24852 is one of five ballast plough vans built by CIÉ in 1978, built to replace older vans (such as our own 8452 – yes, the numbers are confusingly similar). Unlike the older wooden types, these vans were fully metal-clad. 24852 and her sisters were used on ballast trains all over the CIÉ/Iarnród Éireann network. A plough van is basically a brake van with a plough underneath (to sweep ballast on top of the sleepers), vans often ran as a pair, with one at each end of a rake of ballast hoppers, though trains with just one van were not unknown. Generally, they ran with the verandah facing the ballast wagons rather than the locomotive. The inside includes a crew area, and they were known to be quite noisy (and dusty) places as stones were dropped on the line. This van would no doubt have been involved in many major relaying projects throughout its life, not only on existing routes but also in reopening projects such as the Western Rail Corridor and the Glounthane to Midleton line. Indeed, it came to us sporting stickers for East Coast FM, suggesting its involvement with the Dublin-Rosslare line relay in the early 2000s.
The plough vans and their associated hopper wagons were phased out in the early 2010s, as larger, bogie ‘Autoballaster’ hoppers entered service. 24852 languished in North Wall for around ten years before being acquired by the DCDR in 2022, moving to the railway that August. Funding for the move was provided by Irish Railway Models, who launched a model of 24852 in 2018. Affectionately known as ‘Mr. Plough’, it has already proven popular on brake van rides at our diesel gala, and is a key component in our arsenal for future ballasting and (hopefully) extension projects on our heritage railway in the years ahead.
In May 2025 she was used to help ballast the Cathedral siding in Downpatrick yard, marking the first use of the plough van in preservation for its intended purpose.
