I could look at steam trains all day.
No. 131 isn't the oldest locomotive in the RPSI's collection of vintage steam trains. That honour goes to No. 186 which was built in the 1880s and worked as a goods engine but also on passenger trains. Her last operation was hauling beet in 1962/63. Up until a few years ago, she was the oldest engine still operating on the mainline, but is now out of service and on display at Whitehead museum. No. 461, another locomotive in the collection, was built for the Dublin and South Eastern Railway, but was delivered in 1922 during the Civil War. Rather than risk the danger of it being destroyed, like many engines, rail lines and bridges, she was stored in the North by the GNR until the end of the conflict.
The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland is an all-island organisation registered as a charity and run by volunteers. It restores and maintains engines and also runs excursions, mostly during the summer months, but with special events at Easter, Halloween and Christmas. It's based in Whitehead, near Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland, with workshops that restore the engines. It also has an operation in Inchicore where volunteers can help with the maintenance of carriages.
Steam traction ended in Ireland in 1963 after which most engines were unfortunately scrapped. Only a handful were left to be exhibited in museums or restored to operate on the mainline.
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| No. 186, built in the 1870s and up until a few years ago, the oldest locomotive still running on the mainline. © Eugene Brennan |