After nearly 12 months in the planning and execution, four ITG locomotives stored at the West Clare Railway at Moyasta are moving to start a new life at the Downpatrick & County Down Railway. Railway Support Services Ltd carried out the long, slow and tricky transfers of the first two locos, 121 class loco 124 and 181 class loco 190, over the course of Saturday 31st May to Sunday 1st June. This was a truly mammoth effort from our volunteers and our friends at DCDR.
It is our intention to restore at least 121 class loco 124 and 181 class loco 190 to operational condition in time, with A Class loco A3R and 141 Class loco 152 remaining stored for the time being and (in the case of 152) possibly providing much needed spare parts, which was always the plan for that locomotive. But who knows.
Our sincere thanks must also go to Jackie Whelan and his family at the West Clare Railway for allowing us to store the locomotives there for so long. It is clearly a disappointment that the originally envisaged museum has not proved possible (yet), but in this world we admire the tryers and the do-ers more than those who do neither.
Our thanks also go to our supporters who have provided advice, donors who generously covered a substantial slice of the transport costs (clue, it's more expensive than you think), and especially to our die hard volunteers who have had precious little rest and sleep this past week or so.
If you would like to support the ITG's efforts, you can donate here, all donations large or small are very much welcomed. If you wish, you can also join us as a member here.
