Irish Rail 121 Class - Mullingar Turntable - July 1992

Irish Rail 121 Class locomotives 129 & 121 operating the evening Dublin to Mullingar commuter service, July 1992.
The locos were subsequently turned on the table in Mullingar before operating the return service to Dublin.
*129 near Killucan on Dublin-Mullingar service.
*121 arriving at Mullingar from Dublin.
*121 on Mullingar turntable.
*121 passing Enfield on Mullingar-Dublin service.
Filmed by Barry Pickup, July 1992.
©Barry Pickup
eiretrains.com/

[@rylandtowngate8322]

The sound of those GM locomotives takes me right back to my childhood... the 121 type were a classy beast indeed

[@aprc1977a]

Ah the auld 121 class. The noise they made was just fantastic, my abiding memory of them would be going down to connoly with my mam, dad, brothers going up the escalators and being unbelivably excited just seeing the inside of the station. Then get the train to Balbriggan, ah the memories. Listening to them ticking over getting off at the station, the smell of the sea air, the sound of the seagulls and hearing it take off again with the sound still audible minutes later as it rounds the headland and into the distance

[@Isochest]

That sounds absolutely brilliant! Well described!

[@combustiblecollins986]

Great footage, In my youth I was lucky enough to help in turning a 121 on the mullingar table,

[@Firmcontrol]

What a fabulous piece of video recording. A genuine piece of Irish GM locomotive history made all the better that it was the original 121 looking in great shape. Thank you.

[@Eiretrains]

Thanks, the line is single track but at Enfield there is a passing loop which is signalled bi-directional, so trains can passing through the station on either tracks.

[@donalejandro5369]

A great video with excellent sounds, memories of the turntable in Sligo!!! Thanks.

[@fishplate7]

Excellent stuff. Terrific footage of the turntable manoeuvre - first time I've seen a 121 class on the turntable! Would love to see more!

[@Eiretrains]

Only two survive,134 is stored at Inchicore Works, Dublin, awaiting preservation, while 124 is stored by the Irish Traction Group at Moyasta, Co.Clare.

[@Eiretrains]

Thanks, yes they are General Motors locos, of the GL8 type switcher type. On Irish Rail they were used on mainline trains, cab facing, as opposed to yard shunting. They entered service in 1961, with the last two locos surviving until 2008.

[@mikebni]

Excellent... that takes you back, doesn't it? Thanks so much for sharing this.

[@Cheezwizzz]

That sound brings me back to Rosslare station, the start of our summer holiday!

[@Firmcontrol]

What a fabulous piece of video history. It is 20 years old but captures the essence of the 121 single cab loco and its dexterity. It is especially evocative as it is the original 121 and looking in good shape.

[@Isochest]

Lovely seeing everyone turning the engine.

[@gm074]

A nice bit of history there eiretrains.great clip.

[@Damocles178]

A Diesel on the turntable in the modern world? Now that is very rare. Drivers were not keen to drive the class 121 nose first due to visuality problems which is why this engine was always seen running cab first. 121's were always turned around unless they were put in pairs (a cab facing out either end) which eliminated the visuality problem and the need to turn them around. The 121's aren't unlike the Class 20's in England; another commonely seen to go cab first :)

[@Eiretrains]

@AquamarineChili There only two 121 locos left, currently No.124 is stored by the Irish Traction Group at Moyasta, Co.Clare, the other No.134 is stored by the RPSI at Inchicore, Dublin.

[@Isochest]

Good a couple have been preserved.

[@Eiretrains]

@fishplate7 Thanks, yes thought it might be interesting as not many have seen a 121 on the table, including myself!

[@Eiretrains]

Thanks very much, glad you like it.

[@Eiretrains]

@metrovick001 Thanks, yep I'll see if there's more of BP's material suitable.

[@davidkelly7559]

The old mullingar trains I remember them well

[@davidfrobel7582]

i cant beleve it only takes 4 guys to tern that loco round,,,must be the gunnis they make over there,,,good beer,,,thanks for uploading,,,

[@IrishRail123]

Ah fantastic stuff. Good old days.....

[@irelandbloke]

I wonder how fast they could get it spinning if they gave it some serious welly....

[@Eiretrains]

No, it's the signalman I think, returning the signal token to the cabin!

[@argenvia]

Very good video, what is the reason that the last part of the train runs along the opposite route?? greeting gus

[@Eiretrains]

@karlr42 Thats right, the service went over the railcar/DMU operation in the early 2000s.

[@Eiretrains]

@balmesh Glad you liked it!

[@Eiretrains]

@IrishRail123 They were indeed, I live in hope we'll see loco 134 do something similar in the future!

[@balmesh]

Very interesting and historical.

[@Eiretrains]

Only two survive; 134 is stored at Inchicore Works, Dublin, awaiting preservation, while 124 is stored by the Irish Traction Group at Moyasta, Co.Clare.

[@joedowd1118]

5 years late, but any news on the preservation of 134?

[@Turnerspaintbrush]

Being thoroughly overhauled at Inchicore to work on the main line

[@Damocles178]

continued: Though having said that Class 20's could be seen running nose first at times but were most frequently cab first :)

[@Eiretrains]

@mikebeckettvids Only wish I'd see the stuff myself! just glad someone recorded it.

[@kevindunne5753]

I remember back in 1990 a class 121 derailed on the sidings in Balbriggan it was just the engine and I think the driver suffered only minor injuries,does anyone else remember the incident

[@FokkerTISM]

Do any 121s still exist or were all of them scrapped?

[@philipmcdonagh1094]

Why oh why in the name of all things logical did we the supposedly intelligent Irish insist on operating this poor old thing the wrong way around. Drivers said they couldn't see, it was 1962, that sends a shiver down the spine considering some of the older drivers probably operated steam trains, which in normal operation went forward, were they not able to see.

[@colmanboylan9514]

Where these.known as Bo Bo locos ?

[@Eiretrains]

Some terminology with a locomotive that has a set of two power bogeys, each with two axles, Co-Co locomotives have three axles for instance.

[@Rebel9668]

What guage is that track? It looks like a very wide guage like what used to be used in the southern USA.

[@EnterprisingRailFilms]

it is 5 foot 3

[@EnterprisingRailFilms]

The irish standard gauge is 5ft 3. I know this cause I work at DCDR and have very good friends such as you tuber Jonathan king who teaches me a lot of info on trains. Such as a loco that got over hauled in H&W in Belfast, it's engine fell out.

[@martinforester3471]

1600mm in today's measurement.

[@kingorry7223]

What's that lever on the turntable

[@simongleaden2864]

It locks the turntable into position on a particular track.

[@trainsinireland5063]

good video is the turntable in use today have you seen it in real life can you see it

[@Eiretrains]

+trains in Ireland Yes it is still there and remains in use for turning locomotives involved in the RPSI steam runs.

[@janioandrade2523jla]

Trains in Ireland que maravilha mandem mais gostei muito parabéns a está grandiosa ferrovia fico feliz em ver uma ferrovia desse porte transportar tanto passageiros e cargas parabéns. Jânio Luiz Botucatu sp Brasil

[@valentineshanley2959]

My late father Jack Shanley, a CIE signal man, introduced me to these GMs when I was a school boy in Mullingar, looking at this video brings back great memories. Matt Purcell, my uncle on my mother's side, drove these locos from Mullingar to Sligo for many years. Indeed my grandfather Edward Purcell worked on steam engines in Mullingar during WW2. Sad to read, only 2 survived. Best Regards Valentine Shanley

[@EnterprisingRailFilms]

i bet it was hard to trun those loco's, hey

[@lakefire9985]

im surprised they could turn it with a train engine on it

[@Eiretrains]

Ah most turntables can be turned by hand with an engine on it, only the larger ones needed to be power operated.

[@lakefire9985]

That engine must be about 40 tones i thought they were all power driven so I was surprised to see 4 men able to push it

[@ohoganroad]

Great to look at but I would not want to rely on them to get me to work every day!

[@martinforester3471]

Lots of people did just that, many years ago!

[@karlr42]

DMUs are so much better and effecient and don't require paying 4 guys wages to turnback.