Educate Me!

[Philly]

Hey guys. I have always being interested in trains but lack any basic knowledge of Irelands fleet. I keep reading all the different names - MK3 etc - and was wondering if you could link me to more info on the different trains on Irish rail lines? Maybe somebody could post a photo of each type to me if they have the time?

Thanks a mil.

[Mark Gleeson]

We are most definitely not trainspotters so photos we don't do

Shinny silver Cork train is known as the Mk4 or CDE, Cork Dublin Express
The orange thing with automatic doors be a Mk3
The orange thing with manual doors and sealed windows be a Mk2d

All the railcars are referred to by the first two digits of the number thus Kildare and Newbridge get the 29000

Some are better than others, the consensus is the Mk3 is the best coach on average, quiet and smooth, Mk2d has useless AC and is normally refered to as a coffin. The Mk4 looks lovely but has problems, and as such has been christened the Vomit Comet. 29000 rocks and rolls but no one really minds on short journeys since it never breaks down

[Oisin88]

This seems to happen to all new people.

Remember this thread in the Canteen: Dictionary of IE/P11 Terms?
(I don't know how to link threads)

I repeat the call for some sort of guide to the forum

In the meantime Philly could find the answers by following the link.

[Philly]

I hate the 29000. It's the most uncomfortable train ever. The chairs are really hard - similar to the LUAS seats. These trains are always filthy too - I mean it doesn't take that much effort to go around picking up papers, cups, etc. Finally, the ride is always atrocious. I amn't a great car traveller, and travelling in a 29000 feels like driving down a country road.

Is the Mk2d the train that would be used on Waterford-Heuston services? I'm assuming this is the train with the button that flashes , indicating that the door can now be opened. If so - I find this the best. Seats are comfortable, and isn't half as bumpy as the 29000s. The tables are big enough for everybody sitting around them to use also, unlike the tiny tables on the 29000s. As for the Air Conditioning, that wouldn't be one of the things I'd pay attention to really.

So, am I right in saying that 29000's go from Dublin to Sligo? If so, I feel really sorry for people that use that "service".

[Oisin88]

Think Waterford are Mk 3, any time I have been near them anyway.

[Derek Wheeler]

Trains you mention,with the "button" for the doors is a MK3.

I think the Glossary of terms thread should be reignited to help people understand some of whats talked about here. But only in the interests of promoting things from a users point of view.

[James Shields]

Originally Posted by Philly

I hate the 29000. It's the most uncomfortable train ever. The chairs are really hard - similar to the LUAS seats. These trains are always filthy too - I mean it doesn't take that much effort to go around picking up papers, cups, etc. Finally, the ride is always atrocious. I amn't a great car traveller, and travelling in a 29000 feels like driving down a country road.

I can asure you there are more uncomfortable trains out there. I agree the seats are firm, though I've never found them uncomfortable.

They are always spotless leaving Drogheda in the morning, but they are generally a mess by the evening. They could definitely do with a once over a couple of times during the day, but that's not a fault of the 2900s themselves. I agree the ride isn't great, though it's not too bad on the Drogheda and Maynooth lines, you do feel it after a few tight bends.

I've been on all of IE's DMUs (and NIR's for that matter), and they are by far the best of the lot, though I have to admit NIR's 3CK offers a more comfortable ride for long distance journeys.

The fact is, they do exactly what it says on the tin, and it says Commuter on the tin in big letters. For journeys of up to an hour, they are great. Any longer and I wouldn't fancy one.

[Thomas J Stamp]

Oisin that link is into the members section and not the canteen.

Just to quote from my post in it:

As a start go to wikipedia, there is a great entry on Irish Rail there is a link to a sub entry on irish locomotives, loads of info there. Also go to Irish Railway News (google it and they will come) head to the general section and trawl through the topics stopping off at ones that look like "what types of trains operating in ireland" and such like, plenty of into there.

And my definition of a 201 locomotive:

"Big orange bastards bought by IE around 1994 you can see them pulling trains to Cork, Galway, Westport, Tralee and Limerick and Belfast. Glorified freight train not really suitable for passenger work. Too heavy to cross the shannon on the sligo line so it cant do freight over there. Badly used on the Belfast line to provide electric power to all the carraiges resulting in them breaking down. More Technical (hello Mr Gleeson): History, weight, speeds, axle loadings, HEP, mid-life refurbishment programme all have to be mentioned. BTW there was also a class 201 loco in the 50's."

As the evening start drawing in I think this wouldnt be a bad idea and we might do it as a general announcement or a sticky. Problem is that really we could do one that can be as big as this site itself and still not solve some qustions.

Rest assured, while we try to keep things as non-technical as we can we are aware that committee members and others can lapse into technobabble if only for the want of using shorthand when typing replies. We do try not to, dont be shy is asking within a thread "what's a 181 loco" or "you said a 2700, what's that?"

Older viewers will remember my first thread on the old board: How fast can a 201 class loco actually go?. We've all been there.

[Oisin88]

Originally Posted by Thomas J Stamp

Oisin that link is into the members section and not the canteen.

oops, I hope I didn't let any baddies in