Irish Sugar Beet Trains 2005

[@Firmcontrol]

Rivetting and excellent video, sadly a bygone era, particularly as I lived in Thurles. All the GMs, 121-141-181, were in throttle-forward mode and it was a joy to observe. Congratulations fmnut for capturing a piece of Irish transport, agricultural and social history.

[@johnnoonan5802]

its a great video well done with all the compilling of your professional work ,, thank you so much

[@Espeelover]

Out here in Amreica back in 1994 they ran the last sugar beet train. They operated them for more than 80 years. Heavy trains they were, over 10,000 tons, ran a distance of more than 300 miles.

[@pikeysrtwatz]

Very nice compilation gone but not forgotten, many of them locations I have phots of the beet, god bless the Waterford lads for turning the head lights off!!

[@aprc1977a]

wow!! absolutely fantastic, one of the best IR. vids. on YT. The sound is just brilliant. When rails became continuously welded they took away most of the soul of the trains. That click click - click click sound just went hand in hand with the locomotive sound. Not many of beet trains in Dublin (if any) but I'm sure many country lads will hold this in great memory. Another freight flow lost by IR.

[@rudtv]

shame to see them gone.such beautiful sound too!

[@Celtic2Realms]

Wonderful film = thanks for making it = capture life as it passes into history

[@mythicalireland]

Wow, a great video. Thanks for this. Lots of nostalgia here.

[@DrQTron]

Brillian video! Thanks for posting!!

[@Isochest]

Sad to see this traffic gone: Ought to be a natural traffic for the Irish Railways :-((

[@ado75]

Exellent video, well done.

[@atlanticcoastexpress]

Hi! Thanks for a truly excellent video. You are a very professional producer/camera operator! I saw the old 'mechanical mules' used for shunting at Wellington Bridge some years back. Fascinating! I saw my last beet train at Bansha in Tipperary two years ago, struggling up the bank towards Limerick. My friend's farmhouse used to shake as the trains passed. Locals called it the 'Beet Beat'! I wonder if the price of oil will forcing up the price of imported sugar will bring the trains back?

[@themadfarmer5207]

Yep. Very nostalgic. A whole Web of industry and employment wiped out. Transport, seed development. Fertiliser, machinery r&d and manufacture. Crop rotation necessary for the land. Income for farmer. Molasses. Beet pulp wet and dry for animal food. The end product of it all... Irish Siucre, also with a Web of employment, packing, delivery. Oh dear Oh dear. The vandals struck again

[@johnnoonan5802]

how right you are , all good jobs gone , alot of people depended on this type of work to keep the house going ,whether it was on the land or in the towns where the beet was taken and produced into sugar ,, had the european union anything to do with all the beet factory closures ,, i think they did , im a town lad so i wouldnt really know the ins and out of it really ,,