#3155
CIÉ 501 Class
🇮🇪 Ireland ·built by Walker Brothers· from 1954· class of three narrow gauge diesel-mechanical locomotives
what is it?
The Córas Iompair Éireann 501 Class locomotives were built in 1955 by Walker Brothers of Wigan for use on the narrow gauge (3 ft or 914 mm) lines on the West Clare section of the CIÉ. They were small diesel mechanical locomotives, with a 0-4-0+0-4-0 wheel arrangement. Controlled from a central cab, the locomotives had two Gardner engines of 224 hp (167 kW), one under each end casing, driving through a fluid coupling and Wilson gear box the inner axle of the opposite bogie, through a spiral-bevel-reverse and reduction gear box. Unusually the locomotives were driven from a seat mounted sideways to the direction of travel giving a clear field of vision both ways by a mere turn of the head.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 72 years ago, in 1954.
- Weighs about as much as 4 African elephants (~6 t each).
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1954
- retired
- 1961
- status
- retired
- number built
- 3
- kind
- Diesel mechanical
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- builders
- Walker Brothers
- operators
- Córas Iompair Éireann
- top speed
- —
- power
- 167 kW
- gauge
- 914 mm 3 ft narrow gauge
- wheel arrangement
- B′B′
- weight
- 23.3 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q5011652, Wikipedia: CIÉ 501 Class (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.