Great Southern & Western Railway 0-6-0 186 Under Steam.

This morning (April 1, 2013), I rode Irish Rail’s Dublin Area Rapid Transit service from Dublin to Dalkey, and walked out via Sorrento and Vico Roads to an overlook on the old Dublin & South Eastern line near the Dalkey Tunnel. While I photographed the parade of passenger trains, my primary objective was to catch GS&WR 186 exiting the tunnel with the Railway Preservation Society Ireland’s Easter Eggspress.

I featured this 19^th century 0-6-0 in my book Steam Power  (published by Voyageur Press in 2009) on pages  158-159 and 180-181. While I’ve made many photos of this engine over the years, I wanted to catch it at least one last time, as it’s my understanding that the locomotive is due to be withdrawn soon and may not be returned to traffic in the near future.

Using two cameras, I exposed two parallel sequences of digital images, which required some ambidextrous action on my part. I positioned my Lumix LX3 on a pocket tripod, and operated this with my left hand, while with my right hand I worked my Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens. Displayed here are selected results from both cameras.

Just a reminder:

I’ll be presenting my illustrated talk “Ireland through American Eyes 1998-2008 My first Decade in Ireland” to the London area Irish Railway Record Society on April 18, 2013.

The program begins at 1900 (7pm) upstairs at the Exmouth Arms, 1 Starcross Street, LONDON NW1, (advertised as a 5 minute walk from London’s Euston station). A nominal donation of £3.50 is asked of non-IRRS members (members £2.50).

Related articles

• Irish Rail’s IWT Liner passing Cherry Orchard – March 21, 2013
• Irish Rail Intercity Railcar Panned; February 18, 2013
• Tracking the Light now features a Page on Dublin
• Irish Bog Railways – Part 3, March 2, 2013
• Climatologist’s journey from Dalkey to the Arctic – via the US Navy
• Irish Rail at Clondalkin, February 21, 2013