The Córas Iompair Éireann 421 Class was a railway

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

, built by the CIÉ at Inchicore Works between 1962–1963 and designed for branch line traffic use and shunting.

History

The 421 Class was a larger development of the earlier 401 Class, and were fitted with a Maybach MD220 engine of with diesel hydraulic transmission via a Mekydro KL64U transmission. Unlike the earlier E401 class, these locomotives were fitted for multiple operation. They were of C

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 ...

The first of the class made its debut in early October 1962 on pilot duties in the Dublin area and although they had a design maximum speed of , experience (notably the derailment of a trial train hauled by E421) showed that they did not ride well when travelling at speeds over and so henceforth were limited to that speed and used simply for shunting duties instead. They were numbered E421–E434, and were withdrawn from service between 1979 and 1983.

Preservation

Three of these locomotives have been preserved, as follows: * E421 and E432: Owned by and based at the

Downpatrick and County Down Railway The Downpatrick and County Down Railway (DCDR) is a Track gauge in Ireland, 5 foot, 3 inch (1,600 mm) Track gauge, gauge heritage railway in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is operated by volunteers and runs passenger trains using Steam loco ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Both locos are currently stored out of traffic. * E428 had recently moved from Inchicore Works to Dunsandle, County Galway under private ownership.

Model

The E421 was available as a resin model from "Q Kits", but this company is no longer trading as the owner has retired.

References

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External links

Eiretrains - Irish Locomotives

E428 at Dunsandle
{{Ireland Diesel Locomotives Iarnród Éireann locomotives Diesel–hydraulic locomotives C locomotives 5 ft 3 in gauge locomotives Diesel locomotives of Ireland Railway locomotives introduced in 1962 Shunting locomotives