CIÉ
What was the operator of GNRI Class V from 1961 to 1963?
GNRI Class V The Great Northern Railway ( Ireland ) V class steam locomotives were 4-4-0 three-cylinder compound locomotives built in 1932 by Beyer , Peacock and Company . Design . The V class was intended for the GNRs most important passenger service , the Dublin – Belfast expresses . The S and S2 Classes that had previously served the route were giving trouble as boiler pressure had been raised to increase power and performance . This increased maintenance ( particularly with broken crank axles ) and as a result the boiler pressure was brought back down . This obliged the GNR to develop a more powerful engine . George T Glover designed the resultant ‘V’ class with on-site experience learnt from the design teams for the British LMS compounds . The locomotives were ordered from Beyer , Peacock and delivered in 1932 . They cost £5,847 ( about £2million in 2011 ) , which was £3,000 less than the SG3 Class 0-6-0s built ten years before . Beyer , Peacock built only the locomotives ; the GNR itself built the tenders at its works in Dundalk . The GNR named the locomotives after birds of prey : 83 Eagle , 84 Falcon , 85 Merlin , 86 Peregrine , and 87 Kestrel . The V class were the first three-cylinder compound locomotives in Ireland . They had a round-topped firebox and Stephenson valve gear and weighed 103 tons 11 cwt including tender . The result was an engine that looked dramatically larger than their predecessor the S Class . This led to the unfounded rumour among railway workers that they had been designed for use in the USSR . As the GNRs only compound locomotives they were often called simply The Compounds . They were introduced for the accelerated Dublin – Belfast schedule , on which they reduced running times by up to 22 minutes . However , as for the S Class before them , the demanding timetable resulted in severe maintenance problems : hot axle boxes , connecting rod problems and boiler re-tubes . As a result , the boiler pressure was reduced by 50 lb/in , reducing tractive effort by 20% . Rebuild . No . 87 Kestrel was the first to be rebuilt in 1946 and was the first GNR loco to receive a Harland and Wolff-built square topped Belpaire firebox . Merlin had one fitted in 1950 with its old boiler rebuilt as a spare . The V Class was chosen to haul the new Enterprise non-stop service between Dublin and Belfast in August 1947 . The premium service was limited to seven bogie coaches . In the early 1950s the ‘Pounders’ shared most of the heavy main line work with the newer VS Class but , with the introduction of new British United Traction DMUs in 1957 , the class was relieved of its main duties . Withdrawal from service . In October 1958 the former GNR , by then the Great Northern Railway Board or GNRB , was split between Northern Irelands Ulster Transport Authority ( UTA ) and the Republics Coras Iompair Éireann ( CIÉ ) . Nos . 83 , 86 and 87 went to the UTA and Nos . 84 and 85 to CIÉ . The letters ‘UT’ or ‘CIE’ were stencilled on the front buffer beams . CIÉ withdrew steam traction in 1963 and subsequently all but No . 85 Merlin were scrapped . Preservation . Merlin spent her final years as a spare in Dundalk works , occasionally hauling a Dublin train . The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum rescued her from the scrapyard in 1965 , acquiring her ( minus tender ) for £600 . She was stored variously at Inchicore , Amiens Street , Dundalk , Adelaide locomotive shed in Belfast and Lisburn before finally moving to the museums gallery at Witham Street , Belfast , in 1969 . Displayed here until 1976 , she was moved to Harland and Wolff for a comprehensive overhaul organised by the Museum , the RPSI and Lord Dunleath . On completion in 1982 she was moved to the RPSIs Whitehead headquarters . Merlin was officially returned to traffic on 30 June 1986 heading an official Belfast – Dublin Enterprise that September . She repeated the trip on the 40th anniversary of the Enterprise the following August , hauling the same length train as in 1947 ( seven bogie coaches ) and matching the timings of the original run . Having received a further overhaul in the 1990s , Merlin continued to be leased by the RPSI and used on the main line until her boiler certificate expired in 2004 . The locomotive has been overhauled since 2009 and returned to service early in 2014 . Unfortunately since returning to service in 2013 it has proven very unreliable in service , with several high profile failures and has never managed to make it from Dublin to Rosslare and back without some sort of failure . This is unlike the other RPSI locos , 171 , 4 or indeed 186 and 461 . Model . An 00 gauge model of No . 85 Merlin is currently available as an etched-brass kit from Studio Scale Models . It includes transfers , brass etches and cast white metal parts . External links . - Stamps with GNRI Class V