A Really Useful Engine

Went to an open day at the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland in Whitehead back in 2010, leaving the ladies to shop in Belfast. As part of the tour, we went through the restoration shop where they had GSR no. 461 in a serious state of disassembly! That's a newly re-tubed boiler on the left, having its firebox replaced. The big lump behind Monkey Boy is a wheel lathe, which was skimming the driving wheels. And the loco frames were a sorry rusted mass out of shot...

This morning, she's sitting around the side of Connolly Station, fully restored to CIE Green (which she never really wore) and ready for service until 2021! The other smokebox sneaking into shot is rebuilt J15 no.186. The society maintains one loco in the South and one in the North, so two in Dublin usually means one is heading back to Whitehead for an inspection.

Unlike England, no-one has managed to acquire a line for preservation and CIE are now legally required to retain all their tracks to allow future resumption of services. But fortunately, both CIE and NIR allow the society free access, so we get to see these beauties at full tilt on the mainline!