Irish loco album

Yep. Those were the Crossley units fitted to CIÉ diesel classes A and C, both built my Metropolitan-Vickers.
Edit: @Reading General beat me to it!

 

Assuming I can add up, my sources indicate the stock (steam and diesel) in 1949 comprised 315 non-CIÉ broad gauge locos and 27 NG. This doesn't include industrials.

The significance of that date is the formation of the UTA. The GNRI was still independant, but would be nationalised between the two Irish governments in 1953 as the GNRB (B for Board), which was dissolved in 1958, with surviving locos split 50-50ish, class by class, between CIÉ and UTA. The locos which went south, except for JT No.93 (Cultra) and Q No.131 (RPSI), perished by 1963. Those in the north lasted longer, the last (not to be preserved) going in 1968.

Totals for 1949 (including diesels) were:
GNRI 198 locos (2 survivors in traffic, 1 OOS at Whitehead 1 static, at Cultra. Should've been at least 1 more, UG's 146/149 wdn 1968)
DN&GR 5 locos (worked by GNRI from 1933 1 nearly preserved but only nearly)
UTA 72 locos (1 survivor in traffic Whitehead, 1 static at Cultra)
B&CDR 31 locos (1 survivor, static at Cultra)
SL&NCR* 9 locos (2 sold to UTA. 1 survivor, OOS at Whitehead)
On the 3ft gauge
UTA 4 locos
CDJRC* 12 steam 1 diesel locos (3 steam stored**, 1 steam 1 diesel static at Cultra)
L&LSR* 10 locos

* SL&NCR, CDJRC & L&LSR remained independant to the death.
** Stored includes 'effectively dumped awaiting it's fate'

 

plus the wonderful railcars of course, CDRJC in the forefront of these but there were others on both gauges.

 

Lone voices in the wilderness we are, Irish Railways are a fascinating subject, largely unknown in the UK. We don't have much left but what there is, is well worth the trip at least once.

 

I admit I chickened out when it came to railcars! There are simply so many. My own favourite 5'-3" gauge example is the ex-SL&NCR "Railcar B" currently at Downpatrick and in desparate need of some TLC. There's a piccie, showing it's present state, on the D&CD Wikipedia page, but it's uncredited. Another image, from a print showing it in happier days at Enniskillen, adorns my PC as my wallpaper.

 

This design originated during Maunsell's reign in 1912, when the GSWR board approved a 3-cyl heavy shunter for Kingsbridge yard. The desired notion of all cylinders driving onto the second axle of the proposed 0-8-2t proved an insurmountable problem. Maunsell's successor, Watson had different ideas, hence the 4-8-0t of 1915. Cyliders and bogie were common to class 362, a comparatively short lived Coey designed 4-6-0 design of 1905 (withdrawn 1928-31). Boiler, motion, crank and coupled axles and axleboxes were common with Coey's (much more successful) class 368 2-6-0 of 1909.

It's not too surprising they proved problematic on sharply curved sidings (one had it's rear coupling rod removed in 1927, leaving it running as a 4-6-2t), though the fixed 8-coupled wheelbase was actually a few inches shorter than the class 101 0-6-0. Rather more surprising is that a second locomotive was built by Bazin in 1924, three years after Watson's departure. The original was withdrawn in 1928, the second in 1931. Given the extreme longevity of many Irish locos, you have to suspect the class 900's performed no better than they looked. Even if there were better options for Kingsbridge, surely they would have been useful for banking heavy services out of Cork.

Away from Kingsbridge yard, they were used to bank heavy freights up to Inchicore and handled overnight heavy freights out as far as Clondalkin (on the mainline towards Kildare & Cork). All in all, something of a dead end.