Late 1970s - CIE train to Galway. Loco and carriages?

r3nu4l

So in the late 70s, I went to Galway on holiday. I went by train, from Dublin.

I was wondering if anyone here would know what the CIE rolling stock was, on the Galway line at that time? In particular, it would be good to know the loco type and carriages stock, not the exact ones I traveled on of course but the type of stock in use on that line at the time.

I'd appreciate any help. I plan on using the information to put together a story for a special family anniversary.

Not sure I'm getting the question across properly so ask away

n97 mini

Can you remember any specifics? Did the windows in the passenger area of the carriage open? Were there one or two locos hauling?

kc56

In the last 70s there was a mix of trains serving Galway
Mk2 'Supertrains' and 071 locos (2 per day)
Other trains were a mix of Cravens, Park Royals hauled by 121,141,181 or 071 locos.
There was an 1800(?) to Dublin composed of 3-4 Park Royals(?) with compartments and hauled by an 071. Can't speak for other trains but they all operated to Heuston apart from the Mail train which went to Connolly.

r3nu4l

Thank you. My memory of this would not be 100% correct as it was almost 40 years ago now

I think the windows opened and it was hauled by a single loco.

While reading online, I've read about "Galway" livery, what was that? Was it different to other CIE livery?

I know what Cravens are, so that's good. It sounds from what you're both saying that there was basically a mix of carriages, locos used. Was there a "typical" loco in use at the time? Edit: ignore the loco question, answered above.

Also, any good sites I could visit to study up? Thanks again!

kc56

I was in Galway for a while in 1979-1980. I think there were 4 trains per day to Dublin plus the mail train. Two of these were Mk2 'Supertrains' and 071 locos. A third was composed of carriages with compartments so there were probably Park Royals also hauled by an 071. Can't be specific about any other trains. I only recall trains I actually used.

I think the 'Galway colours' was probably the 'Cu na Mara' set which were Mk3 but in a slightly different paint scheme but this was later in the 1990's. Others will have more details.

n97 mini

Yeah, I only remember Cu na Mara as being Mk3s. That was the 1990s. No windows in the carriage opened.

Sadly they came to a ****ty end:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/123306737@N06/16765893970

Vic_08

n97 mini wrote: »

Yeah, I only remember Cu na Mara as being Mk3s. That was the 1990s. No windows in the carriage opened.

Sadly they came to a ****ty end:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/123306737@N06/16765893970

The Cu Na Mara set weren't Mk3s, although similar they were second hand coaches originally built as a demonstration set by BREL to try to generate sales outside Britain.


http://www.traintesting.com/International_train.htm

BabyGM146

The Cu Na Mara set were MK3s, albeit MK3As. The Galway livery was a livery similar to the original 201 class livery, and featured on an overhauled set of MK2D stock in the 2000s.
OP, if you say you remember a single loco, I'd say it was an 071, and the stock, if the windows opened was likely a mix of cravens and earlier stock, park royals or laminates. Any with compartments would have been laminates/bredins, to my knowledge no Park Royal stock had compartments.

L1011

n97 mini wrote: »

Yeah, I only remember Cu na Mara as being Mk3s. That was the 1990s. No windows in the carriage opened.

Sadly they came to a ****ty end:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/123306737@N06/16765893970

I think the former owners of the hotel intended to use them as staff accomodation, but it then changed hands.

Losty Dublin

BabyGM146 wrote: »

The Cu Na Mara set were MK3s, albeit MK3As. The Galway livery was a livery similar to the original 201 class livery, and featured on an overhauled set of MK2D stock in the 2000s.
OP, if you say you remember a single loco, I'd say it was an 071, and the stock, if the windows opened was likely a mix of cravens and earlier stock, park royals or laminates. Any with compartments would have been laminates/bredins, to my knowledge no Park Royal stock had compartments.

001 class loco's are a little more likely to have taken charge of the train.

n97 mini

What's the difference between a Mk3 and a Mk3A?

Oscar Bravo

The Mark 3A "Cú Na Mara" set, now withdrawn, operated exclusively on the Dublin to Galway route apart from later years when it operated on the westport line, and was originally the BREL International Train, a showcase project designed to secure overseas orders. The set travelled to a German rail exhibition in 1988, but returned without any new orders and languished for some years before being sold on through Vic Berry. CIÉ converted the many different interior layouts to their own standard design, fitted their own Mark 3 type powered door and re-bogied with ABB bogies. Although also re-wired for Push-Pull operation the fact that the "10th coach" wasn't converted to a DVT prevented the set from ever running with this configuration. I did many miles on them and they were never a patch on a regular MK3.

r3nu4l

Losty Dublin wrote: »

001 class loco's are a little more likely to have taken charge of the train.

Ah, okay. This is interesting. This is more like what I remember in my head, bearing in mind the caveat that my memory is hazy on this That said, I'm kind of biased against the 071 as I don't really remember that at all but okay, this helps. The loco could have been 071 or 001 and there could have been any number of different carriage types attached

Isambard

Oscar Bravo wrote: »

The Mark 3A "Cú Na Mara" set, now withdrawn, operated exclusively on the Dublin to Galway route apart from later years when it operated on the westport line, and was originally the BREL International Train, a showcase project designed to secure overseas orders. The set travelled to a German rail exhibition in 1988, but returned without any new orders and languished for some years before being sold on through Vic Berry. CIÉ converted the many different interior layouts to their own standard design, fitted their own Mark 3 type powered door and re-bogied with ABB bogies. Although also re-wired for Push-Pull operation the fact that the "10th coach" wasn't converted to a DVT prevented the set from ever running with this configuration. I did many miles on them and they were never a patch on a regular MK3.

As vic08 stated earlier the Cul na Mara set were not mk3's. They were the former BREL International coaches produced as a demonstrator set. Perhaps they were called mk3A in Ireland, I don't know, but they aren't a version of the Mk3.

91wx763

Weren't the "Internationals" a swap for the "C" class locos that went to Vic Berrys in Leicester in the 1986 ???

Grandeeod

91wx763 wrote: »

Weren't the "Internationals" a swap for the "C" class locos that went to Vic Berrys in Leicester in the 1986 ???

Nope. We got some really crappy MK2s for them. They ran on the Galway line for a while in the early 90s. I was last on one in 2003 on a train to Limerick.

VIC BERRY CRAP.jpg

The refurbed MK2 set brought me back. It originally ran on the Galway line.

REFURBED MK2S.jpg

It was real beg and borrow and swap kinda stuff back then. But interesting all the same.

roundymac

Those pictures of the MKIIs answered a couple of questions I always wanted to ask.

The_Wanderer

The International set had plug doors from new. IE didn't retrofit plug doors to the carriages.

You could say that BREL based the design on the mark 3 carriage, but it was a demonstration train so never officially a MK3 in the UK.

In Ireland the set was known as MK3A. But a lot of staff did refer to them as the International or Cul Na Mara.

end of the road

did any of the international set make it into preservation?

end of the road

end of the road wrote: »

did any of the international set make it into preservation?

None as usable railway coaches. Caragh Nurseries in Naas bought one. There's one at the back of the Killashee House Hotel, also in Naas, but in very bad condition.