Inchicore Works

Judgement Day

Inchicore Works Open Day 1997 (?) a major success thanks to the foresight of one IE manager (and a multitude of enthusiasts) saw a large number of locomotives refurbished for display. One of these G601, which came into service in June 1956 for the reopening of the Banteer/Newmarket branch used to belong to me before finding its way to the ITG - cost me a great deal in terms of time and money and look at it now - preservation Irish style. :rolleyes:

G601 at the Inchicore Works Open Day

and today from the RPSI website: http://www.steamtrainsireland.com

lord lucan

As an aside,the RPSI are tentatively looking at building another 'jeep' from scratch. They have the wheels and motion gear and are looking at building the rest from scratch including boiler etc.

Cookie_Monster

who cares about a silly little "G", its just a badly formed tractor on steel wheels (:p), look at the state of the B101 class!!! :eek:

Judgement Day

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

who cares about a silly little "G", its just a badly formed tractor on steel wheels (:p), look at the state of the B101 class!!! :eek:

Well I've only one thing to say to you Cookie_Monster...insert your name here instead of Emmet Stagg. Poor old 601 converted into a British Army watchtower on wheels......but perchance she is not dead but sleepeth......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-fNPFfzHhU

Cookie_Monster

Judgement Day wrote: »

Poor old 601 converted into a British Army watchtower on wheels......

:pac::pac::pac:

it could come in handy keeping watch on the West on Track folk

Ham'nd'egger

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

who cares about a silly little "G", its just a badly formed tractor on steel wheels (:p), look at the state of the B101 class!!! :eek:

The G's were arguably the worst ever loco to work in Ireland as they were too underpowered to do much more than shunt the odd loose freight train or a single bogie coach; in any case the closure of branch line workings say to it that what little duties they were able to do was all but eliminated.

Ironically enough, those that were preserved have been wee workhorses for the preserved railways they have worked for in Ireland and I hear that G601 will be re-engined soon and returned to traffic.

steamengine

Judgement Day wrote: »

Inchicore Works Open Day 1997 (?) a major success thanks to the foresight of one IE manager (and a multitude of enthusiasts) saw a large number of locomotives refurbished for display. One of these G601, which came into service in June 1956 for the reopening of the Banteer/Newmarket branch used to belong to me before finding its way to the ITG - cost me a great deal in terms of time and money and look at it now - preservation Irish style[URL="http://"][/URL]

Walking the walk - fair dues to you again !!!

Transportuser09

Seems like a clever way of protecting G601 from the elements. You can hardly expect a preservation group like such as the ITG to restore all its locos that easily, given its being done by volunteers, etc... Same goes for the B101.

garfieldsghost

interlocked wrote: »

I'd love to see Maedhb steam some day but unless a lotto winner decides to indulge himself I don't think it'll ever happen.

Here are some of the reasons, off the top of my head.

1; She's too big. Her axle loading is 22-23 tons I think. The current IR axle loading, is 18.75, This means that she'd be limited to Dublin- Cork, Dublin-Belfast, if indeed the Civil Engineers didn't turn pale at the suggestion. This limits her appeal to the RPSI straight away, no good for the local runs to Mullingar or down the DSER which are their real bread and butter.

2 The overhaul cost, conservatively at least half a million, and probably more.This is a huge amount for a loco without go anywhere status.
The current overhaul of 461 is costing serious money, this is for a loco that has already been restored. Remember the loco restoration for the West Clare cost an estimated €600,000 and that was narrow gauge! I don't know whether there has been any engineering assesment done on Maedbh since withdrawal.

3 Running costs, Maedbh would be considerbly higher in coal consumption than the smaller more economical locos such as 4 or 461.

4 Operatiional problems. I think the current speed limit for steam locos on IR is 60 mph, I know the Mk11's and Cravens were 75mph in service but I'm not sure what they are passed for in heritage service, I suspect it's 60 mph. If you are going to restore a loco that size you want a bit more poke out of her than 60 especially as regards pathing issues

If you did get her restored, and you did get her to Cork the lack of a turntable means that you'd be faced with running her tender first back to Limerick Junction at 45mph.

Finally the operation of a dining trains is good in theory, but in reality not. We haven't got the Pullman Equivalents in this country, As non steel bodied coaches are banned from the main lines you'd be forced to use either Mark 11's or Cravens. I'm not sure that they'd suit luxury dining! You'd also be facing heavy external costs for an volunteer organisation such as crews, staff, access charges etc. It'd be a serious undertaking.

Better invest in the Euro millions this week!

PS
I'm nearly certain that there's records that at least one of the locos has broken the ton. Certainly done the high 90's. Must have been some job trying to keep her coaled and stay on your feet at that speed.

I'm also pretty sure that Meadbh is out of gauge for operation on the network nowadays... if she were to run again she'd take chunks out of bridges and platforms!

Transportuser09

I know some may not view Cultra as the most appropriate place for 800, but perhaps we should be grateful at the same time. If the Belfast Transport Museum had not got it back in the 60s we might not have it all; it might well have been cut up. Looking the RPSI website it seems that most of their mainline locos appear to fall into the medium size go-anywhere range, which makes sense given axle-load issues and such. It would be nice to see it though, but I can't imagine the viability of such a project, even by the state.

corktina

steamengine wrote: »

Walking the walk - fair dues to you again !!!

ditto.I wonder if they'd sell it...the banteer to newmarket branch runs behind my house, so I'd have an interest in its return home....

Hungerford

Transportuser09 wrote: »

Seems like a clever way of protecting G601 from the elements. You can hardly expect a preservation group like such as the ITG to restore all its locos that easily, given its being done by volunteers, etc... Same goes for the B101.

In fairness, I don't think that B101 was in brilliant condition when IE finally gave it away - it spent years on the sound barrier at Inchicore for one thing!

I'm actually a bit fan of the ITG - they seem to be doing some excellent work on C226 at the moment. Several of their locos are in operational condition too - it seems that insurance is a problem though.

Judgement Day

Hungerford wrote: »

In fairness, I don't think that B101 was in brilliant condition when IE finally gave it away - it spent years on the sound barrier at Inchicore for one thing!

I'm actually a bit fan of the ITG - they seem to be doing some excellent work on C226 at the moment. Several of their locos are in operational condition too - it seems that insurance is a problem though.

As far as I know the ITG paid the full scrap value for 103 - CIE/IE give little away except to the ........ Pity 106 wasn't saved instead as it was the last to see service in 1978 and was used on the IRRS '101' Farewell tour. After years on the sound barrier there was undue haste in their ultimate disposal down the North Wall in 1987 - so much so that some went down full of fuel which caused some 'fun' when the torches started work. Good old CIE.

DWCommuter

Judgement Day wrote: »

34 years ago I was painting stones to use as markers for a Little Tern colony on a County Wicklow beach - I did it by myself with some school friends as nobody in officialdom cared enough to bother - now the same colony has a 24 hour, well paid, wardening service during the breeding season. What's the connection you may ask? Well, 27 years ago I was part of a group that tried to persuade CIE and various people in government to get Maeve out of Witham Street and run it between Dublin & Cork as a publicity trailblazer for the railways - even if a tiny fraction of CIE's advertising budget had been diverted to fund the project it would have been a monumental success. But no, this is Ireland we talk the talk but never walk the walk where these projects are concerned. The main difference between the tern project and Maeve is CIE and the associated dead hand of the state - Bord Failte, in those days, and the Dept.of Transport. As for me, I am sufficiently disillusioned and impoverished by my involvement in various projects here never to get burnt again and my own interest today is in 'self-preservation' - it's a dog eat dog world out there and nobody in officialdom gives a damn about anything except their pensions/the lump or defrauding the system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1lxDjd_fi8

JD, you must love "Oh Mr. Porter".:D

It was made at Gainsborough Studios, in London, the haunt of Will Hay. In 2004 the derelict studio was demolished and apartments were built on the site. So perhaps you can see the irony!!!;)

Hungerford

I wonder what's going to happen to some of the relics at Inchicore e.g. B113 and 6111 when they start pulling the place apart for the interconnector works. I just have a horrible feeling that the IE Heritage Committee will allow them to meet the scrapman.

Judgement Day

Hungerford wrote: »

I wonder what's going to happen to some of the relics at Inchicore e.g. B113 and 6111 when they start pulling the place apart for the interconnector works. I just have a horrible feeling that the IE Heritage Committee will allow them to meet the scrapman.

Don't worry they will have rusted away completely by the time work on the inter-connector commences. pac::pac::pac::pac:

steamengine

corktina wrote: »

Id l;ove to see 800 steming dont get me wrong, but theres a few locos that would be more practical operationally that would be a better idea. Top of my list Dunluce Castle.(no it isnt a GWR one... :-)

No 85 Merlin's overhaul is well advanced according to the latest RPSI bulletins. Many a happy hour or so, many years ago, was spent watching her and the other GNR locos of the same class come thundering through Killester station en route North on the 'The Enterprise' . As a kid I managed quite a few journeys on the trains pulled by all those blue locos. Happy Days !!!

steamengine

thetool wrote: »

has there been a thraed yet on the historical Inchicore works? the works played a part in many peoples lives in and around the dublin 8/10 area for over 160 years.

it contains a lot of history from building bus's and trains to munitions during troubled times, it contains many listed bulidings that are likily to be knocked with the dart underground and proposed luas stations.

many characters work there over the years and many a funny story was told or created. there was good/bad and hard times had by all who worked there. there was blood sweat and tears for some.

there was link to protestent history aswell as a monstery and a well. its workshop were famous all across europe and some of the craftworkers were classed as the best in the world.

what do you think?

I spent a brief period working there in the late 60's, and can recall the place as being very busy indeed. A lot of the maintenance shops operated under the 'time and motion' method. Amongst the most interesting to me was the foundry where the pattern makers would readily explain the process of moulding. An impression of the required part was made in the moulding sand and molten steel then poured into the mould containing the impressed sand. I only saw small parts being cast, but it gave the idea as to how they once made loco wheels etc.

In the lifting shop further up the works they were manufacturing tanker wagons c/w with Westinghouse vacuum brake systems. Near there they had a massive 'wheel profiling machine' and I remember all the axles lined up for machining. The machine shop was very extensive with lathes, milling and shaping machines and it was interesting to see 'gear cutting' being undertaken by the toolmaker/turners.

There were 2 locomotive overhaul shops with specially constructed bays to allow access at the sides and below and they were busy. Also a component shop which undertook a myriad of smaller type maintenance jobs. One of the most interesting jobs there was the cutting of rail sections for points - that long taper bit see JD's pic above.

On the lighter side they had Radio Inchicore that played pop music twice a day to all the workshops, so you could work away and listen to the Kinks 'Sunny Afternoon' at the same time. As regards characters I remember this guy who wore a grease top cap, whistled all the time and wheeled a wheelbarrow all day long around the works. I never saw him stopped anywhere - never found out what his role was either. Apparently, he was a model railway buff and once a year set up his model railway on the exhibition day !!! Forgot to mention the bar - you could get a lunchtime pint if you wished - Happy Days !!!:D

ollaetta

Parallel thread on the dublin.ie forum:

http://www.dublin.ie/forums/showthread.php?9714-quot-the-work-s-quot-inchicore

Great pics and stories all round.

steamengine

ollaetta wrote: »

Parallel thread on the dublin.ie forum:

http://www.dublin.ie/forums/showthread.php?9714-quot-the-work-s-quot-inchicore

Great pics and stories all round.

This pic courtesy of the Irish Traction Group shows a 0-8-0 MAK diesel hydraulic locomotive which I remember parked up permanently in Inchicore at the end of the sixties. Originally bought by the GNR, it was in service around 1956 on the Northern line. It made an awful racket noise-wise and I don't think it was used for very long by the GNR, for whatever reason.

Cookie_Monster

^That^ ended up being sold to Galway Scrrap Metal who used it to run a car crusher.

Travesty that it was allowed to be scrapped.

krugerrand

thetool wrote: »

has there been a thraed yet on the historical Inchicore works? the works played a part in many peoples lives in and around the dublin 8/10 area for over 160 years.

it contains a lot of history from building bus's and trains to munitions during troubled times, it contains many listed bulidings that are likily to be knocked with the dart underground and proposed luas stations.

many characters work there over the years and many a funny story was told or created. there was good/bad and hard times had by all who worked there. there was blood sweat and tears for some.

there was link to protestent history aswell as a monstery and a well. its workshop were famous all across europe and some of the craftworkers were classed as the best in the world.

what do you think?

There are no listed buildings in the Works. None whatsoever. Zippo.

The vast majority of the buildings in the Works are ugly post-war industrial units.

There's a couple of buildings in the Works that are architecturally interesting (This is them !) and Irish Rail will not be demolishing them. Railway Order to be published next month. Not that much of interest for a site of 75 acres.

Judgement Day

Found this today item amongst my few remaining items of railway dross - note the membership number - very sad.