CIÉ 190

190 is one of several Downpatrick-based diesel locomotives owned by the Irish Traction Group (ITG). It was originally built for CIÉ in 1966 by General Motors at their plant in La Grange, Illinois, USA. Part of a batch of 12 locomotives, known as the (B)181 class, these were a follow on from the 1962 141 class, such as 146, and are very similar bar a few detail differences; as built, the 181 class had louvre vents on the cab fronts, though these were mostly removed over time. Another difference was the provision of external ladders on the bonnets, and a larger GM-B645E 1100hp engine versus the 8-567CR 950hp engine found in the 141s. However, in practice, it was not unknown for the power units to be swapped between the various small GM classes during overhauls. Delivered as B190, she would lose the ‘B’ prefix in the 1970s and become simply known as 190 (although the ‘B’ prefix did remain on some depot documentation into the 2000s).

The locomotives found use all over the CIÉ system on both passenger and freight, working in multiple with the older 121 and 141 classes. The arrival of the more powerful 071 class locos in 1976 saw them ousted from top link express workings, but they still found gainful employment on the secondary passenger services well until the 2000s, while also being found on freight, permanent way and even station pilot (shunting) duties in Dublin’s terminus stations.

Despite being younger than the 141 class, by the late 2000s most of the 181s had been withdrawn while some of the older locomotives soldiered on. The exception was 190, which lingered on as the Inchicore ‘premises pilot’ (i.e. shunter) until November 2009. As the sole surviving member of the 181 class, 190 was purchased by the Irish Traction Group for preservation, and worked at Inchicore right up to the day the lorry arrived to collect her. She was then moved to the West Clare Railway premises at Moyasta, Co Clare, where she would spend the next 16 years in storage under a tarpaulin waiting for the day when a more permanent home became available.

The last of the 181 class locomotives

With the future of the mainline facilities at Moyasta looking uncertain, in late 2024 DCDR agreed to rehouse a number of locomotives that the ITG have had stored at the location/ We didn’t take the decision lightly, but with the need to get a second air-braked locomotive into service to support 146, and also future-proof our fleet post-flooding with viable replacement locos and sources of spare parts for the existing ones, there was certainly a sound business case for this transfer taking place. The transport costs were entirely paid for by the ITG.

And so, in May 2025, 190 was loaded on a low-loader and began the journey across Ireland for delivery to Downpatrick on 1st June. 190 is likely to be one the first of these ‘new’ locos to be returned to service, though the timeline for this won’t be known until we can fully assess it. She was successfully started for the first time in preservation on 7th June 2025.