[corktina]

No you would only need to commision the converted loco. You strip the other for parts and scrap it.

[Jehuty42]

I suppose selling the surplus locomotives is out of the question? The non-standard gauge probably rules them out, but they are just BR Class 66's underneath(I think) and those are found all over Europe these days.

An idea I had in my head was that a small fleet of 201s should be equipped with Scharfenberg couplers and kept in strategic locations so that a failed DMU (or EMU) could be quickly removed from the mainline. Not sure this would work all that well though, since the costs of moving them back to Inchicore periodically for maintenance checks would add up to a lot of "dead" miles, and crewing the trains would inevitably be a problem . The more practical problem of course is the lack of capacity on the network- there are practically no headshunts or sidings left, nowhere a loco could be left, nowhere a failed train could be easily dumped

As far as the 071s go, I guess they can settle into permanent-way duties and slowly rust away. Permanent way operations are a lot less loco-intensive than they once were now, with the use of dedicated self-propelled units and multi-purpose vehicles and so on. The 071s must be close to full withdrawal now?

[corktina]

I saw a TV ptrog recently (about Stripping Giants I think) which was about a scrapyard in the US breaking GM locos and they were getting phenominal amounts for the parts (six figure sums for an engine iirc)

selling them in bits would certainly be an option if the value as parts for our running fleet is not important.

[roundymac]

Was the push pull an add-on or were they ordered that way. If they were order why was'nt all of them ordered like so?

[Losty Dublin]

They were specifed upon order, so far as I know but they can be retrofitted handy enough. There are cables and electrical equipment that operates the various systems on board from a cab elsewhere on the train. When they were ordered, there was need for them to work the mark 3 PP units to replace 121's and the Enterprise units so some loco's were fitted and some weren't.

[Karsini]

201-205 and 210-214 were from the first batch which could not operate push-pull services, well not officially anyway. The push-pull gear is the same as that for multiple working so it would technically work, the non-retractable buffers and couplers are meant to be the main problem.

206-209 were from a later batch - I believe the reason for the numbering discrepancy is so their names and numbering would mirror those of the GNR steam locos Liffey, Boyne, Lagan and Foyle.

[corktina]

Originally Posted by Judgement Day

It's essential that the surplus locos be cannibalized and scrapped ASAP to prevent them from falling into the hands of any private freight operator daft enough to dip their toe in the Irish railway scene.

what future for the stored 201s then?

[Captain Chaos]

Originally Posted by corktina

what future for the stored 201s then?

Perway trains and thunderbird duties when all the 071s are gone. Possible tara trains if the Navin branch gets upgraded to take them all the way to the mine.

[Jehuty42]

Originally Posted by Captain Chaos

Perway trains and thunderbird duties when all the 071s are gone. Possible tara trains if the Navin branch gets upgraded to take them all the way to the mine.

I think the problem is actually with the traverser in Dublin at the end of the spur being too short for a 201.

[Karsini]

Originally Posted by Captain Chaos

Perway trains and thunderbird duties when all the 071s are gone. Possible tara trains if the Navin branch gets upgraded to take them all the way to the mine.

The main problem with running 201s on the Taras isn't to do with weight; it's that the the traverser in the Alexandra Road depot cannot take them. It had to be modified to take 071s when the A class was withdrawn, I believe the 201s are too long for it.

Edit: Beaten to it, haha

[Jehuty42]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think I remember hearing that the Tara mine is almost exhausted these days, so that traffic may not always be around?

[101sean]

It's OK until 2015 IIRC from something I was reading the other day.

[Jehuty42]

Originally Posted by 101sean

It's OK until 2015 IIRC from something I was reading the other day.

Sounds right, that is very close at hand though.

[dowlingm]

Even the 071s would have loads of time left if run on a North American railroad I'd say - the willingness of IE to let these vehicles literally rust away is unreal. Even if the traverser issue was fixed, there would still be the matter of axle weight limits - even if IE was stupid enough to risk the implications of shutting down bits of the network left decay out of limits without an 071 to haul perway trains, surely NIR would not be similarly stupid keep their 111s around and thus be available to borrow as sometimes happens on the Tara? On the other hand, NIR are the clowns who bought the Gatwicks...

[Losty Dublin]

They were bought with the intention of a usable lifespan of 30 years. They are now well over that and that includes their running at close to 100% availability for the majority of their working life, knackered bogies aside. Considering that the majority of their number are still in active service and the lessening duties for them, it's been some performance from them. It will certainly be a pity to see them all retired when it comes to it but the figures sadly are beginning to add up against them.

As for their NIR cousins, I'm mildly shocked they can even move at times