Railway Preservation Society of Ireland

Heritage rail society in Ireland

Railway Preservation Society of Ireland

The RPSI's oldest locomotive, No.186, a GS&WR Class 101, at Whitehead.

Abbreviation| RPSI
Formation| 1964
Location|

* Dublin
* Whitehead, County Antrim

Membership| ca. 1,000 (2022)

Main organ

| Five Foot Three
Website| www.steamtrainsireland.com

The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) is a railway preservation group founded in 1964 and operating throughout Ireland. Mainline steam train railtours are operated from Dublin, while short train rides are operated up and down the platform at Whitehead, County Antrim, and as of 2023, the group sometimes operates mainline trains in Northern Ireland using hired-in NIR diesel trains from Belfast. The RPSI has bases in Dublin and Whitehead, with the latter having a museum.[1] The society owns heritage wagons, carriages, steam engines, diesel locomotives and metal-bodied carriages suitable for mainline use.

## Bases

[edit]

The society has developed several bases over time, with Whitehead joined by Sallins, then Mullingar, and also Inchicore and Connolly in Dublin. As of 2019, three locations are in operation: Whitehead, Inchicore and Connolly.

### Current operations

[edit]

#### Whitehead site and museum

[edit]

Whitehead, near Belfast, has a long history as an excursion station, and the RPSI developed a working steam and engineering depot there. This was added to by the development of a museum.[2]

The Whitehead Railway Museum opened without ceremony in early 2017,[2] after a 5-year project to expand the site from a depot to include a rebuilt Whitehouse Excursion station and the museum. The total cost was £3.1m from various funding sources.[2] The museum received 10,000 visitors in 2017, its first year, and 15,000 in 2018.[3] The museum contains five galleries and it is possible for visitors to see various heritage steam and diesel locomotives and observe work on railway carriage restoration. Guides from the society are present.[3]

#### Inchicore, Dublin

[edit]

The RPSI has arrangements for storage of stock at Inchicore Works, with maintenance also being carried out there.[2]

#### Connolly shed

[edit]

In 2015 the RPSI secured an arrangement with Iarnród Éireann to lease the locomotive shed just to the north of Connolly for the maintenance and storage of mainline diesel locomotives.[2]

### Historical operations

[edit]

#### Mullingar

[edit]

The RPSI moved into the loco shed at Mullingar in 1974[4] and based steam locos 184 and 186 there. Carriages were also restored there. The base later become derelict, with funding instead being channeled to Whitehead, including a board decision not to spend money on the green carriages based at Mullingar.[5] Generating Van 3173 was the last vehicle to be overhauled.[6] The site was eventually handed back to the local council and Irish Rail, in preparation for new housing development, with remaining carriages moved to other locations, including one to the new Maam Cross railway project.[citation needed]

#### Sallins

[edit]

Prior to Mullingar, Sallins Goods Shed was used as a base.[7]

#### Whitehead and Belfast

[edit]

The Society used to operate mainline steam trains from Whitehead and Belfast. Since 2023, these have ceased, as the late Noel Playfair (NIR driver) passed away. Which means the society has had to work with NIR to come up with new operating agreements and hopefully getting operations restarted. Whithead still operates within the yard on train rides while maintenance.is still carried out on the mainline cariages and locos based here, ready for the future.[citation needed]

## Rolling stock

[edit]

### Steam locomotives

[edit]

GSWR steam locomotive No.186 on former GNR tracks, near Newry.

The Society possesses 9 steam locomotives (plus one more operated by them but owned by the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum), typically only a small number will be operational at any time:[8][a]

#### Passenger tender locomotives

[edit]

The RPSI has three Great Northern Railway of Ireland 4-4-0's within its fleet.[8] No. 131, a Q class, was built in 1901.[12] The others are S class no. 171 Slieve Gullion and V class No. 85 Merlin,[8] although the latter is owned by the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum and is on loan. These locomotives are suitable for longer distance main line work, but are speed restricted if they need to run tender-first in the event they cannot be turned.[citation needed]

#### Mixed large tank locomotive

[edit]

The RPSI's Northern Counties Committee (NCC) 2-6-4T, WT class No. 4 holds significant records. It worked the last steam passenger train on Northern Ireland Railways, and with No. 53 operated the last stone goods train on 22 October 1970. Acquired by the RPSI in June 1971 it then went on to work over most of the remaining Irish railway network.[13][a] They also own a SLNCR Lough class.

#### Goods tender locomotives

[edit]

The Society possesses three goods tender locomotives all of which are suitable for slower speed passenger workings. Two of these are from the 101 (J15) class, of which over 100 were built between 1866 and 1903 and which lasted until the end of the steam era on CIÉ in 1963.[14] The RPSI possesses two examples of these simple, reliable and robust engines, No. 184 with a saturated boiler and round-shaped firebox, and No. 186 with a superheated boiler and squarer Belpaire firebox.[14] No. 461, a 2-6-0 DSER 15 and 16 Class heavy goods locomotive, is the only Dublin and South Eastern Railway example that has been preserved.[15]

#### Shunting locomotives

[edit]

Shunting locomotives are useful and economical for shunting and short passenger work within Whitehead yard. These include the 0-6-0ST .3 'R.H. Smyth', affectionally known as Harvey, which has also been used to pull ballast hoppers for NIR.[16] There is also No3BG "Guinness", a Hudswell Clarke engine presented by Guinness to the Society in 1965.[17]

### Diesel and other locomotives

[edit]

134 at Inchicore Works

The RPSI has indicated it has a strategy to create a mainline heritage diesel fleet.[18] It has acquired four c. 65t 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) General Motors Bo-Bos; CIÉ 121 Class number 134 and CIÉ 141 Class numbers 141, 142 and 175.[8][19]

The RPSI used to own two NIR 101 Class Hunslet diesels Numbered 101 and 102.[20] They scrapped 101 and 102 was transferred to the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum.[citation needed]

The RPSI also has some small diesel shunters, including a Ruston from Carlow sugar factory, a planet diesel from Irish Shell and a unilok diesel from the UTA.[21]

### Carriages and other stock

[edit]

In the 2000s, with more rail stringent regulations, the RPSI was forced to acquire rakes of metal bodied carriages for mainline railtours.[22]

### Freight wagons and other stock

[edit]

Whitehead has a collection of historic wagons, including a GNR brakevan named Ivan, restored by their award-winning Youth team, a Guinness van and NCC handcrane and a GSWR ballast hopper and an oil tanker from Irish Shell.

## Operations

[edit]

### Railtours

[edit]

The main work of the society is in securing and maintaining steam rolling stock, with a view to running rail tours and Mulligan, in "One Hundred and Fifty Years of Irish Railways" noted that the RPSI did "sterling work" in the area of organising of such rail tours around the island, following the end of steam as a regular means of service provision on UTA and CIÉ lines.[23]

### Films

[edit]

The RPSI has been able to assist in the provision of suitable rolling stock for train-related scenes in films made on the island of Ireland.[23] The shooting of The First Great Train Robbery in 1978 was an early significant involvement in film making by the RPSI.[24]

### Publication

[edit]

Five Foot Three is the RPSI's membership magazine. It is published annually[25]

## Incidents

[edit]

On 7 November 2014, an RPSI train chartered by Web Summit blocked a level crossing in Midleton for over 25 minutes. The operation was referred to the Commission for Railway Regulation. The resulting investigation found that the Society had knowingly run a train that was too long for the station's platform and that it would block a level crossing, yet senior IR management overrode their internal safety department by allowing the train to run.[26][27][28]

On 7 July 2019, a serious incident occurred at Gorey when No.85 ran out of water and the fusible plug melted in the firebox. The Civil Defense had to cool down the boiler with hoses while the crew were evacuated from the cab and a rescue diesel summoned from Dublin. [29][30]

## See also

[edit]

* List of heritage railways in Northern Ireland
* List of heritage railways in the Republic of Ireland
* Irish Steam Preservation Society
* Irish Traction Group

## References

[edit]

### Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ RPSI 2021s.
2. ^ a b c d e Hewitt 2017.
3. ^ a b Newsroom 2019.
4. ^ Morton, Robin (Spring 1979). "News from Council". Five Foot Three (23).
5. ^ "RPSI News Letter". November 1996.
6. ^ McKeown, Joe (April 2016). "Dublin Carriage Report". Five Foot Three (61).
7. ^ Scott, Peter (Summer 1971). "Locomotive Report". Five Foot Three (11): 15.
8. ^ a b c d RPSI 2021c.
9. ^ Devereux 2019.
10. ^ Boocock 2009, p. 87.
11. ^ Mitchell 2021, p. 232.
12. ^ Newsroom 2021.
13. ^ Scott 2008, p. 142.
14. ^ a b Boocock 2009, p. 19.
15. ^ Boocock 2009, p. 38.
16. ^ "No.3 "R.H. Smyth"". Railway Preservation Society of Ireland. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
17. ^ "No.3BG "GUINNESS"". Railway Preservation Society of Ireland. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
18. ^ RPSI 2021f.
19. ^ Hewitt 2017p.
20. ^ "The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland". www.rpsi-online.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
21. ^ "Diesel Locomotives RPSI | Railway Preservation Society of Ireland".
22. ^ BJ 2008, pp. 14–15.
23. ^ a b Mulligan 1990, p. 179.
24. ^ Newsroom 2018.
25. ^ Five Foot Three Railway Preservation Society of Ireland
26. ^ O'Brien 2016.
27. ^ Wall 2016.
28. ^ O'Regan 2016.
29. ^ [1] A History - Sea Breeze
30. ^ "Merlin Being Examined after failing on Dublin to Rosslare Run". Steam Railway. 26 July 2019.

### Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b The RPSI was reported in 2019 to have begun work on a "new-build" locomotive project, choosing to commit to a Class W 2-6-0 in preference to a second 2-6-4T tank sister to No. 4.[9] The Class W were the NCC's top express passenger locomotives built c.1933 and were noted for excellent performance.[10] They were a parent design to the Class WT, which were essentially a tank variant.[11]

### Sources

[edit]

* BJ (2008). "Irish railtour Mk 2 set" (PDF). Model Rail. No. July 2008. pp. 14–15\. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 August 2021.14-15&rft.date=2008&rft.au=BJ&rft_id=http://www.murphymodels.com/files/RPSI_MkII_Review_MR119_008-012%2C014-015.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Railway+Preservation+Society+of+Ireland" class="Z3988">
* Boocock, Colin (1 October 2009). Locomotive Compendium Ireland (1st ed.). Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 9780711033603. OCLC 423592044.
* Cassells, Joe; Friel, Charles (2004). Forty Shades of Steam – The Story of the RPSI. Newtownards, County Down: Colourpoint. ISBN 9781904242260. OCLC 57167803.
* Devereux, Nigel (5 October 2019). "RSPI cuts frames for new-build LMS-NNC 'W' class mogul". The Railway Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
* Finegan Gibson (21 December 2020). The Railway Preservation Company of Ireland : Company Limited by Guarantee : Financial Statements : 31 December 2019 (Report). Companies House. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021.
* Hewitt, Sam (22 February 2017p). "Inchicore to carry out RPSI's Class 121 Overhaul". The Railway Magazine. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
* Hewitt, Sam (12 April 2017). "RPSI's Whitehead museum opens its doors to public". The Railway Magazine. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
* Mitchell, Walter F. (February 2021). "Moguls and Jeeps — The W and WT class locomotives of the NCC — a design appreciation". Irish Record Railway Society. 29 (204): 224–234.224-234&rft.date=2021-02&rft.aulast=Mitchell&rft.aufirst=Walter+F.&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Railway+Preservation+Society+of+Ireland" class="Z3988">
* Mulligan, Fergus (1990) [1983]. One Hundred and Fifty Years of Irish Railways. Belfast: Appletree Press. ISBN 9780862812331. OCLC 20525095.
* Newsroom (6 April 2014). "Work created and skills saved by RPSI". CarrickTimes. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021. `{{cite news}}`: `|author=` has generic name (help)
* Newsroom (17 August 2018). "Hollywood star Liam Neeson at Whitehead for movie scenes". CarrickTimes. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021. `{{cite news}}`: `|author=` has generic name (help)
* Newsroom (6 March 2019). "£4m Whitehead attraction draws 25,000 visitors". CarrickTimes. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021. `{{cite news}}`: `|author=` has generic name (help)
* Newsroom (26 May 2021). "Trains steam back on track in Whitehead at weekend". CarrickTimes. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021. `{{cite news}}`: `|author=` has generic name (help)
* O'Brien, Stephen (27 March 2016). "Irish Rail fights safety rap over Summit train". The Times. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021.
* O'Regan, R. (28 April 2016). "21/15-PII — Post Incident Inspection following a planned out of normal operation on the Midleton Branch 7 November 2014" (PDF). Railway Safety Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
* Poots, Nelson (1996). "Five Foot Three No.43". Whitehead, Co. Antrim: RPSI. ISBN 9781904242840. OCLC 506214865. `{{cite magazine}}`: Cite magazine requires `|magazine=` (help)
* Scott, William T. (2008). Locomotives of the LMS NCC and its predecessors. Newtownards, County Down: Colorprint. ISBN 9781904242840. OCLC 506214865.
* Wall, Martin (21 December 2016). "Regulator's report reveals tensions with Iarnród Éireann bosses". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019.

### Primary sources

[edit]

* RPSI (21 July 2016). "The RPSI, how it all began..." SteamTrainsIreland. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
* RPSI (13 August 2021b). "Dublin Operations — Report on Dublin Operations 2019". www.steamtrainsireland.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
* RPSI (24 August 2021f). "Córas Iompaor Éireann : 175 Class BO-BO Diesel Electric B175". Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
* RPSI (14 August 2021s). "Steam Whitehead". www.steamtrainsireland.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
* RPSI (20 August 2021c). "RPSI - Collection". www.steamtrainsireland.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Railway Preservation Society of Ireland at Wikimedia Commons

* RPSI website

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Museums and galleries in Northern Ireland

National museums

* Armagh County Museum
* Ulster American Folk Park
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* Ulster Museum
* W5

Northern Ireland Environment Agency

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National Trust

* Ardress House
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* Gray's Printing Press
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* Patterson's Spade Mill
* Rowallane Garden
* Springhill House
* Wellbrook Beetling Mill

Other museums and galleries

* Belfast Exposed
* Down County Museum
* Irish Republican History Museum
* Northern Ireland War Memorial
* Ormeau Baths Gallery
* Saint Patrick Visitor Centre
* Somme Heritage Centre
* Ulster Aviation Society
* Whitehead Railway Museum

Northern Ireland portal

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Heritage railways, museums and preservation societies in Northern Ireland

* Downpatrick and County Down Railway
* Foyle Valley Railway Museum
* Giant's Causeway and Bushmills Railway
* Railway Preservation Society of Ireland
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Heritage railways, museums and preservation societies in the Republic of Ireland

* Castlerea Railway Museum
* Cavan and Leitrim Railway
* Connemara Railway
* Donegal Railway Heritage Centre
* Fintown Railway
* Irish Traction Group
* Lartigue Monorail
* Railway Preservation Society of Ireland
* Stradbally Woodland Railway (Irish Steam Preservation Society)
* Waterford Suir Valley Railway
* West Clare Railway

* Heritage railways: Northern Ireland
* Republic of Ireland

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