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Irish Rail Class 121
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Model GL8
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General Motors, La Grange, Illinois, USA
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1960
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15 <br> Nos 123, 124 and 134 survive
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Class 201
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GM 8-567CR <br>
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4 axle-hung nose-suspended EMD D47 Traction Motors , Series / Parallel Transition
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Bo-Bo <br>Diameter: 40” (1016-mm)
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Air and Vacuum
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39’10” (12 m)
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64 tons
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77 mph (124 km/h)
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Original - 875 hp<br>
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CIE/IR
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The
Iarnród Éireann is a railway locomotive which was manufactured by
EMD . These locomotives were in regular service on the Irish railway network until 2005.
The
Locomotive s were manufactured in 1961 and numbered B121 to B135. As of 2007, two units still see occasional freight and passenger service. Prior to 1961, almost all
Irish Diesel Locomotives were built in Great Britain, but from the 1960's onwards, GM became the sole supplier of locomotives to CIÉ, which eventually also extended to
Northern Ireland Railways locomotives at a later stage. These were EMD's first ever fully American built loco's delivered to Europe.
The Class 121 locomotives were a typical American-style single cab ‘
Road Switcher '. The layout of the cab was quite different to the other conventional CIÉ diesel models of the time, with the controls to the side of the driver, rather than the front. Due to apparent driver complaints of reduced visibility when operating with cab trailing, it was ultimately decided that these locomotives should only operate in a cab-leading formation. Later conversion for multiple-unit working allowed two 121 class locomotives to be coupled
Hood-end to hood-end, removing the need to turn them around for their return journey.
Although originally fitted with an
EMD 8-567CR engine of 875 bhp, all were later fitted with
645 type "power packs" (piston & liner assemblies) for parts standardisation, while at the same time keeping their original power output for reliability reasons. They weighed 64 tons and had a maximum speed of 123km/h (77mph). Nos. 126-129 were later rebuilt with an
EMD 8-645E engine of 1000 bhp; as used in the
181 Class locomotives.
All but three (121, 125, and 135) were fitted with Train Door Control equipment for operation with the Inchicore-built, BR Mark 3 based,
Push-Pull train units. The push-pull equipment of locomotive No. 132 was subsequently decommissioned. Entering service in 1989, these trains, consisting of a single 121 Class and up to six carriages, were mainly used on the Dublin northern suburban passenger railway service. These were to be the last regular passenger duties for the 121s. In 1994, a railcar "revolution" had begun, and the push pull carriages were later re-deployed to inter-city duties with the
Class 201 locomotives.
By 1995, the Class 201 had replaced the Class 121 on most passenger routes. Throughout the late 1990's the fleet dwindled, and by 2005 only Nos. 124 and 134 remained in service, with No. 123 in storage. The rest of the fleet has since been scrapped, due to the ongoing decline in freight traffic that they were also used for.
The last known passenger working of this class was the 13:15 Heuston-Waterford on 18/1/2007. Upon arrival in Waterford, they took the head of a delivery of new rails. Previously, they had filled in on the Manulla-Ballina service or the occasional service from Limerick. Their last scheduled mainline passenger working was on Saturday, July 9th 2005 on the
Sligo Mainline - however they are still utilised if and when required.
The
Irish Traction Group has a fund set up for the eventual preservation of a member of this class
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On delivery, the locomotives were painted in a Yellow and Grey livery. This was replaced within a year by a black / tan (“golden brown”) colour scheme with a thick white band similar to the Cravens coaching stock, delivered in 1963. With time, the colour scheme changed to tan with a black band. Soon after CIÉ Rail services became known as Irish Rail, the colour scheme was enhanced when two white bands (approx. 25mm / 1") separating the colours were added. At the same time, as a safety aspect, self-adhesive high-visibility panels were added to the front of the Locomotives.
The 121 Class has been made as a .
Diesel Locomotives Of Ireland
