IRISH
RAIL ARCHIVE SERIES
A series of 6 DVDs recording the Irish Railway Scene from around
1970 to 2010
IRISH RAIL ARCHIVE VOLUMES 1 and 2
£16.95 -To order see
below.
These two videos, along
with numbers 3 and 4 of the series, were first published on VHS tape in
2000. Together they give a geographic picture of the Irish railway
scene in the period from around 1967 to 1999. They have now been
remastered with improved images and sound, and released as double length
programmes on DVD.
Volume One features the
lines from Dublin to Dundalk and Dublin to Sligo. The Branch lines
featured in this section include the former Kingscourt branch, which is
now closed beyond Navan. The Mullingar to Athlone line used to be the
main line to Galway, but is now disused. And finally, we see the “Burma
Road” line from Collooney to Claremorris which was closed in 1975.
Volume Two starts at Heuston Station Dublin, gateway to the West and
South of Ireland. We follow along the Cork Main Line, stopping just
short of Limerick Junction. We also travel the lines to Westport,
Ballina and Galway. There then follows a trip on the now closed Loughrea
branch. After a visit to the line from Claremorris to Limerick now the
subject of re-opening schemes and known as the “Western Rail Corridor”,
we return finally to Ballybrophy to see the once busy route to Killonan
via Roscrea.
Trains covered include
express passenger workings of air conditioned coaches hauled by 071 and
201 class locos, and branch workings with small GM 121, 141 and 181 and
B201 class engines. One of the Knock pilgrimage trains is featured as
are unusual passenger trips with a preserved Maybach engine formerly
employed between North Wall and Heuston in Dublin. The freight workings
are hauled by 201, 001 and 141 class locos.Finally we have loose coupled
trains at Sligo and Mayo in the 1960s and 70s.
IRISH RAIL ARCHIVE
VOLUME 3 &4
- £16.95 -To order see
below.
These two videos, along with numbers 1 and
2 of the series, were first published on VHS tape in 2000. Together they
give a geographic picture of the Irish railway scene in the period from
around 1967 to 1999. They have now been remastered with improved images
and sound, and released as double length programmes on DVD.
Volume 3 starts at Limerick, proceeding to Carrick on Suir via a short
detour to the Foynes branch. Then we follow the Cork Main Line south
from Limerick Junction. Beyond Cork we journey to Cobh with a visit to
the Youghal Branch along the way. We also visit the Kerry line including
taking a look at Killarney. Finally we see the workers of Tralee on one
of their summer Sunday trips to take the bracing Atlantic air at Fenit.
Volume 4 starts off with the electrified DART services. The video
follows the former Dublin and South Eastern Railway main line via Bray
Head and down the East Coast of Ireland. There is a short feature on the
Northern Ireland Railways railcars which once operated over this
section, as well as coverage of the ammonia, cement and fertiliser
trains which no longer run on this route. We then see the services to
Rosslare Harbour before crossing via the South Wexford line to
Waterford. The journey back to Cherryville Junction on the Dublin to
Cork line is via the line to Kilkenny.
Locomotives featured include 001, 121, 141, 181, 071 and 201 classes,
and the rolling stock includes Cravens, Mark 2 and 3 coaches, as well as
older wooden bodied stock. More modern rolling stock also appears in the
form of Japanese-built railcars. Freights are in the hands of various
locomotives, including 001 and 201 class Metropolitan Vickers locos
dating from the 1950s. During a series of visits to Athy we see a
procession of trains, including the former cement working to the Tegral
factory.
IRISH RAIL
ARCHIVE VOLUME 5 - GM powered -
£16.95 -To order
see below.
Markle customers have requested a feature
on Irish locomotives powered by General Motors engines. Concentrating on
the sight and sound of the trains, with little dialogue, this video
covers the following classes during the period 1975 to 2003:
The 001 class - a 1950s design which,
after being re-engined with GM powerplants, became the mainstay of the
Irish loco fleet until the early 1990s.
The 071 class - Arriving new from GM in 1975, these workhorses powered
express passenger trains until their downgrading to secondary
passenger and freight duties around the turn of the century.
The 121 class - the locos that set the trend. When these elegant
engines arrived from GM in 1961 they were to set new standards for
reliability and flexibility, and they stayed in front line duties for
more than 40 years.
The 141 and 181 classes - more convenient to operate than the 121s,
these all round multi-purpose engines hauled freight and passenger
trains all over the Irish network.
The 201 class - After a brief glimpse of the original
Metropolitan Vickers 201 class, with their new GM engines, we see the
powerful GM 201 class locomotives which have dominated passenger
working since their arrival in the mid-1990s.
Trains featured include Inter City, cross country and suburban
passenger workings, and pick-up goods, gypsum, ammonia, cement,
liner, beer, and sugar beet traffic.
IRISH RAIL ARCHIVE VOLUME 6 - Sugar Beet Updated -
£16.95 -To order see below.
This DVD is a completely revised and updated version of
“Sugar Beet Archive”, made in 2000. It contains new scenes and
brings the story up to date in 2005.
Until 2005, Irish Rail moved about 150,000 tonnes of sugar beet each
year from Wellington Bridge in County Wexford to the sugar factory
at Mallow in County Cork. This video follows the rail activities
over 20 years, with General Motors engines hauling the vacuum braked
wagons to and from the factory. After seeing the action at
Wellington Bridge, we follow the trains west across the country. We
see successively, the Irish Rail 001, small GM, 071 and 201 classes
of locomotives, and the loose coupled wagons followed by the unique
vacuum braked wagons. We follow the current route to Mallow, as well
the line to the former factory at Thurles. Also covered is activity
via Cherryville Junction during the 2003 year. Making a guest
appearance is Northern Ireland Railways loco 112. Thanks to the kind
co-operation of Greencore Ireland we can see the loading and
unloading operations in detail. Also included in this DVD is the
extra feature “The Last Campaign”, covering the last year of Sugar
Beet rail operations.
Producer of the DVD, Jim Edgar, enthuses “I wish I could go back and
photograph it all again just as it was. Although there has been a
lot of change, the trains continued to run until 2005. This
video allows you to see it at its best.”
IRISH RAIL ARCHIVE
VOLUME 7 Loco Hauled Farewell
£16.95 -To order see
below.
In the years 2002 to 2004 rail enthusiasts
thought that the haulage of trains by locomotives in Ireland had already
fallen to chronically low levels. Little did we know what was to follow
- within a couple more years a combination of freight closures and new
rolling stock orders would see most Irish locomotives about to become
unemployed.
However, during this period two photographers, Mark Kelly and Paul
Davis, made video recordings of locomotives at work. This included
searching out liner trains running at night, and braving atrocious
weather conditions to film trains on disused lines.
This DVD features the 071, 121, 141, 181, and 201 classes giving of
their best before the rot finally set in. The coverage of this video is
pretty well the entire Irish Rail system. The trains featured include -
passenger workings using Cravens, Mark 2 and Mark 3 coaches, while
freight coverage includes the Sligo oil traffic, bagged and bulk cement,
timber, sugar beet, container and beer traffic. The annual weedspraying
operation is seen on the Kingscourt branch and between Mullingar and
Athlone, and a rail train is seen between Ennis and Athenry - places not
visited by trains nowadays.
This video also features new locations for
Markle, from along the banks of the Royal Canal and Longford yard to
Limerick Junction North. Other locations featured include Enfield,
Edgeworthstown, freight activity in Longford Yard,
Woodlawn, Athenry, Killonan, Limerick Junction and Athy.
IRISH RAIL ARCHIVE VOLUME 8 Tara to Clara
£16.95 -To order see below.
As the Irish railway system has now
established a routine, we are returning to the Irish Rail Archive
series to bring you some reminders of the past.
This DVD is yet another delve into the
recordings made by Irish railway enthusiasts. This time it covers the
period 1987 to 2012.
With most Irish passenger trains now in
the hands of railcars, it is the right time to savour an era when the
locomotive was king.There is a major feature on the Tara Mines Trains,
Ireland’s only remaining mineral traffic carried by rail.
We also see:-
Coverage of our exploits recording trains
in the twilight “The Starburst Years”,
Views of Cement Traffic, now lost to
rail.
The IE Relaying Trains using Donelli
system are put under the microscope, both in detail in their latest
version and back in 1987 when we found an earlier version in operation
on the Cork Main Line.
We also pay a visit to Attymon and
Dunsandle in County Galway, where the latter now hosts a small
collection of railway exhibits.
And finally we look in at Clara, where
freight and passenger trains still pound past the single platform.
This video features the following
locations - Alexandra Road Tramway in Dublin, Attymon, Beauparc,
Birdhill, Buttevant, Cherryville Junction, Clara, Drogheda, Duleek,
Dundrum, Dunsandle, East Wall Junction, Howth Junction, Kilsheelan,
Laytown, Limerick Junction, Navan, Port Laoise, Rush and Lusk, Sallins
and Naas, and Tara Mines.
1. Price and Postage
All DVDs are £16.95. UK Postage Currently £1.00. Overseas £3.00 for
postage to Europe and £3.50 for North America and Australia. Note that
this is still PER ORDER, and not per DVD, so the more you buy in one
order, the less the postage cost for each one.
2. Ordering
You can browse this site without buying anything. If you wish to buy,
please e-mail us with what you want. Then we send you an e-mail invoice
with a link to pay by credit card, or by "PayPal". Or, you can order by
post and enclose a cheque in £ Sterling.
You do not need a "PayPal" account to pay online by credit card. Just
click on the credit card links on the email invoice.
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