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| No. 186, built in the 1870s and up until a few years ago, the oldest locomotive still running on the mainline. © Eugene Brennan |
I could look at steam trains all day.
No.
131 isn't the oldest locomotive in the RPSI's collection of vintage
steam trains. That honour goes to No. 186 which was built in the 1880s
and worked as a goods engine but also on passenger trains. Her last
operation was hauling beet in 1962/63.
Up until a few years ago, she was
the oldest engine still operating on the mainline, but is now out of
service and on display at Whitehead museum. No. 461, another locomotive
in the collection, was built for the Dublin and South Eastern Railway,
but was delivered in 1922 during the Civil War. Rather than risk the
danger of it being destroyed, like many engines, rail lines and bridges,
she was stored in the North by the GNR until the end of the conflict.
The
Railway Preservation Society of Ireland is an all-island organisation
registered as a charity and run by volunteers. It restores and maintains
engines and also runs excursions, mostly during the summer months, but
with special events at Easter, Halloween and Christmas. It's based in
Whitehead, near Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland, with workshops that
restore the engines. It also has an operation in Inchicore where
volunteers can help with the maintenance of carriages.
Steam
traction ended in Ireland in 1963 after which most engines were
unfortunately scrapped. Only a handful were left to be exhibited in
museums or restored to operate on the mainline.
