Railway Preservation Society of Ireland facts for kids
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The RPSI's oldest locomotive, No.186, a GS&WR Class 101, at Whitehead.
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| Abbreviation | RPSI |
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| Formation | 1964 |
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Membership (2022)
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ca. 1,000 |
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Main organ
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Five Foot Three |
The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) is a group that works to save and run old trains. It was started in 1964 and operates all over Ireland.
The RPSI runs special steam train trips on the main railway lines, usually starting from Dublin. They also offer shorter train rides at their base in Whitehead, County Antrim. Sometimes, they even run trains in Northern Ireland using modern diesel trains they rent. The RPSI has main locations in Dublin and Whitehead. The Whitehead site also has a cool museum! The society owns many old trains, including steam engines, diesel engines, and passenger carriages.
Where the RPSI Works
The RPSI has several places where they keep and work on their trains. Today, their main spots are Whitehead and two locations in Dublin: Inchicore and Connolly.
Whitehead Railway Museum
Whitehead, near Belfast, has always been a popular spot for train trips. The RPSI built a special workshop there to keep steam trains running. They later added a museum to this site.
The Whitehead Railway Museum opened in early 2017. It took five years to build and cost a lot of money, but it was worth it! The museum welcomed 10,000 visitors in its first year and 15,000 in its second. Inside, you can explore five different areas. Visitors can see many old steam and diesel trains. You can also watch people working to fix up old railway carriages. Friendly guides from the society are there to answer your questions.
Dublin Bases
The RPSI stores some of its trains at Inchicore Works in Dublin. They also do maintenance work there.
Since 2015, the RPSI has been able to use a train shed near Connolly in Dublin. This space is used to store and maintain their modern diesel trains.
Past Operations
The RPSI used to run mainline steam trains from Whitehead and Belfast. However, since 2023, these trips have stopped. This is because the railway in Northern Ireland is no longer training staff to drive steam trains. Now, Whitehead focuses on short steam train rides around the station area.
The RPSI's Trains
The RPSI has a fantastic collection of old trains. They work hard to keep these historic vehicles in good condition.
Steam Locomotives
The society owns nine steam locomotives. Another one is owned by the Ulster Folk and Transport Museums but is operated by the RPSI. Usually, only a few of these powerful engines are ready to run at any time.
Passenger Steam Engines
The RPSI has three steam engines that were built for pulling passenger trains. These include No. 131, a Q class built in 1901. They also have No. 171 Slieve Gullion and No. 85 Merlin. No. 85 is on loan from the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum. These engines are great for long trips, but they can't go as fast if they have to run backward.
Large Tank Engine
The RPSI has a special engine called WT class No. 4. This engine holds important records! It pulled the very last steam passenger train in Northern Ireland. It also helped pull the last stone goods train in 1970. The RPSI got it in 1971, and it has traveled on most of the remaining railway lines in Ireland.
Goods Steam Engines
The society has three steam engines that were originally used for pulling goods trains. They can also pull passenger trains, but at slower speeds. Two of these are from the 101 (J15) class. These engines were very common and reliable. The RPSI has No. 184 and No. 186. They also have No. 461, which is a rare preserved engine from the Dublin and South Eastern Railway.
Shunting Engines
Shunting engines are smaller steam trains used for moving carriages and wagons around the yard. They are very useful at the Whitehead yard. One of these is called '.3 R.H. Smyth', but everyone calls it Harvey. It has even helped move ballast for the main railway lines. There's also No3BG "Guinness," which was given to the society by the Guinness company in 1965.
Diesel and Other Locomotives
The RPSI plans to build a collection of historic diesel trains for mainline use. They have already bought four powerful diesel engines from General Motors. These are numbers 134, 141, 142, and 175.
The RPSI also has some smaller diesel engines used for shunting. These include engines from a sugar factory, an oil company, and an old railway company.
Carriages and Other Stock
In the 2000s, new rules meant the RPSI needed special metal-bodied carriages for their main line trips. They now have a collection of these carriages.
Freight Wagons and Other Stock
At Whitehead, you can see a collection of old freight wagons. This includes a brake van named Ivan, which was fixed up by their amazing Youth team. There's also a Guinness van, a special crane, a ballast wagon, and an oil tanker.
What the RPSI Does
The main goal of the RPSI is to keep old steam trains running. They organize special train trips for people to enjoy. They do a great job of running these trips all over Ireland, especially after steam trains stopped being used for regular services.
Films
The RPSI has also helped with movies! They can provide old trains for film scenes. One of their first big film projects was for The First Great Train Robbery in 1978.
Magazine
Five Foot Three is the RPSI's magazine for its members. It comes out once a year.
Train Incidents
Sometimes, things don't go perfectly, even with trains.
- In 2014, an RPSI train chartered for an event stopped on a level crossing for too long. This caused delays, and the incident was looked into to make sure it wouldn't happen again.
- In 2019, one of their steam engines, No. 85, ran out of water while on a trip near Gorey. This caused a safety device in the engine to melt. Emergency services had to cool the boiler, and a rescue diesel train was called to help. Everyone was safe.
See also
- List of heritage railways in Northern Ireland
- List of heritage railways in the Republic of Ireland
- Irish Steam Preservation Society
- Irish Traction Group
