GNRI Class Q No. 131 "Uranus"

No. 131 was built by Neilson Reid in Glasgow, in 1901 as part of a class of 13 4-4-0 express passenger locomotives for the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). They supplanted the various P and PP classes and were only displaced by the S class. No. 131 was designed under the auspices of Charles Clifford and although initially named, the name was removed in 1914. She was rebuilt with a superheated boiler, under George T. Glover (then Chief Locomotive Designer of the GNR(I)) in Dundalk works in 1920.
The G class were all named after Greek gods. This locomotive was named after Uranus, the primordial god of the sky. 
She was used mainly on the routes from Belfast to Clones and Belfast to Londonderry and throughout her GNR(I) life was rarely seen south of Dundalk. She was overhauled again in 1958 at Dundalk and in October 1958 when the Great Northern Railway board split between the Ulster Transport Authority and Córas Iompair Éireann, the locomotive passed into the hands of CIÉ for operation until it's withdrawal in October 1963. 
Between 1963 and 1965 she lay unused along with J15 0-6-0 No. 184 and K2 No. 461. No. 131 always carried GNR(I) black livery whilst in operation, but for a short time, whilst on display, she carried GNR(I) sky-blue. 
In the late 1970s the locomotive was repainted and placed on a plinth at Dundalk station.
In 1984 No. 131 and her tender were moved to Mallow as the main locomotive of the Great Southern Railway Preservation Society. Unfortunately, this venture did not bear fruition and the locomotive (partially stripped down and with the boiler and firebox out of the frames) was moved back to Inchicore Railway Works in the late 1990s.
The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland acquired the locomotive and the running frames in 2003 and had it delivered to the Whitehead Railway Museum. 
During 2014, a project, funded by GROW, commenced and No. 131 is slowly coming back to life. The staff of the RPSI's engineering subsidiary, HEI, have been beavering away all through the year, assisted mostly at weekends by Society volunteers.
No. 131 moved under its own steam for the first time in over 50 years imn 2015.
Various items were still required before a return to traffic, i.e. a tender, and all the electronic signalling paraphernalia required to run on the main line at up to 60 mph.
In 2015, after the last train had departed from Whitehead to Larne, No. 131 once more ventured on to the main line, with a test run to Carrickfergus. This was done under a special licence to test, as No. 131 was not yet fitted with the on-train monitoring and signalling equipment which is required for mainline operation.
In 2015, a 'Thank You' event was held at Whitehead to show appreciation for bodies which had funded developments at Whitehead, among them GROW South Antrim which had funded the overhaul of No. 131. The occasion was used as an unofficial launch for the locomotive and it was looking "well" as it moved up and down along the platform, gleaming in the spring sunshine.
No. 131 had to wait for the construction of its tender before a return to the main line. The first test run with a train took place between Whitehead, Carrickfergus and Belfast in 2017, followed by another one about two months later.
The official launch of the locomotive took place at Whitehead in 2018 and was certified by Translink NI Railways to operate at 60 mph. No. 131 received all-island clearance in 2022.
Category:4-4-0 steam locomotives
Category:4-4-0 locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:United Kingdom
Category:Ireland
Category:Preserved locomotives
Category:Restored locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:Built in 1901
Category:RPSI
Category:Neilson locomotives
Category:Great Northern (IE) locomotives
Category:Passenger locomotives
Category:Excursion locomotives