Power type Steam Build date 1866–1903 | Designer Alexander McDonnell Total produced 111 | |
 | ||
Builder Inchicore Works (91),
Beyer, Peacock & Co. (12),
Sharp, Stewart & Co. (8) Serial number BP: 747–750, 780–783, 1251–1252, 2029–2030
SS: , 2155–2158, 2310–2311, 2837–2838 | ||
The Great Southern and Western Railway Class 101, classified as Class 101 or Class J15 by the Great Southern Railways, was a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotives designed for working goods traffic although they did, and were quite capable of, working branch or even main line passenger trains.
Contents
The 101s were by far the most numerous class of locomotive (diesel or steam) ever to run in Ireland with 111 being built between 1866 and 1903 with only minor modifications between batches. The great majority were built by the GS&WR at Inchicore Works, though the construction of some examples was contracted out to Beyer, Peacock and Company (12) and Sharp, Stewart and Company (8), both famous Manchester based locomotive building firms.
The 101s survived long after many more modern steam locomotives were scrapped with nearly half their number still in traffic when the Córas Iompair Éireann completed dieselisation at the end of 1962.
Specification
The RPSI has an example, No.186
Preservation
Two have been preserved by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland making them the most numerous class of preserved Irish steam locomotives.
As built the locomotives would have carried the lined dark olive green livery of the Great Southern & Western Railway until around the start of the 20th Century. After that, they were black with red lining until the late 1910s, when they were painted all over unlined grey. This dull but all-encompassing livery included motion, wheels, inside frames, cabs, smoke boxes and chimneys. The only relieving feature was the red buffer beam. Standard cast number plates were also painted over grey, with rim and numerals picked out in cream or very pale grey, or occasionally not at all. This livery persisted post-1925 into Great Southern Railways days, and was extended to locomotives of other constituent companies after the GSR amalgamation of that date. On the formation of CIÉ in 1945, the only change was that the cast number plates were gradually removed and pale yellow numerals were painted on instead. In addition, most tenders received a lined pale green "flying snail" logo. Both locomotives are out of service awaiting overhauls, with No. 186 last operating in late 2013.
While CIÉ repainted a few locomotives in green or black, all of the J15 class remained grey until withdrawal.
In film
The preserved locomotives have appeared in various films. Most recently, No. 186 appears in the 2006 film, The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Both 184 and 186 appear in the 1979 film, The First Great Train Robbery.
Model
The Class 101 is available as a 00 gauge etched-brass kit from Studio Scale Models. It includes transfers, brass etches and cast white metal parts.