24122, 24145, and 26633 are three ex-Iarnród Éireann ballast hopper wagons. CIÉ built 24122 and 24145 in conjunction with Whessoe Ltd in 1972 as part of a batch of 25 such vehicles. Known to railway staff as ‘the stones’, these ballast trains were an essential part of CIÉ’s (later Iarnród Éireann’s) Permanent Way fleet. There are NO any parts of the network they haven’t reached, including some lines now long since vanished. Initially, they ran with older plough vans such as our own GSWR No.8452. From 1978 CIÉ started to pair the wagons with a new series of metal-sheeted plough vans. Our own 24852 is an example of these.
A second batch of ballast hoppers followed in 1976, enabling older wagons such as our GSWR example to be phased out. These wagons went on to give four decades of faithful service. Iarnród Éireann took the last examples out of service in 2013, as more modern bogie wagons replaced them.
Ours were stored in Dublin’s North Wall freight yards until 2022. It was at this stage that Iarnród Éireann started to dispose of its redundant wagon fleet. Thus, we had the perfect opportunity to acquire a robust ballast train for preservation. Apart from preserving an iconic train from the CIÉ/IÉ diesel locomotive era, they also serve a functional purpose and will surely come into their own as and when extension works commence. A DCDR volunteer donated money for their purchase. Our friends in Irish Railway Models kindly provided the transport costs for these vehicles. This company had previously produced models of these wagons as their first release.
Despite its higher number, 26633 is actually older than the other two ballast hopper wagons. It began life as a dolomite wagon built in 1969. Dolomite trains carried the mineral from Bennetsbridge, Co Kilkenny, to the Pfizer plant at Ballinacourty Co Waterford (The Waterford & Suir Valley Railway has restored a section of this route as a heritage railway). This traffic ceased in 1982. However, CIÉ/IÉ repurposed a number of these wagons, including 26633 for use on ballast trains. 26633 remained in use on such duties until the early 2010s.
