Dublin-Belfast Enterprise marks 75 years
THE Dublin-Belfast Enterprise express is marking the 75th anniversary of its inception on August 11, 1947 by the Great Northern Railway of Ireland with exhibitions of historical pictures at Dublin Connolly and Belfast Lanyon Place stations.
A short video has also been produced by Northern Ireland Railways and Iarnrod Eireann, joint operators of the service.
Introduced by the GNR(I) in response to a new air service linking the two cities, the seven-coach crossborder express ran non-stop, once daily, between Dublin and Belfast, powered by the GNR(I)’s V class 4-4-0 compound locomotives, one of which, No. 85 Merlin, is preserved in running order by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland.
Merlin has hauled highly popular RPSI Steam Enterprise named train specials several times over the route. The aim has been to recreate the great days of the steam-hauled Enterprise and offer Belfast passengers a day out in Dublin.
The last new 4-4-0s to be built in the world, the three-strong Vs class, were designed especially for the Enterprise service in 1948, but were soon ousted from the train by the introduction of AEC railcars in 1950. One, No. 207
Boyne, was earmarked for preservation by the RPSI in 1965 but was rejected in favour of S 4-4-0 No. 171 Slieve Gullion, which, on occasion, did operate on Enterprise trains. None of the Vs class now exists.
All change
The Great Northern Railway Board, which was taken over the GNR in 1953, introduced more powerful British United Traction railcars on the route in 1958. These dominated until CIE, which by then operated the route jointly with the Ulster Transport Authority, introduced General Motors Class 121 diesel locomotives on to its Enterprise sets in 1962.
CIE later hauled its Enterprise train sets using its 141 and 181 General Motors diesels, with NIR using its Class 111 GM locomotive, which are identical to their CIE cousins. NIR launched its all-new BR-built Mk.2 Enterprise coaches, hauled by Class 101 diesel Bo-Bos and built jointly by Hunslet and British Rail Engineering, for the service in 1970. The three 101 locomotives were named Eagle, Merlin and Falcon, carrying the same names as the GNR(I) compounds associated with the inaugural enterprise.
Two were acquired by the RPSI for preservation and operation, but No. 101 Eagle was reluctantly scrapped by the society in 2010 after engine failure. No. 102 Falcon is the only member of the class to survive, having been cosmetically restored by RPSI for static display in the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at Cultra. No. 103 Merlin was scrapped by NIR in 1997.
Now provided by refurbished De Dietrich coach sets, hauled by NIR and Iarnrod Eireann Class 201 diesel electrics, the joint service is set for further improvements with even more frequent services, new motive power and train sets, and eventual electrification of the route.
Most remarkably, the Enterprise name created 75 years ago by the GNR(I) remains in use, while the Dublin-Belfast route is the only railway line to cross the Irish border today, and the express is Ireland’s only surviving named main line train.
‘Rich history’
Translink Group chief executive Chris Conway said:“We are celebrating the service, its customers, and staff over the decades. Enterprise has been there for us over the decades to connect us to family, friends, and opportunity, evolving with the times, and better connecting Belfast and Dublin.”
Iarnrod Eireann chief executive Jim Meade said: “The service has a rich and evocative history and I am sure that customers will very much enjoy the photographic exhibitions at both termini.”
Throughout its history, the Enterprise has won a special place in Irish railway and popular lore, grappling with customs examinations and smuggling, its tracks often being bombed during the Troubles, playing its part in the Peace Train initiative, and carrying members of the women’s liberation movement from Dublin to Belfast to buy contraceptives, then illegal in the Republic of Ireland in 1971, with the women bringing them back, equally illegally, on the Enterprise.
Although, unusually, the RPSI was not invited to run a steam train to mark the anniversary, the society provided pictures for the exhibitions and has a special display at its Whitehead museum, which includes a 7mm scale model of the train drawn by a Vs 4-4-0, a headboard, timetables, and even a box of Enterprise chocolates produced by Fullers to mark the start of the service 75 years ago, although some ‘enterprising’ passenger seems to have eaten the contents long ago!