Irish Rail 201 Class
CIE Metro Vick "C Class"/Class 201 No.C231 at Inchicore Works, Dublin, repainted in late 50's livery
Also called:	Metro-Vick “C” Class
Builder:	Metropolitan Vickers at Dukinfield Works, Manchester
Years Built:	1957-58
Number Built:	34
Replaced By:	DART/DMU
Engine:	Crossley EST V8 Re-engined '69-'80 with EMD 8 cylinder B645E by CIE at Inchicore Works, Dublin
Transmission:	Electric. 4 Metropolitan Vickers traction motors.
Wheel Arrangement:	Bo-Bo
Width:	9' 6"
Height:	14'
Weight:	61.5 tons
Maximum Speed:	80 mph (129 km/h)
Engine Horsepower:	Crossley - 1100 hp (820 kW) EMD - 1100 hp (820 kW)
Fuel Capacity:	300 Imperial Gallons
Operators:	CIE/IR

The Córas Iompair Éireann 201 Class locomotives were the lighter and less powerful sisters of the 001 Class locomotives, both being built by Metropolitan Vickers. They were delivered to CIE during 1957 and 1958, and were intended for mixed traffic (freight and passenger) use on branch lines. Image File history File links C231. ... Image File history File links C231. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy industrial firm of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. ... Manchester is a major city within Greater Manchester in North West England, historically notable for being the worlds first industrialised city, and its subsequent central role in the Industrial Revolution. ... An engine is something that produces some effect from a given input. ... Crossley Motors, based in Manchester, England, produced approximately 19,000 high quality cars from 1904 until 1938, 5,500 buses from 1926 until 1958 and 21,000 goods and military vehicles from 1914 to 1945. ... Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. ... The EMD 645 is a line of diesel engines built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... Image:Gearbox. ... Crossley Motors, based in Manchester, England, produced approximately 19,000 high quality cars from 1904 until 1938, 5,500 buses from 1926 until 1958 and 21,000 goods and military vehicles from 1914 to 1945. ... Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. ... Córas Iompair Éireann[1] (CIÉ) is a statutory authority which is owned by the Irish Government. ... A locomotive (from Latin loco motivus) is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train, and has no payload capacity of its own; its sole purpose is to move the train along the tracks. ... The Córas Iompair Éireann 001 Class locomotives were the mainstay of mainline passenger and freight services on the Irish railway network for forty years, from 1955 until the mid-1990s when they were replaced by the new 201 Class locomotives. ... Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy industrial firm of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Unfortunately, these locomotives suffered from two distinct problems. Firstly, CIE underwent a large scale closure of its branch lines during the late 1950s and early 1960s, leaving them without a purpose. Secondly, they suffered badly from the unreliability of their Crossley engines, which were of insufficient power even when they did work. The 1950s was the decade spanning the years 1950 to 1959. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...

As a result, attempts were made to re-engine these locomotives with more suitable equipment. In 1965-1966, a Maybach MD650 engine of 980hp was tested in 233 and 234. However, a permanent solution was found by converting the entire class with General Motors engines from 1969 (a similar process was also undergone by the 001 Class). From this time they were partnered with former diesel multiple units converted to four-car push-pull carriage rakes to operate the suburban services around Dublin. 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), also known as GM, is an American automobile maker with worldwide operations and brands including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Vauxhall. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... The Córas Iompair Éireann 001 Class locomotives were the mainstay of mainline passenger and freight services on the Irish railway network for forty years, from 1955 until the mid-1990s when they were replaced by the new 201 Class locomotives. ... DMU, type SA108 of Great Poland Voivodship in Poznań, Poland German DMU of class 628 A diesel multiple unit (DMU) is a train whose carriages have their own motors powered by a diesel engine. ... A single GWR autocoach capable of push-pull operation. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ...

When built, these locomotives were numbered C201-C234, and as locomotives were re-engined, they were renumbered B201-B234 to reflect their increased power. However, the prefix letter was later dropped. From 1984 the class was replaced by electric multiple units operating the newly-electrified Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) services, and the remaining examples were all withdrawn over the following two years, the first, No.201 was bomb damaged and withdrawn in 1973, the last in 1986). 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A multiple unit is a passenger train whose carriages have their own motors, either diesel (DMUs) or electric (EMUs), and do not need to be hauled by a locomotive. ... An 8200 Class DART unit, Iarnród Éireann 8203, at Grand Canal Dock station in 2001 Some DART trains feature these LED route describers - green indicates the route which has already been travelled, orange the route expected to be followed and flashing red the next station. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

NIR use

After withdrawal from CIE, six locomotives were sold to Northern Ireland Railways, which designated them 104 Class. They entered traffic for NIR in 1986-1987, except 105. Originally CIE 224 was intended to become 105, but it was subsequently rejected by NIR and replaced by 218, which only entered traffic in 1991. 224 was left stored on NIR until it was scrapped in January 1996. Northern Ireland Railways (NIR or NI Railways) – formerly, and very briefly, known as Ulster Transport Railways (UTR) – is the railway operator responsible for running the railway network in Northern Ireland. ...

Of those that entered service, some had very short lives working for their new owners. They were stored as soon as any problems arose (e.g. a seized engine or traction motor), and the whole class was formally withdrawn in 1993 (107/109) or 1995 (the others). The locomotives involved, their new numbers and their withdrawal are set out below:

Preservation

Two 201 Class locomotives, numbers 226 and 231, have been preserved by the Irish Traction Group [1]. 226 was the first mainline diesel to be preserved in Ireland. C231 is currently based at Inchicore, whilst 226 is undergoing restoration at Carrick-on-Suir [2]. Córas Iompair Éireann 001 Class locomotive. ... Inchicore (Inse Chór in Irish) is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. ...

A third example, NIR 106/CIE 227 was preserved privately and displayed at Cahirciveen, County Kerry [3] [4] and carries the number C202, which was supposedly the number of the locomotive hauling the last train from Cahirciveen in 1960 but it was in fact 227 which worked the train. Unfortunately it has suffered almost continuous vandalism since being displayed in 1997.[5]. It may be moved to another location in the future as there are other groups interested in it. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 51. ... Statistics Province: Munster County Town: Tralee Code: KY Area: 4,746 km² Population (2006) 139,616 Website: www. ...