Development of the 201 Class

[Chen Melling]

Trains Magazine have recently published an article about Irish Rail's 201 Class (JT42HCW). I think this is one of the best and most comprehensive published descriptions I've seen dealing with the development of an EMD export type:

How to fly a locomotive

Note that some of the facts given contradict the relevant Wikipedia article, specifically the reason for transporting the first locomotive by air.

I wonder why did EMD bother to develop an apparently new design for these locomotives, instead of modifying the then-recent and very successful Class 59 (JT26CW-SS). After all, the 59 was still in production at the time, and was soon to be developed into the even more successful Class 66 (JT42CWR).

[killucan2]

 

[Mol_PMB]

The Irish Rail requirement was for a broad gauge 100mph express passenger loco, with head-end power and a lower axleload than the 59. Quite a lot of differences!

I think that it would have been difficult to take enough weight out of the 59 design while adding the extra features.

The 201 is probably better viewed as a significantly updated 071.

[John M]

The official reason for delivering 201 by air was to allow IE to have sufficient drivers and crew trained while awaiting delivery of the remaining 9 members of the initial order, the unofficial version was that there was an expectation for the loco to be delivered before the IE Chairman Paul Conlon retired. At the time there was an expectation under the governments "Building on Reality Programme" of the mod 80s under which there was to be no further Government investment in the railways after the completion of the Dublin-Cork main line power signalling (CTC) project and the completion of the MK3 main line Coach Project, the IE Chairman flying in  a loco from the States as a vanity project would have not gone down well politically. At the time (92-3) IE was faced with the Kildare Line Suburban or Dublin-Belfast (south of the Border) as either or projects.