Which Loco is your favourite?

Cookie_Monster

the real question is of course why on earth you'd ant to go near the Ilac centre?

free parking in town on a bank holiday, point to point travel with no waiting, more comfortable and cheaper to drive, why would you bother with the train?

now if it was a normal weekday than it probably worth it.

Losty Dublin

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

the real question is of course why on earth you'd ant to go near the Ilac centre?

free parking in town on a bank holiday, point to point travel with no waiting, more comfortable and cheaper to drive, why would you bother with the train?

now if it was a normal weekday than it probably worth it.

On Street Parking charges in the city centre apply from 14:00-18:00 on Sunday and Public Holidays; you'd also spend a while finding a spot which would be off the main road arteries into town; a walk with bags may also apply. Not to say he'd had saved money or hassle in what they done but if people are happy to do it, there is a certain piece of mind and hassle in getting the train so let them be.

CIE

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

the real question is of course why on earth you'd (w)ant to go near the Ilac centre?

free parking in town on a bank holiday, point to point travel with no waiting, more comfortable and cheaper to drive, why would you bother with the train?

now if it was a normal weekday than it probably worth it.

So...if there's free parking in the city centre on a bank holiday, does the presumption even exist that a single parking spot would be available? Let's see the scenario...huge jams within five miles of the city centre, crawl into town in your "more comfortable" car (hoping it doesn't overheat due to slow going in traffic; and comfort in a car is relative because not everyone can afford a luxury trim vehicle), finally make it into town and oh look, none of those "free" parking spaces available, so you have to try and crawl around town looking for a space, and maybe find one in a rather unsavoury part of the city, not knowing if the car will be there when you get back? And if you're sleepy on the way back home, no chance to catch forty winks if you're behind the wheel, so the desperate search for a petrol station that's open and selling coffee is on. And the more miles you put on your car, the more expensive it gets to keep running (I've got a Toyota with well over 326,000 km on it, and that's via meticulous maintenance, but no machine lasts forever; just the laws of thermodynamics in action). I'd rather have the alternative available to me, and the more expensive driving gets thanks to the crises in North Africa, the more that people will be seeking that alternative that should have been put back there but is not currently there.

Cookie_Monster

CIE wrote: »

So...if there's free parking in the city centre on a bank holiday, does the presumption even exist that a single parking spot would be available? Let's see the scenario...huge jams within five miles of the city centre, crawl into town in your "more comfortable" car (hoping it doesn't overheat due to slow going in traffic; and comfort in a car is relative because not everyone can afford a luxury trim vehicle), finally make it into town and oh look, none of those "free" parking spaces available, so you have to try and crawl around town looking for a space, and maybe find one in a rather unsavoury part of the city, not knowing if the car will be there when you get back? And if you're sleepy on the way back home, no chance to catch forty winks if you're behind the wheel, so the desperate search for a petrol station that's open and selling coffee is on. And the more miles you put on your car, the more expensive it gets to keep running (I've got a Toyota with well over 326,000 km on it, and that's via meticulous maintenance, but no machine lasts forever; just the laws of thermodynamics in action). I'd rather have the alternative available to me, and the more expensive driving gets thanks to the crises in North Africa, the more that people will be seeking that alternative that should have been put back there but is not currently there.

LOL, have you ever been into Dublin on a bank holiday?

"huge jams" "overheating cars" you make it sound like we live in Cairo. Is leaving the house such a chore for you, you certainly make it sound like it, most ridiculous post I've read on here in a long time.

newmug

DWCommuter wrote: »

Your observation is either biased or bonkers. It doesn't cost €5 an hour to park in the Ilac centre. There's no rush hour traffic on a bank holiday monday and your car is probably safer in the ilac centre than Pace. As for the table, well it was invented many moons ago, but well done for enjoying it on a train.

corktina wrote: »

hmmm....how far did you have to lug the shopping to get to Connolly?

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

the real question is of course why on earth you'd ant to go near the Ilac centre?

free parking in town on a bank holiday, point to point travel with no waiting, more comfortable and cheaper to drive, why would you bother with the train?

now if it was a normal weekday than it probably worth it.

Ah lads, yous are being a bit harsh!

I'm not sure EXACTLY how much it costs to park in the Ilac, but thats where I usually park as its the first main park available in the city centre from the North Circular road. Anytime I do, its always 15 or 16 Euro, so I just guessed about e5 per hour.

Traffic congestion usually starts at the black bull, or Fairyhouse cross as some people call it. All along the Navan road, past Blanch, through Cabra, then the North Circular, right in to O'Connell St. used to be chaos. Its a year or two since I commuted that journey, but I assure you it was hell. The train is so much handier. Also, there is NO WAY the Ilac is safer than the M3 parkway, sure its just in the middle of fields!!!!

As for lugging the shopping, I shopped on O'Connell St., Henry St., across the sewer to Grafton St., did a few bits in the St. Stephens' shopping centre, and went back to Talbot St. to do a bit of shopping there. Thats my usual routine. So straight over to Connolly then, as opposed to re-visiting O'Connel St., Henry St., and then the Ilac. See?



To sum up: Safe parking, X saved on diesel, no head-wrecking traffic (both directions!), no looking for a space, slightly less walking, quicker time from Navan Rd. in to city centre, convenience of having a sleep / phone conversation / read of paper / coffee, straight out onto road home, AND all for only e6!!!

newmug

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

LOL, have you ever been into Dublin on a bank holiday?

"huge jams" "overheating cars" you make it sound like we live in Cairo. Is leaving the house such a chore for you, you certainly make it sound like it, most ridiculous post I've read on here in a long time.

Have you ever commuted from the country into Dublin?

Cookie_Monster

newmug wrote: »

Have you ever commuted from the country into Dublin?

not from the middle of the bog, no. But have driven into town plenty of times on sundays or bank holidays. Zero traffic, 25 mins from Cabinteely to Stephen's Green, always spaces there free, not even a 5 min walk to Grafton St, job done.

what all this has to do with locomotive classes of Irish Rail I dunno...

Run_to_da_hills

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

not from the middle of the bog, no. But have driven into town plenty of times on sundays or bank holidays. Zero traffic, 25 mins from Cabinteely to Stephen's Green, always spaces there free, not even a 5 min walk to Grafton St, job done.

what all this has to do with locomotive classes of Irish Rail I dunno...

Plenty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po_I7tFEL-8

newmug

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

not from the middle of the bog, no. But have driven into town plenty of times on sundays or bank holidays. Zero traffic, 25 mins from Cabinteely to Stephen's Green, always spaces there free, not even a 5 min walk to Grafton St, job done.

what all this has to do with locomotive classes of Irish Rail I dunno...

If you havent commuted "from the middle of the bog":rolleyes:, then you havent a clue about commuting. Also, you keep bringing up bank holidays and Sundays, do you never leave the house any other day? What all this has to do with Irish Rail's locomotives is that a locomotive, or some type of self-propelled vehicle which can run on rails, brings you on your journey. A bit of maturity, please!

Cookie_Monster

newmug wrote: »

If you havent commuted "from the middle of the bog":rolleyes:, then you havent a clue about commuting. Also, you keep bringing up bank holidays and Sundays, do you never leave the house any other day? What all this has to do with Irish Rail's locomotives is that a locomotive, or some type of self-propelled vehicle which can run on rails, brings you on your journey. A bit of maturity, please!

the argument about getting into town was one of bank holiday mondays....
I made it clear the train would be worth it any other weekday already, if you can't be bothered to even read the posts properly it's not my problem.

newmug

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

the argument about getting into town was one of bank holiday mondays....
I made it clear the train would be worth it any other weekday already, if you can't be bothered to even read the posts properly it's not my problem.

There was no arguement. I just mentioned that I saw 082 in Connolly, and then regaled my story of my pleasant rail experience. The day of the week was never mentioned by me. Then a few lads started calling me "bonkers or biased", and rubbishing various things I had said, yourself included with that "bog" comment.

Look, wires were crossed somewhere, can we all just be friends?:p;):p

Cookie_Monster

incidentally, without reading back through all this thread to check.

This, as far as I am aware is the more complete list of Diesel Loco's to serve in ROI (many left off the original list)

A class (001)
B class (101)
B class (113) - Irish built prototypes
C class (201i)
121 class
141 class
181 class
071 class
201(ii) class

D class - externally very similar to BR 08
E401
E421 - sub class of above
F - narrow gauge
G601
G611 - sub class of above
K801 - unique 0-8-0 coupled loco

That's all I am aware of, I don't think there were any others on the mainlines. There were/are NIR locos also and a few private ones like Guinness and BnaM who run of their own systems.

OurLadyofKnock

newmug wrote: »

Being a newbie locosexual, I dont see the difference between 121, 141, 181 etc. They all have the same "face", or do they?

Racist!

Eh, I mean Locoist!!!!!!

OurLadyofKnock

Actually, my favourite loco is one not being driven by a CIE employee.

popebenny16

was a bit dim of me to hope that the last added option to the poll would actually win, wasnt it.

but what would i know, all i am is a skull wot sits in the carraige.

Rud

OurLadyofKnock wrote: »

Racist!

Eh, I mean Locoist!!!!!!

I guess the 141 and 181 class are pretty much the same looking and the 071 class looks like a 141 or 181 on steroids but the 121 class is single cab and in my opinion better looking and has a slightly different face i think

You'd have to look closely to see the difference between a 141 and 181, putting the number of the loco aside. The 181s originally had vents underneath the headlights and some had them filled during their lifetime. Others had them filled only on one side. 187 kept them on both sides right to the end. The ladder which leads up to the roof is also of a different design on 181s.

Sound-wise, the 181s idled faster than a 141 and this was fairly noticeable. I believe the difference was 255 rpm vs 315 rpm. You could also spot this on the 141s that were re-engined with 645 engines such as 142 and 170.

newmug

Karsini wrote: »

You'd have to look closely to see the difference between a 141 and 181, putting the number of the loco aside. The 181s originally had vents underneath the headlights and some had them filled during their lifetime. Others had them filled only on one side. 187 kept them on both sides right to the end. The ladder which leads up to the roof is also of a different design on 181s.

Sound-wise, the 181s idled faster than a 141 and this was fairly noticeable. I believe the difference was 255 rpm vs 315 rpm. You could also spot this on the 141s that were re-engined with 645 engines such as 142 and 170.

Was there a reason why all these locos were so similar looking? Did GM have a standard cab design that was universal for all locos built around that era, or was it just a case of some design engineers personal taste for that style?

Either way, I think they look deadly! That is how diesel loco's should look!

Losty Dublin

newmug wrote: »

Was there a reason why all these locos were so similar looking? Did GM have a standard cab design that was universal for all locos built around that era, or was it just a case of some design engineers personal taste for that style?

Either way, I think they look deadly! That is how diesel loco's should look!

It was a design forwarded to EMD/GM by Bulleid, the then Chief Mechanical Engineer for CIE; it was often referred to internationally as an Irish Cab.

Run_to_da_hills

Losty Dublin wrote: »

It was a design forwarded to EMD/GM by Bulleid, the then Chief Mechanical Engineer for CIE; it was often referred to internationally as an Irish Cab.

A very similar cab to EMD JT22CW-2 of Serbian Railways except for the catwalk.



BTW there are still a few 121's left out oin Brazil.

Run_to_da_hills

The 121s are a standard GM export design and are therefore similar to many others around the world, single cab locos are the norm in the US. The 141s/181s/071s, as said, were based on a design specified by CIÉ.

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

A very similar cab to EMD JT22CW-2 of Serbian Railways except for the catwalk.



BTW there are still a few 121's left out oin Brazil.

JT22CW is indeed the GM model designation for the 071s and NIR 111s, so the Serbian class 666 locos would be variants of the 071 design.

CIE

Egyptian Railways' JT22MC cab is also similar. These are also "cowled" engines (to distinguish from "hooded" engines with the "catwalk").

BTW, the GL8s that run in Brazil (not "121s" since they didn't get any of Ireland's) ran (and run) on a lot of metre-gauge lines.

steamengine

newmug wrote: »

I saw 082 in Connolly today:)

On the DART northbound around noon today, I saw 082 heading up some ore wagons, stationary at the top of the East Wall Bank and presumably about to descend same. Tara Mines to the docks , I assume.

Losty Dublin

Karsini wrote: »

The 121s are a standard GM export design and are therefore similar to many others around the world, single cab locos are the norm in the US. The 141s/181s/071s, as said, were based on a design specified by CIÉ.

When EMD came out with the GL8, it was a smaller version of an American switcher loco but with just the one cab. As there had been sound issues with the single cab from Irish drivers, CIE requested a twin cabbed loco with a different control console layout; this was the main reason how Bulleids cab design got it's call up.

DWCommuter

CIE wrote: »

Fond of those ad-hominems, eh. If the fellow made something up (doesn't appear to be an honest mistake), fair enough to call him on it because it'll undermine his argument in that respect, but to counter it with another opinion on top of the ad-hominem is overkill—there may not be rush-hour traffic on a bank holiday Monday, but there sure would be commercial shopping traffic if places like the Ilac Centre are such a draw. Never mind the Ilac Centre advertising their €2/hour parking rate (they say it's "now" that price) to encourage driving...and they still have their €2.80/hr rate/€35 daily rate if you come at the wrong time of day. And it's sure not like there's a motorway all the way there either.

What are you on about? The parking fee of €5 per hour quoted was wrong. End of that argument.

Regarding rush hour traffic on a bank holiday Monday, well there is none and to say there is mocks the facts.

DWCommuter

newmug wrote: »

There was no arguement. I just mentioned that I saw 082 in Connolly, and then regaled my story of my pleasant rail experience. The day of the week was never mentioned by me. Then a few lads started calling me "bonkers or biased", and rubbishing various things I had said, yourself included with that "bog" comment.

Look, wires were crossed somewhere, can we all just be friends?:p;):p

Lets be straight here. I was the only one that used the term "Bonkers or biased" in relation to the obvious wrongs in your account of a pleasant rail experience. Its not €5 an hour to park in the ilac and there is no "rush hour" traffic on a bank holiday Monday. Maybe if your account was based on facts, then it wouldn't be rubbished.

Of course maybe bonkers or biased was the wrong thing to say. Maybe you were just trying to bait people who believe the rail network is far from efficient. Ive noticed that a lot of enthusiasts on this forum do that.

NOTE TO MODS: No need to remind me that my post is off topic. Ive had my say. Back to the locos now.

newmug

DWCommuter wrote: »

Lets be straight here. I was the only one that used the term "Bonkers or biased" in relation to the obvious wrongs in your account of a pleasant rail experience. Its not €5 an hour to park in the ilac and there is no "rush hour" traffic on a bank holiday Monday. Maybe if your account was based on facts, then it wouldn't be rubbished.

Of course maybe bonkers or biased was the wrong thing to say. Maybe you were just trying to bait people who believe the rail network is far from efficient. Ive noticed that a lot of enthusiasts on this forum do that.

NOTE TO MODS: No need to remind me that my post is off topic. Ive had my say. Back to the locos now.

I wasnt trying to do anything buddy, just being friendly.

steamengine

As the 071 class is still topping the poll, I thought I might as well post up a pic of 082 passing Harmonstown this morning at 11.35 approx, with laden Tara's for the North Wall.



River Boyne on Enterprise passed down around 11:15 - a double bubble locomotive morning with a couple DMU's thrown in as well.

newmug

There's supposed to be a new line opening to Navan, going through Kilmessan, and hooking up at the M3 parkway (I'd rather it went Athboy, Trim, Kilmessan......). I wonder will the Tara Mines trains use it, or will they stay on their present route?

Judgement Day

newmug wrote: »

There's supposed to be a new line opening to Navan, going through Kilmessan, and hooking up at the M3 parkway (I'd rather it went Athboy, Trim, Kilmessan......). I wonder will the Tara Mines trains use it, or will they stay on their present route?

Don't hold your breath for the Parkway/Navan extension and by the time it's built the Tara mines traffic will probably be finished.