141 Class roars back to life at Whitehead depot

AFTER a serious engine failure in late 2019, 141 Class No. B142 based at the Railway

Preservation Society of Ireland’s (RPSI) Whitehead depot, has been returned to traffic following an extensive engine rebuild.

A UK Heritage Lottery Fund Grant of £8750 allowed the

RPSI to acquire EMD tooling, fixtures and lifting equipment not available previously, to undertake the required work. All eight power assemblies of the EMD 645 engine were overhauled and completed in May 2021 by a small group of volunteers.

Work continued in the engine bay – setting the valve timing, removing remaining contaminated oil and addressing several maintenance issues, as well as a comprehensive examination of the loco. The locomotive hood was rejoined to No. B142 at the end of October.

In November, 16 new brake shoes were fitted, the patterns made in-house with the casting contracted out. By early December, all engine connections were checked, new engine oil was put in allowing it to be restarted on December 29.

With No. B142 now operational, work has resumed on the bodywork repairs and other maintenance tasks that were progressing prior to the failure.