Delivery

I know a few Trainzers are involved with preservation so thought these shots may be of interest.

After a 4.30am rise, I headed to my local line to help with the delivery of a new toy (I say new, but the loco was built in 1956). Below are a couple of shots of the ex CIE Metropolitan Vickers C class. Withdrawn in 1983, it was purchased by the Irish Traction Group in 1992 for the sum of I£930.

5.45am. Special delivery.


4.40pm. Loco C231 finally unwrapped and awaiting maintenance before a return to traffic, 31 years after withdrawal. A39 was built by the same company but has a Co Co wheel arrangement.

Wonderful! Always exciting when something new gets delivered. Better move that piece of wood off the rail infront of A39 though :hehe:

For a locomotive built in the 50's, she's in remarkably good condition.

Are you certain that's a C-C? I only see two journal boxes per bogey.

I have a grandson who would go absolutely bonkers over a truck with that many wheels, lol.

Ben

I hate to say it ... but the face is only one that a Mother could love ... sort of reminds me of a WW1 poison mustard gas face mask, look alike :hehe:

bendorsey said:

Are you certain that's a C-C? I only see two journal boxes per bogey.

I have a grandson who would go absolutely bonkers over a truck with that many wheels, lol.

Ben

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Hi Ben, the loco is indeed a Bo-Bo, the C refers to its power rating and is technically incorrect now (it's wearing a heritage livery which was used when the C classification was still in use) as it was re-engined with the same type of GM prime mover as in the orange loco behind it. While A39 looks the same, it's actually a much bigger loco and has a Co-Co wheel arrangement.

If you're interested at all, take a look at this website http://www.irishtractiongroup.com/ which has detailed info on many of the Irish locos.

cascaderailroad said:

I hate to say it ... but the face is only one that a Mother could love ... sort of reminds me of a WW1 poison mustard gas face mask, look alike

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Cascade, it's just what you're used to I suppose. I didn't grow up with these locos however, and found them rather brutish looking when I first came across them but since seeing them on a regular basis, I've become fond of the utalitarian look.

I don't find the majority of US locos aesthetically pleasing but those I do, are the ones that were in use with Iarnród Éireann, all of which were based on a GM GL8 switcher loco (IÉ 121/141/181/071 classes) which was adapted over the years to suit the needs of the railway. The 141 and 181 classes are essentially double cab versions of the 121. Again, on encountering these for the first time after moving to Ireland, I thought they were weird looking beasts but now I'd say the 121 class is probably one of my favourite locos and it's obviously a US style.

That is the argument I've tried to put forward many times on the 'Ugly Locos' thread but it seems to go over the heads of most.

PFX

This may explain things further. Mostly GM power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvHr6rM9qZc

Here's a wee video of the loco being unloaded and eventually unwrapped. It doesn't show just how heaby the rain was.

After being withdrawn over 30 years ago, and with the engine not being started in almost 12 years, ITG volunteers, after a lot of preparation turned over the starter and at 16:10 on 8th June, C231 burst into life after once more.

I have to say that video of them unloading her was an absolute thrill!! Well done ITG

The start up is even more significant. We have a loco with a working engine. That's half the battle.

And now we have a loco that can move under its own power. RESULT!

That's cool!

What did they do to get the locomotive running again?

John

Before the loco was in store, the engine was partially overhauled so it took the lads only a short time to get that to a stage where it could be started. Lucky for us, it went first go. Once it was, it meant the air system could be charged and the generator run. From there, it was a case of hunting down any electrical and air system faults, making sure cooling was all okay and brake testing (most important!). The brushes had already been inspected on the traction motors. Fuses and contacts were checked, some of which were found to be faulty, and once these were replaced, we found the loco took power. Sounds simple, but it's a lot of work by 3 or 4 guys.

pfx said:

Before the loco was in store, the engine was partially overhauled so it took the lads only a short time to get that to a stage where it could be started. Lucky for us, it went first go. Once it was, it meant the air system could be charged and the generator run. From there, it was a case of hunting down any electrical and air system faults, making sure cooling was all okay and brake testing (most important!). The brushes had already been inspected on the traction motors. Fuses and contacts were checked, some of which were found to be faulty, and once these were replaced, we found the loco took power. Sounds simple, but it's a lot of work by 3 or 4 guys.

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That was great for your preservation group and I would say very lucky too. It's not often that someone receives locomotives in that kind of condition. All in all it would be a lot of work finding the faults and checking things out.

John

Cheers John. When Irish Rail withdrew this class of loco, a number were available for us to look at to decide which would be the best for preservation. Many had been vandalised and robbed of parts and we ended up with the two best examples of which C231 was one. While still far from operable, for reasons unkown to me (long prior to me joining the group) it was sent to England on an empty low loader which was making the trip anyway. It received a full rewire and partial engine overhaul and had also been repainted. Makes things a whole lot easier and progress has been exceptional. Way beyond what we thought possible in 3 weeks!

I spent most of today with T-Cut trying to restore the paintwork while other lads were replacing 3 faulty brake cylinders. All part of the fault finding...