GNRI Class S

GNR(I) classes S and S2
171 Slieve Gullion on an RPSI excursion at Lisburn in 1985
Power type	Steam
Builder	Beyer, Peacock
Build date	S:1913 S2: 1915
Total produced	S: 5 S2: 3
Configuration	4-4-0
UIC classification	2′B h2
Gauge	5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm)
Driver diameter	6 ft 7 in (2,007 mm)
Cylinders	Two, inside
Cylinder size	19 in × 26 in (483 mm × 660 mm)
Career	GNR(I) » CIÉ / UTA
Number	S: 170–174 S2: 190–192
Preserved	No. 171
Disposition	One preserved, remainder scrapped

The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) class S was a class of five 4-4-0 steam locomotive that the Great Northern Railway introduced in 1913 to haul Belfast – Dublin express passenger trains. They were followed two years later by the three similar class S2 locomotives.

All were built by Beyer, Peacock and Company at their Gorton Foundry, Manchester.

Table of locomotives

Class	GNRI No.	Name	BP serial No.	Rebuilt	1958	Withdrawn	Notes
S	170	Errigal	5628	1939	CIÉ 170N	1965
S	171	Slieve Gullion	5629	1938	CIÉ 171N	1965
S	172	Slieve Donard	5630	1938	UTA 60	1965
S	173	Galtee More	5631	1938	UTA 61	1964
S	174	Carrantuohill	5632	1939	CIÉ 174N	1965
S2	190	Lugnaquilla	5901	1939	UTA 62	1965	Named in 1939
S2	191	Croagh Patrick	5902	1939	CIÉ 191N	1960	Named in 1939
S2	192	Slievenamon	5903	1938	UTA 63	1965	Named in 1938

Names

The locomotives were delivered during a time when the GNRI was removing names from locomotives. The S class locomotives carried names from new, but gradually lost them, so by 1925, only 170 Errigal retained its name. This it lost in 1930. The S2 locomotives were allocated the names Lugnaquilla, Carlingford, and Mount Hamilton, but they were never carried. With the introduction the class V locomotives in 1932, the GNRI revived the practice of naming locomotives; the S2 class acquired new names, and the S class regained their old ones as they went though the works for rebuilding in the late 1930s. All were named after mountains in Ireland.

1958 dispersal

Much of the GNR network was closed in 1957 and the remaining system was split between Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) and the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) in 1958, with the fleet divided as equally as possible between the two parties. The UTA renumbered their locomotives, wheras the CIÉ merely added an "N" suffix to the locomotives' former GNRI numbers.

CIÉ soon replaced its remaining steam locomotives with diesels and sold four of its former GNRI steam locomotives – all three S class and one VS class – to the UTA in 1963.

The UTA based some of its S class locomotives in Belfast and used it to haul trains on the Belfast – Portadown main line and Portadown – Derry "Derry Road".

Preservation

One member of the class, No. 171 Slieve Gullion, is preserved. In preservation it has covered most of the Irish railway system, including many non-GNR(I) lines.

171 is currently stored at the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland's centre at Whitehead, County Antrim. 171 was operational until 2002 when it was withdrawn for a boiler overhaul. It will begin to be restored with a view to returning to service for the RPSI's 50th anniversary in 2014, and a fundraising appeal has been launched to raise the funds needed for its restoration.

Model

The S Class is currently available as a 00 gauge etched-brass kit from Studio Scale Models. It includes transfers, brass etches and cast white metal parts.

See also

• Steam locomotives of Ireland

References

• Rowledge, J. W. P. (1993). Irish Steam Locomotive Register. Stockport, Merseyside: Irish Traction Group. ISBN 0-947773-33-9.