-754-747-82. The third refurbished set was stored at York Road and it consisted of 69-733-738-89. It was rumoured that 82 had been withdrawn from service following from an engine fire. 82 was fixed and returned to working order after the fire in Larne.
On Tuesday 26 January 2010, 89 entered passenger service with 93, 90 was taken off the set on 23 January 2010. 90 was stored at the south end of the south siding at York Road.
Withdrawal from passenger service
In 2011, the entire
450 Class fleet, together with the remaining 80 Class units, was listed by NI Railways for disposal.
The final 80 Class units were withdrawn from passenger service on Sunday 25 September 2011.
Sandite and final withdrawal
97 was converted to a
sandite
Sandite is a substance used on railways in the UK, Ireland, US, the Netherlands and Belgium to combat leaves on the line, which can cause train wheels to slip and become damaged with flat spots. Sandite consists of a mixture of sand, antif ...
spraying vehicle in 2006 and in 2006 and 2007 was used on these duties coupled to 89. On Wednesday 1 October 2008, 97 had a test run with refurbished 82 and this pair were used for sandite trains until December 2008.
In 2009, 97 was on Sandite duties again with 82. During October 2009 while out on sandite duties, the engine in 97 exploded. 82 struggled with hauling dead 97 so it was decided to add 94 to back of the train to help it along.
Three Power cars 69+94+90 and two driving trailers 749+752 were overhauled, and in 2012, 97 was painted in all-over yellow to help commuters identify it as a non-passenger train. In 2013, 69, 94 and 752 were repainted into all yellow livery to join 97. As part of this repaint, 69 was accidentally renumbered 96.
After the 2014 Sandite season, 94 was taken off the set and replaced with 90, which was never repainted into the Sandite train's yellow sandite livery. It ran as such for 2015, 2016 and 2017 with the final run taking place on Wednesday 22 November 2017.
All but one of the Sandite vehicles were preserved. The last remaining 80 Class vehicle in NIR ownership, 97, was scrapped at York Road on 8 June 2019.
Preservation
Downpatrick & County Down Railway
![Umbra level crossing near Downhill](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Umbra_level_crossing_near_Downhill.jpg)
On Tuesday 27 March 2018, the
Downpatrick and County Down Railway
The Downpatrick and County Down Railway (DCDR) is a five-foot, three-inch (1,600 mm) gauge heritage railway in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is operated by volunteers and runs passenger trains using steam and diesel locomotives, diesel ra ...
announced it was to preserve four 80 Class vehicles, consisting of two power cars 69 and 90, and two driving trailers 749 and 752. 69 and 749 have been painted in the original, as-delivered maroon and blue livery. (See photo to right) The fundraising appeal for the campaign can be found on th
DCDR's website In April it emerged that the campaign was endorsed by
Pete Waterman
Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Water ...
, one of the most notable individuals in the world of railway preservation and owner of several locomotives, including at one point
No. 4472 ''Flying Scotsman''. 69 is particularly notable for having worked the last
Peace Train
"Peace Train" is a 1971 song by Cat Stevens, taken from his album '' Teaser and the Firecat''. The song climbed to No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart during the week of November 6, 1971, becoming Stevens' first US Top 10 hit. The song als ...
in 1995, an accolade which made it the subject of an episode of
Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railways in 2019.
90 and 752 left York Road for the Downpatrick and County Down Railway on 12 May 2018, and 69 and 749 joined them the next day. It is planned that No. 69 will be named
''Mike Collins'' in honour of the railway's former chairman.
No. 69 was started for the first time in preservation on 26 May 2018. It ran for the first time under its own power on 23 June 2018, with a series of crew training and platform-gauging runs to
Inch Abbey
Inch Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery on the outskirts of Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland.
It was founded by Anglo-Norman John de Courcy in the twelfth century at the site of a previous monastery which had operated from the 9th ...
,
Downpatrick Loop Platform, and
Magnus Grave. Power car No. 90 was similarly started for the first time since it arrived at DCDR, on 7 July 2018. The same day, 69 and 749 entered the main platform at
Downpatrick station, completing their gauging trials and thus enabling them to traverse the entire DCDR network.
69 and 749 put in a
cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
at the 2019
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 ...
30th anniversary diesel gala, but could not carry passengers due to ongoing floor repairs in 749. The pair were originally planned to enter service in May 2020, but their launch has been postponed until further notice due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. 90 and 752 are much longer-term projects for full restoration, though 90 has successfully worked in multiple with 69 and 749 since arriving at DCDR.
Other
Two other 80 Class vehicles are preserved outside the DCDR. Intermediate trailer 771 was purchased in May 2007 by a now-closed B&B in Ballynure, where it remains today. Power car 99 is at the
East Lancashire Railway
East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway line in North West England which runs between Heywood, Greater Manchester and Rawtenstall in Lancashire. There are intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street, , Summerseat and Ramsbottom, with ...
in England, having been purchased for spare parts for
207202. It is currently used as a workshop/storeroom.
Fleet details
Status Of 80 Class Units
Power cars
Intermediate Trailers
Driving Trailers
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nir Class 0080
0080
Diesel electric multiple units
BREL products