ELECTRO-MOTIVE DIVISION GL8 locomotives were the first all American-built diesel motive power to be delivered to Europe: Ireland to be precise. Fifteen of the switcher type locomotive were accepted by Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) in 1961, becoming CIÉ Class 121. All 15 locomotives were built at the La Grange plant in Illinois and were just part of a larger production run which totalled 149 lightweight locomotives constructed by EMD for export between 1960 and 1965. Of those, 96 locomotives were built as Bo-Bo four axle locomotives with special bogies designed for use on railways with a light axle load limit.
The locomotives were the first American-built locomotives to be used by CIÉ and were different in concept to British locomotives hitherto ordered. A single cab design with low long bonnet looked similar to switching locomotives built for the US market. The cab soon drew comment with regard to limited visibility when running bonnet first, and the layout of the controls was quite different, being of a stand type rather than a control desk. Class 121s were put to work on passenger services, bringing an end to remaining steam operations in Ireland. Despite the need to turn them at the end of a journey, CIÉ was delighted with the acquisition, with reliability being good from the start, leading the way for further purchases from EMD.
Denne historien er fra December 2020-utgaven av Rail Express.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 2020-utgaven av Rail Express.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
LNER puts remaining ‘91s' into warm store
The ongoing pandemic restrictions and major engineering works have resulted in the complete withdrawal of the last remaining ‘Electras’ from passenger service, although the plan is to resurrect them in the summer.
Mk.1 Restaurant-Buffet (RBR) cars
A SURPRISING number of Mk.1catering cars have survived to see service on the privatised railway, in private operator and charter trains. They may turn up on anything from an enthusiast special to higher-end dining trains and have been formed in trains as prestigious as the locomotive-hauledBlue Pullman’ set, the ‘Great Britain’ tours operated by West Coast Railways and the ‘Northern Belle’ tour train.
Powerscene
Our authoritative class-by-class review of newsworthy locomotive workings.
End for Freightliner Class 86/6s
The company’s Class 86/6 fleet down to just two examples as seven locos are stored.
Service reductions as Covid cases increase
An increase in Covid-19 cases in early January saw the governments in Ireland and Northern Ireland impose stricter lockdown measures that impacted on public transport.
East West Rail funding go-ahead
Although it was expected, £760 million of funding has now been confirmed to build the Western Section of the East West Railway scheme.
Travellers-Fare with Hornby's Mk.1 Restaurant-Buffet car
Hornby expands its range of retooled ‘OO’ gauge Mk.1 coaches with a brand new tooling for the Diagram 24 Restaurant-Buffet car (RB) and the Diagram 33 refurbished version (RBR). It models the vehicles in both original form, finished in BR maroon and Southern Region green, together with the RBR refurbished coaches. They remained in frontline service well into the 1990s, including Cross-Country workings.
Class 92 revolution
Despite its complex shape and high detail ratio compared to other modern six-axle locomotives, Revolution Trains chose the Class 92 to be its first 'N' gauge locomotive model.
Bottling it!
A dig into the Rail Express archive has revealed some rarely-seen photographs of the former rail-connected Express Dairy bottling plant in South West London, which today is the site of a large mosque.
1990s ‘N' gauge Class 950
Work on the ‘N’ gauge Class 950 Track Recording Unit project, a conversion based on a standard Graham Farish Class 150/1 model, is concluded by finishing the model in 1990s condition.
