Like many countries throughout the world at the end of World War Two the CIE had a steam locomotive fleet that was no longer able to satisfactorily handle the railways passenger and freight traffic. Its fleet of almost 450 locomotives had suffered from arrears of maintenance, lack of spares, a high average age and the heavy burden imposed by increased traffic throught out the war years. Over one quarter of the fleet were out of service awaiting shopping.
Thus with the hostilities over and a growing global supply of diesel powered locomotives the Board of the CIE approved an order in 1946 for two mixed traffic locomotives and five shunting locomotives. The two 800/1000hp machines were required to haul a 360 ton freight train at 40mph or a 120 ton passenger train at 55mph - starting tractive effort was to be 46,000lb and the one hour rating was 23,000lb at 9.5mph.
Initiially contact had been made in August 1945 with Brush Electrical Engineering Company of Loughborough being asked to supply two diesel electric locomotives at a cost of not more than EIP35,000 and not less than EIP28,000 for delivery to Dublin. Delivery was expected by August 1947. However with the railway supply industry still under government direction, a shortage of draughtsman within the industry, a shortage of raw materials and a burgeoning demand for new railway equipment the expected delivery date was not going to be met. It was also learned that construction would be transferred to Hunslet, with the power units to be supplied by Mirrlees with Brown-Boveri electrical equipment.
The cost for the two locomotives had now risen to EIP104,000, the low axle loading specified required three axle bogies necessitating a longer frame and therefore more materials required. Additionally the electrical equipment was now being sourced from the continent, no doubt with increased costs, delivery was now anticipated for September 1948. Clearly the CIE were not willing to accept these delays and so employed resources within their own company to build not only the two mixed traffic locomotives but also five shunting locomotives.
Thus it was left to the CIE's Inchicore drawing office to prepare a number of general drawings under the leadership of J J Johnson, Assistant Mechanical Engineer. One such drawing featured an American style single cab Bo-Bo unit of 915hp weighing 70tons. A six cylinder power unit was specified, though no maker was indicated, however four Metrovick Type 271 traction motors were specified in the drawings.
Eventually the design that was approved was that which became CIE 1100 & 1100.
CIE 113 - 114 (1100 - 1101)
A stylised view of 1100 & 1101 on a freight train, taken from an AEI brochure from the late 1960's, for a larger view click here.
Built CIE Inchicore 1950 & 1951
Sulzer 6LDA28 915hp at 750rpm (one hour) & 815hp at 700rpm (continuous), uprated in 1956 to 960hp.
Cylinders: 11in by 14in
One Metropolitan Vickers eight pole main generator, self-ventilated, self-excited separately excited, with decompounding series field windings (for starting the engine by motoring the generator). Main generator rating was 1270amps 390volts at 700rpm one hour and 1100amps 475volts at 700rpm continuous.
One auxiliary generator of 110volt six pole type rated at 50kw at 550rpm, self excited.
Four Metrovick MV157 traction motors, rated 290amps 475volts 224hp continuous and 350amps 360volts one hour
Bo-Bo wheel arrangement, wheel diameter 44 inches, gear ratio 16:65.
Maximum Tractive Effort: 46,000lb
Weight: 80 tons
Maximum Speed: 55mph
Brakes: Westinghouse air brake system for the locomotive, vacuum for the train brakes.
Fuel capacity: 420 gallons
Cooling water capacity: 165 gallons
Multiple unit working and steam generator equipped, later isolated/removed.
Although the orders were placed in 1946 a shortage of materials forced work to proceed slowly such that the first locomotive, 1100, was not available for trials until January 1950. The trials were successful, meeting the specified criteria and on several occasions outperforming that which had been expected. On June 13th 1950 a non-stop run from Dublin to Cork with 350 tons (eleven bogie coaches and a van) was run in four hours ten minutes at an average speed of 40.3mph. A further test train of 440 tons revealed an average fuel consumption of .0016 gallons per gross ton/mile, or approximately 116 gallons of fuel used between Dublin and Cork on such a working.
Classified 'C2a' 1100 was painted green passenger locomotive livery and entered service in April 1950. Workings included the afternoon Amiens Street - Cork portion of the Belfast - Cork Enterprise, returning to Dublin the next day on an afternoon working, speeds of upto 60mph were required for this job. Other top link duties over this route included the evening down Cork Mail, returning north with the next day's tough 11.55am passenger and a morning down working followed by an evening Perishables job.
The second locomotive, 1101, was not completed until October 1951 and was similar to 1100 apart from the bogies. 1100 was fitted with two non-bolster type bogies, of a riveted construction, the Hoffman roller bearing axleboxes supported by seperate overhung fourteen leaf laminated springs with adjustable hangers, auxiliary helical springs were also provided. 1101 was fitted with a pivotal swing link, though this seemed to do little to improve the notoriously poor ride of both these machines.
Although the locomotives were equipped to work in multiple with just one driver this appears to have been a rare event. During May 1955 both locomotives were used with a test train totalling 700 tons. In addition to the rough ride encountered by the train crews the cabs themselves were spartan and uncomfortable to say the least. Cold and cramped seem to be the best adjectives to describe the conditions in the cab, layout of the equipment was poor and little comfort could be obtained from either of the tip up seats that were bolted to the cab bulkhead.
Like the LMS twins 10000/01 on British Railways once deliveries took place of newer diesel locomotives and railcars the duties performed by 1100/1101 changed. They were removed from the top link passenger workings, frequently being allocated to freight workings and other lesser duties. The introduction of steam heating vans saw the train heating boilers removed, as was the little used multiple unit operation equipment. Not all the news was bad, the engines were uprated to 960hp, similar to those fitted in the B101 class and in 1957 they were renumbered B113/114. They both received a fresh coat of green paint, B113 being painted early in 1958 for the occasion of the visit of the Institute of Locomotive Engineers to Inchicore Workshops in May 1958, where much rolling stock was exhibited. During 1960 the Northey Boyce rotary exhausters were replaced by Westinghouse exhausters, similar to those fitted to the Crossley A class.
By the late 1960's the locomotives were confined mostly to local work around Dublin, only occasionally making it out onto the main line for longer journeys. The locomotives had throughout their careers been plagued by an unexpected, intermittent loss of brakes whilst on the road. Much study and the use of engineers travelling on the locomotives failed to resolve the issue, frequently the problem would correct itself within minutes. On a number of occasions the runaways were stopped by the application of the handbrakes whilst at other times quick thinking railwaymen diverted the runaways out of harms way allowing gravity and handbrakes to bring the trains to an orderly halt without damage. One such event was recorded on August 28th 1971 when B114 ran away with a heavy goods train whilst running down the 1 in 84 'Gullet'. The driver, not surprisingly jumped from the locomotive, fortunately the signalmen was able to divert the runaway onto the North Wall branch where a rising gradient finally stopped the train without damage. B113 was also involved in a similar runaway whilst working a freight from North Wall. Whilst securing the wagon brakes at Cabra the locomotive lost all air and ran away down the 1 in 65 towards Kingsbridge goods yard, only the diversion of the train into an empty loop prevented a collision.
Both locomotives remained out of traffic for some considerable time, but during October 1974 B113 received modifications to the braking system, involving the fitting of chokes on the air pipes leading to the brake cylinders. B114 was so treated in December 1974 but never returned to traffic. Although B113 had returned to traffic its time in service was brief, on January 7th 1975 it ran light to Kingsbridge to work the repairs train to Inchicore, after this duty it was shut down ending its service career with the CIE.
| CIE Locomotives 113 - 114 (formerly 1100 - 1101 until 1957) |
| Number |
Date to Traffic |
Date taken out of Service |
Scrapped |
| 113 | April 1950 | January 7th 1975 (A) | Preserved |
114 | October 1951 | August 30th 1971(A) | March 1995 at Inchicore |
Notes
(A) Out of service from January 1972 to October 1974 for brake modifications.
(B) Out of Service August 1971 to December 1974 for brake modifications, which were completed but locomotive never returned to service.
Tabular information based on data provided by Martin Baumann.
Photo Courtesy Aidan Brosnan
A fine view of an historic machine, which since its withdrawal in 1975 had seen little activity concerning its place in preservation. It was dragged 'out of the weeds' at Inchicore in February 1996 and given a cosmetic paint job. Regrettably it is missing many components, including quite obviously its marker lights. The locomotive has since remained at Inchicore and is slowly returning to a state of faded paint and rust. As 1100 it carried three liveries, dark green, then silver and then possibly something similar to the livery shown above. As B113 it carried black with a yellow cab front.
CIE B101 - 112
A factory portrait of the first of the Class.
During 1948 the CIE placed an order for six 1,800bhp express locomotives for the Dublin - Cork line. Shortly afterwards a change in the Irish government led to attempts to cancel the order. Vickers Armstrong were already well on their way to completing the power units - much debate continued behind the scenes with all parties involved. Its seems that the threat of a substantial cancellation penalty (varying between EIP60,000 & EIP100,000 depending on who your source was) led to the order being changed. Now it would be for twelve mixed-traffic locomotives to incorporate the already completed equipment, of a general purpose design to be constructed by the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co. Ltd. An axle loading of just fifteen tons would allow greater route availability for these locomotives. BRCW Builder's numbers were DEL20 - DEL31.
The power units were the first Sulzer diesel engines, for railway traction, to be constructed at the Barrow works of Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. The 6LDA28 engine was now rated at 960bhp at 710rpm for the continuous rating & 1,000bhp for the one hour rating. Cylinder size was 11 inches by 14.2 inches, the exhaust gas turbo charger was of Sulzer make. The main & auxiliary generator were provided by Metropolitan Vickers, a common welded steel subframe, forming part of the crankcase structure, supported the engine & generators.
 | The Vickers built 6LDA28 for use in the CIE 101 class locomotives. |
They were 47ft 8in long and 12ft 11in high, top speed was 75 mph with a service weight of 75 tons, the maximum axle loading was 14.75 tons. Adhesion weight was about 57 tons with a maximum starting tractive effort of 41,800lb, the continuous rating being 16,900lb at 16mph. This rating would allow a 300 ton train to be hauled between Dublin & Cork without banking assistance on the 1 in 60 gradient near Cork. Two three axles bogies, configured A1A-A1A, supported the locomotive. These were of the modified Pennsylvania swing bolster type, similar to those fitted to the BRCW built Commonwealth Railways of Australia. Wheel diameter was 37.5in, bogie wheel base 10ft 6in, bogie pivot pitch was 24ft 10in. Each bogie frame is an integral welded steel structure in regard to the main longitudinal and crss member, but separate axle box guide plates were secured by driven bolts. The bolster structure is also welded, carrying a flat pivot and side bearers. Swing links are on knife edges, the side swing is stabilised by hydraulic stabilisers. The complete suspension is in the form of nests of helical springs between each compensating beam and the bogie frame, supplemented by hydraulic shock observers.
A stylised view of B101 on a passenger train, taken from an AEI brochure from the late 1960's.
One piece disc wheels are used, Timken roller bearing boxes support the axles. Braking is of the Westinghouse straight air type, though the train brakes are vacuum only.
The superstructure is full width with a cab at each end. Cab side recesses provide accomodation for tablet catcher equipment. Double doors in the center of each side give access to the engine room. All the auxiliaries are electrically driven by individual motors, all located on the engine room floor. These include a reciprocating compressor, reciprocating exhauster, cooling water pump and two traction motor blowers. Batteries are also located in the engine room. A 670 gallon fuel tank is underframe mounted between the bogies. The main water tanks are located beneath each radiator, fuel & water header tanks are located in the roof. A large removeable roof panel permits the lifting of the complete engine/generator set for maintenance/overhaul.
Line drawings for the class.
After the usual trials and testing the aluminium and silver liveried locomotives were used on passenger & freight workings over the southern section. They were quickly liked by the crews, giving a good ride, with spacious and comfortable cabs when compared to 1100/1101, and proved more reliable than the Crossleys. They became fixtures on the Mallow - Waterford - Tralee line and were regulars on the the line to Limerick & Tralee. They were able to keep time even on the heavier workings and were frequently recorded at sppeds in excess of 70mph.
The class would remain intact to the end - their were no premature withdrawals due to accident damage, however there were a number of near misses. Perhaps the most serious incident involved B101 working the 03.50am goods ex-Kingsbridge on March 29th 1959. At Hybla Bridge, near Monasterevan a length of rail had been removed by railway staff without providing protection to the trains. B101 and its train were approaching at about 45mph and were unable to stop before running over the section of line with the rail removed. The locomotive fortunately remained upright, the leading fourteen wagons containing weedkiller chemicals caught fire, blocking both lines. Three breakdown cranes (from Inchicore, Broadstone & Athlone) were needed to clear the wreckage. B101 somehow remained upright in the derailment, preventing major damage to the locomotive, its driver was not seriously injured. Five months later on August 9th 1959 B108 collided with its own train at Limerick Junction whilst running round, minor damage was sustained and four passengers were taken to the hospital.
The B101 class were also to be found working many 'last trains' as much of the branch network underwent a severe rationalisation in the 1960's. On January 1st 1963 B101 worked the last regular train on the Castlecomer branch. A month later on February 2nd B109 worked the last regular Youghal passenger. On this same date an un-identified B101 class worked the last Foynes passenger/mixed. The last freight on the Thurles-Clonmel line was hauled by B105 on March 25th 1967 and B106 worked the last train, a weedsprayer, over the Burma Road.
The arrival of the 181 Class saw the Sulzers taken off their more important duties, being relegated to goods, permanent way and pilot duties. By the early 1970's the writing was on the wall for them, although the first to be sidelined had been B111 in 1969 after sustaining fire damage. B102 suffered a near miss on August 13th 1970 when it went through the stop-block at Liffey Bridge, Heuston and nearly ended up in the river. On January 10th 1973 a fire in a traction motor on B108 spread to the body sidelining the locomotive, it would never run again. During February 1974 B105 was received at Inchicore with serious cab damage, surprisingly repairs were effected and the locomotive returned to traffic, becoming one of the last four in service. In June of 1974 B106 was recieved for major repairs at Inchicore, it was outshopped in February 1975, the last of the class to recieve heavy repairs. A proposal to re-engine them, along the lines of the A & C class was rejected, the 071 class was purchased instead.
Four soldiered on until November 1977 when three were taken out of service, leaving B106 as the last in service. At the end of January 1978 B106 was working the Inchicore repairs train. The locomotive was specially cleaned up and serviced to work the Irish Railway Record Society's 'Farewell to the Sulzers' tour on February 4th 1978 from Dublin (Connolly) to Bray and back. A simple electrical fault the following Monday proved to be the end for B106. The last job worked was the Heuston - North Wall transfer job, after being failed the locomotive was towed back to Inchicore and that was the end of the Sulzers in revenue earning service in Ireland.
During June 1980 the B101 class came together for one last time as they were shunted onto the Workman's Siding at Incicore Works to await their fate - which is tabulated in the list below.
| CIE Locomotives 101 - 112 |
| Number |
Date to Traffic |
Date taken out of Service |
Withdrawn |
Scrapped |
| 101 | April 9th 1956 | May 6th 1974 | April 1984 | March 1987 |
102 | August 4th 1956 | October 3rd 1974 | April 1984 | March 1987 |
103 | August 13th 1956 | November 17th 1977 | April 1984 | Preserved |
104 | August 30th 1956 | July 15th 1974 | April 1984 | January 1987 |
105 | September 17th 1956 | November 22nd 1977 | April 1984 | March 1987 |
106 | November 8th 1956 | February 7th 1978 | April 1984 | December 1986 |
107 | February 25th 1957 | May 25th 1977 | April 1984 | February 1987 |
108 | April 16th 1957 | January 10th 1973 | April 1984 | January 1987 |
109 | June 19th 1957 | January 20th 1975 | April 1984 | February 1987 |
110 | July 13th 1957 | November 15th 1977 | April 1984 | April 1987 |
111 | October 15th 1957 | May 13th 1969 | April 1984 | April 1987 |
112 | December 23rd 1957 | July 27th 1973 | April 1984 | February 1987 |
All locomotives apart from 103 were scrapped at North Wall Point Yard.
Photographs courtesy Neil Webster/collection of Malcolm Braim.
The end has come for the 'B' Class - all lined up on one track at Inchicore Works, these views believed taken in 1985/86. Locomotives featured are B101, B102, B103, B105 in the older livery & B107.
 | B107 has had its sides cut away to reveal a very intact engine & generator set. The date is believed to be about February 1987.
Photograph courtesy Tony Mirolo. |
Liveries
Throughout their lives the locomotives carried a variety of liveries, not all locomotives carried all the variations.
From the factory they were turned out in a silver livery, following this a pale green livery.
Next came the rather austere, somber looking black livery with a white stripe at roof level. This livery was later amended to include an orange band above the frame level with the band curving round to include the lower cab front. All locomotives carried the first three liveries.
The final livery saw the black and the orange reversed, with orange now predominant with a black waist level band applied to the sides and expanding on each cabfront. B105, 108, 109, 111 were stopped before receiving this livery.
 | B105 awaiting breaking up with 112 & 107, probably about February 1987. The locomotive carries one of the earlier liveries, with black predominant with white for the cantrail and cab roof detail & orange for a lower bodyside band and cab front embellishment.
Photograph courtesy Tony Mirolo. |
B103 in preservation
During 1977 B103 was acquired for preservation by a private group. As with many preservation projects the resources needed to return all the locomotives and rolling stock to pristine condition & in full working order was simply not available. Consequently B103 has remained in opened storage from 1977 to at least 2003, allowing for a gradual deterioration of much of the body work. Corrosion has affected both sides, the roof and the cab areas including severe corrosion of body structural members.
Internally B103 is substantially complete. Two rotors are missing from the load regulator but replacements were obtained ex B114. The traction motor cables are still attached but the two traction motor blowers are missing, though replacements are advised as being easily obtainable. The rocker covers are missing which has allowed water to leak into the engine, the extent of the damage so caused is not yet known. Being one of the earliest 6LDA28's in the United Kingdom & Ireland the rocker covers are not standard, all the threads on the engine are Whitworth, creating a problem since there were fewer imperial threaded engines produced and therefore less spares available. Being aluminium the rocker covers were removed at an early stage. Attempts to use covers from a BR Class 47 failed, these have additional cut outs for pipes not found on B103.
Half of the turbo charger is missing, but one was retrieved from B114 before it was broken up. A vacuum brake handle is missing as are two of the removeable loco air brake handles. Nearly all thirty six radiator elements are missing, though an almost full replacement set is to hand acquired from a 'C' Class loco scrapped at Inchicore.
Late in November 2003 several hardy Irish Traction Group volunteers were able to sheet B103 in plastic providing a little protection from the elements.
(Written November 2003)
 | Inside the engine room of B103, sometime in 2005.
Photograph courtesy Aidan Brosnan. |
 | High tension electrical control equipment, advanced technology from the early 1950's.
Photograph courtesy Aidan Brosnan. |
 | The low tension electrical control equipment from B103.
Photograph courtesy Aidan Brosnan. |
Sources:
'Diesel Railway Traction' November 1956.
Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society, Vol 14, No: 86 October 1981, featuring two articles:
Sulzer Locomotives of the CIE by D Renehan & CIE - First Diesel Programme by J J Leckey.
Page added May 12th 2004
Page updated November 12th 2008.
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