Irish 'Tornado'? (whimsy warning)

I don't see the point. What would it tell people of Ireland's railway history?

 

NCC Mogul or another 'Jeep' please

 

It wouldn't tell people aything about Ireland's railway history, but then to what extent does any steam excursion do that? For most passengers it's likely to be just an enjoyable day out, and a K class 2-8-0 would be a useful addition to what is currently a very limited pool of locos. If nothing else it might tell them them it was like to travel behind a 2-8-0 tender loco, which I don't think has ever been an option before (at least not in recent times)

 

85 and 171 will be blue. 131 will be black as per her original working life livery.

Keith

 

An imported loco in Britain wouldn't make any difference but with so few in Ireland surviving such an import would seriously slant the overall view. It isn't all about a train ride. It's about preserving Ireland's railway history, not Australia's

 

The VR R class is a spectacular beastie- it'd be great to see in Ireland. If the Irish loading gauge is similar to the UK's you may just get away with it, given that Scotsman is a little lower and slimmer than 3801 (IIRC) - it was a long time ago that I cleaned them in Brisbane! I suspect that an R would be too big for Ireland, however. Too bad!

 

"An imported loco in Britain wouldn't make any difference but with so few in Ireland surviving such an import would seriously slant the overall view. It isn't all about a train ride. It's about preserving Ireland's railway history, not Australia's"

"But then again I find UK enthusiasts very parochial .."

 

so? I'm a UK enthusiast and the RPSI is a UK Society.

 

I don't think anything is impossible. I'd bet it isn't any worse than many Barry wrecks that steamed again and it might attract more finace being as it is an LMS loco.

 

"so? I'm a UK enthusiast and the RPSI is a UK Society."

I draw your attention to the thread title - especially the two words in parenthesis!:

Irish 'Tornado'? (whimsy warning)

I'm not saying a VR K class is a realistic proposition, but it would make an interesting addition to the Irish scene and probably well suited to their operations. Australian engines were quite British in appearance and quite a few of the Ks were built in the UK. OK.it's never going to be a mobile Irish history lesson but it would still be capable of providing an enjoyable day out, and probably at a lot lower cost and earlier availabilty than building something from scratch.

PS< I don't think that the RPSI is, technically, a UK Society!

 

I think you'll find that technically and in every other way RPSI is a UK society based in Whitehead Northern Ireland (although they do operate on CIE metals in the Republic as well as in NI.)

Registration No. N.I. 10798 VAT Registration No. (GB) 256 0880 51

 

OK, got me there. Doesn't alter anything else though, I suggest we agree to differ.

 

OK so...(I don't think we'll see an import OR a replica anyway. Now lets get those Crab frames modified and make a 2-6-0 out of it...

 

I seem to recall that 131 and 171 were both originally in a rather tasteful green livery like the 'English' GNR livery. Both went black around WWI sometime (and lost their names). 131 was superheated (which substantially changed her appearance) inter-war, meaning she couldn't really be turned out green now. 171 was 'renewed' (almost entirely rebuilt) in the 1930s, coming out in her magnificent blue livery with her name back.
Having said all that, the Irish preservation scene seems less hung up about liveries, etc., than most NatPres posters would be comfortable with. 461 has been in CIE green since coming back into traffic, and quite superb she looks too.

 

Not sure the money is there in Ireland for new build, but a MGWR 2-4-0 would be rather nice. It might not be able to pull a worthwhile payload.

John

 

"None " is the probable answer. There is no history of volunteerism in Ireland to speak of and no money. There is also no full-size preservation that isn't UK led, staffed and funded in the main.